Veritas, Vol. 43, No. 07, April 2001

              Veritas
April 2001
Volume 43 • Number 7
For the Faculty and Staff of the University of Miami
Scholarly pursuits: University honors outstanding faculty
Four faculty members are
recipients of the fifth annual Provost’s Award for Scholarly Activity, created by Executive Vice President and Provost Luis Glaser in recognition of extraordinary research and scholarly pursuits.
we go through this process is that there is an enormous amount of talent within this institution,” says Glaser about the selection of the recipients. “We have, give or take, 2,000 faculty, and they do many things. If s exciting to watch not only the quality of what they do, but
Recipients of the fifth annual Provost’s Award for Scholarly Activity gather at a reception on the Coral Gables campus in their honor. From left are Adam Wanner\ Robert E. Gaw ley, Patrick J. Walsh, and Bruce Garrison.
This years scholars are M. Bruce Garrison, communication; Robert E. Gawley, chemistry; Patrick J. Walsh, marine biology and fisheries; and Adam Wanner, medicine. In addition to a commemorative plaque, each faculty member receives a $4,000 cash award and $2,000 toward continued research support.
“What I discover every year when
the breadth of what they represent.”
School of Communication Professor Garrisons work focuses on new technologies and their use in the news media. He is one of a handful of top experts in the relatively new field of computer-assisted news reporting and author of two books on the subject. He also maintains a widely used Web site devoted to his and his students’ ongo-
ing research about new technologies in the newsroom.
Gawley, a professor in the Department of Chemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences, is an internationally recognized researcher in the field of synthetic organic chemistry. His work focuses on making molecules that have the property of handedness, or “chirality.” Molecules, like hands, can be as similar as your left and right hand, but
model for the mechanisms by which marine fish adapt to environmental disruptions. Specifically, he has studied how the toadfish body handles incredibly large levels of ammonia, which is toxic to most animals.
“Pat is a master at taking the long view,” says his colleague Lynne A. Fieber, a research assistant professor. “The overarching context in which Pat makes decisions about his lab is: What
"What I discover every year when we go through this process is that there is an enormous
amount of talent within this institution."
also as different, since only one glove will fit each. His 1996 book, Principles of Asymmetric Synthesis, which summarizes this field, is part of a prestigious monograph series in organic chemistry.
Gawley also collaborates with Rosenstiel School scientists to study marine toxins; he is codirector of the Marine and Freshwater Biomedical Sciences Center and director of the center’s Postdoctoral Training Program.
“His research methods have led directly to new ways of teaching and training students,” says Daniel L. Pals, interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
A professor in the Division of Marine Biology and Fisheries at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, Walsh is known for his research using gulf toadfish as a
is best for the science? He’ll try anything, and if the science requires a new technique, he learns it himself, or finds or hires the right person to teach him.” Wanner, professor in the Department of Medicine at the School of Medicine and chief of the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, is one of the world’s leading physicians and scientists on the study of asthma. Wanner developed the animal model of bronchial asthma that is used as the premier testing model for virtually all drugs currendy marketed for the treatment of asthma. He has had over 25 years of continuous support from the National Institutes of Health and currendy serves on several American Lung Association and American Thoracic Society committees, both state- and nationwide.
UM/Sylvester adds powerful new weapon to treat cancer
The University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center has added a powerful new weapon to its cancer-fighting arsenal. Positron Emission Tomography—or PET—possesses unique imaging capabilities to diagnose different types of cancer and provides insight that helps physicians determine the most effective and beneficial therapy.
PET is a powerful diagnostic tool that, in many cases, renders answers that no other imaging test can provide. This noninvasive procedure measures biochemical changes that occur in cancer cells. While other diagnostic imaging modalities like X-ray, CT, or MRI visualize structural anatomy, PET visualizes the metabolic abnormalities of cancer before any structural damage is evident and remains positive until effective treatment destroys the cancer. That means that with one scan, physicians can determine whether a mass on a CT, for example, is cancerous and whether the cancer has spread to other areas of the body.
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“PET is an exceptional complement to these diagnostic tools, and helps us identify cancer at the earliest possible stage,” says George N. Sfakianakis, chief of the nuclear medicine program at UM/Sylvester. “PET can effectively pinpoint the source of cancer, eliminating the need for redundant diagnostic tests and surgical procedures
when they won’t be effective. PET provides images of the entire body so that all organ systems can be examined for disease in a single procedure.”
PET also helps physicians monitor the effectiveness of chemotherapy or radiation treatments, and alter the course of treatment quickly if needed. “PET technology offers a major breakthrough in diagnosing cancer as well as assuring the most effective treatments


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UAf/Sylvester physicians prepare to conduct a PET scan on a cancer patient. PET’s unique imaging capabilities allow it to diagnose different types of cancer.
are utilized,” says Sfakianakis.
Here’s how the technology works. Cancer cells, which grow and divide rapidly, have a higher metabolic rate of glucose than normal cells in the body. Physicians inject a small amount of glucose (liquid sugar) that contains a radioactive atom. Cancer cells use vast quantities of glucose to fuel their growth, so cancer cells absorb higher quantities of the
radioactive material than normal cells.
The radioactive atoms emit signals that are traced by detectors surrounding the body during the test. Physicians evaluate the concentrations of signal-emitting atoms in the body, and can immediately determine if cancer is present and whether it has spread to any other areas of the body. A full-body scan can be completed in about an hour, is painless, and has low radiation exposure because the radioactive atoms decay in about two hours.
UM/Sylvester installed the $1.4 million, dedicated PET scanning equipment in February.
Published research shows that PET is effective in the detection, staging, and recurrence of lung cancer, malignant melanoma, colon cancer, Hodgkin’s and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, as well as pancreatic, fiver, ovarian, esophageal, and head and neck cancers. It is also effective in differentiating recurrent cancers in the brain and elsewhere from scar tissue resulting from radiation therapy.