Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/863733
AWARD AWARD SHAH MOTIVATED BY 'MORAL RESPONSIBILITY' TO UNDERPRIVILEGED HEN BINAY SHAH, MD, FEL '10, was growing up in Nepal, he saw many people dying of preventable diseases due to subpar health care in the South Asian country, one of the poorest in the world. "It saddened my heart," Shah says. In response, Shah founded the non-profit Binaytara Foundation, which promotes health and education in resource-poor countries. A hematologist and oncologist, he led the development of Nepal's first blood and bone marrow transplant program, in partnership with the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System. Based in the Kathmandu Civil Service Hospital, the unit recently began service for many patients from Nepal and neighboring India. In recognition of this work, the College of Medicine chose Shah to be the 2016 recipient of the Sweeney Spirit of Medicine Award, the organization's highest humanitarian honor. Named after the late Raymond Nester Sweeney, MD '68, this award recognizes exemplary community service and collaboration with the College of Medicine. "Dr. Shah deserves the Sweeney Spirit Award because of his work making a difference and impacting the lives of many people through building infrastructure and health care services that are unique," says Damiano Rondelli, MD, Michael Reese Professor of Hematology and chief of UI Health's division of hematology and oncology, who worked with Shah to establish the unit in Kathmandu. "When you make a difference in these areas, it makes a difference for generations." Currently a clinical associate professor with Pacific Northwest University in Yakima, Wash., Shah received his medical degree from BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Dharan, Nepal. He completed an internal medicine residency from Long Island College Hospital, Brooklyn, N.Y., and his hematology oncology fellowship at the College of Medicine in Chicago. "I believe it's our moral responsibility to help those who are underprivileged," Shah says. Receiving the Sweeney award further inspires him "to be able to help patients who are going through terminal illnesses, go through it in peace." LADU'S MISSION: TO FIND THE ELUSIVE CURE FOR ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE ARY JO LADU, PHD '91, ARTICULATES THE GOAL she's set for herself simply and directly: "I want to cure Alzheimer's disease. I think we can do it. I really do, or I wouldn't keep working." Such a cure has been elusive — and increasingly is needed. The most common cause of dementia, Alzheimer's disease affects about 5.4 million people in the United States, according to the Alzheimer's Association, which projects the number will reach 13.8 million by 2050 if new interventions for the disease aren't found. A professor in the College of Medicine Chicago's department of anatomy and cell biology, LaDu researches the structure and function of two proteins and antibodies that are linked to Alzheimer's disease and used to study the progression of the disease. To guide her work, she's developed a genetically engineered mouse regarded as the best model for Alzheimer's disease because it mimics the genetics and pathology of the human disease more closely than any other animal model. "What the antibodies allowed us to do is develop what we hope are biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease," LaDu explains. "We can't diagnose the disease, so not having a biomarker basically stalls both sides of the discovery process." "It incorporates the human proteins that are defective in Alzheimer's disease into mice, so that researchers can study the progression of Alzheimer's disease," adds Mark Brodie, PhD, professor in the COM's Chicago department of physiology and biophysics. "The information coming from Mary Jo's lab … is going to be critical in the clinic to be able to diagnose and ultimately treat Alzheimer's disease." In recognition of her research and its important contributions to the understanding of Alzheimer's disease, the College of Medicine chose LaDu to be the 2016 recipient of the Innovator of Today Award, which recognizes a significant innovative contribution to medicine made by a graduate of the College of Medicine. LaDu earned her PhD in physiology and biophysics from the College, then held research positions at the University of Chicago Medical Center and the Northwestern Research Institute before returning to her current position with the COM. Binay Shah Mary Jo LaDu S W E E N E Y S P I R I T O F M E D I C I N E I N N O V A T O R O F T O D A Y M W ILLINOIS MEDICINE 38 | S U M M E R 2 0 1 7