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Neurotransmitters and Drugs That Affect the Mind
Julius Axelrod
(This information was taken from the Distinguished Scientist Lecture Series Program 1984-1985).
Dr. Axelrod, a Nobel laureate, is Chief of the Section on Pharmacology, Laboratory of Chemical Science, at the Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland. Born in New York City, Dr. Axelrod received his Ph.D. from New York University and did his postdoctoral work at the George Washington University Laboratory. In 1979, Dr. Axelrod received the Nobel Prize for Medicine or Physiology jointly with Ulf von Euler for their contributions in the area of the sympathetic nervous.system. Other recent awards include the Paul Hoch Award from the American Psychopathological Association, the Albert Einstein Achievement Award from Yeshiva University, the Distinguished Service Award from the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, and the Stanley Dean Research A ward from the American College of Psychiatrists. He has received honorary degrees from many institutions, among them George Washington University, The Medical College of Wisconsin, New York University, the City College of New York, and the University of Panama. From 1949 to 1955, Dr. Axelrod was senior chemist with the National Heart Institute; in 1956 he joined the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. He is a member of many editorial and advisory boards, including the Scientific Advisory Board of the American Parkinson Disease Association, the Board of Trustees of the American Life Science Institute, and the Scientific Advisory Board for the McKnight Foundation.
His Work: A large portion of our current knowledge concerning
humoral transmitters in sympathetic nerves comes from Dr. Axelrod's work. His earliest work was with tritium-labeled epinephrine and norepinephrine; later he undertook studies that led to the elucidation of the enzymes and intermediates involved in the major route of norepinephrine metabolism. Consequences of this research have included an understanding of the actions of many drugs important in cardiology, psychiatry, and neurology-notably, the introduction of cx-methyldopa for treatment of hypertension and of L-dopa for the treatment of Parkinson's disease.
His Lecture: February 16, 1985: "Neurotransmitters and Drugs That Affect the Mind"
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Consumerism and Health: Whose Body Is It, Anyway?
Claire M. Fagin
(This information was taken from the Distinguished Scientist Lecture Series Program 1984-1985).
Dr. Fagin is Dean of the School of Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania. Born in New York City, she received the Ph.D. from New York University. While earning her doctorate, Dr. Fagin taught at New York University, concentrating on psychiatric and mental health nursing. Prior to her appointment as dean at the University of Pennsylvania, she was director of the Health Professions Institute of Herbert H. Lehman College and was associated with the Montefiore Hospital and Medical Center. Dr. Fagin has edited and written a number of books, including Nursing in Child Psychiatry (1972) and Family Centered Nursing in Community Psychiatry (1970), chosen as Books of the Year in their respective areas by The American Journal of Nursing. Her articles have appeared extensively in professional journals and published anthologies on nursing, psychiatry, and nursing administration. Among Dr. Fagin's many awards have been two fellowships from the National Institute for Mental Health, a Special Distinguished Alumnus A ward at the 50th Anniversary of Nursing at New York University, and an Honorary Doctorate of Science degree from Lycoming College in Pennsylvania. She has served on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the American Orthopsychiatric Association, on the Expert Advisory Panel on Nursing World Health Organization, and on the National Institute of Mental Health's SCOPCE Research Panel. She is a member of the American Academy of Nursing and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Science. Her professional and public service activities have also included service on editorial and advisory boards and on the special task force on the Mental Health of Children and the New York State Governor's Committee on Children.
Her Work: Dr. Fagin's major area of research has been the affects of maternal attendance during children's hospitalization, and many improvements in practice have been based on her work. Continuing to investigate this area, she is currently doing research on the cost effectiveness of nursing intervention and nurse-consumer collaboration.
Her Lecture: April 27, 1985: "Consumerism and Health: Whose Body Is It, Anyway?"
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The Critical Points of Phase Transformations
Benjamin Widom
(This information was taken from the Distinguished Scientist Lecture Series Program 1984-1985).
Dr. Widom is professor of chemistry at Cornell University. Born in Newark, New Jersey, he received the B.A. degree from Columbia University and the Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1953. Prior to his appointment at Cornell, Dr. Widom taught and did research in chemistry at the University of Carolina from 1952 to 1963. He has held several fellowships, including Guggenheim and Fulbright Fellowships at the University of Amsterdam, and he was appointed a National Science Foundation Senior Fellow in 1965. Other awards include the Boris Pregel A ward for Research of the New York Academy of Sciences and the American Chemical Society's Award in Chemical Physics. He has been the van der Waals Professor at the University of Amsterdam; the IBM Visiting Professor at Oxford University; a visiting professor of chemistry at Harvard; the Firth Visiting Professor at the University of Sheffield; and in the coming year, the Lorentz Professor at the University of Leiden. He has served as distinguished visiting lecturer at Brown University, the University of North Carolina, and the Royal Society of Chemistry. Dr. Widom has served on a number of editorial and advisory boards for such professional journals as the Journal of Chemical Physics and Molecular Physics. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Physical Society, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He recently served as chairman of the Subdivision of Theoretical Chemistry for the American Chemical Society.
His Work: The focus of Dr. Widom's research has been on phase transitions and statistical mechanics.
His Lecture: March 23, 1985: "The Critical Points of Phase Transformations"
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Distinguished Scientist Lecture Series Program 1984-1985
Bard College
Distinguished Scientist Lecture Series Program 1984-1985, published by the Bard Center
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Lasers in Science and Technology
Nicolaas Bloembergen
(This information was taken from the Distinguished Scientist Lecture Series Program 1984-1985).
Dr. Bloembergen, a Nobel laureate, is the Gerhard Gade University Professor at Harvard University. Born in Dordrecht, The Netherlands, he received his Ph.D. from the University of Leiden in 1948. He has taught at Harvard University since 1951. In 1981, Dr. Bloembergen was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics jointly with A. L. Schawlow, for their work in the development of laser spectroscopy. For his fundamental contributions, he has been honored by the National Medal of Science, the Lorentz Medal of the Royal Dutch Academy of Science, and the Medal of Honor of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, in addition to many other awards and fellowships. He has directed the E. Fermi Course on onlinear Spectroscopy; and served as an editor for the Journal of Quantum Mechanics, the Journal of Applied Physics, and other professional journals. He has held visiting professorships at such institutions as the College de France and the University of California at Berkeley. In addition to almost three hundred papers on electronics and optics, he is the author of two books, Nuclear Magnetic Relaxation and Nonlinear Optics.
His Work Dr. Bloembergen's research has included nuclear and electronic magnetic resonance, solid state masers and lasers, and especially nonlinear optics and spectroscopy. Together with his co-workers, he developed a rigorous theory of nonlinear polarizability, the extension of Maxwell's equations to include nonlinear source terms and the interaction of multiple waves in the bulk and at the boundaries of nonlinear media. This latter work led to the extension of the laws of reflection and refraction.
His Lecture: December 1, 1984: "Lasers in Science and Technology"
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Biology of Hepatitus B Virus
Baruch S. Blumberg
(This information was taken from the Distinguished Scientist Lecture Series Program 1984-1985).
Dr. Blumberg, a Nobel laureate, is Eastman Visiting Professor at Balliol College, Oxford University, and Associate Director for Clinical Research and Senior Member of The Institute for Cancer Research in Philadelphia. Born in New York City, Dr. Blumberg earned the M.D. degree at Columbia University in 1951 and the Ph.D. degree at Oxford University in 1957. Dr. Blumberg was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology in 1976 for his discovery concerning new mechanisms for the origin and dissemination of infectious diseases. Dr. Blumberg has been University Professor of Medicine and Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania since 1977. He is staff member at Jeanes Hospital and American Oncologic Hospital in Philadelphia, and is attending physician at Veterans Administration Hospital, Pennsylvania Hospital, and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He has been a visiting fellow at Trinity College, Oxford, a fellow of the Arthritis and Rheumatism Foundation, and a fellow of the Department of Medicine, College of Physicians and Surgeons. He was chief of the Geographic Medicine and Genetics Section, and attending physician at the Clinical Center of the National Institutes of Health from 1957 to 1964. In addition to the Nobel Prize, Dr. Blumberg has received many awards including the Pennsylvania Medical Society Distinguished Service Award in 1982, the Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Foundation A ward of the American College of Physicians in 1977, the Gairdner Foundation International Annual Award and the Modern Medicine Distinguished Achievement Award in 1975. He has received a number of honorary degrees and holds membership in numerous professional organizations and medical societies.
His Work Dr. Blumberg was awarded the Nobel Prize for his discovery of the Australia antigen, an antigenic substance in the blood. His discovery of the Australia antigen ultimately became a major breakthrough in hepatitis research. Dr. Blumberg's work leading to this discovery began as a consequence of his interest in inherited polymorphisms of blood.
His Lecture: October 13, 1984: "Biology of Hepatitis B Virus"
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Molecular Recognition in Proteins
Harold A. Scheraga
(This information was taken from the Distinguished Scientist Lecture Series Program 1984-1985).
Dr. Scheraga is Todd Professor of Chemistry at Cornell University, where he has taught since 1947. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Dr. Scheraga earned his Ph.D. in 1946 from Duke University. After completing his studies, Dr. Scheraga was a postdoctoral fellow of the American Chemical Society at Harvard Medical School. Subsequent research fellowships included a Guggenheim Fellowship to work at the Carlsberg Laboratory in Denmark and a Fulbright Research Scholarship for work at Weizmann Institute in Israel. He has received many awards, including the American Chemical Society's Eli Lilly Award in Biochemistry, the Fogarty Fellowship from the National Institutes of Health, and an honorary Sc. D. from Duke University. Dr. Scheraga serves on a number of editorial and advisory boards for professional journals in biochemistry and physics, as well as acting as coeditor for the ongoing Molecular Biology Series from Academic Press. He is the author of the books Protein Structure, Theory of Helix Coil Transitions in Biopolymers, and over six hundred articles. A member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, as well as several professional organizations, Dr. Scheraga has lectured in many countries and served as visiting professor at the Weizmann Institute and at Kyoto University in Japan.
His Work: Dr. Scheraga's research has focused on the physical chemistry of proteins and other macromolecules; on the chemistry of blood clotting; and on the structure of water and dilute aqueous solutions.
His Lecture: November 3, 1984: "Molecular Recognition in Proteins"
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