Author Archives: Deb

Grad awarded Fulbright for study in Spain

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Deb| 6 Comments

Graduate Alicia Acosta is awarded the Fulbright scholarship to study in Spain.

By Katy TerBerg

“To be honest, I feel completely humbled and honored. I hope to be able to share with my Spanish students a little bit about American culture and to be able to bring back to the United States with me a little about theirs,” said Alicia Acosta, a recent Spanish secondary education graduate who has been awarded the Fulbright scholarship to study abroad in Spain.

Acosta learned about the Fulbright program several years ago while accompanying her mother in Romania, where her mother was starting a three year tour of Europe at the U.S. embassy. “When I arrived I was offered a position to work in the political section, which I thought would be a great experience,” she said.

“The Fulbright office in Bucharest worked closely with the U.S. Embassy and I learned about the different programs offered by Fulbright, never dreaming that one day I would be a Fulbright recipient,” said Acosta.

Acosta developed an interest in traveling to Spain at an early age. “My dad is Venezuelan and I spent the first 20 years of my life living in Latin America (Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela.) His side of the family identifies strongly with their Spanish roots, as do I,” she said.

Acosta will travel to Spain as an English teaching assistant. She will start her adventure in northern Spain by walking a section of “The Way of St. James,” an ancient pilgrim path.

“I hope to travel as much as possible throughout the country and to visit a small Basque town that bears my family’s last name, Acosta,” she said.

Links:

Press Release

Department of Spanish

Posted in Globally Engaged, Student Spotlight, Study Abroad

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MSA warrior partners with WMU for research

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Deb| 1 Comment

Frank Cervone (bottom left) and his family listen to Dr. Charles Ide talk about the WMU lab where he conducts research for MSA.

Editor’s note: This story is related to another story on Wetern’s research in MSA from the point of view of a research students and her work with another MSA patient. You may read the story here.
 

When Frank Cervone’s doctors told him they thought he had Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) and wouldn’t live through Christmas 2011, he replied, “Well, then I better get busy telling people about it and affecting a change!” And that is exactly what he’s done.

Cervone posts on the blog hollywoodrepublican.net and recounted his diagnosis of the disease there…”You know you’re about to have a bad day when the doctor asks if you can wait a few minutes until they see their last patient because they need to talk to you.  Your mind is racing to every disease you’ve ever heard of and trying to remember the symptoms to see if they fit what you feel.  Then the door opens and the doctor walks in.

“There must be a class in medical school titled:  ‘How to Tell a Patient They are Going to Die.’

It goes like this.  Pull your stool up real close, lean forward, and speak in four word sentences.

“It’s Multiple System Atrophy.”

“I am so sorry.”

“Frank, you have MSA.”

“There is no treatment.”

Long pause….  “There is no cure.”

“I am so sorry.”

“Wait!!  Back up.  What did you say?  Multiple System Atrophy?  MSA?  What the hell is MSA?  Dying?  From something I’ve never even heard of?  Dying?  I’m 48 years old!  There must be a mistake.”

“I am so sorry.”

Cervone suffers from a primarily autonomic version of the disease, which causes the slow and paralyzing shutdown of the body’s major autonomic systems like breathing, organ functions, brain functions and more. He searched far and wide for partners in his quest to learn more about possible treatments and developments in active research, and chose WMU when a personal response from Professor Charles Ide of the Department of Biological Sciences at WMU explained his team’s newest findings. Ide is Gwen Frostic professor of biological sciences and director of the Great Lakes Environmental and Molecular Sciences Center.

Once Cervone heard of Ide’s work, he chose WMU as the recipient of funds raised by a 5-mile run in Dayton, Ohio to benefit MSA research.

“It all started with the smell of meatballs,” recounts Cervone on the impetus for the run. “We were campaigning door-to-door when I smelled a fabulous smell…(Cervone (R) was Councilman for the City of Fairborn, Ohio), and I had to find out where it was coming from. We headed straight for that house, I can tell you, and once there, we met a lady who knew someone, who knew someone, who knew a run organizer, who might be interested in helping organize a run for MSA.”

Enter Doug Brandt of the Dayton Barefoot Runners. Brandt heard of Cervone’s plight and volunteered to hold the race in March. Thus began the annual MSA Run/Walk. Cervone humbly explains, “Our gift of $3,350 from the run to the University was made possible by over 200 participants. It’s not a lot of money, but maybe it’s enough to fund a graduate student or a trip to a professional conference on MSA research.”

Cervone who worked at one time as a landscaper, discussed with Ide his exposure to pesticides as a potential cause of MSA.

Ide and his team have shown that changes at the molecular and cellular level in MSA brain cells are equivalent to those caused by exposure to certain pesticides. “We’ve been able to take cells from MSA or control tissues, remove the ‘messenger’ RNA (Ribonucleic acid) which turns into proteins, and show that RNAs and proteins that make energy and get rid of misfolded proteins are way down in MSA cells, like in pesticide treated cells.  Conversely, mRNAs and proteins that turn on an immune response are way up in MSA, including those that are sometimes involved in autoimmune diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis,” said Ide.

While Cervone’s visit to WMU with Brandt, wife Susan, and daughter Angelina boosted everyone’s spirits—Cervone appeared hale and hearty to the casual viewer—Susan pointed out the toll daily activities and travel take on her husband’s life. “Today he looks and sounds and acts great,” she said. “Once we get home, it’s very likely he’ll be in a coma-like state for anywhere from a few days to a week. The disease takes that much out of him.”

Research on MSA is moving along steadily, and there are definitely high points with each new discovery…hopefully some of those discoveries will be made by WMU and will benefit Cervone and those sufferers of MSA who come after him.

Links:

More on Dr. Ide’s research
Department of Biological Sciences
Multiple System Atrophy awareness

 

 

Posted in Discovery Driven, Learner Centered

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Meet the Students-III…Ben Langton and Racha El Kadiri, geology students with a passion for rocks

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Deb| Leave a comment

“The relationship you have with each other and your professors is not like any other relationship I’ve ever known. You get to know your professors on a whole different level.”—Ben Langton

 

“Being an international student, at first, I thought it was going to be harder, but Western has such a diverse cultures, being together and studying the different earth systems across the world, make the experience even more beneficial.” —Racha El Kadiri

 

And what makes the program so successful?

…students like these!

 

Links:
Department of Geosciences
More stand-out student awards
Graduate Programs in Geosciences

Posted in Learner Centered, Meet the Students

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Alumnus pens novel with Kalamazoo memories

Posted on May 8, 2012 by Deb| Leave a comment

Alumnus Willie Lane (B.S. Communication Arts and Sciences ’75) enjoys his job as a certified executive chauffeur in the greater Los Angeles area, but his true passion is the novel he’s just completed with a Kalamazoo focus which recalls his time at Western as well as the AIDS epidemic in the early ’70s and its effects on loved ones. “A Greater Good” recalls Lane’s time at WMU and as a DJ on the campus radio station, WIDR, and expounds on how the experience has affected his life since.

Alumnus Willie Lane recalls WIDR and WMU.

“In my new novel I mention WMU, and the fact that Tim Allen and Luther Vandross attended school there in Kalamazoo. One of my characters was from K’zoo and so was one of them I knew at Western who died of AIDS.”

When asked what inspired the novel he says, “In my freshman year, I met two men, one from Kalamazoo and one from Battle Creek. I became good friends with- Michael McKinley who was a senior when I was a Freshman and helped me secure jobs at WIDR and WKZO.”

While attending WMU, Lane became very involved in Project ’73, a program designed to help 1,500-2,000 African-American students graduate from Western Michigan University. Lane said, “I am very proud to have been one of those students. The Project ’73 program recruited 2,000 high school students, and 15 hundred of us graduated.”

Upon learning of the deaths of two Project ’73 friends (Lafayette Davis from Kalamazoo and Robert Cummings from Battle Creek) from AIDS, Lane began researching the spread of AIDS in the black community. He learned that African-Americans comprise less than 13 percent of the US population, but comprise 50 percent of all new AIDS cases in America.

Kalamazoo-area residents may remember Lane from his time as a director at WKZO TV3 (now WWMT) in 1970-72. He directed newscasters, children’s morning shows, live band performances, and more.

Lane tells us a last-minute character addition to the novel identifies a  WMU campus DJ  heard on Kalamazoo’s west side. As a freshman the DJ character gets the dreaded 4-7 a.m. Sunday morning spot at WIDR, the campus radio station, but becomes so popular with listeners that, in his second semester at WIDR, the station manager moves him to the 7-9 p.m. slot on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Find out who this mysterious DJ (and WMU alum) is by reading the book!

Links:
WIDR
School of Communication
“How Aids Invaded the Hood“
“A Greater Good”

Posted in Alumni Activity, Learner Centered

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Seita Scholars program helps former foster youth

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Deb| 1 Comment

Heather Nichols graduated from Western Michigan University in April with a bachelor’s degree in exercise science. Nichols, a former foster youth, is the first four-year graduate of the Seita program—a scholarship program that sends foster youth to college tution free—but by no means of the imagination is Nichols the only student benefiting from the Seita Scholars program.

The idea for the Seita Scholars came about in 2007, when WMU financial aid director Mark Delorey, and two colleagues, heard John Seita speak at a conference. Seita, a former foster youth, spoke about his experiences at WMU, including a cold Thanksgiving he spent alone on campus.

“To me, being a Seita Scholar means everything…it gives me an opportunity to prove everybody wrong that ever had a negative thought about me.”

According to the Detroit Free Press, Michigan recently expanded the foster care age limitation from 18 to 21, which means even more students will have access to the Seita Scholars and other programs.

“Being a Seita Scholar means I’m not alone anymore.”

According to the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative, a St.-Louis based nonprofit organization, one-in-five, or more, foster youth will be homeless after age 18;  half will be employed at 24; fewer than three percent will earn a college degree by 25, and one-in-four will be incarcerated within two years of leaving foster care. However, with the Seita program these problems will decrease and more students will be able to receive a college education.

“I tell everyone about it (the Seita program). I’m proud. I’m proud of what I can do and I’m proud of what I’ve done. Look–four years. I did it.”

 

Links:
Seita Scholars Program

WMU College of Arts and Sciences

Posted in Learner Centered, Meet the Students

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Making strides in MSA research

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Deb| 2 Comments

By Katy TerBerg

“Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) is what I would describe as a puzzle with 1000 pieces that a minute number of researchers are strategically putting together piece by piece,” notes Ashley McKinney-Bostic, a master’s student in the Department of Biological Sciences. “I have seen, firsthand, the daily suffering of an MSA sufferer, and the severe symptoms that worsen over time.”
—Ashley McKinney-Bostic

Ashley McKinney-Bostic shows off her Miracles for MSA support bracelet during her research poster presentation.

Is there a cure for Muscular System Atrophy (MSA) anywhere on the near horizon? Researchers at Western Michigan University aren’t sure, but they are finding consistencies in their research leading them to some hopeful results. Ashley McKinney-Bostic is one of those researchers (now a graduate) and she talks about how MSA awareness has led her to do her research.

“My initial interest in science actually started with a love for animals as a child,” said Ashley McKinney-Bostic, a graduate student at WMU pursuing a master’s in biological sciences. “Upon my acceptance to Western Michigan University, my major was biological sciences, as I wanted to become a doctor. During my undergrad career, I decided that I wanted to be a doctor and researcher,” she said.

She and other researchers, along with Professor Charles Ide of the Environmental Studies Program at WMU, have been working tirelessly to raise awareness of and research activities for MSA, a neurological disease in which autonomic functions of the body, such as blood pressure, and internal organs slowly atrophy or shut down as a result of rapidly depleting muscle tissue.

McKinney-Bostic’s research focused on the promising, “CD68 Immune Cell Involvement in Purkinje Cell Degeneration in the Cerebellum of Multiple System Atrophy Patients.” She tested the hypothesis that CD68 cells are associated with neuropathology, including Purkinje cells, which normally function as a means of cleaning up diseases.

Bob Summers raises awareness for MSA with wife Sue, who passed away May 4, 2012.

For the past several years, MSA patient Sylvia (Sue) Summers and husband Bob, have been warriors for MSA and have worked in cooperation with WMU to accelerate efforts for a cure. The Summers  began Miracles for MSA, a charity to raise awareness and promote treatments for the disease. Much of McKinney-Bostic’s interest derived from their tireless efforts to promote awareness.

As a researcher, McKinney-Bostic has learned the trials and tragedies of MSA, and lamented,”Could you imagine not being able to converse with your family and friends, walk, enjoy eating your favorite meal, and struggle to carry out life’s daily activities? MSA sufferers are faced with these challenges daily. This is why I embraced MSA research. I wanted to help put the pieces to the puzzle of MSA together, even if it was only a few pieces.”

Other researchers hard at work on the MSA puzzle include:

  • Derrick Hilton, Ph.D. student about to defend his thesis on proteins, including immune system proteins, involved in cell death in a tissue culture model for MSA and in MSA brain tissues.
  • Karen VanWagner, a master’s student who is studying MS like immune cells in the MSA brain
  • Megan Welter, a master’s student who looks at special immune system proteins that allow them to enter the MSA brain, an organ that does not normally allow entry of immune system cells
  • Junjie Hu, a master’s student who is looking at immune system proteins in the MSA brain that can be indicative of other aspects of MS.
  • Jessica Song, a just-graduated undergraduate who is helping VanWagner analyze MS type immune cell frequency in the MSA brain.
  • Subhanwita Paul, a new Ph.D. program student who will revisit our gene expression data from blood cells of MSA and control patients to further establish an autoimmune link to MSA pathology.

Editor’s Note: Sue Summers passed away Friday, May 4 after a long and active battle with MSA. Condolences go to her husband, Bob, and Susan’s friends and family during this difficult time. Sue Summers was no doubt a warrior in the battle to fight MSA.

In lieu of flowers, Summers has asked donations be directed to: Western Michigan University, College of Arts and Sciences, Dr. Charles Ide, 1903 W. Michigan Ave., Kalamazoo, MI 49008. Make checks payable to Western Michigan University MSA fund or donate online here.

Links:

Department of Biological Sciences.

MSA Research: McKinney-Bostic and Dr. Charles Ide

“LIKE” Miracles for MSA

Partner story: Hope for MSA’s Frank Cervone

 

 

Posted in Discovery Driven, Meet the Students

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Public Safety chief meets Spanish service learning students

Posted on April 22, 2012 by Deb| Leave a comment

Spanish students Conor McShane, Erica Pérez, Kristen Hartman, Hector Silva, Chief Jeff Hadley, Abbey Karlinski, Karmina Bryant.

Chief of the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety, Jeff Hadley, came to WMU on Monday March 12 to meet the students of Dr. Michael Millar’s Spanish with Internship and Service Learning course (Spanish 4400).

Hadley talked with Spanish Service Learning students about current issues of community and public safety relations, racial profiling studies, the clear separation between local public safety and federal immigration enforcement, the need for more bilingual staff in public safety and possible career paths for bilingual graduates of WMU. Dr. Millar’s students spent more than an hour  with Chief Hadley discussing course materials that relate to his experience in law enforcement and public safety to gain a clearer understanding of multiple perspectives on these contemporary issues.

Hadley is one of several speakers from the Kalamazoo Community who have agreed to meet with Dr. Millar’s Spanish students. Other participants include: Thomas Thornburg, Managing Attorney with Farmworker Legal Services; MonaLisa Watson, Manager of Diversity and Inclusion at Bronson Hospital; Lori Mercedes, Interim Director of the Hispanic American Council; Kelly Alvarez, Principal of El Sol Elementary School; and Manuel Brenes, Coordinator of Bilingual and ESL programs for Kalamazoo Public Schools. Each of these guest speakers have offered Spanish service learning students valuable and experienced insight on a variety of course themes as well as the opportunity to converse about professional opportunities and expectations for bilingual graduates of WMU.

Millar recently was recognized with the 2012 WMU Excellence in Service-Learning Award for faculty instruction.

Millar started the Spanish 4400 the fall of 2008. Since that time, participants in the course have earned credits toward their Spanish major, while gaining valuable hands on experience in a variety of educational, professional and community settings. Spanish majors have collaborated with professor Millar to win grant funding from a variety of sources to support their course projects and have established many lasting professional relationships.

Currently, students of Spanish with Internship or Service Learning are working with Kalamazoo Public Schools, KCIS, KRESA, the Hispanic American Council, Farmworker Legal Services, Bronson Hospital and the WMU Division of Multicultural Affairs. The Department of Spanish offers this course for advanced Spanish majors each Spring semester.

…a closer look:
WMU Department of Spanish
Graduate Program
Undergraduate Majors and Minors
Service Learning at WMU
SPAN 4400

Posted in Globally Engaged, Learner Centered, Study Abroad

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Jaimy Gordon’s “Lord of Misrule” in the spotlight again

Posted on April 18, 2012 by Deb| Leave a comment

By Katy TerBerg

Prize-winning author and WMU Professor of English Jaimy Gordon.

WMU has been fortunate enough to have great authors in its faculty and  students, and Professor of English, Jaimy Gordon, is setting the bar a little higher. Gordon published her third novel, “Lord of Misrule,” in 2010 to critical acclaim. Gordon’s novel won the National Book Award for Fiction in 2010 and was voted one of Amazon’s Best Books of the Month in November of 2010.

Most recently, Gordon has been selected as one of the longlist finalists for The Orange Prize for Fiction, the UK’s only annual book award for fiction written by a woman. According to the official website for the award, The Orange Prize, which is celebrating its 17th year, celebrates “excellence, originality, and accessibility in women’s writing throughout the world.”

The announcement coincides with International Women’s Day. The Orange Prize for Fiction shortlist will be announced on April 17, with readings occuring on May 29 and an awards ceremony on May 30.

“Lord of Misrule” is about “trying to figure out what the shape of your luck on Earth is and, one way or another, come to terms with that. It’s very much about courting that message from the gods that you were destined for something special, and most of the characters of the book have to settle for what they get,” said Gordon in an interview.

It is difficult to determine whether Gordon was destined for the award or if her hard work and dedication led her to the achievement, but it is clear that Gordon’s efforts have not gone unnoticed. As Gordon herself said, “You certainly expect your family, the future generations, to remember you or have some impression of you.”

We believe Gordon will continue to leave a lasting impression.

Links:

Department of English
About Jaimy Gordon
The Orange Prize for Fiction

 

Posted in Faculty News, Learner Centered

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German professor publishes second work of fiction

Posted on April 18, 2012 by Deb| Leave a comment

German professor Peter Blickle publishes his second novel, "Von einer Lieve zur andern".

WMU’s Dr. Peter Blickle, professor of foreign languages, is once again being recognized for his way with words. Blickle has received much acclaim for his second work of fiction, “Von einer Liebe zur andern” (“From Love to Love”).

Blickle, who teaches German at WMU and serves as an advisor for the German program, is the author of two scholarly books, “Heimat: A Critical Theory of the German Idea of Homeland” and “Maria Beig und die Kunst der scheinbarnen Kunstlosigkeit” (“Maria Berg and the Arts of Appearing Primitive)” as well as the novel “Blaulicht im Nebel” (“Ambulance in Fog”). He also translated Rosina Lippi’s novel, “Homestead,” into German.

The novel creates an unlikely relationship between a literature professor from Germany’s upper Swabia and an American-Jewish violinist. The relationship serves as a counterbalance to German history and gives his story “scenic images and rich metaphors of language often purposefully and eloquently mysterious in their tension and struggle.”

This novel has already received acclaim in Germany – most notably through a reading invitation, shortly after the novel was published. Dr. Blickle read from his novel on October 18, 2011 to a full house, a mesmerized audience in the medieval city of Pfullendorf in southern Germany.

The reading was organized by the Forum of the Sigmaringen Cultural Circle as part of its series on modern literature in the region. Several newspapers reviewed the presentation, reporting that Blickle “cast a spell over the audience” and that available copies of Dr. Blickle’s novel sold out quickly.

The author explains that his latest novel is about love and its various qualities. Soon, the reader also realizes it is a novel deeply rooted in German history and in the human soul, written in sentence fragments, prompting more questions than answers, in, as one reviewer notes, a sort of Hemingway approach.

Links:
Department of Foreign Languages
About Peter Blickle

 

 

 

Posted in Faculty News, Globally Engaged

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Meet the Students-Part I

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Deb| Leave a comment

In this first of a series of videos, meet geosciences students who are crazy about their programs.

What is it about rocks and Ann Gilchrist?

Allie Wyman is headed for her master’s degree at WMU.

Links:

Department of Geosciences

 

Posted in Discovery Driven, Meet the Students

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