|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Join us on April 3, 2003 for our third annual theater party and performance to benefit the Harpur College Broadway Internships. 6:00 - 7:00: Theater Party - Hors D'oeuvres & Cocktails at SARDI's, West 44th Street 8:00: GYPSY at the Sam S. Schubert Theater, 225 West 44th Street Don't miss this revival of the famous GYPSY, starring Bernadette Peters, with original choreography by Jerome Robbins. Purchase your tickets today for the biggest hit of this Broadway season! For more information, call 607-777-4278 or contact harprsvp@binghamton.edu. For more information about the musical, check out http://www.gypsythemusical.com/about.html.
|
Professor Susan Bane: Unraveling the Mystery of Cancer Treatment
|
Professor Bane relaxing in her lab with a rotary evaporator, a machine that removes solvents from organic molecules, one of the tools of her trade. |
When you walk into Susan Bane's office, the first thing you notice are the cows. Not standing in stalls, but their likeness decorates every square inch. A cow kite hangs in the corner. Cow coffee cups hang from hooks over the sink. The walls are festooned with cow cartoons from "The Far Side" and the familiar black and white cow print covers everything: her mouse pad, her screen saver, her eyeglasses case.
But Bane is not the newest spokesperson for the milk industry. "We work on cow brains, so this is our homage to them," she explained.
Actually, Bane and her research team, which includes "everyone" -- undergraduates, graduates, and a research scientist -- are learning about a protein called tubulin, which is found in all cells and is most abundant in the brain's nerve cells.
Bane has been studying tubulin with Professor David Kingston of Virginia Polytechnic Institute for nearly a decade, and the National Institute of Health has funded them since 1995.
"Tubulin is a target for a number of anti-cancer drugs," said Bane, explaining that there are high concentrations of it in nerve cells, which are plentiful in brains. "The protein that we get from cow brains is 99% identical to the protein that we see in human tissues, so we can use cow brains as our model," said Bane.
Bane and her team are trying to figure out how anticancer drugs interact with tubulin at the molecular level, and they've spent the most time on one called Taxol.
Developed in the 1980's, Taxol is a cash cow (pardon the pun) for Bristol-Meyers Squibb, earning the pharmaceutical giant around $1.5 billion a year just in the United States alone.
The drug's origin explains some of its challenges. Taxol comes from the bark of the Yew tree. Yews grow very slowly and removing the bark kills the tree.
The Taxol that is commercially available is actually semi-synthetic and in two parts, one natural and one man-made. Bane explained, "The complicated core part of the molecule can be isolated from the needles of the Yew, which is a sustainable source. The less complicated part can be made synthetically." Bristol-Meyers Squibb couples two parts to get the Taxol that is used to treat patients.
Taxol binds to protein polymers known as microtubules, which are part of the cell's structure. "When a cell divides, it makes the microtubules longer," said Bane. "Taxol binds to the microtubules and prevents them from disassembling. The net result is that the cell dies." Cancer is uncontrolled growth, which Taxol blocks.
"Plants make natural products for their own purposes, not to be anticancer drugs," said Bane. "Taxol is a very big and complicated molecule," she said, explaining that it is insoluble and therefore hard to administer. Physicians must mix Taxol into something oily before it can be dissolved in saline and given intravenously.
Using natural products in the war against cancer is big business. "More than half of the drugs we use that are commercially available have natural products as their origin," said Bane.
Taxol is used primarily for solid tumors, which Bane says are notoriously hard to combat. But Taxol is not a wonder drug. Patients suffer chemotherapy's well-known side effects and often develop drug tolerance.
"The
next 'big thing' will fight cancer as well as Taxol but will be easier to administer
and will not produce resistance," predicted Bane.
That "big thing" is exactly what Bane and her team are searching for.
Right now they are trying to determine what Taxol is doing to tubulin, the main protein in microtubules, to make it behave the way it does and why. "Is there a part that's important, is there a part that's not essential" she asks, flipping through slides of chemicals, "What's the shape of the molecule when it's interacting with the protein?"
Learning more about how Taxol works on tubulin, such as how the molecules change, will benefit developers of cancer drugs because they will want to mimic the same action in new drugs. "If you want to build a new drug based on an old one, you have to know how the original one works," she stressed.
After ten years of research, Bane and her team are ready to make some announcements, namely, not to fool with mother nature.
Researchers had previously focused most of their attention on the synthetic part of Taxol. "The conventional wisdom was that it was the most important part of the molecule because it binds with the receptor," said Bane.
Her research proves otherwise.
At his lab at VPI, Kingston makes Taxol derivatives, which are molecules that have some, but not all, of the atoms of Taxol. His group then labels the molecules with fluorescent dyes to make them more visible and sends them to Binghamton. Bane and her team study how these derivatives interact with tubulin, measuring how tightly each part binds, how easily each part can separate from the tubulin, and how quickly the reactions occur.
Bane's biggest discovery, which she recently published in Biochemistry is that the naturally occurring part of Taxol does most of the work.
She and her team are at the point where they can advise other researchers how to study Taxol and apply their knowledge to a new generation in the war against cancer.
Bane cautions that this research could fail at any point. The new drugs may turn out to have a low therapeutic window, which Bane says is the margin between toxic and effective doses. They could also have adverse side effects or be difficult to administer.
She cautions that the cure for cancer won't necessarily come from the third floor of Science 2. "One person can't do that," she admits, "but I don't want to say we're just a cog in the wheel."
Bane says to design the next generation of cancer-fighting drugs, "Our work lays a foundation."
Harpur College Rolls Out New Alumni Lawyers Directory
Looking for a lawyer? Want to find an old friend who's now a lawyer? Check out the Harpur Law Council Directory.
The directory
is the brainchild of the Harpur
Law Council, chaired by Richard Alpern `69. It is a resource for alumni
and students to be used for networking, referrals or just finding old friends.
It contains biographical information as well as practice area, bars admitted
and other degrees obtained.
"I am delighted that the online directory is now available," said Alpern "It is an excellent resource for locating lawyers in various practice areas in cities across the U.S., as well as locating classmates. I encourage alumni and students to have a look; they may be pleasantly surprised by what they find."
The more accurate information you are able to provide for the search: first name, last name, graduation year, location, and practice, the narrower and more successful your search!
If you are an alumni attorney please check to see if you are listed in the directory. You may want to update your professional information. If you do not find yourself you may follow this link to add your record.
The Harpur College National Alumni Law Advisory Council provides a wealth of activities for alumni who work in the legal profession to connect with students who are interested in going to law school. The Council includes several committees, including:
The alumni who have been involved with the Law Council and its committees praise the opportunity to get back in touch with Harpur College, make new friends, and help a new generation of future lawyers gain the skills and information they need to succeed in law school and the legal profession. Students who have benefited from the internships and other activities, such as alumni lawyer roundtable discussions, which the Council hosts throughout the year, have enjoyed the opportunity to meet people who were once like themselves - Harpur College students - and learn how they've succeeded in the legal field.
The new Directory will be one more way for our alumni attorneys to connect not only with their alma mater, but their classmates and also our students - among them, the next generation of successful lawyers.
Harpur Professor Among "Who's Who in Economics"
|
Professor Kumbhakar will appear in "Who's Who in Economics (Fourth Edition)." |
If an economist
wants to know more about measuring efficiency and productivity, he or she is
likely to consult the research of Subal Kumbhakar. Because his work is so widely
cited, Kumbhakar, professor of Economics at Harpur College, is now among the
academic elite in "Who's Who in Economics (Fourth Edition)." Kumbhakar was included
in this list of the field's best and brightest because of the large number of
researchers who have cited his work.
Kumbhakar researches production, cost and profit to estimate economic efficiency.
Since the beginning of his academic career in 1986, he has developed models
to measure efficiency and productivity of railroads, airlines, agriculture,
banking, manufacturing, electricity distribution, public administration, and
banking around the world.
His current research involves measurement of efficiency and total factor productivity
(TFP) growth. In efficiency measurement he distinguishes between technical inefficiency
(failure to produce the maximum possible output, given the inputs such as land,
labor, capital) and allocative inefficiency (failure to use the inputs in way
that minimizes cost or maximizes profit). In TFP growth (which is the difference
between the growth of output and the growth of a composite of all inputs used
in the production process; and is a more comprehensive concept of productivity
than, e.g., labor productivity that is routinely used in popular writings) his
research is focused on measuring the contributions of technical change (introduction
of new technology), market imperfection, production inefficiency, etc., on TFP
growth.
Joining "Who's Who" is the latest in a long list of accolades for Kumbhakar.
He earned a Ph.D. in 1986 from University of Southern California and spent the
next fourteen years at the University of Texas at Austin. In 1997, Sweden's
Gothenburg University awarded Kumbhakar an honorary doctorate. He has authored
more than 70 articles in Economics journals and published "Stochastic Frontier
Analysis" in 2000 the paperback version of which just appeared (2003). He is
on the editorial board of several journals, including the Journal of Productivity
Analysis, Empirical Economics, and Technological Forecasting and Social
Change. Kumbhakar's web
page has a complete list of the journals he edits and the papers he has
published.
Kumbhakar joined the faculty of Harpur College in 2001. He and his family have
enjoyed Binghamton's changing seasons, especially our trademark snow.
Alumni Art Lovers Get Together in SoHo
Nearly 50 alumni got together in SoHo's trendy Artists Space for the inaugural Spring Social sponsored by the Binghamton University Alumni Metro Club Visual Arts Committee.
|
Tracy
Bashkoff `88 and Darren Kessler `91 |
Richard Heck, Dir. of Alumni and Parent Relations, and Anthony Del Vecchio `89 |
Susan Gass `78 and Kim Brown `84 |
|
Rhena Levine `84, Kenny Funk `83, Rebecca Wood and Jay Siegel `89 |
Aileen Bassis `71, Andrew Kapochunas, Tom Carroll `74 and Linda Christian `74 |
|
The Visual Arts Committee of the Metro Alumni Club connects alumni artists, collectors and art professionals living in the tri-state area. The committee's founding members, Tracey Bashkoff '88, John Brunelli '97, Daile Kaplan, Jennifer Kibel '93, Barry Neuman '79 and Erica Strongin '94 hope that last week's Spring Social will be the first of many opportunities to get all BU alumni together who are interested in exploring the incredible cultural riches in the visual arts that New York City has to offer.
Artists Space was founded in 1972 as a nonprofit institution supporting unaffiliated contemporary artists working in the visual arts. In its twenty-five year history, Artists Space has presented the work of over 5,000 emerging artists.
For more information, contact Elizabeth MacNeill at 212-869-7355.
Binghamton University launches community resource website
Binghamton University's Office of Communications and Marketing has launched a website to connect community members with the resources available on campus.
The website, known as BU Connects, offers a searchable databank that allows community members access to information about the wide variety of University programs, events and projects. Divided into 14 categories ranging from arts to youth programs, BU Connects also provides a list of corporate and professional development programs that are of special interest to local business and industry.
In addition to providing information about campus projects and programs, BU Connects provides access to campus expertise through the University's speaker's bureau. An interactive form allows community, school or business groups to place their requests online. The form is then directed to staff in the University's Communications and Marketing Office where the request is matched with interested faculty, students or staff.
BU Connects also allows the campus community to add programs to the directory. A form located on the homepage allows program coordinators to select the category they wish to be listed under and offers them the opportunity to provide the necessary program and contact information. This mechanism allows easy access to the directory by campus members so resource information will always be current.
To visit BU Connects, visit http://www.binghamton.edu/home/buconnects/.
For more information, contact Gail Glover at 607-777-2174 or at gglover@binghamton.edu.
In response to your much-appreciated feedback, the Harpur Hotline has developed a regular feature of alumni news. Please send us anything you want: publications, promotions, marriages, babies, graduations, retirements, etc. Many thanks to everyone who shared their stories! Here's what some of your fellow Harpur alumni and friends are doing:
 |
The Mathematical Association of America (MAA) honored Luise-Charlotte Kappe, professor of mathematical sciences, with a Certificate of Meritorious Service at their January 16 meeting in Baltimore, MD. The Seaway Section of the MAA nominated Kappe for her leadership roles, as well as hosting two meetings of the Section at Binghamton University in 1993 and 2001. She frequently speaks at section meetings and math clubs and at last spring's meeting gave the presentation, "It's a Wonderful Life! Observations on a Career as a Mathematician." Kappe has taught at Harpur College since 1968. She coordinates her department's Preparing Future Faculty program. |
1973: Fred Cohen has a lot to be proud of. In 1977, he received a J.D. from University of San Fernando Valley College of Law. For nearly 25 years, Cohen has held a private law practice in Southern California, specializing in bankruptcy and tax matters. He earned an M.S. in 1983 and an LL.M. in 1998, both in Taxation, from Golden Gate University. Cohen and his wife, Judy Lewit, have been married since 1977 and have two daughters, ages 21 and 17.
1979: Jeff Janoff is the senior partner in a civil litigation law firm, Bostwick and Janoff, in San Jose, California. He and his wife Kathy have two daughters: Erica, age 16 and Caitlin, age 13. The Janoff's recently moved to the hills of Los Gatos, CA. Janoff says hello to everyone at Oneida Hall!
 |
1985: The sculpture of David Smedley is on display in the Alley Gallery of the Rockville Arts Place until March 29, 2003. Before earning a B.F.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, he worked as an exhibit designer and graphic artist for the Musuem of African American History in his hometown of Detroit, MI. Smedley joined the faculty of Howard University in1994 as Assistant Professor in the sculpture program. He teaches a full range of sculpture processes in addition to Three-Dimensional Concepts and Modeling, and Fabrication Techniques for the Howard University Solar Car Project. Smedley's web page describes his work in greater detail. |
| 1987: Yang Chen returned to campus recently and paid the Harpur Hotline a visit. He graduated from New York University Law School in 1990 and is one of the founding partners of Constantine and Partners in New York. He specializes in antitrust and general commercial litigation. Chen is very active in ballroom dance and serves as an officer of the U.S.A. Ballroom Dance Assocation (USA-BDA). Last year, he emceed their biggest competition, the Manhattan Classic, and mentioned that he graduated from Binghamton University. A member of BU's Ballroom Dance Association heard the broadcast and invited Chen to emcee BU's annual tournament, which is what brought him back to town. While on campus, he shared his professional expertise with Harpur College and spoke in one of Professor Stan Master's economics classes. |  |
1989: Alessandra Ravetti (a.k.a. "Sandy" and "Sandra") lives in Manhattan with her husband Matthew Jaeger. After earning an M.A. in Italian Literature from Boston College and a J.D. fron New York University, she is an attorney for Pfizer, Inc. The couple is expecting their first baby next month. Ravetti would love to hear from old friends at ravettia@yahoo.com.
 |
1990: Michelle and David Slotnick adopted a baby girl, Sierra Vanessa, from Hungary in October 2002. Michelle writes that Sierra is almost a year and a half old and is "such a joy!" The Slotnicks live in Fresh Meadows, NY. Michelle is a supervisor at VNS CHOICE Adult Day and Community Services and David is the program director of youth and camping services at Samuel Field/Bay Terrace YM-YWHA. They would love to hear from old friends at slotfam@cs.com. |
1990: Pedro "Peter" Diaz (Ph.D.) just got a great promotion at Novartis, the pharmaceutical company for whom he works in Spain. He is now Global Head of Health, Safety and Environmental Protection, Novartis Emergency Management, and Business Continuity Planning for the OTC (over-the-counter) unit. Diaz's new position will take him to Novartis' factories around the world, including Switzerland, Puerto Rico, Pakistan, England, and the United States. He also oversees the environmental health and safety of work outsourced by Novartis to 200 companies worldwide.
| 1993: Tom Gustinis and his wife Lori (Oksinski `92) of Zurich, Switzerland, proudly welcome Emma Rose, born November 21, 2002. Big sister Grace ( 2 1/2) and her parents are thrilled! Tom's career with UBS Warburg brought the Gustinis family to Switzerland two years ago and they love it there! |  |
 |
1998: This May, Patricia Proven, featured in the Harpur Hotline in April 2001, will receive a Master's degree in Print and Online Journalism from Emerson College in Boston. Meanwhile, she is working as writer, editor and web designer for the Center for Technology, Policy and Industrial Development at MIT. Proven recently finished an internship at Boston.com as a web content producer. In her spare time, she continues to write and publish poetry on her own website: http://www.angelfire.com/ny3/starventure. |
1998: Kristin Graffagnino is the regional director of Joint Action in Community Service (JACS), a national non-profit organization. She has been living in San Francisco for over three years and plans to move back to the East Coast in April 2003. Graffagnino writes, "I have enjoyed being a coordinator for the San Francisco Alumni Network and hope to get involved with another network when I return to New York. To all my East Coast friends, you can reach me at krisgraff@yahoo.com. I'll see you soon!"
| 2000: Congratulations to Karen Ryabchenko (M.S.) for receiving a BU Graduate Student Award for Excellence in Service and Outreach. The prize recognizes her work as clinical assisstant and program evaluator at the State Incentive Cooperative Agreement (SICA) Project, a drug prevention program in several schools throughout the Binghamton area. Ryabchenko also has volunteered at the Adolescent Day Treatment Program and at United Health Services. Before coming to Binghamton, she earned a B.A. in Russian Studies and International Business at Eckerd College and a B.A. in Psychology at Rutgers University. Ryabchenko is finishing a dissertation about chronic depression and expects to receive a Ph.D. in Psychology from BU in 2004. |  |
2002: Kimberly Gilboord has a great career as the corporate communications and marketing coordinator for an engineering firm in Albany, NY. She describes the job as a mix of marketing, public relations, communications, graphics and advertising.
Occasionally, Hotline readers write back. We appreciate your feedback and hope you'll keep it up! Please contact Ingrid Husisian, Harpur Hotline editor at husisian@binghamton.edu or LN 2430, Binghamton University, PO Box 6000, Binghamton, NY 13902. We can not promise to publish every letter we receive. Opinions in this column are not necessarily the opinion of the Harpur Hotline or Binghamton University.
To the Hotline:
I read with interest the [reprint of the PipeDream] article "Harpur alumni: yesterday's war is still relevant." [February 19, 2003] While clouded by age, my memory of the University at that time does include the turmoil on campus particularly following the bombing in Cambodia. The article contains only anti-war comments suggesting that there was unanimous agreement on campus against the war in Vietnam. In reality the situation then was equivalent to the mixed sentiment that citizens have today concerning the crisis in Iraq.
Accurate reporting concening the situation in 1969 and 1970 should include members of the faculty and students that considered interruption of normal academic functions as an innapropriate expression of discontent with public policy. Rather than looking back thiry years and glorifying the situation at that time, it is possible to remember it with regret. Those with moral objections to the war had an obligation to voice their concerns, but not the right to steal from other students the academic opportunity purchased with their tuition.
Yes, classes were suspended. It is valid to discuss the wisdom of the suspension, and the difficulties and errors associated with U.S. participation in Vietnam. It is inaccurate to portray cessation of instruction as an act uniformly supported by the academic community, and equally wrong to assume that similar behavior and disruption is a correct course of action in the future.
John Ward M.S. `73, Ph.D. `79
Newly
updated: http://binghamton.bkstore.com
Follow link for Harpur College or click
here to see more!
If you don't see what you want, ask for it!
|
Students Cindy Sommer and Lindsay Warren model some of Harpur College's clothing. |
Olivia Tang warms up in a Harpur College's sweatshirt. |
Shop the campus bookstore from the comfort of your PC or Mac. Want to pick up a copy of the new Harpur history book The Cornerstone? Visit... Binghamton University Harpur College Shopping Online.
Follow this link for a growing list of Harpur merchandise.
Editor's note: if you have trouble locating Harpur College merchandise on the bookstore's website, please contact the bookstore at 607-777-2745.
Correction:
Harpur alumni: yesterday's war is still relevant (February 19, 2003) - The sentence, "Spanos said students even worked on George McGovern's presidential campaign against Richard Nixon in 1968," is incorrect. The election was in 1972, not 1968.
Back Issues of the Harpur Hotline
For other Campus News, visit: http://www.binghamton.edu
Miss an issue? Check out...
February
19, 2003
February
6, 2003
January
15, 2003
December
18, 2002
December
4, 2002
November
20, 2002
November 7, 2002
October 24,
2002
October 9,
2002
September 25,
2002
September 12,
2002
August 23,
2002
July 23, 2002
June
21, 2002
May 31, 2002
May 24,
2002
May
17, 2002
May
3, 2002
April
19, 2002
April 2, 2002
March 19, 2002
March 5, 2002
February 19, 2002
February 6,
2002
January 18,
2002
Harpur College Development Team Mission Statement:
The Harpur College of Arts and Sciences Development Team encourages alumni, students, faculty and friends to identify with Harpur College's past, present and future by engaging them in events and programs that connect them to the college. We facilitate ways for our constituents to enrich Harpur College through their financial contributions and personal talents and resources.
This page was last updated March 11, 2003 Contact the Webmaster.
