Fall/Winter 2006 - University of Rochester Medical Center

medical center rounds
Alzheimer’s
expert honored
Berislav Zlokovic, M.D., Ph.D., professor in the
Department of Neurosurgery and director of
the Frank P. Smith Laboratories for
Neurosurgical Research at the University
of Rochester Medical Center, has been
honored by the Institute for the Study of
Aging and by Elan
Pharmaceuticals
for his work on
novel approaches
to drug discovery
for Alzheimer’s
disease. He is one
of four scientists
around the nation
chosen for the
Berislav Zlokovic,
M.D., Ph.D.
award.
Much of the
work by Zlokovic,
who is known
internationally for
his work on stroke as well as Alzheimer’s,
focuses on the crucial role of blood vessels.
He has shown that blood circulation plays
a key role in ridding the brain of the toxic
amyloid beta that speckles the brains of
Alzheimer’s patients. His team has identified
much of the molecular machinery that allows
amyloid beta to sidestep the body’s safeguards
and enter the brain, and he has
discovered the molecules that falter when the
toxic protein accumulates in the brain. His
laboratory is working on ways to increase the
action of a molecule known as LRP, which
hauls amyloid beta away, and lessens the
activity of RAGE, which escorts the toxic
protein into the brain.
In previous research in the laboratory,
Zlokovic has developed ways to knock out
RAGE; when his group disabled the molecule
Continued on page 69
University of Rochester physician is
first geriatrician named to AARP board
Rochester physician William J. Hall, M.D., is
the first geriatric specialist to be elected to
the AARP’s board of directors, which approves
all policies, programs, activities and services
for the association’s 36 million members.
A 30-year member of the University of
Rochester Medical Center’s faculty, Hall is the
Paul Fine Professor of Medicine, Oncology and
Pediatrics, and director of the Center for
Healthy Aging based at Highland Hospital.
For the last 15 years, Hall has concentrated
on building geriatric programs and
services in Rochester, which have grown
steadily in influence and national reputation.
He led the development of a comprehensive
plan of medical education in geriatrics
involving students, residents, fellows and
community physicians, and played a major
role in creating the Center for Healthy Aging.
Hall also founded the Center for
Lifetime Wellness, a fully equipped fitness
and wellness resource based at Monroe
Community Hospital that serves more than
500 people over the age of 50. The center’s
outreach programs involve more than 600
adults in minority communities with comparable
services.
“AARP is one of the most powerful
advocacy groups in Washington,” said Hall.
“As such, the organization has a lot of clout
and great potential to address aging issues
such as independence, security, and intellectual
opportunities for growth. I look forward
to helping this organization participate in
William J. Hall,
M.D.
efforts to make life
after 50 have even
more promise than life
in the years leading up
to age 50.”
Hall was previously
involved with
AARP on the regional
level, teaching and
promoting physical
fitness. He has
designed and led
courses for AARP New
York and served as
medical advisor for the Triumph Classic, a
mini-triathlon for people age 50 and older.
Recognized nationally and internationally for
his work in geriatrics, Hall is a frequent
speaker locally and across the country,
strongly committed to preventive health and
successful aging. He earned the Jahnigen
Memorial Award form the American
Geriatrics Society for his outstanding contributions
to education in the field of geriatrics.
In 2001, Hall served as president of the
American College of Physicians, the largest
medical subspecialty organization in the
world. He will serve a six-year term on the
AARP Board.
36
ROCHESTER MEDICINE