Sheigla Murphy to Serve on NIH Study Section Review Panel

By ISA | Published: February 24, 2010

At the invitation of the Director, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Sheigla Murphy will serve as a member of the Community Influences on Health Behavior Study Section, Center for Scientific Review, for the term beginning July 1, 2010 and ending June 30, 2014.  Membership on a study section represents a major commitment of professional time and energy as well as a unique opportunity to contribute to the national biomedical research effort.  Study sections review grant applications submitted to the NIH, make recommendations on the applications to the appropriate NIH national advisory council or board, and survey the status of research in their fields of science.

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Youth, Drugs, and Nightlife now published

By ISA | Published: January 20, 2010

Hunt, Geoffrey, Moloney, Molly and Evans, Kristin. (2010). Youth, Drugs, and Nightlife, London: Routledge.

Youth, Drugs, and Night Life examines the relationships between the electronic dance scene and drug use for young ravers and clubbers today. Based on over 300 interviews with ravers, DJ’s and promoters, Hunt, Moloney, and Evans examine the different social groupings that make up the scene. The authors explore the accomplishment of gender, sexuality, and Asian American ethnic identity and critically analyze the negotiation of risk and pleasure within the world of raves and dance clubs. We learn about young ravers and clubbers’ frustrations with recent attempts to control clubs and raves and their skepticism about official pronouncements on the dangers of ecstasy and other drugs, in this book that pivots between the local, the national, and the global in its approach.

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Geoffrey Hunt receives funding to continue research on drug use and dance scene

By ISA | Published: January 12, 2010

Dr. Geoffrey Hunt, with Co-Principal Investigators, Professor Karen Joe-Laidler and Dr. Bart Aoki were awarded a National Institute on Drug Abuse funding on “Asian American Gay and Bisexual Men, Club Drugs, and Nightlife”, to continue their work on drug use and the dance scene. In this three-and-a-half year funding, the project’s focus will be on issues of drug use among gay and bisexual Asian American men. Notions of ethnic and sexual identity among Asian American men of varying backgrounds and the ways in which these identities relate to their drug use and participation in high-risk sexual behaviors will be examined.

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John Irwin, Criminologist 1929-2010

By ISA | Published: January 7, 2010

ISA deeply regrets the loss of Dr. John Irwin, Criminologist. 1930-2010

John Irwin, a uniquely San Francisco raconteur who proudly referred to himself as a rogue, died January 3, 2010, at the age of 80. Known internationally as an expert on the American prison system, John began his journey from criminal to criminologist by dabbling in “the life” as a young adult- resulting in a five year sentence in Soledad prison during the 1950s.

John was often called the Horatio Alger of ex-convicts. After his release from prison he earned a BA in sociology from UCLA and a PhD from the University of California at Berkeley. His dissertation, “The Felon,” published in 1970, became a classic in the field of criminology. John became a professor of sociology at San Francisco State University in 1967, where he taught for 27 years. There he founded Project Rebound, a degree program for ex-offenders.

During his career, Dr. Irwin, known as a “radical criminologist,” was a prolific writer who published dozens of scholarly articles and seven books, including “The Struggle for Justice,” “Prisons in Turmoil,” “The Jail,” “The Warehouse Prison,” “It’s about Time,” and “Lifers.”

Combining academics with activism, John founded the Prisoners’ Union, one of the first organizations dedicated to prisoners’ civil rights, in 1971. He served on numerous boards of directors for organizations dedicated to criminal justice policy and rehabilitation, including the Sentencing Project in Washington, D.C. and Walden House in San Francisco.

John’s interests and talents were diverse. He was a Renaissance man who liked to think of himself as a Bohemian; a surfer, skier, and cyclist; an avid reader, jazz fan, and furniture maker.

Most of all, John Irwin loved his family: daughters Jeanette, Katy and Anne, son Johnny, and wife of 38 years-Marsha Rosenbaum.

A celebration of John’s life will be held on Friday, January 8, 2010, at 4:00 PM at the Golden Gate Club, 135 Fisher Loop, The Presidio, San Francisco.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in John’s memory can be made to:

JK Irwin Foundation
2233 Lombard Street
San Francisco, CA 94123

See also: Criminal turned criminologist John Irwin dies. San Francisco Chronicle. January 7, 2010.

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Kaye Fillmore receives NIH Challenge Grant

By ISA | Published: December 24, 2009

The Institute for Scientific Analysis (ISA) is pleased to report the award of a NIH Challenge Grant, September 2009. These grants stress innovation and are expected to have “a high impact in biomedical or behavioral science and /or public health”. Awarded to Dr. Kaye M. Fillmore, the spirit of the award fits well into the path-breaking and innovative research characterizing the ISA since 1968— a tradition exploring the very boundaries of drug and alcohol use.

Dr. Fillmore’s research brings to the institute’s honored tradition an epidemiological approach. She will investigate probable systematic error and other features of epidemiological research that can keep the research community from solidly concluding the validity of associations between alcohol use and disease incidence. The work will contribute to an evidentiary basis for clinical practice and international guidelines, and inform the general public. Left undetected and uncorrected, systematic error in these studies will substantially undermine the quality and accuracy of public health policy. This could lead to the potential dissemination of misleading information. The public health significance of this is not trivial, especially for common conditions such as heart diseases and cancer. This was highlighted recently by the 2007 World Health Organization’s expert committee on the prevention of cardiovascular disease. Noting Dr. Fillmore and colleagues work showing that past consensus regarding alcohol’s cardio-protective effect had been overstated, the committee revised their guidelines.

Dr Fillmore and colleagues utilize a cross-study, multiple disease focus, bringing to the area of alcohol use and disease outcome, substantial health policy implications to inform public debate.

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