Monday, January 11, 1999
Community Briefs
UCLA professor, researcher dies
George Joseph Popjak, a UCLA professor of biological chemistry
and psychiatry, passed away Dec. 30, in his home in Westwood. The
Hungarian born scientist was 84 years old.
Popjak was most known for his research concerning the
biosynthesis of cholesterol. In fact, he developed a
three-dimensional model for cholesterol production to show exactly
how the body manufactures cholesterol.
"George Popjak visualized chemistry in 3-D," said Dr. Alan
Fogelman, executive chair of the UCLA Department of Medicine. "In
his mind, he would enter each molecule and watch its biochemical
transformations from the inside out."
Over the course of his career he received many awards including
the Ciba Medal (1966) from the British Biochemical Society and the
Vanderbilt Centennial Medal (1978) from the Vanderbilt
University.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Regents of the
University of California, with the designation "Popjak Scholarship
Fund" and sent c/o Betty Morgan at the UCLA Department of Medicine,
10833 Le Conte Avenue, Room 37-120, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1736.
Gonda neuroscience center opens
Bringing together the fields of neuroscience and genetics, the
UCLA School of Medicine officially dedicated the Gonda
(Goldschmeid) Neuroscience and Genetics Research Center on Dec. 15.
The building was made possible by a $45 million donation from
Leslie and Susan Gonda, the largest single donation from an
individual donor in the history of UCLA.
"The Gonda center provides us with a unique setting that is
designed in every way to expedite the discovery process in the
areas of genetics," said Dr. Leena Peltonen, founding chair of the
department of human genetics.
The center will enable the department of human genetics and the
UCLA’s Brain Research Institute to work closely together.
Westwood Macy’s plans to close shop
The Macy’s department store on Weyburn Avenue in Westwood
Village announced its closure on Saturday.
A Macy’s branch in the Baldwin Hills area of Los Angeles also
closed at the same time. Chain representatives said that the two
stores were underperforming.
The closure came as little surprise to many Westwood residents.
It is expected now that Madison Marquette developers will take over
ownership of the building, and bring in "higher-class" tenants.
The move by Madison Marquette puts an end to a long-running
rumor in the village that UCLA had plans to purchase the Macy’s
building, a suggestion that UCLA administrators consistently denied
over the years.
Nobel Laureate Ignarro to speak at forum
UCLA’s latest Nobel Laureate, professor of pharmacology Louis
Ignarro, will speak at a forum in Beverly Hills entitled "How the
Nobel Prize in Medicine Will Influence Health and Disease in the
New Millennium."
Ignarro shared the 1998 Nobel Prize for Medicine with two other
researchers for their discoveries regarding the use of nitric oxide
as a signaling molecule in the cardiovascular system.
The discovery has impacts in many areas of medicine, including
study of the heart, lungs, cancer and (receiving the most press
attention) male impotence.
Compiled from Daily Bruin staff reports.
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