In Brief

Get ready for Job Fair '99

University employers can get a jump start on finding student employees by attending Job Fair '99 on Thursday, August 26, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., in the May Room of Wilson Commons. Sponsored by the Career Center, the Job Fair gives employers the opportunity to meet potential student employees. It also introduces new students to the diversity of student employment opportunities at Rochester. Information on how to reserve space for Job Fair '99 will be arriving by mail. More information also may be obtained by calling Career Center Student Employment, x5-2138.

MS bike tour looking for riders

A team from the University will join the fight against multiple sclerosis on Saturday and Sunday, August 28 and 29, departing from Victor. Team UR Riders will participate in one of two events. There's the MS150, a two-day bike tour event throughout upstate New York with an overnight extravaganza in Seneca Falls, or the MS Fun Ride, a one-day ride from Victor on August 29. The event benefits the Upstate New York Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Lisa Norwood, team captain for UR Riders, has set a goal of raising $5,000 in contributions and is looking for 10 or more UR faculty, staff, alumni, friends, and students to join the team. Contact Lisa at x5-4155 or lnrw@seas.rochester.edu to join the team or make a donation. Volunteers also are needed at the MS Bike Tour. To volunteer your time, call (877) 869-6677, ext. 5333.

Vaccinex receives $4 million

Two Cancer Center researchers who have formed a biotechnology company aimed at developing cancer vaccines have received $4 million in funding from a group of private investors.

The company, called Vaccinex, is headed by Maurice Zauderer and Deepak Sahasrabudhe. The funding has enabled Vaccinex to hire 15 full-time scientists who are operating in a 3,500-square-foot facility at the Medical Center, which is being leased to the company. The location gives the two researchers the flexibility to split their time between their research at the Cancer Center and the development of Vaccinex.

Zauderer has developed a laboratory technique that enables his team of researchers to search the surface of cancer cells and locate molecules--called antigens--that the immune system can recognize as foreign. He has filed for a patent on the new technique and named it Antigen Discovery Process.

Zauderer hopes the company will be able to begin human trials of its first cancer vaccines within three years.

Clark bequest honors MAG director

The Memorial Art Galleryís Board of Managers has voted to earmark earnings from the $1.6 million bequest of Mary Whipple Clark to endow the directorís position at MAG. The position will be designated the Mary W. and Donald R. Clark Directorís Chair.

The endowment honors Grant Holcomb, MAGís director since 1985, said Edward Adams, president of the gallery's Board of Managers. "With this vote, we pay tribute to the professionalism, personal dedication, and inspired leadership that Grant has brought to this institution."

Strong breaks ground on new ED

Strong Memorial Hospital has broken ground to begin construction on a two-story, 105,000-square-foot building to deliver emergency medical care. The new Emergency Department is modeled after the University of Cincinnati's emergency department and will be located on the Elmwood Avenue side of the hospital next to the main entrance.

The new ED will be distinguished by its floor plan. Among the features: 57 exam rooms (10 more than the current ED); a raised nursing station; a separate pediatric area with its own waiting room; a trauma room designed to accommodate up to 14 patients in a disaster situation; and a nine-bed Clinical Decision Unit.

The new ED is expected to open in the fall of 2000.

ESM moves on theater renovation

The Eastman School of Music has chosen the architectural firm of Macon, Chaintreuil, Jensen, and Stark to lead a team of consultants in completing a feasibility study for the renovation of Eastman Theatre. Work on the study began this month. It represents phase one of a multiphase project and will be completed this fall.

A renovation of Eastman Theatre would include a new orchestra shell, a new rehearsal room, improved dressing facilities, increased lobby space, an optimization of seating capacity, and lighting and acoustical improvements.

The last major renovation of the theater was in 1971. Three years ago, ESM began a $7.5 million general modernization project for all of its facilities that will conclude in 2001.