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.~..~'''~.,9^l~'1~.~-_:.. ;,:i•.•o:~~.'~3:~~.:.~...._._ Tribute Retiring medical faculry were honored Tuesday at the annual Medical Emeriti Faculty dinner. Dr. Ralph Snyderman, center, recalled the contributions of the eight new emeriti faculty members. At the dinner were, from left, Dr. Elisabeth Fox, associate clinical professor of anesthesiology; Sheila Counce, professor of cell biology; Snyderman; Dr. W. Glenn Young Jr., - - - -- ...,. .. .. ... . .._ .+ ..... professor of surgery; and Dr. Walter L. Floyd, professor of medicine. Also retiring are Dr. John Koepke, professor of pathology; Dr. W.J. Kenneth Rockwell, assistant professor of psychiatry; Dr. Joachim R.W. Sommer, professor of pathology; and Dr. Hsioh-Shan Wang,professor ofpsychiatry. Photo: Bruce Feeley 'DZlZ4O~~ll'e A Jiine 16, 1995 A 5 Dr. Lenox Baker hailed as pioneer, friend to Duke Friends and colleagues last week remembered Dr. Lenox Baker, as a leader and a "true legend." Baker, a renowned orthopedic surgeon and a pioneer in treat- ment of children with cerebral palsy, died June 2 at Hillcrest Convalescent Center. He was 92. Baker joined the Duke faculty in 1937 as an assis- tant in orthopedics and by 1947 he was full professor, a position he held until 1972. He served as chief of or- thopedics from 1937 to 1967. He was also a member of the first class of medical students at Duke. When the North Carolina legislature established the Durham Cerebral Palsy Clinic in 1947, Baker was cho- sen as medical director. He stepped down from this post in 1971 to become the state's first Secretary of Human Resources. Two.years later, the clinic was renamed in his honor. In 1987, the clinic officially became a part of Duke University Medical Center. "Dr. Baker, a true legend in orthopedic surgery, has played an important role in the development of Duke University Medical Center since the doors opened in 1930," said Dr. Ralph Snyderman, chancellor for health affairs and dean of the school of medicine. "Thanks to his leadership and unique devotion, the lives of count- less children have been greatly improved. His passing is a deep loss for all of us." Dr. William Anlyan, medical center chancellor from 1964 to 1989, said, "Dr. Baker was one of the giants of orthopedics in the world. He was responsible for estab-

tiutUirrirriurie re5edrU lcrZS- 6Luuy link to nervous, immune systems by Karyn Hede George A newly discovered human protein appears to play a key role in both the immune and nervous systems, pro- viding one of the first direct links to be identified be- tween the two systems, researchers report. Medical scientists believe that interactions between the immune and nervous systems underlie many inflam- matory neurologic dis- eases, such as multiple sclerosis, but these in- teractions are poorly un- cells in the thymus, the birthplace of T cells, attaches to a molecule called CD6 that is found on most T cells. "T cells bearing CD6 tend to attack normal tissues more than other T cell types," said Dr. Barton Haynes, the leader of the Duke research team and chair of the department of medicine. "Knowing that ALCAM activates T cells through CD6 will allow us to develop with Bristol Myers Squibb new treatments for autoimmune diseases." Dr. Barton Haynes derstood. The discovery of the common protein called ALCAM, however, may provide a target to stop auto- immune diseases that affect the nervous system, the researchers say. The discovery, by scientists from Duke and Bristol- Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute (BMSPRI), is reported in the June issue of the Journal of Experimental Medicine. The research was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and Bristol-Myers Squibb. ALCAM is found on both activated immune system cells called T cells and on growing neurons in the brain and nervous system. T cells alert the immune system to recognize the difference between a person's own tissue and foreign substances. ALCAM stands for activated Icukocyte-cell adhesion molecule. "Abnormal T cell activation is thought to be a major contributor to autoimmune diseases such as arthritis and multiple sclerosis, although how T cells become reactive to the body's own tissues is unclear," said Dr. Dhavalkumar Patel, assistant professor of rheumatology at Duke and a co-author of the article. The researchers discovered that ALCAM found on "Knowing that ALCAM activates T cells through CD6 will allow us to de- velop with Bristol Myers Squibb new treatments for autoimmune dis- eases." The scientists theorize that the ALCAM protein com- municates with the CD6 molecule on the surface of the T cell, but in instances this communication link may go awry, producing T cells that attack the body's tissue. CD6 is also known to be a link in the signaling path- way by which T cells alert the immune system to the presence of foreign tissue or microbes. Physicians use CD6 antibodies to deplete bone marrow of T cells. This prevents transplanted cells from reacting against host tissue. The few remaining T cells, which do not make CD6, do not activate the immune system. Once they had figured out the structure of the gene that is the blueprint for human ALCAM protein, the Duke and BMSPRI researchers discovered that it is similar to a previously described chicken protein that appears in nerve cells that are forming connections with other neurons in the developing brain. The researchers pinpointed the ALCAM gene on chromosome 3, but have not yet linked the gene to any known human diseases. In addition to researchers at BMSPRI, Xu Li and Uta Francke of Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Stanford University Medical Center, and John Pesando of Oncomembrane Corp. contributed to the research. lishing nefworks o1` oitopedicdiagnosttc clinics throughout North and South Carolina. Many of the leading orthopedic surgeons of the generations who succeeded him on the national scene were his former students and residents." Baker received his undergraduate education at the University of Tennessee. After one year at the medical school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he transferred to Duke University Medical School in 1930. After four years of advanced training in or- thopedic surgery at Johns Hopkins Medical Center, he joined the Duke faculty in 1937. "Lenox Baker was a widely respected chief of ortho- pedics at Duke and as a leader in the field, nationally and internationally," said Dr. David C. Sabiston Jr., who served as chairman of surgery at Duke from 1964 to 1994. "He was widely admired for his strong com- mitment to Duke and his continuing loyalty to the uni- versity. He will be long remembered for'his original contributions to orthopedics by patients, students and colleagues throughout the country." "More than any other individual, Dr. Lenox Baker has unquestionably had the most positive influence on the practice of orthopedic surgery in this community and throughout the state," said Dr. James R. Urbaniak, a Virginia Flowers Baker professor and chief of ortho- pedic surgery at the Duke medical center. Urbaniak trained under Baker. Politically, he was known for holding conservative views. Professionally, he was a leader in many medi- cal associations. Baker served as president of groups such as the American Orthopedic Association, the American Academy of Cerebral Palsy, President Dwight Eisenhower's Committee on the Employment of the Physically Handicapped, the North Carolina State Board of Health; the North Carolina League of Crippled Children and the North Carolina Orthopedic Association. His efforts on Eisenhower's committee were recog- nized when he was awarded the 1957 Physician's Award. Surviving Baker are two sons, Robert F. Baker of Durham and Dr. Lenox D. Baker Jr., of Norfolk, Va.; seven grandchildren and four great grandchildren.