Researchers at Fordham University Discover Cause of Genetic Disorder

Rocco Coli, a graduate student at Fordham, is a member of the team that discovered the cause of the genetic disorder Familial Dysautonomia (FD), a disease that affects one in thirty people of Ashkenazi Jewish descent. The Fordham team included scientists Berish Rubin, PhD, and Sylvia Anderson, PhD; and graduate students Coli, Ira Daly, Matthew Rork, and Sabrina Volpi. They used the DNA sequence decoded by the Human Genome Project to determine the cause of FD.

The disease, which affects a person's autonomic nervous system and may cause problems for perceiving sensations such as heat and pain, was found to be caused by mutations in a gene on chromosome nine.

"It's really a great feeling knowing you give hope to so many people that you may be able to help future generations," said Coli. Now the team says it will work to find a cure.

--Inside Fordham

Jesuit Brother Works to Get Food to the Elderly

Br. Jack Graham, SJ, knows that the cost of medicine alone can leave elderly people without a lot of extra money. Two years ago he and John Meehan founded the Senior Emergency Grocery Bag Program at Sacred Heart Parish in San Francisco to help relieve hunger in the city's elderly population. The program is a twist on a food kitchen: it brings together feeding the hungry with recycling.

Produce and bread are gathered from area grocery stores, and canned goods and other items come from the San Francisco Food Bank. The 30 program volunteers, including Jackie Mosley (on left, below), bag the food and distribute it to elderly people in need. John Meehan, executive director of the program, estimates that he picks up 500 pounds of food per day that is distributed among about 600 clients on a weekly basis.

Br. Graham, chairman of the board for the organization, is a big believer in it: "I hope this program keeps growing and becomes a model for other parishes," he says.

At First Glance . . .

This photo may appear to be of a religious ceremony but it's actually a scene from one of America's most popular television programs, "ER." An ordination scene in one episode was filmed at the Jesuits' Blessed Sacrament Church in Hollywood.

In the middle is Oscar and Emmy nominee James Cromwell, who guest starred as a bishop. He's flanked by real-life Jesuits, novice Julio Lingad and Jim Siwicki, the parish's director of social services. The Jesuits made their television debut as transitional deacons for the ordination ceremony.

Fr. John LeVecke, SJ, Blessed Sacrament's associate pastor, and Fr. James Erps, SJ, in campus ministry at Boston College, served as technical advisors; members of the parish choir and over 50 other parishioners were extras for the ordination scenes.

Jesuits Celebrate Nepal School's
Golden Jubilee

Archbishop of Patna Benedict J. Osta, SJ, receives gifts from sacristan Pramilla Didi during a mass celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Jesuits in Nepal. Back in 1951, Fr. Marshall Moran, SJ, founded St. Xavier's School.

There were more than 50 concelebrants for the mass, for which over 600 people gathered. The mass was followed by a cultural program that included songs, dances, and a skit by students from Jesuit institutions in Nepal, along with numerous speeches.

In addition to all the celebration, a 50-rupee Nepalese coin (about 70¢) had also been minted for the anniversary, proclaiming "St. Xavier's Golden Jubilee, 1951—2001."

Marty Coyne, SJ

Jesuit Teams Make Sweet 16

Xavier University guard Amy Waugh reacts to play during her team's game against the University of Tennessee in their first-ever Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA tournament. They went on to beat six-time national champion Tennessee but lost to Purdue in the Elite Eight, just one step away from the Final Four.

While the Xavier women made their debut, Gonzaga University's men continued their tradition, making it to the Sweet 16 for the third consecutive year. They lost in the first round to defending champion Michigan State; Georgetown also made it to the first round of the Sweet 16, where they lost to Maryland.

The Boston College, Holy Cross, Saint Joseph's University, and Xavier University men and the Fairfield women were the other Jesuit teams that made it to the NCAA tournament.

Cyclist Travels the World to Raise Scholarship Money

The taller gent in this photo is Len Beil, stopping by Tony's bike repair shop in Florence. Len was in the process of cycling through 40 countries, racking up about 14,000 miles and seventeen flat tires over six continents.

Beil, a '67 Seattle University grad and former executive assistant to the president, spent the year 2000 riding around the world with the Odyssey bike tour to raise funds for the university.

The $140,000 he raised in scholarship money is already being used for minority-student and single-parent scholarships at Seattle University.

"It was heartening to return home and discover some of the money had already been put to use for those in need, and I hope to continue to raise money as a result of the trip," said Beil.

Asteroid Named for Jesuit Astronomer

Br. Guy Consolmagno: Jesuit, astronomer, author, and asteroid? That's right, Br. Consolmagno recently had an asteroid named after him to honor his contributions to the study of meteorites and asteroids. The Vatican astronomer's asteroid is called "4597 Consolmagno" and is the official designation of a small, 20 km -- wide space rock that orbits relatively close to the sun. As his asteroid orbits, Br. Consolmagno continues to investigate how the early moon evolved.

Commencement Speakers at Jesuit Colleges and Universities this Spring

Boston College

Tommy Thompson, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary

Canisius College and College of the Holy Cross

William McDonough, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York

Creighton University

Fr. John Schlegel, SJ, president of the university

Fairfield University

Arthur Levitt, former chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

Fordham University

Bill Cosby, actor and comedian

Georgetown University

Charlayne Hunter-Gault, CNN's Johannesburg bureau chief

Gonzaga University

Br. Richard Curry, SJ, founder of the National Theatre Workshop of the Handicapped

John Carroll University

Sara Bloomfield, director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.

Le Moyne College

Sr. Kathleen Osbelt, OSF, founder and executive director of Francis House

Loyola College Maryland

Chris Matthews, host of MSNBC's "Hardball with Chris Matthews"

Loyola Marymount University

Prof. Lawrence Bobo, Department of Sociology and Afro-American Studies at Harvard University

Loyola University Chicago

Bob Newhart, comedian

Loyola University New Orleans

Fr. Bernard Knoth, SJ, president of the university

Marquette University

Fred Rogers, host of the children's television program "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood"

Regis University

Fr. Michael Sheeran, SJ, president of the university

Rockhurst University

Kara Holz, Rockhurst University student

Saint Joseph's University

Cokie Roberts, ABC News and National Public Radio contributor

Saint Louis University

Dr. Arnold Mitchem, president of the Council for Opportunity in Education

Saint Peter's College

Sr. Mary Rose McGeady, DC, president of Covenant House

Santa Clara University

Fr. William Rewak, SJ, former president of the university

Seattle University

Patricia Milliner Dziko, cofounder of the Technology Access Foundation

Spring Hill College

Dr. Margaret Farley, RSM, Gilbert Stark Professor of Christian Ethics at Yale Divinity

University of Detroit Mercy

Frank Stella, CEO and founder of F.D. Stella Products

University of San Francisco

Tim Russert, moderator of NBC's "Meet the Press"

University of Scranton and Wheeling Jesuit University

Sr. Helen Prejean, CSJ, author of Dead Man Walking

Xavier University

Fr. J. Donald Monan, SJ, chancellor of Boston College