2001 Staff Members on the Go

Participants put on latex gloves and handled a preserved human brain at a Smithsonian Institution adult/child workshop at the Arts and Industries Building led by Archie Fobbs, curator of the museum's neuroanatomical collections, that focused on the complex workings of the brain, "Inside Your Head." The young researchers viewed cross sections of tissue from real brains and learned to identify how the human brain looks.

Jim Connor, Ph.D., the museum assistant director for collections, was the invited speaker at the annual dinner of the Washington Society for the History of Medicine held in Chevy Chase, Md. His presentation, "Pictures of an Institution: the Continuing Invention of the Modern Hospital," recounted the development of the Toronto General Hospital, Canada's premier academic health science center. Material for the presentation was based on Connor's recent book, "Doing Good: The Life of Toronto's General Hospital (University Toronto Press, 2000). The society's members include historians, physicians, and medical scientists, and others interested in the history of medicine and health care.

Museum docent Air Force M.Sgt. Christian D. Sepulveda, a histopathology technician at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Washington, D.C., was deployed to the morgue at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, where he assisted with the identification process of the victims of Sept. 11 United Airlines Flight 93 crash in Pennsylvania. Museum docent Marina Bruner, casework administrator with the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory in Rockville, Md., managed the Pentagon's forensic identification database of victims of the Pentagon and Pennsylvania crashes.

More than 30 teachers from DC, Maryland, and Virginia attended the museum's recent Open House for Educators. The event was coordinated by Sandy Saluke (left) and Janet Burns (right), the museum's educator and chief of public programs respectively, and included a guided tour by docents, including Marianna Jessee (center), as well as displays set up by the museum's different collections departments.

When a repairman doing work at the Oddfellows Hall in Warrenton, Va. found the skeletal remains of a young woman, Paul Sledzik, curator of the museum's anatomical collection, and Lenore Barbian, Ph.D., assistant curator of the museum's anatomical collection, were asked to assist the Northern Virginia Medical Examiner's office in determining the age of the bones. Based on their findings, the medical examiner ruled out a 20th century homicide and concluded that the remains were an anatomical preparation of a Caucasian female who died in her late teens to early 20's between 1870 and 1920.

The great-grandsons and great-great granddaughter of Pvt. James E. Kelly visited the museum for information about their ancestor, a Union soldier who was struck by a musket ball and wounded in a skirmish in April 1863 that resulted in amputation of his left leg. They were assisted by Michael Rhode, archivist in the museum's Otis Historical Archives.

McGill-Queen's University Press of Montreal, Canada has published, "Jessie Luther at the Grenfell Mission," which is No. 10 in a history of medicine, health, and society series that is co-edited by Jim Connor, Ph.D., the museum's assistant director for collections.

The death of a 19-year-old Virginia woman was classified as a homicide on July 10 following assistance provided in part by Paul Sledzik and Lenore Barbian, Ph.D., curator and assistant curator respectively of the museum's anatomical collections. Sledzik and Barbian support the forensic work for the Office of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner. Barbian has a doctoral degree in anthropology from the University of Massachusetts and Sledzik has a master's of science degree from the University of Connecticut.

A group of 11 high school students and college interns from George Washington University in the Science and Engineering Apprentice Program were invited to a Department of Defense sponsored activity in which Archie Fobbs, curator of the museum's neuroanatomical collections, spoke to them about the museum's brain collection, the various applications of brain imaging and brain education.

Alan Hawk, manager of the museum's historical collections, created a poster titled "Hospitalization and Medical Evacuation in the Korean Conflict, 1950-1953" to be displayed in the Office of the Surgeon General, U.S. Army in Skyline, Va.

Jim Connor, Ph.D., the museum's assistant director for collections, and Archie Fobbs, curator of the museum's neuroanatomical collections, were interviewed for a story about the museum's neuroanatomical collection by Discovery Health Channel's cable TV program called "Discovery Science Daily."

U.S. Army Capt. Eric H. Watson thanked Nicole Gunter-Thomas and Melba Stewart, visitor service representatives, as well as Sandra Saluke, educator, and Maurice Young, facilities manager, for their efforts in arranging a last-minute visit of 20 student nurses from various New England colleges.

A chapter entitled, "Damnum Fatale: The Taphonomic Fate of Human Remains in Mass Disasters," was co-authored by Paul Sledzik, curator of the museum's anatomical collections, in the recently released textbook published by CRC Press, "Advances in Forensic Taphonomy: Method, Theory, and Archeological Perspectives." The nine-page chapter deals with the effects of various disasters on the preservation of human remains.

The Baltimore Public Relations Council re-elected Steven Solomon, the museum's public affairs officer, to another term as treasurer. Founded in 1951, the organization is the oldest organization in the Baltimore area devoted to public relations, providing a forum for public relations professionals to exchange ideas with their peers. He was also re-elected to the board of the Maryland Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development, which offers members professional growth opportunities.

Archie Fobbs, curator of the museum's neuroanatomical collections, along with many scientists from across the country, began studying the anatomy and three-dimensional reconstructions of the brain of a white whale in 1999 and recently had their work published in the "Journal of Anatomical Records." They did this using a technique called magnetic resonance imaging, which allowed them to look at the internal structure of the brain.

Jim Connor, Ph.D., the museum's assistant director for collections, Michael Rhode, archivist in the museum's Otis Historical Archives, and Alan Hawk, manager of the museum's historical collections, assisted Mrs. John O. Ellis and Mrs. Oscar Shoenfelt, both of Atlanta, when they recently visited the museum to view several objects in the collection that belonged to their relative, William Crawford Gorgas, on the occasion of the dedication of the Gorgas Memorial Library commemoration at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. Gorgas was named the Army Surgeon General in 1914 after receiving credit for eliminating yellow fever from Havana in 1900 and from the Panama Canal in 1904.

Alan Hawk, (left) manager of the museum's historical collections, presented a poster depicting some of the museum's historical artifacts to Dan Daly (right) of the Old Navy Hospital for an exhibit at a May open house at the Old Navy Hospital that drew 2,500 guests. The poster was placed in a room on the second floor of the old building that was remade to look like a Civil War hospital ward.

When U.S. Army interns for public affairs visited the museum they received a presentation about the museum's Yakovlev Brain Collection from Archie Fobbs, curator of the museum's neuroanatomical collections.

A team that included Lenore Barbian, Ph.D., assistant curator of the museum's anatomical collections, visited the Manassas National Battlefield Park in Virginia in June to investigate the origin of a possible Civil War era human tooth and small bone found after recent heavy rains by a visitor walking along the trails. An examination with a digital X-ray machine was inconclusive, so the tooth and another found at the site by the team were brought back to the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology for further study.

A six-member team of anthropologists, forensic scientists, and science teachers led by Paul Sledzik and Lenore Barbian, Ph.D., curator and assistant curator respectively of the museum's anatomical collections, conducted an item-level shelf inventory of specimens in the Harvard Medical School's Warren Anatomical Museum. As a result of their visit, an inventory of the thousands of anatomical specimens was generated, and the storage configuration of the collection was greatly improved. Sledzik was invited to sit on the Warren Anatomical Museum Advisory Committee, which will advise on the potential future of the collections.

Alan Hawk, manager of the museum's historical collections, gave a two-hour talk with slides titled, "Hospitals on Wheels During the Civil War," at the Green Spring Gardens Manor House in Alexandria, Va. He discussed the development of hospital trains during the Civil War and how the troops relied on them to treat the wounded and carry them to safety.

The Washington Area Women's Foundation and the NIH Office of Research on Women's Health heard Dr. Adrianne Noe, museum director, speak at an evening program celebrating women's health for guests from community-based organizations engaged in front-line work with women and girls in the Greater Washington Metropolitan Area.

CBC Radio in Toronto interviewed Jim Connor, Ph.D., the museum's assistant director for collections, about his reaction to the demolition of a 1930s-era hospital building he wrote about in his book, "Doing Good, The Life of Toronto's General Hospital," published in December 2000. The book was featured in the May 2, 2001 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, which has a weekly circulation of nearly 360,000.

Footage supplied by Michael Rhode, archivist in the museum's Otis Historical Archives, was used on the History Channel's "Sex in the 20th Century" program narrated by Peter Coyote. The program aired in four parts.

Archie Fobbs, curator of the museum's neuroanatomical collections, participated in discussions and demonstrations during Howard County Public School's Non-Traditional Career Day for Technology Magnet students in the technical research and design cluster.

Adrianne Noe, Ph.D., the museum director, recorded a holiday greeting that aired on WGMS-FM on Christmas morning. The message thanked listeners for their support throughout the year 2000 and encouraged them to visit the National Museum of Health and Medicine.