Pulse

Volume5/1990_April26A PULSE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER April 2 6 , 1990 Decorating Eggs- perts Linen Services caught the spirit of spring recently with an Easter Egg decorating contest. Mary Collins took top honors with her styrofoam creation. Co- workers Lily Gabardi, Arlene Burton and Maggie Sanchez took second through fourth places, respectively. Hospital Week Picnic To Feature Contests University Hospital will observe National Hospital Week this year with a picnic and interdepartmental competitions on Thursday, May 10. The festivities will run from 11: 30 a. m.- l p. m. in front of the hospital. Staff will be treated to a free lunch and have the opportunity to compete in five different events. The games include a two- person wheelchair relay, 11: 45 a. m.; a three- person/ four- legged race, noon; a five- person speed- eating competition ( similar to a pie- eating contest), 12: 15 p. m.; a six- person bedpan/ balloon race, 12: 30 p. m.; and a six- person hospital bed race, 12: 45 p. m. Sign up for a team through your department head by May 4. For information, call Bryant Larsen, xl7387. Donor Week Celebrates Recycling of Life A large, blue and white balloon arch, a proclamation from Gov. Norm Bangerter and a handful of organ and tissue recipients were part of Monday's celebration on the steps of the state capitol building that kicked off National Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness Week. In reading the governor's proclamation, Lt. Gov. Val Oveson said that last year's organ week had influenced him; he then reached into his pocket and pulled out a donor card. " Donor Awareness Week is a chance to honor those families and individuals who, through their donations, have given life and hope to others. It's also a time to educate the public about organ and tissue donation and show them that this really is a positive thing for recipients and donor families," says David Winmill, R. N., procure-ment coordinator for Intermountain Organ Recovery System in Salt Lake City. Nationally, some 19,000 individuals are waiting for vital organ transplants. Yet an estimated 30 percent of those people will die because of the shortage of donor organs. That same scenario holds true in Utah. " Education is the key to eliminating the shortage we now face. Donation has been found to be beneficial for grieving families who choose it, as well as for the recipi-ents, who are given a second chance at life and sight," says Mary Jayne Stevens, director of the Utah Lions Eye Bank, based at the U Medical Center. The eye bank was responsible for coordinating more than 300 cornea transplants last year. And its director is an example of the hundreds of Utahns who have benefitted from transplantation. She received a donor ligament recently after injuring her leg in a skiing accident. To obtain donor cards or more information about organ or tissue donation, call the Eye Bank, xl2039 or the Donor Hodine, 1- 800- 833- 6667. Recirculate Your Reading The Volunteer Book Closet could use your used books and magazines. If you've got an extra Harlequin Romance, science fiction novel or woman's magazine lying around the house, please donate it to the book closet. The book closet is a service provided to U Hospital patients. Call volunteer services, x 12278 for drop- off locations. Medical Center Calendar • For those who are going through withdrawal from the UH 5K last week, there's another run this Saturday. The race, which benefits United Cerebral Palsy, is set for 8 a. m. at 7824 South 3930 West Registration is $ 8 in advance, $ 10 race day. For more details, call Nancy Augustine, x 16327. • Former pharmacy dean and professor of pharmacology and toxicology Harold H. Wolf, Ph. D., will give the 51st Annual Frederick William Reynolds Lecture, Tuesday, May 1 at 8 p. m. in the U Fine Arts Auditorium. His speech, " Reflec-tions on Academic Excellence, Leadership and Sows' Ears" will include a " penetrating analysis of excellence in institutions of higher learning." • Softball season is almost here. A planning meeting for the medical center summer league will be held May 4, noon- 1 p. m. in Medical Education Building Room 202. Team captains or representatives are encouraged to attend. For more information, call Robert Glass, xl7443. • This week is National Volunteer Week. Be sure to thank the volun-teers who work in your area for the great job they do! • This week is also Secretaries' Week. Hint! Hint! • May 4 is the registration deadline for teams wishing to compete in the hospital picnic/ games, May 10. Sign up through your department head. U Biomedical Researchers Win IBM Prize A team of two biomedical research-ers with the U Nora Eccles Harrison Cardiovascular Research and Training Institute has been awarded a $ 15,000 prize in the 1989 IBM 3090 Super-computing Competition. Andrew E. Pollard, Ph. D., a biomedical engineer, and Christo-pher R. Johnson, Ph. D., abiophysi-cist, won second prize in the competi-tion's Life and Health Sciences Division. Their paper is titled, " Electrical Activation of the Heart: Computational Studies of the Forward and Inverse Problems in Electrocardi-ography." The research team performed numerical simulations of the electrical stimulation of the heart, particularly what the electrical potential is at the heart itself, compared to what it would be on the body's surface, where it would be measured by an electrocardiograph. They also used their computer studies to measure the inverse electrical potentials- those on the surface- to determine what they would be at their source in the heart. " More than 600,000 Americans die from heart attacks each year. The frequency of heart disease makes the work of Drs. Pollard and Johnson very important," says J. A. Abildskov, M. D., director of the Nora Eccles Harrison institute. Drs. Pollard and Johnson will present their study at a scientific conference in Gainesville, Fla., April 25- 26. It also will be published in an MIT Press book titled Computer Assisted Analysis and Modeling on the IBM 3090. " It is always satisfying to see our colleagues' work recognized by the scientific community," said Dr. Abildskov. The Nora Eccles Harrison Cardio-vascular Research and Training Institute was established at the U nearly 21 years ago. Police Escort Service If you work late or work an evening shift, campus police will escort you to your car. It is a free service and can be arranged by calling x 12295. Lt. Paul Hardy says he is aware that some employees do not use the escort service, not wanting to " bother" campus police. But he says his officers are more than happy to make sure employees get to their cars safely. Mass Meetings Monday, April 30. Participate in the Process! You must be a regis-tered voter. County election offices can tell you your voting dis-trict and party offices can tell you meeting locations. U Biochemist Studies Virus Tails U Biochemist Tom Alber, Ph. D., assistant professor of biochemistry, is studying how a virus tail- 1/ 10- millionth of a meter long- enables the virus to infect living cells. Dr. Alber has received an $ 80,000 grant from the American Cancer Society for the study. " We're trying to find out how the structure of the P22 virus tail is built, and how that structure recognizes a sensitive host cell," Dr. Alber says. He is using powerful X- ray sources and computers to create a detailed image of the tail of the P22 virus. The virus is too small to be seen using even the most powerful microscopes. " Each virus tail is made up of more than 20,000 atoms in a unique three-dimensional arrangement. We're trying to find out where every atom is. It's like a high- tech jigsaw puzzle and nobody knows what the structure will turn out to be," Dr. Alber says. " The structure of the virus tail will give us clues about how the virus gets its DNA into a host cell.