Blog@Case Topics: provost initiativeshttp://blog.case.edu/topics/provost%20initiativesMarsha Braggmarsha.myhand@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/case-newsKevin Adamskevin.adams@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/case-newsPaula Baughnpaula.baughn@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/case-newsKimyette Finleykimyette.finley@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/case-newsHeidi Coolheidi.cool@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/case-news2010-07-27T16:28:55ZCase Western Reserve Welcomes New Assistant Director for Faculty Leadership Programshttp://blog.case.edu/case-news/2010/07/22/merlegraybill2010-07-22T21:52:33Z2010-07-27T16:28:55ZMerle Graybill plans to spend the next several months talking with campus members about ways to support women faculty in their pursuit of success and leadership opportunities. She's the university’s new assistant director for faculty leadership programs at the Flora Stone Mather Center for Women.
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Merle Graybill

Merle Graybill plans to spend the next several months talking with campus members about ways to support women faculty in their pursuit of success and leadership opportunities.

Graybill, the university’s new assistant director for faculty leadership programs at the Flora Stone Mather Center for Women, arrived on campus this summer. She directs the new Women’s Faculty Leadership Development Initiative, funded by the Provost’s Action Agenda for the university’s strategic plan.

Building on the foundation started with the National Science Foundation-ADVANCE grant (Academic Careers in Engineering and Science –ACES), Graybill plans to focus on the needs of women faculty in schools and campus-wide.

Kimyette Finleykimyette.finley@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/case-newsCase Western Reserve Announces New University Librarianhttp://blog.case.edu/case-news/2010/07/02/universitylibrarian2010-07-02T14:28:21Z2010-07-02T17:05:16ZCase Western Reserve University has selected a new university librarian. Arnold Hirshon, who has more than 30 years of experience in the management of nonprofit organizations, academic libraries and information technology, will begin his new duties on August 16. He also will hold the title of associate provost.
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Arnold Hirshon

Case Western Reserve University has selected a new university librarian. Arnold Hirshon, who has more than 30 years of experience in the management of nonprofit organizations, academic libraries and information technology, will begin his new duties on August 16. He also will hold the title of associate provost.

“We’re very enthusiastic about him,†said Lynn Singer, deputy provost and a member of the search committee. Several search committee members cited Hirshon’s international experience as a plus.

Hirshon succeeds Joanne Eustis, who retired last December after 11 years as university librarian.

Hirshon is currently the chief strategist and executive consultant for LYRASIS Inc., the nation’s largest library consortia organization serving libraries and information professionals in the United States and abroad.

Kimyette Finleykimyette.finley@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/case-newsNew Social Work Professional Association Finds Home at Case Western Reserve Universityhttp://blog.case.edu/case-news/2010/01/25/aaswswvirtualhome2010-01-25T17:59:42Z2010-01-25T21:17:59ZThe newly formed American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare (AASWSW) will have its virtual home at Case Western Reserve University's Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences over the next three years.

The newly formed American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare (AASWSW) will have its virtual home at Case Western Reserve University's Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences over the next three years.

Claudia Coulton, the Lillian F. Harris Professor of social work and co-director of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development at the social work school, has been named one of the founding fellows. She also is the inaugural treasurer of the organization to advance the social work profession.

Since last January, Grover "Cleve" Gilmore, dean of the social work school, was part of a six-member Academy Working Group that wrote the AASWSW's mission statement. The group set the organization on its future course by naming six individuals, including Coulton, to be its first leaders and charged them with growing the organization by selecting some of the first members.

Kimyette Finleykimyette.finley@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/case-newsMaking a Deal: Weatherhead School of Management Team Takes First in M&A Competitionhttp://blog.case.edu/case-news/2010/01/25/weatherheadmergersacquisitionswin2010-01-25T17:36:18Z2010-01-25T17:44:32ZA team graduate students from the Weatherhead School of Management proved their talent in making a deal with first-place honors at a competition involving an M&A (mergers and acquisition) case.

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A team graduate students from the Weatherhead School of Management proved their talent in making a deal with first-place honors at a competition involving an M&A (mergers and acquisition) case.

The Cleveland Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) invited teams of graduate students from Case Western Reserve, Baldwin Wallace, Cleveland State, Kent State and Ohio State University. Case Western Reserve had two teams in the competition held Jan. 15 at The Union Club in downtown Cleveland.

The teams participated in an analysis of a real-world merger case developed by Houlihan Lokey, a national investment banking firm. That case was used in ACG regional competitions held across the United States.

Kimyette Finleykimyette.finley@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/case-newsCase Western Reserve Research Finds First Oral Bacteria Linking a Mother and Her Stillborn Babyhttp://blog.case.edu/case-news/2010/01/22/oralbacteriamombaby2010-01-22T16:10:27Z2010-01-22T16:20:30ZYiping Han, a researcher from Department of Periodontics at Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine, reports the first documented link between a mother with pregnancy-associated gum disease to the death of her fetus.

Yiping Han, a researcher from the Department of Periodontics at Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine, reports the first documented link between a mother, 35, with pregnancy-associated gum disease to the death of her fetus.

The findings are discussed in the article, "Term Stillbirth Caused by Oral Fusobacterium nucleatum," in the February issue of "Obstetrics & Gynecology."

An internet search in 2008 led a friend of a mother, who had just delivered a stillborn baby, to Han's research lab—one of the few in the world working on understanding the role variations of the oral bacteria, Fusobacterium nucleatum, have on pre-term labor and stillbirths.

Kimyette Finleykimyette.finley@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/case-newsFinding Ways for People with Disabilities to Participate in Research is Goal of Nursing School Studyhttp://blog.case.edu/case-news/2010/01/21/findlab2010-01-21T15:26:46Z2010-01-21T18:34:06ZWhile the public has made accommodations for 54.4 million people with disabilities, many researchers regularly exclude people who cannot read, hear or write from participating in their research projects. But that's about to change. The Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing will develop research tools and strategies to include individuals with vision and hearing impairments in future research. The SMART Center at the nursing school will present its first FIND Lab Workshop from 8 a.m. to noon, Tuesday, Feb. 9, in the Thwing Center ballroom.

While the public has made accommodations for 54.4 million people with disabilities, many researchers regularly exclude people who cannot read, hear or write from participating in their research projects. But that's about to change.

The Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing (FPB) will develop research tools and strategies to include individuals with vision and hearing impairments in future research. The SMART Center at the nursing school will present its first FIND Lab Workshop from 8 a.m. to noon, Tuesday, Feb. 9, in the Thwing Center ballroom.

Shirley Moore, Edward J. and Louise Mellen Professor of Nursing and director of the National Institutes of Health-funded Center for Self-Management Research (SMART Center) at FPB, is the lead investigator for the two-year, nearly $400,000 National Institute for Nursing Research-funded project, "Full Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities (FIND) in Self-Management Research."

Kimyette Finleykimyette.finley@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/case-newsCornea Cell Density Predictive of Graft Failure at Six Months Post Transplanthttp://blog.case.edu/case-news/2010/01/19/corneatransplant2010-01-19T17:59:28Z2010-01-19T18:52:10Z<p>A new predictor of cornea transplant success has been identified by the Cornea Donor Study (CDS) Investigator Group. New analysis of data from the 2008 Specular Microscopy Ancillary Study (SMAS), a subset of the CDS, found that the preoperative donor cell count of endothelial cells, previously considered to be an important predictor of a successful transplant, did not correlate with graft success. Instead the study found that a patient’s endothelial cell count six months post-cornea transplant is a better indicator of subsequent failure of the graft rather than the donor’s cell count. These results offer an additional, reliable indicator of success that surgeons can use for monitoring patients at the six-month milestone after transplantation. </p>
Cornea Donor Study Investigator Group Finds Preoperative Cell Density Not a Factor in Success

A new predictor of cornea transplant success has been identified by the Cornea Donor Study (CDS) Investigator Group. New analysis of data from the 2008 Specular Microscopy Ancillary Study (SMAS), a subset of the CDS, found that the preoperative donor cell count of endothelial cells, previously considered to be an important predictor of a successful transplant, did not correlate with graft success. Instead the study found that a patient’s endothelial cell count six months post-cornea transplant is a better indicator of subsequent failure of the graft rather than the donor’s cell count. These results offer an additional, reliable indicator of success that surgeons can use for monitoring patients at the six-month milestone after transplantation.

Endothelial cells form the back layer of the cornea and keep the cornea clear and prevent it from swelling. Previously it was thought that the more endothelial cells/mm2 in the donor cornea, the better, which put pressure on the eye banks to have donors with the highest count possible to distribute to corneal surgeons. However, the SMAS findings show no correlation between it and a patient’s graft success rate five-years post transplant, as long as the industry standard minimum of 2,000 cells/mm2 was met. The results of this study are published in the January issue of the Archives of Ophthalmology.

Kimyette Finleykimyette.finley@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/case-newsState Funds Energy Research by Northeast Ohio Businesses and<br /> Case Western Reservehttp://blog.case.edu/case-news/2010/01/11/thirdfrontierfunding2010-01-11T18:09:53Z2010-01-11T18:16:13ZWith State of Ohio funding, researchers at Case Western Reserve University will help businesses in Northeast Ohio build and bring to market better lithium ion batteries and solid oxide fuel cell systems.

With State of Ohio funding, researchers at Case Western Reserve University will help businesses in Northeast Ohio build and bring to market better lithium ion batteries and solid oxide fuel cell systems.

In late December, Governor Ted Strickland and other officials approved a total of $19.2 million in Ohio Third Frontier grants for 19 projects.

Case Western Reserve scientists, who are members of the Great Lakes Energy Institute based at the university, are involved in two projects.

Kimyette Finleykimyette.finley@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/case-news<em>Ardi</em> Discovery is <em>Science</em>'s Breakthrough of the Year for 2009http://blog.case.edu/case-news/2009/12/23/ardi2009sciencebreakthrough2009-12-23T18:07:21Z2009-12-23T18:18:39ZThe Science Breakthrough of the Year for 2009 is the discovery and analysis of a 4.4 million-year-old hominid skeleton, nicknamed Ardi, which has rewritten the book on human evolution. Several Case Western Reserve University researchers were involved in the discovery.

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The Science Breakthrough of the Year for 2009 is the discovery and analysis of a 4.4 million-year-old hominid skeleton, nicknamed Ardi, which has rewritten the book on human evolution.

Science and its publisher, The American Association for the Advancement of Science, recognize the research done on Ardipithecus ramidus fossils as this year's top breakthrough, appropriately enough, during the year of Darwin.

Scientists from Northeast Ohio were among the researchers who published 11 papers this year, describing a possible human ancestor in the midst of changing from climbing on all fours to walking upright.

The Ardipithecus research "changes the way we think about early human evolution, and it represents the culmination of 15 years of painstaking, highly collaborative research by 47 scientists of diverse expertise from nine nations, who carefully analyzed 150,000 specimens of fossilized animals and plants," said Bruce Alberts, editor-in-chief of Science , in a related editorial.

Ardi is far different from the chimpanzees so often thought to be the model of our forebears. The fossils show that human ancestors and apes were already evolving away from each other more than 4 million years ago, explained Scott W. Simpson, associate professor of anatomy at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and research associate at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.

Kimyette Finleykimyette.finley@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/case-newsEntropy Alone Creates Complex Crystals from Simple Shapes, Study Showshttp://blog.case.edu/case-news/2009/12/22/complexquasicrystals2009-12-22T15:12:17Z2009-12-22T18:09:44ZIn a study that elevates the role of entropy in creating order, research from the University of Michigan, Case Western Reserve University and Kent State University shows that certain pyramid shapes can spontaneously organize into complex quasicrystals.

In a study that elevates the role of entropy in creating order, research from the University of Michigan, Case Western Reserve University and Kent State University shows that certain pyramid shapes can spontaneously organize into complex quasicrystals.

A quasicrystal is a solid whose components exhibit long-range order, but without a single pattern or a unit cell that repeats.

Their findings, in a paper titled "Disordered, quasicrystalline and crystalline phases of densely packed tetrahedral,†were published in the Dec. 10 issue of Nature .

Kimyette Finleykimyette.finley@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/case-newsNational Institute of Aging Awards $16 Million to Study Unexplained Anemia in Older Adultshttp://blog.case.edu/case-news/2009/12/21/pactte2009-12-21T17:06:19Z2009-12-21T18:35:48ZCase Western Reserve University and University Hospitals Case Medical Center will participate in a consortium of the nation’s leading experts formed to investigate why unexplained anemia is common in older adults. The consortium, which is the result of a $16 million grant awarded by the National Institute on Aging, will spend the next six years conducting clinical trials and translational studies with the goal of developing better treatments.
Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals Case Medical Center to participate in consortium to investigate why unexplained anemia is common in older adults

Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals Case Medical Center will participate in a consortium of the nation’s leading experts formed to investigate why unexplained anemia is common in older adults. The consortium, which is the result of a $16 million grant awarded by the National Institute on Aging, will spend the next six years conducting clinical trials and translational studies with the goal of developing better treatments.

To date, little to no research has focused on unexplained anemia which accounts for one-third of cases in the elderly. "The population has been difficult to define and it has been challenging to enroll participants in clinical trials," says Harvey J. Cohen, MD, Director of the Center for the Study of Aging at Duke University Medical Center, who will serve as the overall principal investigator of the consortium, known as Partnership for Anemia: Clinical and Translational Trials in the Elderly (PACTTE).

"The overall goal of this study is to identify underlying causes of unexplained anemia in the elderly and to develop new strategies for its treatment" says Nathan A. Berger, M.D., Director of the program at Case Western Reserve University and an oncologist at University Hospitals Case Medical Center.

Kimyette Finleykimyette.finley@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/case-newsTheorists propose a new way to shine&mdash;and a new kind of starhttp://blog.case.edu/case-news/2009/12/18/electroweakstar2009-12-18T17:34:02Z2009-12-18T17:42:43ZDying, for stars, has just gotten more complicated. For some stellar objects, the final phase before or instead of collapsing into a black hole may be what a group of physicists is calling an electroweak star.

Dying, for stars, has just gotten more complicated.

For some stellar objects, the final phase before or instead of collapsing into a black hole may be what a group of physicists is calling an electroweak star.

Glenn Starkman, a professor of physics at Case Western Reserve University, together with former graduate students and post-docs De-Chang Dai and Dejan Stojkovic, now at the State University of New York in Buffalo, and Arthur Lue, at MIT's Lincoln Lab, offer a description of the structure of an electroweak star in a paper submitted to Physical Review Letters and posted online.

Kimyette Finleykimyette.finley@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/case-newsPrestigious NEH Fellowships Aid Humanities Faculty's Book Projectshttp://blog.case.edu/case-news/2009/12/17/nehfellowships2009-12-17T18:09:37Z2009-12-17T18:40:27ZThe National Endowment for the Humanities offered two College of Arts and Sciences faculty members--Ellen G. Landau from art history and Susanne Vees-Gulani from modern languages and literature--prestigious and competitive NEH Fellowships to support their research.

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The National Endowment for the Humanities offered two College of Arts and Sciences faculty members—Ellen G. Landau from art history and Susanne Vees-Gulani from modern languages and literature—prestigious and competitive NEH Fellowships to support their research.

The two NEH Fellowships also set a new record for the university. This is the first time that two faculty members have received Fellowships in one year in recent history. Over the past years, CWRU has been the recipient of 48 NEH awards.

NEH funded 319 humanities projects.

NEH has given support for the projects, "Mexico and American Modernism," by Landau, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of the Humanities, and "The Myths of Dresden: Origins and Manifestations of the German Victim Discourse" by Vees-Gulani, assistant professor of comparative literature and German.

Kimyette Finleykimyette.finley@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/case-newsNew England Journal of Medicine Publishes Case Western Reserve Review of the "Molecular Basis of Colorectal Cancer"http://blog.case.edu/case-news/2009/12/17/markowitzbertagnolli2009-12-17T17:28:55Z2009-12-17T17:39:57ZAs researchers and clinicians fervently look for causes and cures for colorectal cancer--simultaneously generating thousands of studies producing more and more promising results – Dr. Sanford Markowitz, professor and researcher of cancer and genetics at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and oncologist at the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center at University Hospitals Case Medical Center, today published his forward-looking view of the "Molecular Basis of Colorectal Cancer" in the Dec. 17, 2009 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, with co-author, Dr. Monica Bertagnolli, from the Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School.
Professor Dr. Sanford Markowitz details promising findings leading to reducing the burden of the disease

Every year in the United States, 160,000 cases of colorectal cancer are diagnosed, and 57,000 patients die of the disease, making it the second leading cause of death from cancer among adults, after lung cancer.

As researchers and clinicians fervently look for causes and cures for colorectal cancer--simultaneously generating thousands of studies producing more and more promising results – Dr. Sanford Markowitz, professor and researcher of cancer and genetics at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and oncologist at the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center at University Hospitals Case Medical Center, today published his forward-looking view of the "Molecular Basis of Colorectal Cancer" in the Dec. 17, 2009 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine , with co-author, Dr. Monica Bertagnolli, from the Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School.

"Today's challenges are to understand the molecular basis of individual susceptibility to colorectal cancer and to determine factors that initiate the development of the tumor, drive its progression, and determine its responsiveness or resistance to antitumor agents," wrote Dr. Markowitz.

Kimyette Finleykimyette.finley@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/case-newsResearchers Take the Inside Route to Halt Bleedinghttp://blog.case.edu/case-news/2009/12/16/syntheticplatelets2009-12-16T19:00:34Z2009-12-16T19:05:11ZBlood loss is a major cause of death from roadside bombs to freeway crashes. Traumatic injury, the leading cause of death for people age 4 to 44, often overwhelms the body's natural blood-clotting process. In an effort to enhance the natural process, a team led by Erin Lavik, a new Case Western Reserve University biomedical engineering professor, and her former doctoral student, James P. Bertram, built synthetic platelets that show promise in halting internal and external bleeding. Their work is published in Science Translational Medicine.
Synthetic platelets halve clotting time

Erin Lavik

Blood loss is a major cause of death from roadside bombs to freeway crashes. Traumatic injury, the leading cause of death for people age 4 to 44, often overwhelms the body's natural blood-clotting process.

In an effort to enhance the natural process, a team led by Erin Lavik, a new Case Western Reserve University biomedical engineeringprofessor, and her former doctoral student, James P. Bertram, built synthetic platelets that show promise in halting internal and external bleeding.

Their work is published in Science Translational Medicine.

Kimyette Finleykimyette.finley@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/case-newsCase Western Reserve to Receive $19.7M to Study Tuberculosis Treatment Drugshttp://blog.case.edu/case-news/2009/12/10/tuberculosistrialsconsortium2009-12-10T15:32:59Z2009-12-10T15:50:25ZJohn L. Johnson, M.D., Professor of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and pulmonologist at University Hospitals Case Medical Center has been awarded a 10 year, $19.7M contract from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as an international clinical trials site for the Tuberculosis Trials Consortium (TBTC). TBTC, established in 1993, is a partnership of U.S. and international clinical investigators who conduct research about the diagnosis, medical treatment, and prevention of tuberculosis (TB) infection and disease.
School of Medicine is One of 20 Worldwide Research Sites to Receive Funding from CDC

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John L. Johnson, M.D., Professor of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and pulmonologist at University Hospitals Case Medical Center has been awarded a 10 year, $19.7M contract from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as an international clinical trials site for the Tuberculosis Trials Consortium (TBTC). TBTC, established in 1993, is a partnership of U.S. and international clinical investigators who conduct research about the diagnosis, medical treatment, and prevention of tuberculosis (TB) infection and disease.

As the principal investigator, Dr. Johnson will lead two research teams in the testing of new drugs and shorter and simpler regimens for the treatment of TB that will benefit patients worldwide.

Kimyette Finleykimyette.finley@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/case-newsCase Western Reserve Researchers New Pathway Discovery Published as 'Paper of the Week'http://blog.case.edu/case-news/2009/12/10/paperoftheweek2009-12-10T13:09:09Z2009-12-17T17:35:36ZCase Western Reserve University researchers, from the School of Medicine's Department of Nutrition, discovered two new metabolic pathways by which products of lipid peroxidation and some drugs of abuse, known as 4-hydroxyacids, are metabolized. The pathways were identified by a combination of metabolomics and mass isotopomer analysis. The findings shed new light on the mechanism of action of the drug of abuse gamma-hydroxybutyrate, also known as “the date rape drug.” The manuscript published in the November 27 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry was named a "Paper of the Week." Such papers are chosen from the top one percent of all articles submitted to the prestigious peer-reviewed journal. This type of rare breakthrough sets the ground work for future discoveries.
Journal of Biological Chemistry identifies a study conducted at the School of Medicine study as an "exemplary prototype"

Case Western Reserve University researchers, from the School of Medicine's Department of Nutrition, discovered two new metabolic pathways by which products of lipid peroxidation and some drugs of abuse, known as 4-hydroxyacids, are metabolized. The pathways were identified by a combination of metabolomics and mass isotopomer analysis. The findings shed new light on the mechanism of action of the drug of abuse gamma-hydroxybutyrate, also known as “the date rape drug.†The manuscript published in the November 27 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry was named a "Paper of the Week." Such papers are chosen from the top one percent of all articles submitted to the prestigious peer-reviewed journal. This type of rare breakthrough sets the ground work for future discoveries.

This work was supported by a RoadMap grant from the National Institutes of Health, a grant from the National Institute of Environment Health Sciences, as well as by a grant from the Cleveland Mt. Sinai Health Care Foundation. The RoadMap grant funded the development of metabolomics at Case Western Reserve, as well as the acquisition of a top-of-the-line mass spectrometer. This instrument allowed this and multiple other studies to be conducted. The RoadMap initiative allowed a quantum jump in the development of metabolic research at the School of Medicine.

Kimyette Finleykimyette.finley@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/case-newsModeling Drug Use in a Virtual City Has Potential to Shape Policieshttp://blog.case.edu/case-news/2009/12/09/leehoffer2009-12-09T18:21:26Z2009-12-09T18:50:40ZAnthropologist Lee Hoffer watches drug deals in a virtual city neighborhood on his computer at Case Western Reserve University. But, what looks like a computer game are real drug activities constructed from research data Hoffer has collected from fieldwork with heroin dealers. Hoffer's model has brought about innovative ways of thinking about heroin use and the illegal market distributing the drug.
New $1.6 million NIDA grant supports anthropologist's work

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Anthropologist Lee Hoffer watches drug deals in a virtual city neighborhood on his computer at Case Western Reserve University.

But, what looks like a computer game are real drug activities constructed from research data Hoffer has collected from fieldwork with heroin dealers.

Hoffer's model has brought about innovative ways of thinking about heroin use and the illegal market distributing the drug.

He now turns to building computer models based on methamphetamine users and dealers from Cuyahoga and Summit Counties in Ohio. A recent award of a five-year, $1.6 million grant from the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) will expand his work.

He plans to recruit 204 participants, with help from Northeast Ohio social service agencies. The users and dealers, whose information will remain confidential, will contribute data that goes into the agent-based models he is constructing. These simulations use complexity theory and techniques from artificial intelligence to design what look like computer games.

Kimyette Finleykimyette.finley@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/case-newsPoverty Center Finds Home Purchase Loans Drop in Cleveland and Cuyahoga Countyhttp://blog.case.edu/case-news/2009/12/02/clevelandhomepurchasesreport2009-12-02T17:17:19Z2009-12-02T18:00:02ZAn analysis of home mortgage data by Case Western Reserve University's Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development finds that home purchase loans have been stalled with a fall in conventional mortgage lending, with the eastern side of Cleveland and the inner-ring suburbs experiencing "drastic declines," according to the center's November 2009 "Behind the Numbers" report.

An analysis of home mortgage data by Case Western Reserve University's Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development finds that home purchase loans have been stalled with a fall in conventional mortgage lending, with the eastern side of Cleveland and the inner-ring suburbs experiencing "drastic declines," according to the center's November 2009 "Behind the Numbers" report.

The center, housed within the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences examined data from 1995-2008 provided by the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) to find that the drop-off in high-cost lending is responsible for a disproportionate share of the loss.

Kimyette Finleykimyette.finley@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/case-newsTaking Care of Unfinished Business at the End of Life is the Focus of Research Nursing and Psychology Collaborationshttp://blog.case.edu/case-news/2009/11/30/bestcenter2009-11-30T18:26:01Z2009-11-30T18:33:18ZHospice workers have watched patients emerge from comas and cling to life long enough to tell someone they love or forgive them. This phenomenon of taking care of unfinished business has been observed, but researchers from the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing and the College of Arts and Sciences will begin groundbreaking studies to understand what drives the dying to live long enough to resolve these issues.

Hospice workers have watched patients emerge from comas and cling to life long enough to tell someone they love or forgive them.

This phenomenon of taking care of unfinished business has been observed, but researchers from the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing and the College of Arts and Sciences will begin groundbreaking studies to understand what drives the dying to live long enough to resolve these issues.

With the research data, they will design interventions to help patients in hospice care and families before and after the person passes.

Before now, end of life research primarily focused on making the patient comfortable by easing suffering or discomfort from the illness.

But, the approach of Barbara Daly and Mary Jo Prince-Paul from the School of Nursing and Julie Exline from Arts and Sciences is to relieve psychological distress by marshaling the patient's inner strengths and social connections.

Kimyette Finleykimyette.finley@case.eduhttp://blog.case.edu/case-news