Expediting Genetic
Research
with Help from the Amish
Since the 1990s, Maryland researcher Allan Shuldiner, MD,
has been engaged in genetic research with members of the Old Order
Amish in Lancaster County, Pa. The Amish are ideal for these studies
because they trace their ancestry back 14 generations to a few individuals
and share a similar rural lifestyle. Experts believe Dr. Shuldiner’s
work is a shortcut in determining which genes are associated with certain
diseases.
Alumnus Profile: Stuart L. Fine, ’66 Eyeballing Treatments for Blindness
Geoffrey Chaucer, the 14th century poet, considered the eye as a window to one’s
soul. Saint Jerome wrote that eyes “confessed the secrets of the heart.” Stuart
L. Fine, chairman of the department of ophthalmology and director of the Scheie
Eye Institute at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, has studied
the eye for more than 30 years. An expert in diabetic retinopathy and macular
degeneration, he finds the eye as striking and mysterious as the great poets
and thinkers.
The Medical Alumni Association
Honor Roll
Each year the Medical Alumni Association recognizes thousands of alumni, faculty
and friends who support the medical school with gifts to the Association’s
annual fund. In this issue, the Bulletin magazine pays tribute to those whose
gifts were received between July 1, 2003 and June 30, 2004. The listing includes
members of the John Beale Davidge Alliance, Maryland’s recognition society
for major donors.
Bulletin Recollections
This is year 89 for the Bulletin magazine, the oldest medical alumni association
publication in the United States. In addition to serving as the medical school’s
primary communications link with alumni since 1916, it also serves as a bridge
connecting us with our past. This new section of the magazine features snippets
of past issues and offers a look at our medical school 25, 50 and 75 years ago.
Jonathan
with dog Marty
(Story about genetic
research).