Grant will fund study on Prisoners facing Drug Dependence

Thanks to federal grants totaling $6.4 million, The Yale University AIDS program will launch a study on interventions that target prisoners struggling with HIV/AIDS and heroin addiction. The study, led by Frederick Altice, professor at the Yale School of Medicine, seeks to ease the process of re-integration into society following incarceration and examine the “cycle of chemical dependence and incarceration,” according to Altice.

Global Health and Arts Symposium To Be Held at Long Wharf

Academic leaders from the Yale School of Medicine, experts in global health from around the country and representatives from pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies will come together at Long Wharf on Thursday, Jan. 22 in an event that will highlight the global impact of infectious diseases. Items on the evening’s agenda include panel discussions, a performance of the world premiere of Coming Home by Athol Furard — a play that tells the story of an HIV positive woman with dreams of a singing career — and an audience talkback moderated by Michael Fuchs, one of the producers of the AIDS documentary “And the Band Played On.”

Yale researchers create atlas of genetic activity in rice

Yale scientists, led by Timothy Nelson, professor of molecular, cellular & developmental biology, have generated an atlas documenting the similarities differences in genetic expression and control among 40 cell types contained in rice. The work, which took five years to complete, may provide additional information about crops, such the set of genes responsible for photosynthesis — which may aid the search for alternative energy sources.

Scientist receives award for pioneering work on ocean optics

Yale professor emeritus of molecular, cellular and developmental biology Talbot Waterman, 94, was presented the Nils Gunnar Jerlov Award at the 19th Ocean Optics Conference in Barga, Italy, for his research on how aquatic life uses plane-polarized light to navigate underwater. Plane-polarized light is composed of electromagnetic radiation that only travels in a single plane and indicates the sun’s position in the sky.

Pyschologist Gray Wins Early Career Award

Yale psychologist Jeremy Gray was one of 20 scientists to win the Presidential Early Career Awards for Science and Engineers, presented by the White House. Gray’s research focuses on the interaction between higher brain processes, including self-control, and emotion.