Board of Regents supports nearly $165,000 for research at College of Pharmacy

Jois

A University of Louisiana at Monroe faculty member secured nearly $165,000 in funding from the University of Louisiana System Board of Regents for two separate and diverse projects.

Dr. Seetharama D. Jois, an assistant professor in the Basic Pharmaceutical Sciences in the ULM College of Pharmacy, secured $102,000 in funding for research on the role of CD2 peptides in immunomodulation, responsible for suppressing unwanted immune response in the body.

Jois said that T cells, which defend the body against foreign invaders, sometimes become autoreactive and cannot distinguish between normal cells and foreign cells. This inability to distinguish between the two may cause the destruction of normal, healthy tissues – resulting in the phenomenon of “autoimmune diseases.” Rheumatoid arthritis, or RA, is the most common autoimmune disease, affecting nearly one percent of the population in the U.S. alone.

In this project, Jois and his team will try to understand the adhesive nature of the proteins that cause autoimmune diseases such as RA. Jois’ second funded proposal is a $62,250 research enhancement award to purchase a circular dichroism instrument, also known as a CD instrument.

The equipment supports and complements the existing facilities for life and pharmaceutical sciences research and teaching in the college.

CD instruments are used to study proteins and peptides and to characterize their conformation in solution. The instrument is particularly useful in drug-protein and protein-DNA interactions.

The instrument will be used by a number of research groups at ULM, thus fostering a collaborative environment, bringing together various aspects of biological, pharmaceutics and medicinal chemistry research, said Jois.

---

ULM foreign language faculty reach out to area educators

Holloway	Michaelides
Smith	Wortham

Foreign language faculty from the University of Louisiana at Monroe recently offered several professional development opportunities to area school educators and welcomed a regional meeting of the Louisiana Foreign Language Teachers Association to campus.

Foreign language teachers from area private schools, Lincoln Parish schools and the Monroe City School District received instruction from ULM faculty on such topics as articulation between high school and university classes, the teaching of culture in foreign language classes, and integrating sound with Power Point presentations to promote language retention and learning.

Drs. Charles Holloway, Chris Michaelide and Department Head Ruth E. Smith led the in services, and María Blanca Wortham, president of the LFLTA, shared information with teachers about the organization’s activities.

In addition, ULM foreign language faculty welcomed over 30 language educators from Ouachita, Lincoln, Richland, and Caldwell parishes to the campus for a regional meeting of the Louisiana Foreign Language Teachers Association.

Smith discussed advocacy and asked teachers to share concerns that the organization should address. LFLTA member Christel Sharp reported on the mini-grants that LFLTA offers and the opportunity to study in Spain with the assistance of a scholarship from the Spanish Embassy.

---

ULM secures nearly $300,000 for Violence Prevention and Intervention

Hanser

Saulsberry

Two University of Louisiana at Monroe professors have secured nearly $300,000 in grant funding for the prevention of violence against women.

Dr. Robert Hanser of the department of criminal justice, along with the co-director Dr. Pamela Saulsberry, head of the department of social work, recently obtained the $299,995 grant through the Department of Justice’s Office on Violence against Women.

The grant provides funding for the project over a three-year period that seeks to enhance collaboration between the university campus and state and local agencies to reduce domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking on campus.

Offices and community agencies, including campus administrators, campus security staff, judicial boards, local law enforcement, the non-profit agency Wellspring, the Family Justice Center and statewide coalitions are among the organizations that are joining in the collaborative effort.

Hanser has served over four years as a standing member of the Steering Committee for the Family Justice Center, a local facility that provides multiple services for persons who are affected by domestic violence.

“The Family Justice Center does quite a bit of good work within the community, and the ULM department of criminal justice has maintained a close working relationship with them,” he said.

“I am glad to further facilitate that working relationship in a manner that benefits our students, staff, and faculty on campus, as well as various members of the community.”

---

Wiedemeier selected to chair National Partners Program

The Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges recently appointed an assistant professor of computer science at the University of Louisiana at Monroe to serve as its new National Partners Chair.

Wiedemeier

Berry

Dr. Paul D. Wiedemeier was selected to chair the program, which provides organizations and agencies exhibit space at all CCSC conferences and listings in its publications. Wiedemeier is an assistant professor in the Computer Science and Computer Information Systems Department in ULM’s College of Business Administration.

"I am honored that the CCSC National Board has appointed me to serve as their new National Partners Program Chair and excited to represent ULM at the national level," said Wiedemeier.

“We are very excited that Dr. Wiedemeier has been selected for this national position,” said College of Business Administration Dean Ron Berry.

“He has been very active in the Consortium for several years, and this new leadership appointment is a testament to his outstanding leadership abilities.”

CCSC's National Partners receive several perks for membership.

Among those benefits: A display booth in a high attendee traffic area at any or all nine regional conferences for one year; free registration at all regional conferences; listing as a national partner in each regional conference program and on all official CCSC websites; the right to cite CCSC National Partner status in newsletters and/or Web site and the company logo and Web site link on the CCSC Web site.

---

ULM professor publishes an article in online peer-reviewed journal

Liu

Shah

Sylvester

PLos One, an interactive open-access journal of peer-reviewed scientific and medical research, has published the cancer research of a University of Louisiana at Monroe assistant professor of pharmacology.

Professor Yong-Yu Liu’s previous research shows that the drug-resistant gene, glucosylceramide synthase (GCS), is a potential candidate for cancer chemotherapy.

His study published in PLoS One reports that a novel way has been found to reverse the gene’s drug resistance, using a new mixed-backbone oligonucleotide, identified as MBO-asGCS. This new DNA-RNA oligonucleotide specifically disrupts the GCS “bad” gene and kills more cancer cells.

“This work is very important for understanding the mystery of cancer drug resistance,” said Liu. “And MBO-asGCS is a highly promising agent. It might substantially reduce chemotherapy failure and the side-effects of chemotherapy.”

Dr. Liu’s work is in collaboration with Drs. Girish V. Shah and Paul W. Sylvester of the ULM College of Pharmacy, and is supported with funding from the Louisiana Biomedical Research Network. More than 500,000 Americans die every year from cancer, due to the failure of chemotherapy treatments.

A cancer cell’s drug resistance is the result of gene alteration and represents the biological basis for the chemotherapy failures, said Liu.

---

ULM librarian published in library journal

A University of Louisiana at Monroe librarian recently published a book review of Ghost Cats of the South, written by Randy Russell, for the 2009 Spring/Summer edition of North Carolina Libraries.

Melinda F. Matthews, ULM library Interlibrary Loan/Reference Librarian, wrote that Russell’s book of short anecdotes on supernatural cats “is a captivating blend of suspense, charm, good deeds, and horrific slaughter.”

She writes in her review, “The drastic difference between the destroyer cats and the cuddly soft felines shocks any reader and quickly catches the attention. Some of the felines are helpers and godsends; some are dreadful killers.”

The book’s author, an authority on ghost yarns, has explored three hundred years of prose on apparitions. In the book’s afterword in which he invites readers to share ghost experiences with him. Matthews is listed in the 2008-09 edition of "Marquis Who's Who of American Women,” and also recently served as secretary of the Louisiana Library Association.

She earned her master's degree in Library and Information Science from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and a bachelor's degree in English from McNeese State University in Lake Charles.