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bureau briefs

GEFFEN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

The results of an 18-month clinical trial on a new drug designed to inhibit the progression of type I diabetes (also known as juvenile diabetes) confirm the drug’s efficacy in improving a diabetic’s ability to produce insulin. The results may lead to a new treatment to prevent type I diabetes, which has no cure. The new drug arose from research at UCLA with diabetes-prone mice that were protected from developing the disease by treating them with a protein called “GAD,” taken from insulin-producing cells. “We are very pleased to see our work at UCLA go from the lab to a clinical application with the potential to help so many people,” said Daniel Kaufman, professor of molecular and medical pharmacology, whose research team first developed and tested the drug on mice. The university recently was issued a patent on the GAD gene.

UCLA HAMMER MUSEUM

The Hammer Museum is joining the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago and the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York to commission, exhibit and acquire significant new works of art by emerging contemporary artists. The three artists selected for this project are Fiona Tan, Aernout Mik and Patty Chang, who will each create a work of art. At a time when resources are stretched, said the museum directors in a joint statement, “this kind of collaboration will enable important works to be produced and shown across the country, giving the artist the widest exposure to a broad, national audience.” The American Center Foundation and the Peter Norton Family Foundation provided generous support for the project.

ENGINEERING/PHYSICS

UCLA and the National Ignition Facility (NIF) will be the first beneficiaries of a stepped-up effort by the University of California to tap into the scientific expertise and facilities at the national laboratories. The NIF will be the world’s most powerful laser facility once construction ends at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. A search is under way to fill a UCLA/NIF joint professorship, a tenure-track appointment for an assistant professor to be in the electrical engineering and physics departments. “For many years we have had a strong plasma group at UCLA working on laser-plasma interactions,” said Roberto Peccei, vice chancellor for research. “This professorship will ensure that we will be able to increase this very good collaboration, provide learning opportunities for our students and attract more people at UCLA to think about NIF.”