USU Newsletter 

VOLUME 2,ISSUE 6 WWW.USUHS.MIL 

Frank H. Netter Exhibition...............Page 5 

MARCH 26, 2007 

In This Issue 

Town Hall Meeting....................2 

Wu/Leonard Award winners....3 

Student Profile..........................3 

Women’s History Month..........4 

Netter Exhibit............................5 

Letter to the Editor...................6 

USU News Briefs...................7 

Calendar of Events...........Back

Photo by HM2 Michael Oliver 
USU Newsletter 

Editorial Staff 

Carol R. Scheman 

Vice President for 

External Affairs and 

Managing Editor 

Tech. Sgt. 

André Nicholson 

Editor 

Mass Communications 

Specialist 

Seaman 

Raul Zamora 

Staff Writer 

 

Mass Communications 

Specialist 

Seaman 

Jeffrey Hopkins 

Staff Writer 

Marla Wright 

Webmaster 

Publishing 

USU Duplicating Office

Production: 

Editorial content is 

edited, prepared and 

provided by the USU 

Office of External Affairs unless otherwise 

indicated. The Newsletter staff may include 

or exclude articles 

based upon news 

value, impact on the 

university and space 

availability. 

Submissions: 

The USU Newsletter 

will be published biweekly on Mondays 

and deadline for submission is Friday at 4 

p.m. Submissions can 

be sent to usunewsletter@usuhs.mil or call 

301-295-3925. 

PAGE 2 

 The issues discussed at the All Hands Town Hall meeting March 21 ranged from BRAC/Integration to construction to faculty salaries. 

 The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences’ (USU) President Dr. Charles Rice, along with COL 

Thomas Fitzpatrick, director, Office of Integration and LTC 

Timothy Rapp, USU’s chief information officer, were the 

featured speakers for the meeting. 

 Dr. Rice began by asking everyone to stand for a moment of silence in memory of Air Force 2nd LT. Catherine 

Baxter, who died March 7 after her battle with cancer. 

Baxter was a member of USU’s School of Medicine Class of 

2007. The funeral for LT. Baxter is April 5 at Arlington 

National Cemetery on April 5th at 9 a.m. People are asked 

to arrive 30 minutes prior. Uniform for service members is: 

Air Force - Service Dress; Navy/Public Health Service - Service Dress Blues; and Army - Class A. 

 President Rice noted that over the last month Walter 

Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) has been prominently addressed in the news, with the media’s attention 

focusing on shortfalls in outpatient facilities. These issues, 

are not about medical care, but the process in place to 

manage the wounded and return them to duty or medically retire them is not functioning as it should. 

 Three separate oversight and review groups have been 

established as a result of the concerns about WRAMC and 

have brought the BRAC closure of the facility into question. However, as things stand right now the closure of 

WRAMC is still underway, and in fact may be accelerated. 

Unless Congress establishes new legislation to change it, 

the process will continue, Dr. Rice explained. 

 As for the integration of services between the university 

and the National Naval Medical Center (NNMC) thus far, 

Dr. Rice said the Department of Orthopedics has made a 

successful integration and four other departments are 

currently working toward or considering the integration 

of their services: Pediatrics, Clinical Investigations, Dermatology, and Pathology. 

 “I’m very pleased with the progress we’ve made in the 

integration of services so far,” Dr. Rice said, “and as one of 

the flag officers (for the BRAC/Integration Oversight 

Team) I can tell you that we are all firmly committed in 

pressing ahead. As General (Kenneth) Farmer once said, 

‘It’s the right thing to do, but only if we do it right.’” 

 Updates on the construction progress were another 

topic Dr. Rice addressed. When walking around the university it is evident that the campus is in the midst of several projects: brick work on all four buildings, construction 

of Building E, laboratory renovations, bathroom renovations, and the parking garage to name a few. 

 As for each building: Building A, all brick work is complete; Building B is only about five percent done; Building 

C is 50 percent complete; and Building D is near completion. Once the bricks have been replaced, the buildings 

are caulked and washed. All the buildings are estimated to 

be complete by the middle of October. 

 University members can breathe a small sigh of relief as 

the repairs in the parking garage come to a halt for the 

next few months. The current repairs are estimated to be 

done by the end of this month, and no work will take 

place again until June. At that time, repairs to the ramps 

will begin and is projected to take any where from six to 

eight weeks. 

 “I think it’s better to be systematic and do the construction in a controlled manner and repair things as we can, 

rather than in an emergency situation,” Dr. Rice said. 

 While buildings are being constructed there has been 

also talk of expanding the class sizes within the School of 

Medicine (SOM) and the Graduate School of Nursing 

(GSN). The GSN has steadily increased its class size over 

the last few years and the Center for Naval Analysis is 

looking into the feasibility of increasing the SOM’s class 

size which currently stands at 165-180 students per class. 

 However, Dr. Rice stressed that there were two important factors that must be kept in consideration when expanding the classes. “We don’t want to dilute the quality 

of students that are enrolled here and secondly there are 

limited sites for clinical hours within the local area and 

almost throughout the country that we can send the students.” 

 Both the SOM and the GSN are also exploring other 

health care related programs to incorporate into the university, such as a post doctoral dentistry program and an 

advanced practice nursing program within psychiatry. 

 Something that is important to most people is the issue 

of money and faculty salaries were one of the topics also 

suggested for discussion. 

 Dr. Rice explained that current legislation makes faculty 

salaries comparable with the other health institutions 

within the area. However, the belief and argument is that 

is not necessarily the case, and that’s the issue President 

Rice is addressing on behalf of the university. 

 Other topics that the president spoke about were the 

three search committees. There are committees established for a GSN Dean, chaired by Dr. Eleanor Metcalf, 

assistant dean Graduate Education Office; a Senior Vice 

President committee, chaired by Dr. Larry Laughlin, dean 

SOM; and a Brigade Commander committee, chaired by 

William Bester, acting dean, GSN. 

 Many of the topics the president spoke about were 

concerns sent to him through his Open Door Program, 

which he encouraged people to use if they have issues or 

positive comments about things at the university. The 

Open Door Program can be found online at: http://

www.usuhs.mil/dre/landing.html. 

 After the president touched on those topics he allowed 

LTC Rapp an opportunity to provide a follow-up briefing 

on the recent Defense Information Security Agency Operations inspection. 

 Rapp provided an overview of the inspection findings 

back in January, and now states that all of the Category I 

findings that required immediate attention had been completed except one and that was due to a hardware issue. 

There were still a few Category II findings, but they were 

making significant progress and DISA is aware and understands that, he explained. 

 Some IT initiatives that are underway include: expansion of the USU .edu presence, which Rapp estimates will 

be available by late spring early summer; establishment of 

a network “DMZ” (demilitarized zone) and protected device enclaves; and expanded e-mail services such as Outlook. 

 Lastly, Dr. Rice mentioned some of the university’s upcoming events such as the David Packard Lecture, March 

28, when Noble Laureate Sydney Brenner will speak; Research Week, May 14-16, with Plenary Speaker Anthony 

Fauci, M.D.; and the current artwork display of medical 

illustrations by Dr. Frank Netter, in the foyer of Building B. 

 More information for the next town hall meeting will 

be distributed at a later date. 

 Directions to the funeral site for 2LT Catherine Baxter 

can be obtained at: http://www.arlingtoncemetery.org/

directions.html.

President Addresses Key Issues at Latest Town Hall 

By Tech. Sgt. Andre Nicholson 

NCOIC, Office of External Affairs 
PAGE 3 

 This year’s winners of the Henry Wu Award 

for Excellence in Basic Research and the 

James Leonard Award for Excellence in Clinical Research are Dr. Chou-Zen Giam, professor and vice chair of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology and Dr. Shiv 

Srivistava, professor of surgery, and scientific 

director of the Center for Prostate Disease 

Research. 

 The Wu and Leonard awards are presented annually to members of the faculty 

nominated and selected by their peers, who 

have published a paper within the previous 

three years that has made a unique and fundamental contribution to moving their field 

forward. The awardees each receive a prize 

of $2,000, and deliver the plenary lectures 

around which the symposia of the University’s 

annual Research Week are organized. 

 Dr. Giam will receive the Henry Wu Award 

for his paper entitled “Activation of the Anaphase Promoting Complex by HTLV-1 Tax 

Leads to Senescence,” published in the EMBO 

Journal in April, 2006. Dr. Giam received his 

Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut, and 

after a postdoctoral fellowship with Dr. 

George Khoury at the National Cancer Institute and faculty positions at the University of 

Nebraska and Case Western Reserve University, was recruited to USU in 1996. 

 One focus of his laboratory has been the 

study of the human retrovirus HTLV-1, the 

virus which causes adult T cell leukemia in 

some infected individuals, and is endemic in 

parts of the Caribbean and southern Japan. 

In a series of elegantly designed and executed 

experiments described in his award-winning 

paper Dr. Giam showed how Tax, a protein 

produced by this cancer-causing virus interacts with proteins that regulate normal progression through the cell cycle to prematurely 

activate the pathway used by cells to dispose 

of the machinery that segregates the cell’s 

genetic material during cell division. This 

results in the paradoxical irreversible arrest of 

cells expressing Tax at an early stage of the 

cell cycle, providing an important new insight 

into the critical steps involved in the development of adult T cell leukemia. More generally, 

these results identify a new and novel potential target for cancer therapy. 

 Dr. Srivistava will receive the James Leonard Award for his paper entitled “Frequent 

Overexpression of ETS-related gene-1 (ERG1) 

in Prostate Cancer Transcriptome” published 

in Oncogene in May, 2005. He received his 

Ph.D. from the Indian Institute if Technology 

in 1980, and after postdoctoral fellowships at 

the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 

and the National Cancer Institute, he was 

recruited to USU in 1988 from the Lombardi 

Cancer Center at Georgetown University. 

 In the paper for which he is being recognized, Dr. Srivistava and his colleagues used 

laser microdissection and microarray analysis 

to show that the gene most frequently overexpressed in prostate cancer cells is ERG1, 

which encodes a member of a family of genes 

that regulate how cells respond to external 

signals. In addition, they showed that the 

extent of overexpression was directly related 

to the overall prognosis for successful treatment. Identification of this previously unrecognized gene as a major factor in the development of prostate cancer provides important 

new information about the origins of this 

disease. 

 The Henry Wu Basic Science Award is 

named for Dr. Henry Wu, professor of the 

Department of Microbiology and the second 

chair of the department. Dr. Wu came to 

USU from the University of Connecticut in 

1980, shortly after the USU opened. He 

brought with him an internationally recognized research program in bacterial lipoprotein biosynthesis, and an unquenchable enthusiasm for science that was a major factor in 

the recruitment of many other faculty to the 

university. He provided advice and encouragement to all of his colleagues, and was an 

unwavering supporter of doctoral programs 

in the basic sciences. 

 Indeed, Dr. Giam, this year’s awardee was 

one of the many graduate students that Dr. 

Wu trained and of whom he was justifiably 

proud. Past winners of the Wu Award include 

Drs. Ignacio Provencio, Michael Daly, Anthony 

Maurelli, and Teresa Dunn. 

 The Leonard Award for Clinical Research is 

named for the founding chair of the Department of Medicine, Dr. James Leonard. Dr. 

Leonard came to USU in 1976 from the University of Pittsburgh, and brought instant 

credibility to the school. 

 An internationally respected cardiologist, 

he is perhaps best known for his classic research on the physiological basis of heart 

sounds. Not only was he a leader in cardiac 

research, but he was instrumental in establishing undergraduate clinical education at USU 

and graduate medical education programs at 

our affiliated hospitals. His broad view of 

medicine and his open door made him a favorite of students and colleagues alike. Past 

winners of the Leonard Award include Drs. 

Andre DuBois, George Tsokos, Mark Haigney 

and Carol Fullerton. 

 This year the symposia organized around 

the Wu and Leonard Awards will be held on 

May 15 and 16. It is noteworthy that the research for which each awardee is being honored addresses both fundamental questions 

in human biology and problems relevant to 

clinical medicine. Their keynote lectures are 

certain to be informative and stimulating for 

the entire faculty, fellows and students who 

2007 Wu and Leonard Awards Announced 

 Many students of the Uniformed Services University of the Health 

Sciences’ (USU) School of Medicine (SOM) have some military heritage, and Ensign James C. Decker, USPHS, is no exception. 

 Decker was born in San Antonio, Texas, and as the son of a career 

Airman, Decker and his family moved around quite a bit. 

 “We moved to Michigan, Maryland, and Minnesota,” Decker said, 

“and then we skipped the rest of the M’s and moved to England.” 

 Upon graduating high school, Decker returned stateside to attend 

Campbell University in Buies Creek, N.C., for his pre-med degree. 

 Decker said his interest in medicine stemmed from his upbringing, 

as both his parents worked in the medical field. Decker’s father began 

his Air Force career as a nurse, and later became a nurse anesthetist. 

His mother started her nursing career in the Air Force, but continued 

as a civilian nurse for the flexibility necessary to raise their three children. 

 Despite his Air Force heritage, Decker is 

being sponsored as an ensign in the U.S. Public 

Health Service by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a part of 

the National Institutes of Health. 

 “Advances in this field can have a huge 

impact on both national and global healthcare,” Decker said. “Infectious diseases are a 

serious daily concern, especially in a world 

where the risk of rapid transmission of infections worldwide is becoming greater every 

day. Disease knows no borders.” 

 Decker says the educational emphasis provided by the SOM in the area of infectious 

disease is above that of most other U.S. medical schools, and it’s part of the reason he 

chose USU. 

 Decker said he enjoys the support the students at USU give each 

other in their studies, and he’s particularly impressed with the passdown CD, a CD of notes, educational data and experience; it’s created 

each year by SOM students and handed down to the incoming class. 

Student Profiles: Ensign James Decker 

School of Medicine 

By MCSN Jeff Hopkins 

Staff Writer, Office of External Affairs

Ensign James Decker 

USPHS, MS1 
PAGE 4 

 Staff, faculty, and students at the Uniformed Services University of the Health 

Sciences (USU) attended a celebration of 

National Women’s History Month, March 21. 

 The presentation included an invocation 

by Chaplain (LCDR) Paschall Dawson III, 

USN, and a speech given by Army Col. 

Patricia Lillis-Hearne, director of the Armed 

Forces Radiobiology Research Institute. 

 Lillis-Hearne spoke about the challenges 

and difficulties women have faced in their 

struggle for equality, as well as the hardships and rarity of women attending medical school during her period of medical education. 

 “I was accepted to medical school in a 

class of 254, in which I was one of only 19 

women,” Lillis-Hearne said. “Three years 

prior to my class, there were only 13 

women, and three years prior to that, there 

were three; prior to that was a long period 

of no women at all.” 

 Lillis-Hearne attended an all-girl’s parochial school between fifth and ninth grade, 

and said, contrary to the stereotypes, she 

saw the nuns who taught at the school as 

dedicated, intelligent, and tremendously 

competent women, and there were many 

women who were strong in leadership 

roles. 

 “We had the occasional stereotypical 

‘nun-zilla,’ but somehow we were able to 

look at these people as fragile human beings. As a student, your job was simply to 

avoid them,” she added jokingly. 

 She said in high school, her two most 

influential teachers were women who 

taught her math and science, and as they 

learned of Lillis-Hearne’s plans to attend 

medical school, they encouraged her, going 

so far as to give her extra work to “toughen 

her up.” Lillis-Hearne’s chemistry teacher 

had applied to medical school in 1945, and 

was accepted, and then later denied, due to 

the slots going to men who were returning 

from the war. 

 “I was stunned, actually incredulous, and 

I looked at her and really felt her personal 

pain. But today looking back, what is still 

surprising to me is my reaction then,” LillisHearne said. “I had no sense of outrage or 

thoughts that she should have found a 

good lawyer, because what had happened 

was just accepted as one of the things that 

could happen if you were a woman.” 

 In her first and second years at medical 

school, Lillis-Hearne said she was alarmed 

that there were occasional grumblings that 

women didn’t belong in the class, and that 

something should be done about it. 

 “As a group, we all got together and let 

the administration know that our average 

MCAT scores were several points higher 

than the men’s class-average, and that none 

of our GPAs were less than a 3.6, also considerably higher than average for the men 

in the class,” she said. 

 Lillis-Hearne also spoke of the difficulties 

she encountered as a woman in her internship. 

 “We had no on-call rooms; we slept in the 

rooms with the guys until some men complained, mostly because their wives were 

upset,” she said. “We had no separate bathrooms, so my entire residency, none of the 

women ever showered on a post-call night. 

More aggravating than that, as an army 

officer, we were required to take and pass 

the Physical Training test, and when we 

found out 

that the men 

all had locker 

rooms and 

showers, we 

asked for the 

same. We 

were told, 

and some 

things never 

change, that 

there was 

just no available space.” 

 The limitations and 

restrictions 

plaguing 

women’s 

careers in 

medicine 

didn’t end there; Lillis-Hearne said female 

military doctors were discouraged from specialties outside of pediatrics, psychiatry, pathology, and in some cases, internal medicine, adding that no women were accepted 

into the surgical programs. 

 “There was an unwritten axiom that no 

woman would ever be a commander; for 

one thing, a prerequisite for that job was to 

be a division surgeon, and division surgeons 

were in spots in combat units, which were 

not open to women,” Lillis-Hearne said, “but 

eventually that also changed, as you can see 

from my biography.” 

 Lillis-Hearne ended her speech with a 

small piece of advice for men. 

 “Take a quiet moment, take a deep 

breath, and get in touch with your feminine 

side. You will all be better for it, just ask your 

partner,” she said. 

AFRRI Director speaks at USU’s National Women’s History Month celebration 

By MCSN Jeff Hopkins 

Staff Writer, Office of External Affairs 

Photo by Tech. Sgt. James Steele 

COL Patricia Lillis-Hearne, 

USA, director, of AFRRI 

 The Uniformed Services University of the Health Science (USU) recently had a group of prospective students their relartives visit for a tour. It began with CAPT 

(Dr.) Cynthia Macri, Navy, vice president for USU Recruitment and Diversity, giving a briefing about what to 

expect on the tour. Her presentation was followed by 

Dennis Stutz, director of the Multidiscipline Laboratory, 

who showed them the Anatomical Teaching Lab and 

explained about the different school programs. After 

Mr. Stutz showed them the ATL, the visitors had lunch 

with some of the first year medical students and were 

able to ask questions and find out what student life 

was all about. After lunch they went to the Patient 

Simulation Lab where Richard Kyle talked to them 

about the lab and the different scenarios that are conducted. 

Photo by MCSN Raul Zamora 

Prospective students and their relatives visit USU 
PAGE 5 

 The nationally recognized artwork of Dr. Frank Netter titled 

“Medical Masterpieces – Art of a Surgeon,” is currently on exhibition 

in the Building B lobby at the Uniformed Services University of the 

Health Sciences (USU) and will be displayed until April 27. 

 Dr. Netter was a U.S. Army officer during World War II, and was in 

charge of graphic training aids. He designed sketches for first aid 

and survival manuals, as well as a large volume for training X-ray 

technicians. The Army was able to use the pictures to teach combat 

first aid, and soldiers on the battlefield were able to recall what they 

had seen in the pictures to provide treatment. 

 The exhibit showcases thirty paintings and several sketches of Dr. 

Netter’s original artwork. The paintings being displayed show various aspects of anatomy, embryology, pathophysiology, illness, diagnosis, surgery, and patient care. 

 Francis Netter Robinson, one of Netter’s children, spoke about 

her dad’s life, his work, and some of the things he did with the Army 

during World War II, during a presentation at the university, March 

19. 

 Robinson said Netter attended the National Academy of Design 

on a scholarship, until pressure from his mother directed him towards a more formal education. 

 “His mother said, art is a very nice thing, but that’s no way for a 

young man to earn a living,” Robinson said, adding that his mother 

suggested he become a doctor, lawyer, or an engineer. “He made a 

deal with her, if she would let him continue to study art, he would 

go to college.” 

 After Netter’s first year of college, his mother succumbed to an 

infection after a hysterectomy and died, cementing Netter’s plan to 

become a doctor. 

 Robinson said Netter’s talent for medical illustrations came to light 

in his anatomy classes, when his instructor looked over his shoulder 

and noticed the drawings he created. 

 “He found he committed things to memory best if he drew pictures of them,” Robinson said. “It wasn’t long before professors 

looked over his shoulder and saw the pictures, and they asked him 

to make pictures for them to use in their lessons.” 

 Robinson related an anecdote about her father’s troubles with 

persistent pharmaceutical companies attempting to commission him 

to create illustrations for their products. 

 “During the great depression, pharmaceutical companies paid 

him to create pictures for their products, and although the pay was 

decent, he felt these projects distracted him from his medical work, 

and decided that to discourage the companies from attempting to 

commission him, he would quote a ridiculous price to the next one 

who tried,” Robinson said. “He told one of the companies he would 

charge $300 a picture, and they wanted five pictures. So he said, 

‘that’ll be $1,500.’ The manager said ‘Gee that’s a lot of money,’ but 

he was back the next day, and he said ‘I talked to my manager, and 

we’re willing to pay you $1,500 per picture.’” 

 Following his medical career, Netter took a position with the CIBA 

Pharmaceutical Company, creating a series of 13 books called the 

CIBA Collection of Medical Illustrations, as well as his Atlas of the 

Human Anatomy. In all, Dr. Netter produced nearly 4,000 illustrations, which have been included in countless publications. 

Photo by HM2 Michael Oliver 

Dr. Emmanuel Cassimatis, (left) associate dean, Clinical Affairs and 

vice president for Affiliations and International Affairs; and Norman Qualtrough, deputy vice president for Finance and Administration, view the artwork on display at the Frank Netter Exhibit, 

which will be available for viewing in the foyer of Building B until 

April 27. 

The Frank Netter Exhibit: A 

Legacy of Art in Medicine 

By MCSN Jeff Hopkins 

Staff Writer, Office of External Affairs 

The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences 

hosted a reception for alumni, 

faculty, residents and fellows 

in conjuction with the USU 

pediatrics seminar on March 

20. The event is held annualy 

to provide an aportunity for 

updates on pediatric’s issues 

and USU. 

USU 

Hosts annual 

Pediatrics 

Seminar 
PAGE 6 

 Hello, it’s me Gracie again, welcoming 

faculty, students and staff into another glorious spring at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU). 

 Upon returning to the university, I heard 

some great news; yours truly, Gracie the 

Grey Goose will become the school’s official 

bird! 

 And who better to represent such a prestigious university than the grey goose, the 

greatest bird of all? Ben Franklin spoke of the turkey as a noble 

bird, calling it a bird of courage, which would not hesitate to attack a grenadier of the British Guards who should presume to 

invade his farm yard with a red coat on. 

 But, it is I who protects the university against all enemies foreign and domestic. I ask you, 

who has not recoiled in fear at 

the fearful display of my feathers? At the ferocity I exhibit in 

the protection of my young? 

Who is brave enough to confront the perils of the landmines I leave all over the campus? I don’t know what else to 

say besides “I accept.” 

Sincerely, 

Gracie, the Grey Goose 

Letter 

to the 

editor 

Photo illustration by MCSN Raul Zamora 

Look Who’s Talking: What do you think of the Grey Goose becoming the university’s official bird? 

“Sure, go for 

it. I don’t 

care...” 

“I don’t really 

think a goose 

is manly 

enough for this 

university; I almost run them 

over with my 

car every day. 

Maybe a hawk 

or someMegan Fitzgerald thing...” Program Assistant 

MDL 

Megan Ralls 

IACUC Assistant

LAM

“Sure, whatever makes 

people 

happy...” 

FC2 Adam Race 

Help Desk Technician 

UIS

Texas tea, anyone? USU construction effort strikes oil 

Photo Illustration by MCSN Raul Zamora 

 Contractors working on the Building E site 

at the Uniformed Services University of the 

Health Sciences (USU) got quite a surprise 

when one of the earth-movers struck oil. 

 Current plans for spending the more than 

$2 billion already accrued in excess oil revenue will be discussed at the next town hall 

meeting, but many students, staff, and faculty 

already have suggestions, 

 “I think they should give every USU employee a cut and use the rest to build a bigger 

and better university,” said Sgt. Lowest Rank, 

a laboratory technician in the Fay Clab division. However, once I get my fair share you’ll 

probably hear these two little words: I quit.” 

All information on this page is part of our April 

Fools Campaign....don’t take us seriously! 
PAGE 7 

USU News Briefs 

ATTN All Personnel: 

 Lt Col David J. Roll, USAF, CFN, regretfully announces the 

death of 2Lt Catherine M. Baxter, USAF, USUHS class of 2007. Anyone having claims against or indebtedness to the estate of 2Lt 

Catherine M. Baxter should contact Lt Col David J. Roll, Summary 

Court Officer, at 240-857-7774. 

Nobel Laureate Dr. Sydney Brenner to Address USU Faculty at 

Annual Packard Lecture: 

 The 2002 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine recipient, Dr. 

Sydney Brenner will present “The David Packard Lecture” at the 

Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU), March 

28, 2007. 

 Dr. Brenner is the Senior Distinguished Fellow of the CrickJacobs Center at the Jonas Salk Institute in La Jolla, Calif. Dr. Brenner is one of the 20th century’s leading pioneers in genetics and 

molecular biology. Among his many notable discoveries, Dr. Brenner established the existence of messenger RNA and demonstrated how the order of amino acids in proteins is determined.

Surgical Associates’ Day: 

 The 27th USU Surgical Associates' Day held March 19, was 

dedicated to 25% of the third year class, Class of 2008, currently 

on the Surgical Rotation combined with a special meeting with 

the leadership of the American Association for the Surgery for 

Trauma (AAST) organized by Surgery Chairman COL David G. 

Burris, M.D., U.S. Army, with the support of President Charles L. 

Rice, AAST President David Feliciano from Emory University in 

Atlanta and Immediate Past President of AAST C. William Schwab 

from Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania, among others. There was a celebration of the six-week opening of the Netter 

Exhibit in the foyer of Building B, which was organized with the 

support of the Surgical Interest Group led by ENS Joshua Gustafson and 2nd Lt Ryan Roberts. The USU Surgical Associates presented the Larrey Award to RDML Adam Robinson, commander 

of NNMC, the DeBakey Award to Ari Leppaniemi of Finland and 

the Goldwater Award to Reserve Navy CAPT Richard Mullins from 

Portland and the University of Oregon, among others. 

 The AAST component emphasized Civilian-Military collaboration and reports will be made available. 

Commencement : 

 The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) 

announces the 28th Annual Commencement Exercise for the 

class of 2007 will be held May 19 at 11a.m. The exercise will be 

held at the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution Constitution Hall. Admission to commencement is by ticket 

only. To reserve staff and faculty audience tickets contact Carrie 

Hibler at chibler@usuhs.mil or in room B1009 External Affairs Annex no later than April 30. 

LRC Workshop: 

 The James A. Zimble Learning Resource Center hosted a oneday workshop for librarians on preparing for and writing grants 

for digitization and/or preservation projects, March 19. Participants were encouraged to bring their own projects for which 

funding was being sought. Participants came from as far away as 

Duke University and as close as the National Institutes of Health. 

The assembled group gave Mr. Tom Clareson, the instructor, high 

marks on his presentation and knowledge of library funding. 

Blood Drive:

 The Student Spouses Club is hosting a blood drive April 4 from 

9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the lobby of Building B outside the cafeteria. 

USU in the News 

One Small Step for Deinococcus, or One Giant Leap for Radiation 

Biology? 

 Results of a recent study titled “Protein Oxidation Implicated as 

the Primary Determinant of Bacterial Radioresistance,” was published in the March 20 edition of PLoS Biology. The study headed 

by Michael J. Daly, Ph.D., associate professor at the Uniformed 

Services University of the Health Sciences (USU), Department of 

Pathology, shows that the ability of the bacterium Deinococcus 

radiodurans to endure and survive enormous levels of ionizing 

radiation (X-rays and gamma-rays) relies on a powerful mechanism that protects proteins from oxidative damage during irradiation. 

 This former 

Deputy Secretary 

of Defense (1969 

to1971), cofounder of the 

Hewlett-Packard 

Company, and 

self-made multibillionaire served 

as University 

president from 

1976 to 1981. 

He was also 

chairman of the 

Board of Regents from 1973 to 1982. 

 Packard was born in Pueblo, Colorado on 

September 7, 1912, to a father and a mother 

who were, respectively, an attorney and a 

high school teacher. 

 In high school he was popular. He was 

elected president of his class all four years. 

His 6'5" frame lent itself to athletics. He participated in track, winning the high jump, 

long jump, low and high hurdles, and discus, 

setting a new record in the all-state meet. He 

also played football and basketball, being 

selected all-state in the latter. His professional 

basketball playing days would come after 

four years of college. 

 Packard enrolled at Stanford University in 

1930 where he did well academically. He 

was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and perhaps 

most notably, selected by the now-legendary 

educator Fred Terman to take a graduate 

course in radio engineering. Packard was the 

first undergraduate to be invited to take this 

graduate offering. 

 David Packard finished school at Stanford, 

the first time, in the spring of 1934, with a 

Bachelors degree. He then took some fall 

quarter courses at the University of Colorado 

at Boulder before reporting for work. This 

employment began in February 1935 at the 

General Electric Company (GE) in 

Schenectady, NY. It was here that he became 

convinced that his "management by walking 

around style" was a sound management 

concept. David Packard left GE in August of 

1938, returning to Stanford to acquire a second degree in electrical engineering. 

 He and his wife, Lucille Packard, nee 

Salter, rented a house at 367 Addison Avenue in Palo Alto. It was in the garage at the 

back of this house that Packard and William 

R. Hewlett, with capital of $538, began parttime work in 1938. In January of the next 

year (1939), a partnership between Packard 

and Hewlett was formed. A coin toss decided the name of the company.In 1989 the 

garage was designated by the state of California as the birthplace of Silicon Valley. 

 David Packard died at the age of 83. 

USU History 

David Packard 

USU President 1976-1981 
USU Calendar of Events 

25 26 27 

Faculty Grand RoundsWhat RIME's with 

COPD: Developing 

Learning Objectives 

and Preliminary Lesson 

Plans 

1:00p.m.-2:30p.m. 

USU 

Nuclear, Radiation, and 

High Yield Explosives 

USU 

28 

David Packard Lecture 

Nobel Laureate Dr. 

Sydney Brenner 

Plenary Speaker 

Alpha Omega Alpha 

Informal Event 

6:00p.m.-9:30p.m. 

Cafeteria 

Neuroscience Seminar: ER Stress Modulates the Response of 

Oligodendrocytes to 

Inflammation 

3:30p.m. 

Lecture Room A 

29 30 

“Control of Tumor Cell 

Motility by a RasRegulated Adhesion 

Protein Complex” 

noon 

Room A2053 

31 

1 2 

A human study of the 

vivo expression technology (IVET) to detect 

Vibrio Cholera genes 

expressed during infection 

11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. 

Lecture Room A

3 

PubMed Basics 

noon-1 p.m. 

LRC 

Nuclear, Radiation, and 

High Yield Explosives 

USU 

4 

EndNote Basics 

noon-1 p.m. 

LRC 

USU Toastmasters 

Meeting 

noon-1p.m. 

Room A2011 

5 6 7 

8 9 

Vaccines and therapies 

against botulism 

11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. 

Lecture Room C

10 

Neuroscience Doctoral 

Dissertation Defense 

Seminar: Repair of 

Neocortex in a Model of 

Cortical Dysplasia 

1p.m. 

Lecture Room B 

Nuclear, Radiation, and 

High Yield Explosives 

USU 

11 

USU Toastmasters 

Meeting 

noon-1p.m.

AFRRI Small Conference Room 

12 13 14 

15 16 

The host response to 

chlamydiae Quo Vadis? 

11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. 

Lecture Room C

F. Edward Hébert School 

of Medicine, Commandant's Office-Officer 

Professional Development 

3p.m.-4p.m. 

Sanford Auditorium

17 

Introduction to PowerPoint 

noon-1p.m. 

LRC 

Nuclear, Radiation, and 

High Yield Explosives 

USU

18 

USU Center for Health 

Disparities Research 

and Education Information Table on 

Public Health will be 

available outside of 

the cafeteria across 

from the elevators 

Bldg B) 

11:30a.m.-1:30p.m. 

Bldg. B Lobby 

USU Toastmasters 

Meeting 

noon-1p.m. 

Room A2011 

19 

Alternatives in Animal 

Research 

2p.m.-3p.m. 

20 21 

March

April

April Fool’s Day