Professor of Pediatrics Dr. Sushil Jain has received a two-year, $652,500 grant from the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine to further his research on diabetes. Diabetes research is personal to Jain. He studied sickle cell anemia until a chance analysis of his own blood in the 1980’s changed the course of his career and life as a whole. When using his blood as a control in a study, Jain discovered he had Type 2 diabetes. He switched gears to diabetes research and began to study how an amino acid impacts insulin signaling.

Wayne Goss, senior property management specialist for the city of Shreveport, has been installed as president-elect for the International Right of Way Association. Goss joined the city’s Department of Public Works in 1990, following training in a position with the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development. The organization he has been elected to lead, offers classroom and online training for various affiliated professionals seeking to obtain and keep their credentials up-to-date. The membership list includes acquisition agents, appraisers, environmental professionals, engineers, lawyers, surveyors, title experts and others. Goss will be inaugurated in June 2015 in San Diego to serve a one-year term as international president.

Centenary’s director of human resources, Edie Cummings, was one of the first in the nation to sit for and pass a new credentialing by the Society for Human Resource Management during the Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C., this November. The new certification, SHRM Certified Professional or SHRM-CP, validates proficiency in nine behavioral and technical competencies: leadership, ethical practice, business acumen, relationship management, consultation, critical evaluation, global and cultural effectiveness, communication, and human resource expertise/knowledge.

BIZ CALENDAR

JAN. 29: SHREVEPORT CHAMBER ANNUAL MEETING,

Celebrate the success of community businesses in 2014 and take a look forward at the future of businesses in 2015. Ivan Smith will be honored with Business Person of the Year Award. Lunch 11:30 a.m. at East Ridge County Club. Go to shreveportchamber.org to register.

Dr. John S. Vassar has been selected as the provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at LSU Shreveport. Vassar started his role as provost Jan. 1, and he is responsible for coordinating the academic work of the campus and overseeing implementation of a variety of new academic programs. Named interim provost in 2013, Vassar helped implement the state of Louisiana’s first bachelor of fine arts degree in digital media as well as Shreveport’s first doctorate degree in leadership studies. He has also overseen the approval of a SACSCOC level change to permit future additional doctoral programs at LSU Shreveport.

Susan Sewall has retired as the CEO of Girl Scouts of Louisiana – Pines to the Gulf. For over three decades, Sewall has provided leadership and vision for the development and achievement of the organization’s mission in partnership with the council’s Board of Directors. Girl Scouts of Louisiana – Pines to the Gulf consists of the 42 parishes.

Shreveport native and Centenary alumnus Darrius Hills has been awarded the 2014-15 Dissertation Fellowship from the Louisville Institute based at Louisville Presbyterian Seminary in Kentucky. The institute annually awards $22,000 fellowships to support the final year of dissertation writing for outstanding Ph.D. or Th.D. students whose research will advance American religious and theological scholarship. Hills, whose dissertation topic is “Toward a Theory of Reciprocity: Constructing a Hermeneutic of Relationality for Black Theological Discourse,” was one of only eight to receive the competitive award.

The Department of Veterans Affairs is pleased to announce the appointment of Toby Mathew as the new director of the Overton Brooks VA Medical Center. Mathew will oversee delivery of healthcare to more than 200,000 Veterans and includes three community based outpatient clinics serving Veterans in 12 Louisiana parishes, 11 counties in Southern Arkansas and nine counties in East Texas. The medical center is classified as a Clinical Referral Level 1C Facility which accepts referrals from the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Healthcare System and the Alexandria, Louisiana VA Medical Center.

Letters to the Editor:

Letters to the editor may be sent to: The Forum Attn: Editorial Dept. 1158 Texas Ave., Shreveport, La. 71101 Or email: [email protected]