Dialog, UA Faculty and Staff News

English Professor Wins American Language Institute Prize
UA Scientist Says Popular Fitness Supplement Builds Mutations, Not Muscle
College of Engineering Hosts National Science Foundation Conference
Accounting Professor to Lead 2003-04 Faculty Senate

English Professor Wins American Language Institute Prize

Dr. Lucy Pickering

Dr. Lucy Pickering, assistant professor in UA's TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) program in the English department, has been awarded the 2003 Fred W. Malkemes Prize by the American Language Institute of New York University's School of Continuing and Professional Studies.

The $1,000 award was announced at the 25th annual winter conference of the NYS TESOL Applied Linguistics Special Interest Group. Her article, "The Role of Tone Choice in Improving ITA Communication in the Classroom," was singled out for its readability and detailed documentation.

Pickering holds a doctorate in applied linguistics from the University of Florida. Before coming to UA she taught in the ITA program at the University of Florida. She also has taught English to speakers of other languages in England, Hungary and elsewhere in the United States.

The Malkemes Prize was established in memory of Fred W. Malkemes, a respected educator and, for nearly 20 years, a faculty member of NYU's American Language Institute. The Malkemes Prize selection committee seeks articles on topics that were of special interest to him including: teaching and classroom practice; language teacher education; adult literacy; computer-assisted language learning; and developing materials for use in English as a second language classrooms for beginning students.

UA Scientist Says Popular Fitness Supplement Builds Mutations, Not Muscle

by Elizabeth Smith

A popular sports supplement, chromium picolinate, can damage DNA and cause lethal mutations and sterility, according to new research outlined in the article "Nutritional Supplement Chromium Picolinate Causes Sterility and Lethal Mutations in Drosophila Melanogaster" authored by Dr. John Vincent, chemistry professor in the UA College of Arts and Sciences. The article was published in a recent issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (paper #6646).

The finding may increase doubts about the safety of this supplement, which currently boasts annual sales of about $500 million. Vincent suggests, "In light of chromium picolinate's extreme popularity, the supplement should be further evaluated to test its safety or lack thereof."

Chromium picolinate has become a mainstay among fitness and bodybuilding gurus for purportedly reducing fat mass and increasing lean body mass. However, recent studies have linked the supplement with higher rates of DNA damage and other health problems that could lead to cancer.

Seeking to resolve the debate, Vincent and colleagues tested the effects of chromium picolinate on the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. The scientists allowed adult flies to mate on a medium containing the supplement, then monitored the progress of the resulting offspring. In each successive generation raised on the chromium picolinate medium, the number of progeny reaching the pupal stage of development was reduced by at least 20 percent. Surviving offspring exhibited developmental delays, with individuals reaching pupation and hatching from the pupal case at least 24 hours later than control flies.

In a parallel study, when the scientists examined the first two generations of offspring from male flies feeding on chromium picolinate-containing media, they observed fewer male progeny and increased numbers of sterile females. These effects must result from increased numbers of inherited deleterious mutations because the offspring had never been exposed to chromium picolinate.

Also involved in the research were Dr. Janis O'Donnell, professor of biological sciences, graduate students Dion D. Hepburn and Jiarong Xiao, and undergraduate student Sharell Bindom.

College of Engineering Hosts National Science Foundation Conference

Dr. Ramana G. Reddy and Dr. Paul MacCready

Dr. Ramana G. Reddy, UA professor of metallurgical and materials engineering, with keynote speaker Dr. Paul MacCready, Time Magazine's Engineer of the Century

Each year, the National Science Foundation selects an institution from the academic community to host the NSF Design, Service and Manufacturing Grantees and Research Conference, and UA's College of Engineering was chosen to host the 2003 Conference. Dr. Ramana G. Reddy, professor of metallurgical and materials engineering, coordinated this year's conference. This conference is consistently North America's largest gathering of researchers in this field. Breaking most previous years' attendance records, the 2003 Conference included more than 725 attendees, as well as 500 posters, 358 research papers, six technical tours and more than 30 invited speakers.

Accounting Professor to Lead 2003-04 Faculty Senate

Dr. Roy Ann Sherrod, Dr. John Mason and Dr. Matt Winston (Photo: Rickey Yanaura)

UA's 2003-04 Faculty Senate will be led by president Dr. John Mason, professor in the Culverhouse School of Accountancy; Dr. Roy Ann Sherrod, senate secretary and professor of nursing in the Capstone College of Nursing; and Dr. Matt Winston, senate vice president and associate professor of English. In the final meeting of the academic year on April 15, UA President Dr. Robert E. Witt addressed the Senate and took questions from the floor. For a roster of members, agendas, minutes and documents, visit the Web site at www.facultysenate.ua.edu.