UB in the News

An article distributed by the Associated Press about the severity of this year's spring allergy season quotes Stanley Schwartz, director of the Division of Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology Medicine. "Literally, every year is the worst year," he said.

James E. Campbell, professor and chair of political science, is quoted in an article in the Christian Science Monitor about what's at stake in the special congressional election on May 24 and the national attention the race among Kathy Hochul, Jane Corwin and Jack Davis is receiving.

A Friday the 13th article on Live Science about common, but silly, superstitions quotes Philips Stevens Jr., associate professor of anthropology, who debunked the 666 superstition.

An article in Nature magazine about Vesuvius and the risk of a devastating eruption could occur reports that in 2006, Michael Sheridan, UB Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Geology, described geological evidence of a blast 3,800 years ago that was much larger than the eruption of Vesuvius that occurred in AD 79.

An article in the Los Angeles Times' Booster Shots blog looks at the practice of cardiologists to recommend surgery for their patients despite a recent major clinical trial conducted by William E. Boden, professor of medicine and preventive medicine, that demonstrated conclusively that good medical therapy is just as effective as balloon angioplasty or coronary artery bypass surgery for treating stable coronary disease.

A story in the Baltimore Sun online reports on a study by UB psychologist Shira Gabriel and UB grad student Ariana Young that shows that people read fantasies like Harry Potter and the popular vampire genre to satisfy a need for human connection.

The successful effort by UB professors of architecture and planning Despina Stratigakos and Kelly Hayes McAlonie to get Mattel to create an architect Barbie to explore issues of gender and race within the profession, is described in a story on MSNBC.com; the toy company will officially introduce the new Barbie at the American Institute of Architects convention in New Orleans May 12.

An op-ed on the Huffington Post about Gov. Andrew Cuomo's summit later this month to consider the UB 2020 proposal to give the university more autonomy with respect to tuition policies and control over its physical assets supports the measure, not only for UB but for all public higher education institutions in New York State.

An article in the Hartford Courant about police work and problem drinking interviews John Violanti, research associate professor of social and preventive medicine. "It's long been recognized that alcohol problems in police work are prevalent," he said. "Generally, it's social: it's done only with other police officers and there's no repercussions. But then you get the guy who can't control it anymore, and that's when the trouble starts."

A letter to the editor in the Buffalo News praises plans to move the medical school to downtown Buffalo. Marc S. Halfon, associate professor of biochemistry, writes: "Relocating the Medical School downtown will allow all of our medical students, graduate and undergraduate, to partake of these advantages and will bring together our fragmented biomedical community into a central, modern and competitive research, training and clinical care environment."