News Briefs

"Imaging the Developing Mind and Brain," featuring topics including development of the teen-age brain and neurodevelopmental disorders, will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday (Sept. 10) at the Carolina Club, located at UNC’s George Watts Hill Alumni Center.

Research experts from Harvard Medical School, UNC, the National Institute of Mental Health and the Weill Medical College of Cornell University will be featured speakers for the all-day event: the 2004 Neurodevelopmental Disorders Research Center Symposium. A full list of the day’s topics is available at www.ndrc.unc.edu.

Sponsors are the Duke-UNC Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, the N.C. Biotechnology Center, Bayer Pharmaceuticals, the UNC Neurosciences Center and the UNC Neurodevelopmental Disorders Research Center.

For more information, call (919) 843-8641 or e-mail chandra_cotton@med.unc.edu.

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Damon Jacobs, a UNC School of Medicine graduate student studying cell and molecular physiology, was one of eight students nationwide to receive the William T. Porter Fellowship in August.

The one-year award, presented by the American Physiological Society, recognizes outstanding achievement among historically underrepresented minorities in science and provides recipients with an $18,000 stipend.

Jacobs is researching the secretion of enzymes in the human body. He hopes his discoveries may someday determine the mechanisms that drive secretion in the pancreas and other important glands.

The American Physiological Society is a professional membership organization devoted to fostering scientific research and education. Founded in 1887, the group supports a variety of initiatives, including fellowships and programs to encourage the development of young scientists at the undergraduate and graduate levels, with a particular focus on women and underrepresented minorities.

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News Services contact: Deb Saine, (919) 962-8415