2004 Staff Members on the Go

James Carey Crane (left), who initially joined the museum staff in 2000 as an exhibits specialist and was promoted to exhibits manager in 2002, is relocating with his wife, dog, and three cats to Alamogordo, N.M. to assume the position of exhibits manager at the New Mexico Museum of Space History. He previously has worked at the North Carolina Museum of Natural History, the North Carolina Zoological Park, and the Florida Museum of Natural History.

Lenore Barbian, Ph.D., assistant curator of the museum’s anatomical collections, explains the impact of gunshot wounds on human bone during an interview for a History Channel documentary called “Battlefield Detectives.” The segment that will feature Barbian and anatomical specimens from the museum’s collection will focus specifically on the Battle of Antietam.

Forty-five students from the National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine, a group of aspiring 16-19 year olds who are interested in pursuing careers in science and medicine, received guided tours on July 21 from Janet Burns, the museum’s public programs manager, and Steven Solomon, the museum’s public affairs officer. Students also received special presentations from Lenore Barbian, Ph.D., assistant curator of the museum’s anatomical collections, and Archie Fobbs, curator of the museum’s neuroanatomical collections.

Janet Burns (above, middle), the museum’s public programs manager, and Andrea Schierkolk (above, right), the museum’s tour program manager, distribute information about museum exhibits and programs at Walter Reed Army Medical Center’s Organization Day. Museum staff who also participated include Alan Hawk, manager of the museum’s historical collections, Mike Simons, the museum’s registrar, Steven Solomon, the museum’s public affairs officer, and Suzy Martin, the museum’s public affairs assistant.

Lenore Barbian, Ph.D., assistant curator of the museum’s anatomical collection, was interviewed live July 7 on WPDH-FM, a 50-KW radio station in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. During the 5-minute interview she talked about the museum’s anatomical specimens and exhibits.

Alan Hawk (rear), manager of the museum’s historical collections, showed Joe Garret (left), a Navy POW of the Japanese during World War II, a peg-leg that dates from World War II that is now on display in the museum’s “Battlefield Surgery 101: From the Civil War to Vietnam” exhibition. The prosthetic leg was made by one of Garrett’s friends and fellow soldiers. A cameraman from the Naval Media Center (right) filmed Garrett and his daughter (middle) while they examined the prosthesis and later interviewed Garrett about his military experiences for a television program called the Navy/Marine Corps News, which aims to provide “news and information of interest to the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps team, including civilian employees and family members at home and around the world, ashore and afloat.” Later the same day, the Naval Historical Center taped Garrett’s oral history.

The museum’s public affairs officer, Steven Solomon, was a judge of documentaries submitted by students in grades 6-12 for the 26th annual National History Day competition held at the University of Maryland in College Park, Md. Of 2,100 students invited to compete at the national level, just six were chosen to present their work at the museum. After the students presented their projects, Solomon (left) gave the participants and their families a tour of the museum’s public display area. In addition, Lenore Barbian, Ph.D. (below, left), assistant curator of the anatomical collections, Liz Lockett, imaging specialist for the museum’s Human Developmental Anatomy collection, and Archie Fobbs (below, right), curator of the neuroanatomical collections, provided participants with behind-the-scenes tours of specimens not on display.

After more than 17 years on staff at the museum, Paul Sledzik, M.S., the museum’s anatomical collections curator, has assumed the position of manager of the Victim Recovery and Identification Office of Transportation Disaster Assistance at the National Transportation Safety Board in Washington, D.C. On his last day at the museum, Sledzik received the U.S. Army’s Commander’s Award for Civilian Service, signed by Col. Renata Greenspan, director of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, and presented by Adrianne Noe, Ph.D., museum director.

Paul Sledzik, M.S., curator of the museum's anatomical collections, spoke at the Smithsonian Institution's annual tour about Civil War medicine, conducted by Civil War historian Ed Bearss.

Lenore Barbian, Ph.D., assistant curator of the museum's anatomical collections, gave the keynote address at Howard Hughes Medical Institute's (HHMI) Precollege Science Education Program meeting. This HHMI program began in 1991 and aims to improve science education for students from kindergarten to twelfth grade.

The museum's public affairs officer, Steven Solomon, has completed a public affairs officer course offered by the U.S. Air Force Institute for Advanced Distributed Learning located at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama.

Paul Sledzik, M.S., (left), and Lenore Barbian, Ph.D., (middle), co-authored two presentations about forensic anthropology, which they shared with AFIP and museum staff as part of the AFIP's weekly professional conference series. Barbian gave a presentation called "Cranial Healing Following Trauma," in which she described the ways that the museum's anatomical collection can be useful to forensic professionals interested in skull injuries. Sledzik recounted the AFIP's tradition of teaching forensic anthropology courses and described how the course curriculums have evolved in a lecture called "Sixteen Years of Forensic Anthropology Short Courses at the National Museum of Health and Medicine." Adrianne Noe, Ph.D., museum director, (right), provided an introduction in which she encouraged all staff to use the museum's collections as a professional resource.

Mike Simons, M.A., the museum's registrar, is participating in a multi-year anthrax vaccine study at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR). WRAIR studies infectious diseases, ways to improve combat casualty care, and possible defenses against biological and chemical warfare.

Museum staff discuss "Battlefield Surgery 101: From the Civil War to Vietnam" in a filmed interview for "NARFE Presents," a monthly television program put together by the National Association of Retired Federal Employees. Left to right: Alan Hawk, manager of historical collections, Mike Rhode, archivist of the Otis Historical Archives, Jim Connor, Ph.D., assistant director for collections, Adrianne Noe, Ph.D., museum director, and Walter Engel, producer of the program.

Jim Connor, Ph.D., assistant director for collections, introduced the 1939 film, "Nurse Edith Cavell," at a two-day brown bag lunch series that was open to the public. The film, which received an Academy Award for Best Original Score, focuses on the life of Nurse Cavell and three Belgian women who risked their lives to help Allied soldiers escape from Brussels to neutral Holland during World War I. Connor placed the film in its social, political, and cultural context. He also described Cavell's role in the war and her continuing legacy. The program was part of the museum's ongoing effort to recognize the sacrifices and contributions made by soldiers and civilians during times of war.

Mike Rhode, archivist of the museum's Otis Historical Archives, assisted the photography editor of Toronto Life magazine in selecting an appropriate image to accompany an article titled "Coming Soon," which examines the possibility of a SARS epidemic in Toronto, Canada. The article and a photo of Spanish flu victims in Kansas in 1918 from the museum's archives (below) were published in the February issue of Toronto Life.

Archie Fobbs, curator of the museum neuroanatomical collection, gave a lecture on "Brain Theory" to a graduate school class at Howard University. His lecture focused on the connections between neuroscience and social work.

Paul Sledzik (below, left), curator of the museum's anatomical collections, was interviewed for a National Geographic documentary called "Tales of the Living Dead." Sledzik explained various theories about New England vampire folklore and showed the filming crew the remains of a person who was at one time thought to be a vampire. The documentary will focus on forensic archeology and its influence on and connection to vampire folklore.

The museum's public programs chief, Janet Melson Burns, was interviewed live on WPFW-FM Pacifica, 89.3, a Washington, D.C. radio station devoted to jazz, Third World music, news, and public affairs. Arranged by Gloria Minott, the station's news director, Burns told listeners about the museum's free monthly health fairs.

Alan Hawk, manager of the museum's historical collections, has returned to the museum after being called to active duty by the U.S. Navy for one year. Hawk, Petty Officer 1st class in the Naval Reserve, was mobilized under Operation Noble Eagle. During his mobilization, he conducted and supported intelligence activities related to port security for homeland defense.

Mike Simons, the museum's registrar, took a photograph of a stethoscope in the museum's collection that has been published in "Automating the Medical Record," a publication of the American Medical Association.

Jim Connor, Ph.D., the museum's assistant director for collections, gave a lecture entitled "Not a Dime Museum, But a Medical Museum: The Army Medical Museum as a Federal Institution, 1860's-1920's" at the National Library of Medicine (NLM) in Bethesda, Md. His lecture was part of the NLM's History of Medicine Seminar series.

Paul Sledzik, curator of the museum's anatomical collection, gave a lecture about forensic identification in mass disasters at the National Transportation Board Training Academy as part of the organization's Transportation Disaster Assistance Family Assistance Course.

Archie Fobbs, curator of the museum's neuroanatomical collection, co-authored and submitted an abstract called "Distinctive Organization of the Basal Ganglia in the Brains of Cetaceans" for the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology's 2004 meeting in New Orleans, La. The abstract examines the structure, development, evolution, and function of the nervous system of marine animals.