In brief

Bok Center offering half time postdoc fellowship

The Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning has announced that it’s offering a half-time postdoctoral fellowship for the 2008-09 academic year to a strong scholar familiar with Harvard. Specifically, the center seeks proposals for research projects designed to improve teaching at Harvard College. Applications will be accepted until March 15. For more information, visit http://bokcenter.harvard.edu.

HSPH symposium to tackle thorny international health issues

“Markets for Kidneys? The Ethics of the Organ Bazaar” is the title of a Feb. 8 symposium that will investigate current controversies in international health. Co-sponsored by the Harvard University Program in Ethics & Health and the Department of Population and International Health at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), the event will be held in the Kresge Building at the School from 1:30 to 5 p.m.

Topics and speakers include “The World Health Organization and the International Organ Trade” with Luc Noel of the World Health Organization; “Curbing the Sale of Organs” with Francis L. Delmonico of the Transplantation Society and New England Organ Bank; “A Workable, Defensible Market for Organs” featuring Julio J. Elias, economics professor at the State University of New York, Buffalo; “Payment for Kidneys: The Most Fundamental Concern?” with Nir Eyal of the Division of Medical Ethics and Harvard University Program in Ethics and Health; and “Is Organ-Selling Inherently Wrong? Kantian Objections,” with Samuel Kerstein, a postdoctoral fellow in the Program in Ethics and Health.

Mary B. Saltonstall Professor of Population Ethics Daniel Wikler will chair the symposium. All talks are free and open to the public, although attendees should RSVP to Ethics_Health@Harvard.edu or call (617) 432-5950.

BSC examines study strategies

The Bureau of Study Counsel (BSC) will be offering morning and afternoon sessions of its spring-term Reading and Study Strategy course, beginning Feb. 11. Through readings, films, and classroom exercises, students learn to read more purposely and selectively, and with greater speed and comprehension.

The hour-long class will be held at 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Cost for the program, which runs through Feb. 29, is $150. To register, visit the BSC at 5 Linden St., or call (617) 495-2581 for more information.

Grants, fellowships available to HMS members

Each year, a host of postdoctoral and faculty fellowships are available to members of the Harvard Medical School (HMS) community by invitation only. The private foundations that fund these grants permit a limited number of individuals to be nominated for these awards. Updated information on the next cycle of invitational fellowships/grants will be available online beginning Feb. 18 at http://medapps.med.harvard.edu/fellowships. Applications, meanwhile, are due April 9.

The postdoctoral and faculty fellowships/grants available to HMS postdoctoral students and faculty members include Burroughs Wellcome Awards, Culpeper Scholarships, Pew Scholarships, Searle Scholarships, awards from the Keck Foundation, the LAM Treatment Alliance Fellowship, and the Brookdale Aging Fellowship, among others.

An information session will be held March 6 from noon to 1:30 p.m. in the Waterhouse Room on the first floor of Gordon Hall at HMS. For more information, contact stacy_mcgrath@hms.harvard.edu.

HSPH announces new scholarship opportunity

The Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) recently announced a new scholarship opportunity for students and scholars from Southeast and East-Central Europe. The annual tuition scholarship is for qualified students to enroll in a unique master’s level program in environmental health in Nicosia, Cyprus. The Postgraduate Program in Environmental Health is offered through the Cyprus International Institute. Established in June 2004 as a result of a unique partnership between Harvard and the Government of Cyprus, the institute trains leaders in environmental and public health in Cyprus and the region.

The program takes place over a 12-month period (September through August) encompassing more than 50 course credits. Its primary mission is to recruit outstanding students from the region in environmental health and to provide them with the skills necessary to assume leadership positions in research, government, and the private sector.

Candidates from various disciplines, including medicine, engineering, public health, and the physical and biological sciences, are encouraged to apply. The program trains students to assume key academic and research positions in environmental health throughout the region. The application deadline is March 1. For more information, contact Yannis Vakis at yvakis@cyprusinstitute.org or visit http://appserver.sph. harvard.edu/eer/cyprus/post_grad_app/.

Docent-led tour at Semitic Museum upcoming

The Semitic Museum will offer a free, docent-led tour of its exhibit “The Houses of Ancient Israel: Domestic, Royal, Divine” on Feb. 21 at 12:15 p.m. Visit http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~semitic for more information.

HMS center honors trio for global environmental efforts

The Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard Medical School (HMS) presented its 2008 Global Environmental Citizen Awards to former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who also chairs the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, and Chez Panisse owner and founder Alice Waters, at a Feb. 3 ceremony at the Harvard Club of New York in New York City. The HeinzSeed Program — the Heinz Company’s tomato-breeding program that employs traditional breeding techniques and intense selection in a variety of environments — was also honored as the center’s 2008 Corporate Council Award recipient.

The award celebration featured a dinner prepared by sustainable-cuisine chefs as well as an auction featuring environmentally conscious choices in art, dining, travel, jewelry, and fashion. Proceeds from the event will support efforts to inform the public about the connection between the state of the environment and our health.

Center for Wellness and Health announces spring bounty

This spring semester the Center for Wellness and Health Communication at University Health Services is offering a host of restorative practices for members of the Harvard community. Both hour-and half-hour-long massage sessions with a licensed therapist can be scheduled. Appointments cost $60 an hour ($40 for Harvard University Group Health Plan members) and $37 a half hour ($25 for members).

The center is also offering hour-long acupressure sessions on Mondays at 6, 7, and 8 p.m. Shiatsu, as this Asian healing art is known, uses finger and palm pressures, stretches, and massage techniques to treat pain and illness, reduce stress, and maintain health. The session costs $60 ($40 for members).

Mondays through Thursdays and on Saturdays, the center hosts hour-long reiki sessions with a licensed therapist. This gentle healing technique is said to help reduce stress, relieve pain, and facilitate personal growth. Each appointment costs $60 ($40 for members).

To schedule an appointment, or to learn about the center’s other spring programs and classes, including yoga, CPR, and acupuncture, call (617) 495-9629.

— Compiled by Andrew Brooks