NEWS

NIEHS grant provides for training of doctoral students

The UNC School of Public Health has received renewal of a training grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences that will support 31 doctoral students annually – the largest number of predoctoral trainees supported by any NIEHS training grant.

The grant, titled "Biostatistics for Research in Environmental Health," provides more than $1 million in training funds annually for five years, ending in 2007.

"This training grant will provide these Ph.D. students with funding to do state-of-the-art research on environmental problems such as exposures to toxic chemicals, air pollution and gene-environment interactions that pose threats to human health, "said Dr. Lawrence L. Kupper, Alumni Distinguished professor of biostatistics.

Since 1972, Kupper has served as program director of this nationally recognized training program, which now has received 35 years of continuous funding from the NIEHS.

This latest renewal provides support for the training of 31 predoctoral students in the departments of biostatistics (16), epidemiology (10) and environmental sciences and engineering (five) in the School of Public Health, as well as yearly support for three postdoctoral trainees.

School of Public Health contact: Lisa Katz, (919) 966-7467 or lisa_katz@unc.edu
News Services contact: Deb Saine, (919) 962-8415

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A psychology professor emeritus, who was a member of the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for more than 25 years, has received the Gold Medal Award for Life Achievement in the Science of Psychology, from the American Psychological Foundation.

Dr. John B. Carroll, professor of psychology emeritus and a pioneering expert in psycholinguistics and the learning of languages, was recognized for his "distinguished and enduring record of accomplishment" in the field, according to the foundation.

"Throughout an illustrious career, [Carroll] has profoundly influenced the understanding of intelligence, cognition, and the learning of languages," stated the award citation. "Many of his more than 500 publications continue to be cited and serve in the public interest to enhance classroom practices of reading and language instruction."

Carroll is the author of "The Study of Language," first published in 1953, which was considered a groundbreaking treatise on how language is learned. His 1993 book, "Human Cognitive Abilities," was hailed as "a monumental contribution."

According to the award citation, one linguist called Carroll "the best friend our profession has ever had."

Born in Hartford, Conn., in 1916, Carroll became interested in linguistics in high school, while studying classical languages. During his undergraduate years at Wesleyan University, he majored in Greek and Latin while cultivating an interest in the psychology of foreign language study. He earned a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 1941.

Carroll was a member of the UNC faculty from 1974 to 1982 when he retired as a full professor. He continued as an adjunct faculty member, and later a research professor, until 2002. He now lives in Fairbanks, Alaska.

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College of Arts and Sciences contact: Dee Reid, (919)843-6339