Medical breakthroughs

A common enemy -- Three of Cincinnati's key players in the battle against cancer joined hands in August 2007 to establish a joint cancer center. The University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and University Hospital have formed a strategic partnership to enhance and coordinate the region's oncology care from childhood to adulthood.

The joint cancer center launched with $60 million in seed money from the founding institutions ($30 million from CCHM, $20 million from UC and $10 million from UH) to build facilities, start up clinical programs and attract leading cancer researchers.

Bipolar snapshot -- A $9 million federal grant will allow UC researchers to use imaging to gain a clearer picture of what bipolar disorder looks like in the brain. Led by UC professor and interim chair of psychiatry Stephen Strakowski, researchers will use the grant to form the Bipolar Disorder Imaging and Treatment Research Center at the UC College of Medicine. Advanced imaging technologies will allow researchers to visualize specific areas of the brain during different phases of the illness to see how the brain's chemicals react to different medications.

HIV and beliefs -- Area religious leaders are going under the microscope. Researchers at UC are leading a study to explore the attitudes of clergy from 150 religious organizations in Cincinnati toward HIV/AIDS patients. The study is in response to an earlier UC finding that locals living with the HIV virus often felt alienated from their churches.

Magdalena Szaflarski, PhD (A&S) '01, from UC's Institute for the Study of Health, says the study will help determine if religious affiliations improve support and quality of life for HIV/AIDS patients.

"People with HIV and AIDS tend to live much longer than they used to, and if they have a good social support network, they have a better chance of living a longer, more normal life," she says.

Cleaning overrated? -- Door-to-door vacuum sales be damned. Environmental health scientists at UC swept aside a key sales pitch for sweeper peddlers when they found that infants may actually benefit from that deep down dust in the carpet. UC's team, led by Yulia Iossifova, discovered that infants who were exposed to high levels of indoor fungal components were nearly three times less likely to wheeze compared with infants exposed to low levels. The researchers caution, however, that exposure to indoor molds during infancy may be associated with respiratory problems such as coughing or wheezing.

Less cutting -- Surgeons at the University of Cincinnati say doctors need to know when to put down their scalpel when it comes to going after early-stage lung cancer. UC docs are bucking the trend to open the chest and spread the ribs, which occurs in 90 percent of lung cancer operations nationwide. At UC, roughly 75 percent of lung cancer operations occur by less invasive means, which require several small incisions and video-guided techniques. UC surgeons told the Washington Post in 2007 that the key at UC has been the dedication to train and mentor one another in the difficult procedure.

Rankings and accolades

Surprise entry wins

A College of Medicine multimedia program received an international first prize from the Pirelli industrial group for innovative science communication in the summer of 2007 even though no one planned to enter the competition.

After digital design students worked with medical information-technology staff to turn lectures given by OB-GYN professor Andy La Barbera into online learning modules, follow-up testing showed that students who used the modules learned as well as those who attended lectures.

When contest officials found the work online, they requested the entry.

UC ranked 'best'

In August 2007, the Princeton Review included UC in its "best colleges" guidebook. In 2007, eight new schools were added to the book, which includes only 10 percent of U.S. colleges, says publisher Robert Franek. "It is our flagship guide to the crème of the crop institutions for undergraduates."

In 2006, the Princeton Review named UC one of the "best in the Midwest." Selections are based on student surveys and campus visits by Princeton staff.

One of four in world

UC's School of Design was one of only four design schools in the world (and only two in the U.S.) to receive a gold International Design Excellence Award (IDEA).  Plus, senior Ryan Eder nabbed Best of Show among 81 winners for his concept for exercise equipment that accommodates both wheelchair-bound and fully mobile people.

Nearly 1,700 entries, from commercial to personal, came in from 29 countries for Best Product Design of 2007. Never before has "Best of Show" gone to student work, which usually displays "a certain level of naiveté," judge Gavin Ivester says. "This should send a message to the professional design community. Wake up, guys, you've been shown up by a student." Eder's final product could potentially revolutionize the public gym, noted BusinessWeek magazine when it published the winners.

The awards program is co-sponsored by BusinessWeek and the Industrial Designers Society of America.

Best new restaurant

In November 2007, UC's CenterCourt was ranked among three noncommercial restaurants in the nation to receive the Best New Facility Award from Food Management magazine, which calls the 390-seat all-you-care-to-eat restaurant a "first-class gathering spot."

CenterCourt is located in the Campus Recreation Center and offers seven taste stations, including a Mongolian grill, a brick oven for baked goods and vegan choices.

A garden in the city

A pair of blighted lots in Cincinnati's Over-the-Rhine neighborhood became fertile ground for an organic garden and future greenhouse in 2007 thanks to the work of UC's Brendan Weaver.

The 25-year-old student in the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning had a year remaining toward his pursuit of an urban planning degree at UC, but he was convinced he could make an immediate difference in his community as an "urban planter."

Weaver poured gallons of sweat equity into the overgrown properties -- one of which he adopted and one of which he purchased. Instead of weeds, the land now yields produce, which he either eats or gives away to neighbors.

"Everyone has the power to do something radical to change the world if we just run with our passions," Weaver says. "Most people just don't realize their power."

Weaver's UC classmates pitched in too, helping him fertilize the garden plantings -- including green beans, honeydews, onions, peppers, pumpkins, spinach and tomatoes -- using rotting leaves they cleared from a nearby alley for compost. To extend the growing season, the crew recycled building materials, including windows from UC's Old Chem building, to construct a greenhouse.

A campus in demand

Freshman applicants found something brand new at the University of Cincinnati in 2007 -- a wait list.

Though the university has been gradually building enrollment the last few years, applications for fall 2007 skyrocketed, forcing UC to create a waiting list for the first time in history. The result is roughly 4,150 freshmen, the largest incoming class in decades and a group that is pushing total enrollment toward 37,000. UC's student population hasn't topped 36,000 since 1991.

Administrators say the upsurge is a credit to the campus transformation, better marketing and increased efforts to improve retention (including more demanding academic requirements).

"Visits from prospective students and their parents are up by more than 50 percent," says Thomas Canepa, assistant vice president for undergraduate admissions. "The residence halls are full with more than 75 percent of our new freshmen making the choice to live on campus, and we've had a summer packed with energized new students at orientation sessions."

In addition to its sheer size, UC's incoming freshman class in 2007 is both diverse and prepared, representing 40 states and 41 countries. Plus, the group entered UC with the highest ACT score (24.2) of any incoming freshman class.

UC's national, international media attention

New York Times did a story on the "sniff test" developed by psychology professor Robert Frank and biology professor emeritus Robert Gesteland and how it could be used to indicate early symptoms of neurological diseases. In another article, a Times columnist agreed with a recent publication by law professor Suja Thomas, in which Thomas argues that ever-increasing judgments in civil cases without juries can be unconstitutional.

USA Today, in highlighting stroke research led by associate neurology professor Dawn Kleindorfer, explained how many Americans are unaware of a stroke's warning signs and promoted the researchers' FAST acronym as a step toward awareness: Face -- Is it numb or does one's smile droop? Arm -- Is one arm weak? Speech -- Are simple sentences slurred? Time -- Don't wait; call 911.

Discovery Channel related how associate engineering professor Lawrence Mazlack and graduate student Julia Taylor, A&S '99, MS (Eng) '04, are beginning to have success in getting computers to recognize humor.

London Daily Mail wrote about a new study led by UC surgeon David Horn that shows promising results for healing skin wounds with the application of a gel made from the patient's blood platelets instead of antibiotics.

Chicago Tribune quoted OB-GYN professor Margery Gass, MD '80, in discussing how menopausal women often feel overwhelmed by the quantity of information and product choices they have regarding that problematic time in their lives.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette published a feature on a new organ-transplant trend called paired donation, in which a person becomes an organ donor because a stranger had already donated an organ to that person's loved one. Surgery professor Steve Woodle, a Paired Donation Network founder, was interviewed.

Los Angeles Times, in covering bridge safety, talked to associate engineering professor James Swanson about new monitoring options that may apply to bridges one day.

World record nanotube

The University of Cincinnati's tiny science made giant news in 2007 when engineering researchers shattered the world record for the longest carbon nanotubes, an advance that could revolutionize materials manufacturing in the fields of electronics, aerospace and nanomedicine. A carbon nanotube is a miniscule graphite cylinder with a broad range of electronic, thermal and structural properties.

By synthesizing a nearly 2-centimeter-long nanotube, UC's research team exceeded the previous record by 3 millimeters. More important, their breakthrough techniques could produce fibers that are significantly stronger, lighter and better conductors of electricity than copper. The National Science Foundation and the Office of Naval Research support the work of UC professors Vesselin Shanov and Mark Schulz, with post-doc researcher Yun Yeo-Heung.

LeRoy Reams Directs CCMers in 'Hello Dolly!'

When The Muny wanted to produce "Hello, Dolly!" this summer, they grabbed "the keeper of the 'Dolly' flame," as the St. Louis Riverfront Times dubbed Lee Roy Reams, CCM '64, MA (CCM) '82, HonDoc '98. Not only had Reams played Cornelius Hackl on Broadway, he had previously directed the show five times, including the Tony-nominated Broadway revival starring Carol Channing and productions starring Madeline Kahn and JoAnne Worley.

Taking a leave from performing Roger DeBris in "The Producers" in Las Vegas, Reams wasn't surprised to find eight College-Conservatory of Music cast members in the show when he arrived. He routinely finds alumni and students in his travels and is thankful for their professionalism. "CCM performers listen," he says matter-of-factly. "They're attentive. You don't have to tell them things twice."

The feeling of admiration was mutual. "Lee Roy is so good to us," said ensemble member Stephanie Gibson, CCM '07.

First degree program in China

UC is on its way to offering its first degree program in China. An agreement with Shandong University in 2007 opened the door for a UC-developed executive MBA for upper-level managers from China's industry and government.

UC will shoulder most of the instruction for the graduate degree as well as help staff the Joint Center for Urban Research there, which may allow for international conferences as well as joint training and research programs.

Sending students abroad

The University of Cincinnati is far outpacing the national average when it comes to sending students abroad for international learning experiences. The latest figures show that less than 8 percent of the nation's college graduates study abroad, compared to nearly 13 percent of UC students.

By aggressively promoting work and study experiences in traditional places such as Europe and Asia, as well as not-so-traditional locales such as Brazil and Tanzania, UC doubled its collective international experience over a relatively short time. For example, in 2003, 6 percent (175) of UC grads boasted international experience. That number rose to 12.8 percent (363) by the time the class of 2006 graduated.

"American students are more open to the idea of studying abroad, and we're aggressively promoting these experiences at UC," says Mitch Leventhal, UC vice provost for International Affairs. "Our growth has even outpaced the national rate in the last few years."

Millions in recent gifts

In 2005, James Winkle, Pharm '58, quietly made a gift of $10 million to UC's College of Pharmacy. His donation became public in June of 2007 when the college was renamed in his honor.

The School of Design at UC's College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning received $10 million from Cathy Emmons Ullman, DAAP '70, and Myron "Mike" Ullman III, Bus '69, HonDoc '06, to endow a program chair and professorships, provide master classes led by industry leaders and support faculty development.

A $5.5 million gift from the foundation of James Gardner, Eve '67, and Joan Gardner will establish the Gardner Family Center for Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders at the College of Medicine and University Hospital. This gift will endow the center's clinical and research programs and accelerate collaboration between scientists and physicians.