Staff Highlights

Honors and Awards

The following awards were bestowed on NIDA staff members at NIDA's Annual Awards Ceremony held October 31, 2005.

NIDA DIRECTOR'S AWARD OF MERIT
Carol Cushing, CCTN Carmen L. Rosa, CCTN Christie Baxter, DBNBR Allison Chausmer, DBNBR Jonathan Pollock, DBNBR Rao Rapaka, DBNBR Joyce Williams, DBNBR Melissa W. Racioppo, DCNBR Redonna Chandler, DESPR Elizabeth M. Ginexi, DESPR Bennett Fletcher, DESPR Dionne Jones, DESPR Elizabeth Y. Lambert, DESPR Moira O'Brien, DESPR Eve E. Reider, DESPR Larry A. Seitz, DESPR	Amrat Patel, DPMCDA Satoshi Ikemoto, IRP Susan Schlossberg, OD Linda B. Thomas, OD Mark Green, OEA Rita Liu, OEA Pamela Stokes, OEA Dave S. Daubert, OPRM Michael Wright, OPRM Gayathri Dowling, OSPC Geoffrey Laredo, OSPC Jan Lipkin, OSPC Lucinda Miner, OSPC Michelle Person, OSPC Sara Rosario Wilson, OSPC Susan Weiss, OSPC Pamela Goodlow, SPO
Group Award: CTN Coordinating Centers Team Carol A. Cushing, CCTN Kenneth Goodling, OPRM Pedro Godinez, OA Nancy Hurd, OPRM Diane Loeb, OPRM Jeng-Jong Pan, CCTN Paul G. Wakim, CCTN Group Award: NIH Blueprint Neuroscience Information Framework Group Nancy Hurd, OPRM Diane Loeb, OPRM Karen Skinner, DBNBR Eric Zatman, OPRM Group Award: NIH Genetics Consortium (NGC) Retreat Kevin Conway, DCNBR Jim Glass, DPMDCA Joni Rutter, DBNBR Kay Wanke, NCI Group Award: DESPR Genetic Epidemiology Portfolio Review Team Naimah Weinberg, DESPR Kevin P. Conway, DCNBR Group Award: DESPR Health Disparities Workgroup Jessica Campbell, DESPR William Cartwright, DESPR Aria Crump, DESPR Dionne Jones, DESPR Group Award: DESPR HIV/AIDS Workgr Jessica Campbell, DESPR Jerry Flanzer, DESPR Dionne Jones, DESPR Elizabeth Lambert, DESPR Eve Reider, DESPR Group Award: RTX Development Project Team Roberta Kahn, DPMCDA James B. Terrill, DPMCDA Group Award: Molecular Neurobiology Human Genetics Workgroup Tomas Drgon, IRP Catherine Johnson, IRP Qing Rong Liu, IRP George R. Uhl, IRP Donna M. Walther, IRP Group Award: (APA) Planning Team Meyer Glantz, DESPR Lula Beatty, SPO Teresa Levitin, OEA Minda Lynch, DBNBR Lisa Onken, DCNBR Kenzie Preston, IRP Melissa Racioppo, DCNBR David Shurtleff, DBNBR Cora Lee Wetherington, DBNBR Jane Smither, OSPC Group Award: Blending Conference Planning Team Timothy Condon, OD/OSPC Suman Rao King, OSPC Jan Lipkin, OSPC Lucinda Miner, OSPC Michelle Person, OSPC Denise Pintello, OSPC Jane Smither, OSPC Susan Weiss, OSPC Sara Rosario Wilson, OSPC Group Award: Blueprint Research Training Team Beth Babecki, DBNBR Allison Chausme, DBNBR Gayathri Dowling, OSPC Steven Grant, DCNBR Suman Rao King, OSPC Teresa Levitin, OEA Charles Sharp, DBNBR David Shurtleff, DBNBR Karen Skinner, DBNBR Laurence Stanford, DCNBR Susan Volman, DBNBR Susan Weiss, OSPC	Group Award: NIDA's Neuroscience Consortium Jane Acri Tom Aigner Nathan Appel Kursheed Ashgar Lula Beatty Loretta Beuchert Nicolett Borek Allison Chausmer Christine Colvis Hirsch Davis Lynda Erinoff Joseph Frascella Jerry Frankenheim Harold Gordon Pamela Goodlow Stephen Gust Steven Grant Monica Jones Barbara Hermn Geraline Lin Cheryl Kassed Rita Liu Yu Lin Minda Lynch David McCann Lucinda Miner Mary Ellen Michel Joan Nolan Nancy Pilotte Jonathan Pollock Rao Rapaka Cathrine Sasek Paul Schnur David Shurtleff Hari Singh Laurence Stanford Pushpa Thadani David Thomas Susan Volman Deborah Wertz Susan Weiss Cora Lee Wetherington Joyce Williams Berhane Yitbarek Group Award: The African American Initiative Committee Lula Beatty, SPO Jean Lud Cadet, IRP Redonna Chandler, DESPR Gayathri Dowling, OSPC Dionne Jones, DESPR Steven Oversby, DPMCDA Carmen Rosa, CCTN Paul Schnur, DBNBR Don Vereen, OD Nominated by NIDA DIRECTOR for Katrina Awards Volunteer Service Janice Carico, IRP Redonna Chandler, DESPR Betty Jo Salmeron, IRP Edwina Smith, IRP Deployed Ivan Montoya, DPMCDA Volunteer Jerry Flanzer, DESPR EEO Awards Allison Chausmer, DBNBR Aria Crump, DESPR Stacy Gardner, OPRM John Hamill, OPRM Hari H. Singh, DBNBR

COMMISSIONED CORPS AWARDS

The Achievement Medal
CAPTAIN Anthony J. Brooks, IRP
COMANDER Paul J. Na, IRP

LENGTH OF SERVICE AWARDS

30 Year Length of Service
Patricia A. Ballerstadt, IRP
Thomas F. Hilton, DESPR
Donna M. Jones, OPRM
Teresa E. Levitin, OEA
Marguerite M. Lewis, OPRM
Tina McDonald-Bennett, OPRM

40 Year Length of Service
Helen K. Cesari, OSPC
Nancy A. Hurd, OPRM

Dr. Thomas F. Hilton of the Services Research Branch, DESPR, attended a reception in his honor hosted by the University of Georgetown International School of Public Health on September 15, 2005, in recognition of his mentorship of international students on the development and administration of substance abuse health services research programs.

Dr. Redonna K. Chandler, DESPR was deployed to New Orleans, LA, September 19 - October 1, 2005 to provide mental health support to first responders as part of the NIH response to Hurricane Katrina.

Dr. Teruo Hayashi, IRP, was the recipient of 2005 Sarai Award sponsored by Kyumon-kai, Hiroshima, Japan.

Dr. Amy Newman, IRP, filed the following patent on August 24, 2005. Newman, A.H., Zou, M-F. and Katz, J.L. N- and 2-Substituted Benztropines as Therapeutic Agents for CNS Disorders.

Staff Changes

Dr. Kevin P. Conway joined the Division of Clinical Neuroscience and Behavioral Research (DCNBR) as Associate Director in October 2005. Dr. Conway comes to DCNBR from the Epidemiology Research Branch, Division of Epidemiology, Services, and Prevention Research (NIDA), where he served as a Program Director and as the Deputy Branch Chief of Epidemiology Research Branch.

Dr. Karen Sirocco joined the Division of Clinical Neuroscience and Behavioral Research in the Behavioral and Brain Development Branch in October 2005. Dr. Sirocco is a developmental psychologist, and came to NIDA from the NIH Center for Scientific Review (CSR) where she was the chief of the biobehavioral and behavioral processes integrated review group. Prior to joining CSR, Dr. Sirocco spent 10 years in the Laboratory of Clinical Studies, NIAAA, where she was involved in basic and clinical biobehavioral research into the causes, prevention, and treatment of alcoholism.

Jennifer Elcano joined the Science Policy Branch in the Office of Science Policy and Communications in October 2005 as a science writer. For 12 years before coming to NIDA, Ms. Elcano served as president of her small business Elcano Communications, working mainly as a science and marketing writer on Federal Government contracts, including NIDA and other health/science organizations. She has also held writing positions with consulting firms and communications magazines, and served a stint with the U.S. Resolution Trust Corporation in the 1990's. Ms. Elcano, has a masters degree in English-Professional Writing and Editing, and, with her partners, has developed, and is preparing to publish, a writing curriculum titled "7 Steps to Better Writing." She is a singer-songwriter in her other life and performs with several groups in the area.

Harold I. Perl, Ph.D. recently joined the CCTN as Senior Team Leader for Behavioral and Social Science, which includes behavior therapy research, dissemination, and training. Previously, he had been on staff of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) for 16 years, where he helped establish NIAAA's Health Services Research Branch and subsequently became its Branch Chief in 2001. At NIAAA, Dr. Perl developed and managed programs that focused on alcohol-related health services research, the incorporation of screening and brief interventions for alcohol problems in medical care settings, community-based research demonstrations for treating homeless persons with alcohol and drug abuse problems, and, most recently, the dissemination and implementation of scientific findings into real-world practice. Prior to coming to NIAAA, Dr. Perl served as Program Director of the Prevention Research Center in the Department of Mental Hygiene at the Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health. Dr. Perl earned a doctorate in Clinical/Community Psychology from the University of Maryland and has maintained a clinical practice since 1988.

Raul Mandler, M.D. was recently appointed as senior medical officer for the CCTN. Dr. Mandler came from George Washington University where he had been a professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery since 1999. He was trained in neurology at the Cleveland Clinic and in neuroscience at NINDS IRP through the 1980's. He is certified in Neurology from the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and a Fellow of the American Neurological Association and American Academy of Neurology. Dr. Mandler was an awardee of many NIH grants, including a 5-year grant for the study of basic neurobiology of ALS, and clinical studies in multiple sclerosis, peripheral neuropathies and neurological complications of infections. His expertise and experience in basic neuroscience and clinical aspects of neuro-inflammatory disorders will definitely enrich the CCTN program. One specific area he will be involved in is HIV/HCV, which is a serious co-morbid infectious disease in the substance abuse patient population. He is the CCTN's representative in NIDA's genetic workgroup. In addition, his clinical experience with many of the neuroleptic medications will contribute to future medications trials for stimulant abusers.

Murat Oz, Ph.D. Oz recently joined OEA as a Scientific Review Administrator (SRA). He comes to OEA from NIDA's intramural program, where he studied the effects of drugs of abuse on neurotransmitter-gated ion channels and cellular excitability. Oz received a medical degree from the University of Ankara, Turkey and a Ph.D. from the Department of Pharmacology, University of Alberta, Canada. While a postdoctoral researcher at NIAAA, he studied physiological and pharmacological aspects of neurotransmitter-gated ion channels. He joined the NIDA intramural program in 2000 as a Staff Fellow, and his research there has implicated several new molecular targets for drugs of abuse. In his new role as a SRA in the Training and Special Projects Review Branch, Oz will be responsible for a variety of review activities in many scientific areas.

Gerald (Jerry) McLaughlin, Ph.D. joined NIDA in May 2005 as Chief of the Grants Review Branch of the Office of Extramural Affairs. The Grants Review Branch includes the centers, treatment, services and medications development scientific review groups. Jerry was previously a Scientific Review Administrator at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), where he helped arrange reviews for many complex grant and contract initiatives during a time of rapid growth and change within NIAID. Jerry also brings extensive experience as an academic, clinical and government scientist, a research and clinical laboratory director, a teacher and an administrator. He was the recipient of grants and contracts from NIH and other federal agencies as well as pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. As a teacher, he developed and taught classes at undergraduate, graduate and professional levels. Jerry's administrative service has included co-directing clinical laboratories for hospitals as well as academic and society appointments. After academics and before NIH, he worked at a Gaithersburg MD biotechnology company. Jerry's doctoral work was at the University of Iowa, and his postdoctoral positions included a NIH postdoctoral traineeship at Notre Dame and an NSF Research Associate position at Texas A&M University School of Medicine. In his academic positions, including that of Associate Professor/Co-Director of Clinical Laboratories at the Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, his research led to several improved molecular diagnostics and drugs as well as insights regarding immunity, vaccines, and disease processes.

John Satterlee, Ph.D. joined the Genetics and Molecular Neurobiology Research Branch, DBNBR in November 2005 as program director for the Synaptic Plasticity and Model Organism Genetics Program. Dr. Satterlee received his B.S. in Biology from Cornell University in 1986 and was awarded a Masters in Science Education from Syracuse University in 1987. He then taught high school chemistry for one year. He subsequently became a research specialist in biochemistry and protein chemistry working on fat biosynthetic enzymes at SUNY-Upstate Medical University where he remained until 1991. He subsequently went on to do doctoral work in the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison with Dr. Michael Sussman where he was awarded his Ph.D. in 1997 for his work on plant signal transduction and calcium stimulated protein kinases. He then became a postdoctoral fellow at Brandeis University with Dr. Piali Sengupta until 2003. As a post-doctoral fellow he genetically and molecularly identified four genes required for proper development and function of thermosensory neurons in the model animal C. elegans. After completing his post-doctoral work Dr. Satterlee became Co-director of C. elegans Core Facility at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Research Center, Harvard Medical School until 2005. As co-director of the C. elegans Core Facility he utilized C. elegans techniques and resources to illuminate a variety of biological processes, including aspects of cancer biology, regulation of the cell cycle, regulation of fat biosynthesis, and neurodegenerative disease.

Michelle Person, NIDA's press officer, left NIDA in December to work with the Office of Justice programs, in the Department of Justice, where she will be working with law enforcement agencies at the state and local level to develop and implement campaigns like the Amber Alert program. In addition, she will have other communications duties such as speechwriting. Michelle joined OSPC six and a half years ago to take on the role of NIDA press officer. Prior to that, she was a press officer at the Federal Trade Commission. During her time here at OSPC, Michelle has, of course, been involved in all of our outreach initiatives.