FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 9, 2005
Contact: Donna Krupa
American Physiological Society
Office: (301) 634-7209
Cell: (703) 967-2751
katrina relief fund drive
LAUNCHED
Physiology Students,
Post-Docs Affected By Katrina Offered Monetary, Laboratory And Academic
Assistance Through AP
Tulane, LSU, Xavier, Loyola
affected; 40 Universities Offer Help
BETHESDA, Md. (Sept. 9, 2005) – Following disruptions
by Hurricane Katrina to physiology courses of study at Tulane, LSU, Xavier
and Loyola Universities in New Orleans, The American Physiological Society
has pledged $50,000 in assistance to physiology graduate and post-doctoral
students in the hurricane-affected area.
Departments with APS members most affected are at
Tulane University School of Medicine, Louisiana State University Health
Science Center, Xavier University and Loyola University. There are just over
100 APS members from New Orleans.
APS is serving as a clearinghouse for information about
physiology students and faculty in the area. “The APS Katrina Bulletin Board
has been up for over a week and has served as a key element in learning how
our colleagues are faring and delivering offers of help,” APS President
Douglas C. Eaton said.
“So far we have had offers of assistance for one to
over 10 students each from about 40 universities from as far afield as
Taiwan, Alaska and Puerto Rico,” noted Eaton, who is also professor and
deputy chair of the Department of Physiology at the Emory University School
of Medicine in Atlanta. The offers consist of graduate and post-doc
openings, laboratory space, research assistance and fellowships, and often
include housing, meals and stipends.
Donations to the APS Katrina Relief Fund donation
APS launched the Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund drive to
supplement the initial APS $50,000 contribution. The APS Council recommended
that $2,000 unrestricted grants be made to graduate students and
post-doctoral fellows affected by Katrina. The Association of Chairs of
Departments of Physiology and its members are fully involved in the program.
Donations from APS members and the public can be
made online at:
http://www.the-aps.org/katrina.htm
“While we all wish we could do more for all the people
of New Orleans and the other affected areas, as a society, the American
Physiological Society has the unique ability to directly help our scientific
colleagues and friends cope with the aftereffects of this terrible storm,”
Eaton said.
Based on response from graduate students and
postdoctoral fellows, the APS Council will consider increasing its
contribution to the relief fund.
* * *
The
American Physiological Society was founded in 1887 to foster basic and
applied bioscience. The Bethesda, Maryland-based society has more than
10,000 members and publishes 14 peer-reviewed journals containing almost
4,000 articles annually.
APS
provides a wide range of research, educational and career support and
programming to further the contributions of physiology to understanding the
mechanisms of diseased and healthy states. In May 2004, APS received
the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science,
Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM).
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