School Notes: School of Medicine
November/December 2014

Director named for biomedical technology center

Christopher Loose, assistant professor (adjunct) of urology and a lecturer in biomedical engineering, has been named the first executive director of Yale’s Center for Biomedical and Interventional Technology (CBIT), which was formed earlier this year to foster biomedical innovations. While a doctoral candidate at MIT, Loose cofounded Semprus BioSciences and brought to market a vascular catheter designed to reduce blood clots. CBIT brings together engineers, clinicians, scientists, innovators, and entrepreneurs for cross-disciplinary education, support for teams seeking biomedical solutions to unmet clinical needs, and mentorship to help these teams build strategy. “Our goal,” said Loose, “is to educate and support biomedical leaders with the skills to lead cross-functional teams in developing technologies, to reduce healthcare costs and improve patient outcomes.”

Laid-back ‘spokesdog’ is unflappable on TV

Finn the Therapy Dog, who holds court in the medical library on most Fridays, getting attention and TLC from people passing by, made his debut on national television on September 9. Finn appeared on the Today show, in a segment about the Canine Cognition Center at Yale. The center studies how dogs think and asks such questions as whether dogs have a moral sense. Finn’s owner, Krista Knudson, a nurse practitioner who’s pursuing a PhD at the School of Nursing, enrolled Finn in the center’s research project a few months ago. “They knew that Finn was interactive but doesn’t get too excited, so they invited him to be the spokesdog,” Knudson said. “His temperament lent itself to being the one that got showcased.”

Brain structure could predict risky behavior

Some people avoid risks at all costs, while others will put their wealth, health, and safety at risk without a thought. Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have found that the volume of the parietal cortex in the brain could predict where people fall on the risk-taking spectrum.

Led by Ifat Levy, assistant professor in comparative medicine and neurobiology, the team found that those with larger volume in a particular part of the parietal cortex were willing to take more risks than those with less volume in this part of the brain. The findings are published in the September 10 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.