Dr. Gary Randolph Davis Sr. DMS'77, who researched a new way to fight AIDS, died on April 3. He was 55. During one night in 1992, Davis dreamt of curing AIDS with specialized antibodies from goats. "Animals can make these specialized antibodies to kill the virus," he said in a 1999 interview with the Tulsa World newspaper. Though he experienced much difficulty in obtaining Food and Drug Administration approval, Davis was allowed to conduct trials in several African countries. According to Tulsa World, Tuskegee University conducted experiments in which goat antibodies blocked HIV cells from fusing with human cells. However, much controversy still surrounds this method. Davis is survived by his wife, two sons, daughter, mother, two sisters, three brothers and two grandchildren.
Economics professor David Blanchflower unveiled the results of a three-year study on Monday that researched Chicago city government discrimination against Asian Americans, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Three years ago, Chicago excluded Asian Americans from a "socially disadvantaged" group that gives African Americans, Hispanics and women an advantage in receiving city contracts. Emboldened by Blanchflower's study, the Chicago Sun-Times reported on Monday that "the Chicago City Council's Economic Development Committee is expected to restore Asian Americans to favored status."
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center plans to relocate its crowded Norris Cotton Cancer Center to the Catholic Medical Center, which is slated to have construction completed of a new building later this year, the Associated Press reported on Monday. Susan Reeves, vice president of the DHMC cancer center, told the AP that the center needs to expand to meet increasing demand. "Demand for cancer services is growing in southern New Hampshire as the population is both growing and aging at the same time," she said. It was reported that the move will likely heighten competition between the Catholic Medical Center and its competitor Elliot Hospital, which also specializes in cancer care and was merged with Catholic Medical Center until 2000.
