Kanda Appointed NCMHD Deputy Director

Dr. Mireille Kanda was recently appointed deputy director of the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities.

Kanda brings over 25 years of professional experience to NCMHD. Prior to joining HHS, she was director of the division of child protection at the Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. At HHS's Administration for Children and Families, she was director of health and disabilities services for the Head Start Bureau. Most recently, Kanda served as acting director and deputy director of the Office of Population Affairs in the HHS Secretary's Office of Public Health and Science. Her work at the department earned her the Assistant Secretary for Health's Distinguished Service Award.

"I am personally committed to ensuring that the NCMHD health disparities research activities support the innovative approaches the nation needs to address the complexities of this public health crisis," says Kanda, who has been at NCMHD for more than a year and has served as acting deputy director and associate director for scientific program operations.

After graduating from George Washington University School of Medicine, Kanda trained in pediatrics at Children's National Medical Center. She also earned a master's of public health degree from Johns Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of Public Health. She is board-certified in pediatrics and is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Four Appointed to NIAMS Council

Four new members were recently named to the National Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases advisory council. They are:

Dr. Brian Kotzin, chairman of the division of clinical immunology, department of medicine, and director of the Autoimmunity Center of Excellence at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver. His research focuses on the immunologic and genetic mechanisms that result in autoimmune disease.

Dr. Jack Parr of Arlington, Tenn., is executive vice president and chief scientific officer for Wright Medical Technology, Inc., a global orthopaedic medical device company specializing in the design, manufacture and marketing of reconstructive joint devices and bio-orthopaedic materials.

Dr. Raymond Scalettar is a specialist in arthritis and rheumatic diseases and internal medicine and has been a professor of medicine at George Washington University Medical Center since 1981. He is a former commissioner and senior consultant to the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and former chair of the board of trustees of the American Medical Association.

Dr. Jouni Uitto is professor and chairman of the department of dermatology and cutaneous biology at Jefferson Medical College and director of the Jefferson Institute of Molecular Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. Uitto is internationally recognized for his research on connective tissue biochemistry and molecular biology in relation to cutaneous diseases.

NIAMS director Dr. Stephen Katz (third from l) and deputy director Dr. Steven Hausman (r) welcome new members to the institute's council. They are (from l) Dr. Jack Parr, Dr. Jouni Uitto, Dr. Brian Kotzin and Dr. Raymond Scalettar.

LoGrasso Joins NIGMS as Program Director

Dr. Philip LoGrasso recently joined NIGMS as a program director in the Division of Pharmacology, Physiology, and Biological Chemistry. He brings strong expertise in both biology and chemistry and will manage research and training grants in bio-organic chemistry, chemical biology, signal transduction and pharmacology. He will also participate in activities related to the NIH molecular libraries Roadmap initiative. LoGrasso's 12 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry include drug target discovery and development at Sandoz, Inc. and Merck & Co., Inc. Most recently, he was director of preclinical research and development at Avera Pharmaceuticals (San Diego). His research has focused on central nervous system disorders, immunology and inflammation and cardiovascular diseases.

Zoon Leaves NCI for NIAID

Dr. Kathryn C. Zoon recently joined NIAID as deputy director for planning and development in the Division of Intramural Research. Before coming to the institute, she was principal deputy director of the NCI Center for Cancer Research. Prior to that, she served for more than 10 years as director of FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. As deputy director, Zoon will be responsible for developing new scientific programs with special emphasis on emerging diseases and biodefense. In addition she will head a laboratory group studying alpha interferons. She received her Ph.D. degree from Johns Hopkins University and was a senior fellow at NIH and at FDA. She is a member of the Institute of Medicine.