UNM’s Health Sciences Center received $4.7 million in funding increases in 2015, according to a UNM HSC press release. This year, the HSC has received $160,753,570 for different research projects, according to the statement. “Since 1998, HSC has more than tripled its research grants and contracts, from $45 million to more than $160 million,” according to the statement.
UNM scientists have discovered a protein that organizes autophagy in the human immune system, “the vital internal cell-scrubbing process that maintains the intracellular landscape by gathering and disposing of worn-out proteins and invading microorganisms,” according to UNM press release. Autophagy is the early immune response that regulates which cells die or live longer.
New jobs are beginning to emerge in developing and underdeveloped countries. Economies are opening up and people are moving to major cities in search of new career opportunities. Agrarian societies are turning into industrial societies. A UNM researcher is examining how these recent changes in socioeconomic opportunities affect the distribution of wealth in China and Bangladesh. “Previously, these societies have been agrarian and most people subsisted in fairly similar ways. Everyone was a farmer and everyone had similar things. But now that the economies are opening up and they are integrating with regional economies, people have different opportunities,” said Siobhán Mattison, assistant professor of evolutionary anthropology.
A UNM arts professor is being honored by having her work displayed at an exhibit in the nation’s capitol this month. Fine arts professor Mary Tsiongas’ video artwork, “The Mercurial Dog Anticipates Her,”is being featured in the 2015 Women To Watch exhibition at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. “It was a wonderful surprise, and I was just thrilled to have it go to Washington, D.C.,” Tsiongas said.
For the third time in about as many weeks, UNM is being warned of an incident of sexual harassment on or near main campus.
Francie Cordova has been appointed as the new director of the Office of Equal Opportunity. Cordova came to UNM after serving as assistant chief counsel for the California Department of State Hospitals, which is the biggest provider of long-term mental health care in the world. In that position, she was responsible for many of the equal opportunity and affirmative action functions within the office.
For almost a year UNM has been in the early stages of planning a new sports and entertainment district on south campus. Below is a timeline of the process, and where the University stands now with a potential partner.
The University is in the preliminary stages of planning the first major renovations to Johnson Center in 15 years, and officials are asking students to help them out. Kevin Grant Stevenson, strategic planner in the president’s office, said that any eventual designs for renovation to Johnson are grounded almost completely in what students want.
The UNMPD arrested a man who was accused of harassing and physically attacking a female student. The accused unlawfully touched a female student and held her against her will “when she tried to pull away”, according to a UNMPD press release. “Henry Budford of Brimhall, 50, is charged with false imprisonment in connection with an incident Monday morning, Aug.
The UNM Division of Student Affairs, in collaboration with El Mezquite Market, will host the annual Mezquite Golf Tournament on Friday. The tournament is aiming to raise funds for scholarships for UNM students, according to a UNM press release. “We are grateful each year for the generosity of El Mezquite Market owner Sergio Bermudez, who brings together a number of donors to contribute to a worthy cause,” Dr. Eliseo ‘Cheo’ Torres, vice president for UNM Student Affairs, said in the press release.
The UNM School of Law has promoted three faculty members. Camille Carey has been promoted to the position of professor, and Yael Zakai Cannon and Alex Ritchie have been designated as associate professors, according to a UNM press release. “Carey and Cannon teach in the law school’s pioneering, mandatory Clinical Program that trains students how to practice law.
The UNM Cancer Center last week received the most prestigious designation available in the nation for cancer research programs, ranking it in the top 1 percent of the nation. The center announced its appointment as a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute. This identifies UNMCC as one of 69 nationally designated cancer centers that form the backbone for studying and controlling cancer, according to NCI’s website.
The Family Listening Project, funded by the University of New Mexico and run by the Center for Participatory Research in collaboration with the Ramah Navajo community, is recruiting elementary students from the Navajo community for the fall semester. The Family Listening Project was initiated in 2002-2003 to conserve local knowledge and improve the level of education in the community. The program also aims to reduce health disparities within the community, project officials said.
This week several University departments, student organizations and other groups will set up information booths and provide free food and live music to help welcome students back to school. Many off-campus vendors have rented space near the SUB to help make this week’s events possible. The vendors will vary throughout the week, and most will provide services catered specifically to students.
With the start of the semester and new academic year dawning at UNM, many students might elect to hit the snooze button, wait on buying supplies and keep their brains in third gear for another week or two. But University officials said setting the tone for the coming months early is key to having a healthy and successful semester. Sonia Rankin, associate dean of University College, said students will cultivate their characters and discover their passions over the course of the year -- but asking some key questions is important when getting started. “Ask yourself: 'what am I here to accomplish or become? What steps do I need to take to reach that goal? What tools do I need to achieve the steps?'” Rankin said.
The University is expecting 3,330 freshman in the fall of 2015, compared to 3,132 in 2014, representing an increase of more than six percent, according to a University press release. UNM’s reputation as the state’s flagship university, as well as broader outreach by the Office of Admissions, has been key in the influx of new students, said Terry Babbitt, associate vice president of enrollment management. “It’s gratifying to see the number of traditional students from within and outside of New Mexico who recognize the incredible educational quality we provide,” Babbitt said. Interest in the recently established Honors College is also a key component in attracting not just new students, but driven and motivated individuals, according to the press release.
The University recently announced the promotion of seven instructors to the status of distinguished professors, the “highest faculty title” that UNM bestows upon its employees, according to a University press release. They are Bill Gilbert, Hua Guo, Zachary Sharp, Arthur Bankhurst, Robert Sapien, Daniel Savage and Cheryl Willman.
A request for nearly $8.9 million in research and project funding was approved by the Board of Regents, and will next go the New Mexico Higher Education Department, according to a University press release. The document stated that the list of proposals is “a preliminary step in developing the University’s fiscal year 2017 budget”. More than a third of the total requested amount – $3,060,000 – would go toward UNM’s Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO), which “improves access to specialty care for underserved patients in rural New Mexico”.
On Wednesday, protest chants, car horns and red-and-yellow picket signs appeared in front of the UNM bookstore to draw attention to police brutality. The event, coinciding with the one-year anniversary of Michael Brown’s fatal shooting by a Ferguson, Missouri officer, was held by the Answer Coalition and Red Nation in support of what has been dubbed the #BlackLivesMatter movement. The three movements are social justice campaigns founded on the initiative to end racism and promote peace and equality. This particular event at UNM focused on police brutality and accountability, with each speaker at the event voicing their opinions and relating their experiences of police actions that were directed at their person. One speaker, Joel Gallegos, a coordinator for the Answer Coalition, recalled times in his life when he said he was hassled by law enforcement.
Researchers at the UNM Mind Research Network have developed a vaccine that presents the possibility of a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. Assistant professor Kiran Bhaskar and senior research specialist Nicole Maphis at Molecular Genetics and Microbiology have worked on several projects that relate to Alzheimer’s pathology, including the new vaccine development. Alzheimer’s affects 5 million people nationwide, Maphis said, because it is an age-related disorder and develops over time. The number of Alzheimer’s patients is expected to triple by the year 2020, due largely to the “baby boomer” generation.
Solutions by The State News
