Peer Health Liaison Program

The Peer Health Liaison program seeks to bridge a gap between BSD students and Student Health and Counseling Services. Liaisons undergo a training session with SHCH senior leadership to become well-versed in the services and resources available to students. They communicate with their students via a monthly email digest with up-to-date information on SHCH services. They additionally meet monthly with leadership to discuss items brought to their attention by their peers. The liaisons for the 2018-19 academic year are:

Neuroscience Cluster, Biophysical Sciences, Medical Physics and Public Health Sciences

Andrew Tremain

1958

Elwood Jensen and Eugene Desombre: discovered the hormone-cancer mechanism

Building on the work of cancer researcher Charles B. Huggins, Elwood Jensen and fellow medical researcher Eugene Desombre identified the precise mechanism through which hormones drive cancer—by binding to a receptor protein in cells. The 1958 finding opened a new therapeutic front in breast cancer, leading to targeted treatments credited with saving many lives each year.

1965

Donald F. Steiner: discovered proinsulin, advancing diabetes treatment

Biochemist Donald F. Steiner, SM’56, MD’56, discovered proinsulin, the first “pro-hormone” and precursor to insulin. The 1965 finding led to the synthetic production of human insulin, markedly improving therapy for diabetes sufferers, and laid the groundwork for improved understanding of how other proteins in the body are made.

1942

Julian H. Lewis: debunked race-based blood typing

Julian H. Lewis, PhD 1915, the first African American to hold both an MD and a PhD, conducted groundbreaking research on race and blood typing that led to his hallmark book, Biology of the Negro (1942). His book was a precursor to the field of anthropathology and is credited with changing many people’s perspectives on race. Lewis was also the first African American to teach at the University of Chicago, where he was a noted expert in immunology.

1990

Paul Sereno: discovered previously unknown dinosaur species

Beginning in the 1990s, paleontologist Paul Sereno’s discoveries of previously unknown dinosaur species on several continents have contributed to the understanding of the dinosaur family tree and to the larger question of how evolution works over millions of years.

Paul Sereno, Professor in Organismal Biology and Anatomy

1949

Leon O. Jacobson: performed the first bone marrow transplant

In 1949, medical researcher Leon O. Jacobson, MD’39, performed the first bone marrow transplant. He discovered he could save a mouse whose bone marrow and spleen had been destroyed by transplanting donated spleen tissue into the mouse. The procedure now helps thousands of patients with cancer and other diseases each year.

Peer Health Liaison Program

Biomedical Sciences

Darwinian Sciences

Molecular Biosciences

Neuroscience Cluster, Biophysical Sciences, Medical Physics and Public Health Sciences