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2012 News

2012 2011

• May 14, 2012

  Longtime Faculty Member, Expert in Effects of Radiation on DNA, Dies

  William A. Bernhard, Ph.D., a faculty member of the University of Rochester Medical Center for more than 40 years and an internationally known expert on the effects of ionizing radiation on the chemical structure of DNA, died May 9 at his home in Mendon, N.Y., after a brief illness.

  Bill was a biophysicist of the highest order, working at the forefront of understanding how radiation damages our genetic material. His unique command of both the biological and physical aspects of radiation damage earned him the respect and recognition of colleagues worldwide, said Jeffrey J. Hayes, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics. The longevity of his research program, funded by the National Cancer Institute for 37 consecutive years, and the successful careers of his many trainees are testaments to the consistent high quality of his work, the high regard his peers, and his commitment to training future scientists. Bill also was a wonderful person and colleague.

• April 4, 2012

  10^th Annual Fred Sherman Lecture Highlights Genetics Day 2012

  Today, the department of Biomedical Genetics 24^th Annual Genetics Day was highlighted by the 10^th Annual Fred Sherman Lecture. Dr. Fred Sherman, Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry & Biophysics has been honored for his contributions to Genetics and Yeast Genetics for the past nine years with a lecture named after him. The NIH has funded Fred for a remarkable 45 years, during which time he has published over 280 papers, with more on the way.

  In 1970, Fred initiated the famous yeast course at Cold Spring Harbor, which has trained scores of today's leading investigators. He served as an instructor in this course for 17 years. Fred's many landmark contributions to several fields of molecular biology were recognized by his election to the National Academy of Sciences in 1985.

  Genetics Day is an annual event, including a poster session and plenary lectures, that brings together the University genetics community defined in its broadest sense. This year, Dr. Gary Ruvkun, Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School, gave the Sherman Lecture entilted, The tiny RNA pathways of C. elegans.

• March 13, 2012

  Former Biophysics Chair and Senior Dean of Graduate Studies Dies

  Paul L. LaCelle, M.D., a University of Rochester Medical Center faculty member for more than 40 years, a former department chair and former senior dean, died March 9. He was 82.

  Dr. LaCelle, a 1959 graduate of the University's School of Medicine and Dentistry, joined the faculty in 1964 as an instructor of what was then the Department of Radiation Biology and Biophysics. He was named a professor in 1974 and chaired what is now the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics from 1977 to 1996.