UCSD Spine Surgeon Wins Honor
Steven R. Garfin, professor and chair of the UCSD School of Medicine department of orthopedics, has been awarded the Wiltse Award by the North American Spine Society during its annual meeting in New Orleans.
The Wiltse Award is given to physicians who make significant contributions in the field of spine surgery through research, teaching or through other innovations. The award is named after Leon Wiltse, M.D., a founder of NASS and a pioneer in the area of spine surgery.
Garfin received the award because he has dedicated his life to surgery to help patients suffering from spine disorders.
Garfin has also contributed to many published papers and books regarding spine care, with a special interest in cervical spine surgery.
Scripps scientist receives Packard Fellowship
Jeffrey Severinghaus, a geochemist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UCSD, has been awarded a Packard Fellowship to study the stability of past and future climates.
Severinghaus is an associate professor in the geosciences research division at Scripps and specializes in analyzing Earth’s climate by studying air trapped in ice cores. He is known for discovering the cause of sudden climate changes that occurred just before the birth of civilization 12,000 years ago.
The $625,000 fellowship will be granted over 5 years. It will allow Severinghaus to determine how methane, a colorless, odorless gas, can offer clues about Earth’s climate.
UCSD Burn Center releases 1999 statistics
The UCSD Regional Burn Center released its annual report Tuesday on people from San Diego and Imperial counties admitted to the center from January through December of 1999.
Patients admitted during that time for injuries and smoke inhalation numbered 440. There was an increases of 68 burn patients from the previous year.
Most patients were adults. However, infants and small children constituted 93 admissions, a 23 percent increase from 1998.
Most reported injuries to younger patients were caused by home accidents, with most involving cooking or scalding accidents. Contact with hot objects such as curling irons and clothing irons, hot coals, fireworks, gasoline, gunpowder and barbecues were also common burn causes.
It was found that most adult patients had come into direct contact with fire or flames, most often caused by cooking accidents. The majority of adults were burned in their homes.
The Burn Center at UCSD was established in 1973 to provide specialized care for severely burned individuals.
UCSD Extension launches Medicinal Chemistry Institute
The UCSD Extension program plans to create a new institute focusing on one of industry’s key sciences, medicinal chemistry. The decision comes in response to San Diego’s concentration of nearly 100 drug discovery companies.
The institute will open with an orientation program on Jan. 6, which will be followed by an 18-week intensive program designed for graduate and post-graduate chemists and biologists who have a basic knowledge of drug research and the professional requirements to broaden their perspective on the fundamentals of medicinal chemistry.
Regular classes will begin on Jan. 10 at the new UCSD Extension Center in Sorrento Mesa. The all-inclusive enrollment fee is $1,995.
Bell Labs President to give free public lecture at UCSD
Dr. Arun Netravali, known for his work with digital technology and communications networking will give a free public lecture titled “”Beyond 2001: Trends, Developments and Opportunities in Communications Networking,”” at 1:30 p.m. in the Institute of the Americas Auditorium on Nov. 27. Netravali is the president of Bell Laboratories and is responsible for research and development across all of Lucent Technologies.
