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VOL. 26. NO.15 MAY 23, 2006

BRIEFS ONLINE

UC retirement still under review

Citing the need for more consultation and analysis, as well as the University of California budget process, the UC Board of Regents at its May 18 meeting took no action on a specific schedule to reinstate contributions to the UC Retirement Plan. UC is continuing active consultation and discussions regarding the restart of contributions to UCRP with faculty, staff, unions and retirees. The regents at a future meeting will hear specific recommendations as to when contributions will be restarted and how costs will be divided between the university and employees. Future decisions by the regents on this subject will be informed by collective bargaining, availability of funding and the budget process.

Cook your way to success

UCLA’s Professional Development Program (PDP) commemorates its 10th anniversary with the publication of “PDP Recipes for Success,” a cookbook filled with culinary delights and career tips. The cookbook contains recipes from the kitchens of UCLA’s professional staff as well as an exclusive secret recipe from UCLA’s “First Lady‘ Robin Carnesale. “ ‘PDP Recipes for Success’ ” is a must-have for experienced home chefs and microwave-hotplate types alike,‘ said Michelle Harding, a member of the project team that put the cookbook together. The cost is $12.95, and proceeds go directly to UCLA Staff Assembly’s Staff Scholarship program. Contact Harding at (310) 825-1223 to order a copy.

New parking permits

Parking Services is issuing a new Consecutive Year Permit that will last five years (2006-2011) to replace the “Lifetime” parking permit that has been distributed to emeriti and employees who have been on campus at least nine months. A new gate access card will also be issued. The permit and card will incorporate several enhanced security features and offer a strong deterrent to counterfeiters. This change will benefit permit holders by protecting the availability of parking spaces for those who pay to park legitimately. From June 19-23, the new parking permits and gate access cards will be delivered to all campus department parking coordinators for distribution. Employees may begin using these immediately. Individual parking location assignments and permit types will not be affected by this change. All of the old gate access cards (featuring a UCLA logo or Bruin Bear) used by “Lifetime” and emeriti permit holders will no longer be valid, effective July 16. For more information, contact pcoordinator@ts.ucla.edu or (310) 206-3884.

Bows and arrows

UCLA played host to the United States Intercollegiate Archery Championships — the culminating national tournament for U.S. collegiate archery. More than 200 of the nation’s top collegiate archers, including potential future Olympians, competed on the Intramural Field May 18 through May 21 for the national championship title. The winner will represent the United States at the upcoming World University games. A special honorary award was presented to Jim Easton, who served for 16 years as president of the International Archery Federation and is a U.S. member of the International Olympic Committee.

Parting words

Chancellor Albert Carnesale and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa top a list of distinguished speakers scheduled to deliver keynote remarks during commencement ceremonies through June 17. The mayor, a 1977 UCLA graduate in history, will speak June 16 at the UCLA College ceremony while Carnesale will make his final commencement address as chancellor June 2 before graduates of the David Geffen School of Medicine. Other speakers will include Marshall “Mark” Drummond, chancellor of the California Community College system; Emmy-winning and Oscar-nominated producer Samuel Goldwyn Jr., who will receive the UCLA Medal; and Eli Broad, philanthropist, business and civic leader. Broad and his wife, Edythe, will receive the UCLA Medal. Their $23.2-million gift made possible construction of a new home for the school’s visual arts programs, scheduled to open later this year.

Health care — lost in translation

A new policy brief from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research shows that more than 1 million adult HMO members in California with limited English proficiency are at risk for problems accessing health-care services and receiving quality treatment. The study, commissioned by the California Office of the Patient Advocate, illustrates the substantial need for language services in commercial plans, Medi-Cal and Healthy Families. The findings also highlight the importance of recent statutory changes that will require the California Department of Managed Health Care to oversee and regulate language services in licensed HMOs. “The language barrier impacts every level in the healthcare process, from communicating with your doctor to reading a prescription bottle to understanding important forms,” said Gerald F. Kominski, associate director of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and lead author of the study. The policy brief is available at www.healthpolicy.ucla.edu.

Protein suppresses tumors in lab experiments

Dental researchers studying a basic human protein essential in processing and metabolizing RNA have discovered it works as a natural tumor suppressor of head and neck cancer. These findings are reported in the May 15 issue of Clinical Cancer Research. The protein, heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein G, was until now perhaps the least investigated of a class of 30 ribonucleic acid-binding proteins with diverse biological functions. While the researchers readily detected the protein in healthy skin tissue, they did not find it in the vast majority of precancerous and cancerous tissues. Moreover, the UCLA scientists detected that if the protein is injected into human oral squamous cell carcinoma, it inhibits the proliferation and tumor-forming capacity of the carcinoma in test tubes and in an animal model.

Help for those with rare diseases

Researchers from the David Geffen School of Medicine will participate in the National Institutes of Health’s first-ever clinical studies of its Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network. The network has received five-year funding awards totaling $71 million. More than 20 studies are expected to open in the next few months at about 50 sites across the United States and in the United Kingdom, Japan and Brazil. UCLA researchers will open six studies on urea cycle disorders, the failure to metabolize the nitrogen in proteins, episodic ataxia syndrome, a neurological disorder and bone marrow failure disease.

Where are we?

You’re at the MacDonald Medical Research Laboratory Building, which was completed in August 1991.