Tulane Releases

The American College of Surgeon (ACS) recently awarded one of its highest honors for volunteerism to former Tulane surgery resident Dr. Alison Smith for her work to provide medical care to the people of Haiti.

Researchers have shown that a common cold virus can infect cells derived from human placentas, suggesting that it may be possible for the infection to pass from expectant mothers to their unborn children.

On Saturday, Dec. 7, Newcomb Art Museum will host a variety of performances from artists and collaborators from their current student-organized exhibition The American Dream Denied: The New Orleans Residents of Gordon Plaza Seek Relocation to celebrate the run of the impactful exhibition, as well as to mark the final days of the powerful solo show Flint is Family.

The American Heart Association recently honored two Tulane University physicians, cardiologist Dr. Keith Ferdinand and epidemiology professor Dr. Paul Whelton, with national awards for their outstanding contribution to the field of cardiology and cardiovascular research.

The Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI), a multi-donor program to reduce the human impact on tropical rainforests in Central Africa, recently awarded $7.2 million to a team of researchers at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. Drs. Jane Bertrand, Arsene Binanga, and Julie Hernandez of the Department of Health Policy and Management will spearhead the project. The team’s goal is to increase contraceptive use in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The Tulane National Primate Research Center was awarded a $1.5 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help researchers find a more effective vaccine against tuberculosis. The grant will fund efforts to establish a nonhuman primate colony that more closely mimics the way people are currently vaccinated against the disease.

The Section of Hematology and Medical Oncology in the John W. Deming Department of Medicine at Tulane will host its Inaugural Kidney Cancer Day on Thursday, Dec. 12, in the Tidewater Diboll Auditorium and Gallery at 1440 Canal St.

A Tulane researcher is heading to Antarctica as part of a five-year quest to understand the Thwaites Glacier and its future contribution to global sea level.