Vydelingum Named Deputy Director of NCI Center
Dr. Nadarajen A. Vydelingum
has been named deputy director of
the NCI Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities. He has
experience in both clinical research and basic science and brings a
diverse background in education and administration to the position.
The center's goal is to translate research discoveries into policies
and/or services aimed at reducing cancer-related health disparities in
racial, ethnic, elderly and medically underserved communities.
Vydelingum earned a Ph.D. in clinical biochemistry from London
University. In 1977, he began his career in the United States at the
Medical College of Wisconsin in the departments of medicine and
pharmacology and as director of the lipid laboratory in the General
Clinical Research Center. His early research interest in insulin action
and fat metabolism as related to type II diabetes and obesity
attracted him to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New
York, where he led a group on the study of cancer cachexia
(cancer-induced tissue depletion) and the influence of cytokines on
lipid/protein stores in cancer patients. In 1991, Vydelingum joined
the Division of Research Grants (now CSR) where he headed a
scientific review group on peer review in bioengineering and
physiology. He has a major interest in science education. He has
organized courses for target M.D. students and for students of
biochemistry at the Foundation for Advanced Education in the
Sciences and spent 3 years as lecturer in advanced cell biology at
Johns Hopkins University. He has reviewed more than 200 science
books for Northeastern and Boston universities and participates in
outreach programs organized by the NIH Speaker's Bureau.
Politis Heads Group at CSR
Dr. Alexander Politis
is the new chief of the infectious diseases and
microbiology integrated review group at the Center for Scientific
Review. He previously was scientific review administrator of CSR's
immunological sciences study section. Politis earned his Ph.D. in cell
biology from the University of Maryland, where he studied the
mechanisms of cell volume regulation. At the Uniformed Services
University of the Health Sciences, he studied signal transduction and
gene regulation related to the activation of murine macrophages by
interferons. He then moved to Human Genome Sciences, Inc.,
where he evaluated recombinant proteins discovered through
sequenced cDNA clones for their ability to activate monocytes.
Before coming to CSR, he was assistant editor of the Journal of
Immunology.
Armstrong Leads CSR Review Group
Dr. David Armstrong
has been named chief of the brain disorders
and clinical neuroscience integrated review group at the Center for
Scientific Review. He recently was the principal investigator on
three NIH grants to study transmitter neuroanatomy and the GABA
receptor in Alzheimer's disease. Armstrong has devoted his career to
understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms related to the
neurodegeneration seen in Alzheimer's and stroke patients. He has
authored or coauthored more than 90 journal articles, advancing the
understanding of the neurotransmitter systems and gene products
associated with the neuronal vulnerability that precedes
neurodegeneration. His academic and administrative experiences
include serving as senior scientist and associate director of the
Lankenau Institute for Medical Research; professor and associate
director of the Institute on Aging at the MCP-Hahnemann School of
Medicine; associate professor at Georgetown University Medical
College; and assistant professor at the University of California in
San Diego and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
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