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Faculty
Shapiro to Receive Krieg Cortical Kudos Explorer Award
Dr. Lee Shapiro, Assistant Professor of Surgery, was recently notified that he is the 2008 recipient of the Krieg Cortical Kudos Explorer Award, given by the Cajal Club. An organization of neuroscientists, the Cajal Club meets every year at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and gives awards to recognize outstanding neuroscientists and doctoral students who are investigating the cerebral cortex and/or its connections. The awards are funded by donations from Dr. Wendell J. Krieg, a distinguished neuroanatomist and the first President of the Cajal Club. Dr. Shapiro will receive the Krieg Cortical Kudos Explorer Award at a Cajal Club event held during the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in Washington, D.C. in November 2008.
Dr. Shapiro’s work on the cerebral cortex involves the analysis of the development of the newly generated neurons in the adult hippocampal dentate gyrus, an area of the brain that is involved in learning and memory, and is often damaged following seizures. He discovered that there was a one-to-one relationship between the radial glial cell (putative endogenous progenitor/stem cell) and the newly generated neuron, prior to the formation of any processes. He was the first to demonstrate that the non-radial processes of the radial glial cell in the adult dentate form a basket that cradles the cell body of the newly generated neuron.
His analysis then focused on the growth of dendrites from these newly generated neurons and showed that the dendrites grow upon the radial process of the radial glial cell and proposed that the radial process acts as a guide for the dendrite to grow through the densely-packed adult granule cell layer. These seminal discoveries were later confirmed and cited by other prominent investigators.
The data that he obtained from normal rats were helpful in providing key principles for analyzing the newly generated neurons from epileptic rats. In a series of studies using both light and electron microscopy, he showed several changes in the circuitry and dendritic arborization for newly generated granule cells following seizures. First, his analysis of basal dendrites from the newly generated neurons showed that they grew into the hilus along radial glial processes. Second, he demonstrated that these hilar basal dendrites appeared rapidly after seizures. And third, he demonstrated that axon terminals formed aberrant synapses with these basal dendrites. Thus, these hilar basal dendrites contribute to recurrent excitatory circuits that could be the cause of spontaneous seizures in epileptic brains.
Dr. Shapiro is currently pursuing this work to determine if preventing these hilar basal dendrites from forming recurrent excitatory circuits after seizures will reduce the frequency and severity of subsequent seizures in epileptic brains. The ultimate translational goal is to develop novel therapy that will improve the quality of life in epileptic patients.
Chandler Retires After Nearly Five Decades of Service
James B. Chandler, Jr., M.D., Associate Professor of Internal Medicine at Scott & White, retired in September after 48 years of service. Dr. Chandler received his M.D. degree from the Medical College of Georgia and did his Internal Medicine residency and Gastroenterology fellowship at Scott & White before joining the hospital staff in 1965.
Gilliland, Coleman Pass Away
Paul Francis Gilliland, M.D., 78, died Wednesday, August 27, 2008 at Scott & White Memorial Hospital in Temple. The service was held Tuesday, September 2 at First Lutheran Church in Temple; burial was at the Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery in Killeen, Texas with full military honors. Dr. Gilliland was a member of the Scott & White Department of Medicine until his retirement in 1994.
L.W. "Larry" Coleman Jr., M.D., 71, of Bryan passed away on Sunday, August 10, 2008, at Kindred Hospital in San Antonio. Services were held August 14 at Hillier Funeral Home in Bryan. Dr. Coleman was a graduate of Baylor University in 1958 and University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston in 1962. He served as a captain in the Texas National Guard Medical Corp. He completed his residency in General Practice at Fort Worth John Peter Smith Hospital in 1964. He was a family practitioner in Tyler, Texas, from 1964 to 1965. After completing his orthopedic residency at the Dallas V.A. Hospital in 1969, he established his orthopedic practice in Bryan-College Station from 1969 to 2006. During this time, he served as chief of staff and chief of surgery at St. Joseph Regional Health Center, held the title of Clinical Associate Professor and was on staff at Richards Medical Clinic in Rockdale, Texas. He proudly served as a team physician for Texas A&M University from 1982 to 1994.
Academic Medicine
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