UB in the News

Jonathan Katz, associate professor of visual studies, was interviewed on NPR about the scheduled closing of the National Portrait Gallery exhibition Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture, the first Smithsonian Institution show to focus on gay and lesbian contributions to American culture, and the attention the exhibition generated.

Charles Carr, lecturer emeritus in the Law School, was interviewed by the Associated Press about the murder trial of Muzzammil Hassan and the hazards of acting as your own lawyer in a trial. "It's almost never a good idea," he said. "It's like putting a person who's never played baseball before out in the outfield and telling them, 'you'll catch on.'" The article appeared in outlets throughout the U.S. and the world, including the Los Angeles Times, Salon, The South African Star, The Canadian Press, Huffington Post and CBS News. Locally, WBEN-AM and the Buffalo News carried the story.

Elayne Rapping, professor emeritus of American studies, is quoted in an article in the Chicago Tribune on the appeal of romantic comedies. "Romantic comedies are very big….These movies become popular in times when there's a lot of social disruption," she said.

Nadia Shahram, a Law School adjunct instructor who lectures on the effects of religion and culture on family law, was quoted in an article distributed by the Associated Press about yesterday's conviction of Muzzammil Hassan, who stabbed and beheaded his wife in 2009. The murder, she said, was "a mix of domestic violence and honor killing." The article was picked up by news outlets throughout the nation, including the Wall Street Journal, Houston Chronicle, Boston Globe and CBS News. International coverage includes Metro Canada, Arab Times, The Australian and The Guardian.

Elayne Rapping, professor emeritus of American studies, is quoted in an article in the Los Angeles Times about the television series "Friday Night Lights" and its realistic portrayal of marriage. "It's a good family show, and I think it's a role model for how you handle normal life. It's very realistic because it's very grounded. It's not like a soap where crazy things happen," she said.

An article in the New York Times' Slap Shot blog about a movement to push back the age at which body checking is allowed in youth hockey reports not all researchers agree that the age should be pushed to 13, among them Barry Willer, professor of psychiatry and rehabilitation services, who has worked on youth safety programs with Hockey Canada and USA Hockey and has 25 years experience studying brain injuries.

An article on Consumer Reports' Cars Blog looks at research by Greg Fabiano, associate professor of counseling, school and educational psychology, on teens with ADHD and driver safety and reports a 2008 study that showed that people with ADHD who were sober performed as poorly on simulated driving tests as those motorists without ADHD who were legally drunk. The article included a UB-produced video interview with Fabiano.

A story on PBS NewsHour about the origins of tinnitus, the phantom ringing that plagues millions of Americans and countless military veterans, and whether stress plays a role in provoking the condition, interviews Richard Salvi, director of the Center for Hearing and Deafness, who says he is not convinced that stress is a root cause for all tinnitus patients, although he agrees there is a correlation of some kind.

An article in the Toronto Globe and Mail about the controversy over what age to introduce checking in youth hockey quotes Barry Willer, professor of psychiatry and rehabilitation medicine, who said, "I don't think the bodycheck should be the culprit it's made out to be."

A story on NPR's Morning Edition interviews Robert Zivadinov, professor of neurology, about a new theory Italian physician Paolo Zamboni has proposed that suggests multiple sclerosis is caused by chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency, or CCSVI, which can be treated by opening up the blocked blood vessels. "Even if the treatment is not useful for patients with MS, I don't think that we can abandon the idea of vascular involvement in MS," he said. "And I think this merits very detailed understanding of what is going on."