News in Brief

Medical pioneer Scribner dies at 82

Dr. Belding Scribner, UW professor emeritus of medicine best known for revolutionizing long-term kidney dialysis and saving millions of lives, died June 19 at the age of 82.

"Although Belding Scribner is internationally renowned for his innovative clinical research, his motivation always came from his role as a physician caring for patients," said Dr. Paul Ramsey, UW vice president for medical affairs and dean of the School of Medicine. "Countless people are alive today because of his pioneering innovation. This is a great loss for UW medicine -- and for the medical community worldwide."

Scribner apparently fell into the water from his Portage Bay houseboat. For many years, Scribner paddled a canoe from his houseboat across the bay to UW Medical Center and the School of Medicine.

A member of the School of Medicine faculty since 1951,Scribner served as the head of UW's nephrology department from 1958 to 1982.

His invention -- the "Scribner shunt" -- transformed kidney failure from a death sentence into a treatable disease. The shunt, a U-shaped Teflon tube, served as an artificial kidney that didn't react with body tissue or cause clotting like other materials.

For this invention, Scribner was honored last fall with the Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research. For medical achievement, the Lasker Award is regarded second only to the Nobel Prize.

Scribner is survived by his wife, Ethel, and seven children and six grandchildren.

Neuroscientist Catterall honored

UW professor and chair of pharmacology William A. Catterall is the recipient of the 16th annual Bristol-Myers Squibb Award for Distinguished Achievement in Neuroscience Research. The award, worth $50,000, recognizes Catterall for his discovery of sodium and calcium channel proteins.

His discovery has revolutionized the understanding of how signaling occurs in the nervous system, said Eric R. Kandel, a Columbia University professor who shared the 2000 Nobel Prize for Medicine.

"Catterall's award was long overdue," Kandel told The Scientist. "He is an extremely far-sighted, decent, generous, creative and intelligent person. He's really a role model; a scientist's scientist."

The Bristol-Myers Squibb Award has been given out since 1977, when Richard L. Gelb, then-CEO of Bristol-Myers, was cured of esophageal cancer. Overcome with gratitude, Gelb began the program as a way to give back to the cancer community.

Milgard family donates $15M to UW Tacoma

In the largest donation ever to UW Tacoma, the Milgard family of Tacoma has given the branch $15 million to expand its business administration program.

The money will be used for the addition of a center for corporate leadership and social responsibility, a center for information-based management, and a $3-million endowed scholarship program. The business administration program will be named the Milgard School of Business in acknowledgment of the gift.

Locke undecided on student regent; Moore-Reeploeg serves longer term

With Gov. Gary Locke undecided on who should fill the UW's top student position, David Moore-Reeploeg continued his duties as student regent at this month's Board of Regents meeting.

While the nine other regents sit on the board for six years at a time, the student regent serves a one-year term from June to May.

One reason Moore-Reeploeg's replacement has not been chosen is because the ASUW did not send information about the three applicants to the governor's office until June 2, according to the governor's office.

The ASUW's Student Regent Selection Committee chose senior Daya Mortel, senior Matt Hendrickson and Miguel Bocanegra, a third-year law student, as the final candidates for the position in late April.

Regardless of the reason, the delay put Moore-Reeploeg in the unique position of granting his own degrees.

As required by law, the regents approved the granting of degrees to students from the UW's three campuses. Of the 11,534 degrees the regents approved, Moore-Reeploeg earned two -- one in political science and the other in history.

The regents are next scheduled to meet July 18. If Moore-Reeploeg does not have a replacement by then, he said he will be able to attend the meeting.

"I'd be a regent as long as they'd let me," he said. "It's not a problem for me."

As part of being on the board, the student regent receives several benefits including free tuition, a parking pass and free admission to many UW athletic events.

-- Alex Sundby