mopdf.com

Inside PsychologyPage 3Volume 3Alumni Spotlight: Byron Siliezar ’1979It’s a long way from Borsodi’sIV coffee house to the sleekcorporate headquarters of NIIHoldings in Reston, Virginia.But Byron Siliezer, who graduated with a psychology BA in1979 and is now Vice Presidentand Chief Financial Officer forthe leading mobile communications provider, can make theconnection. Before settling inVirginia, Siliezar worked allover the globe but never founda place better suited to thestudy of human behavior thanthat “microcosm of the world”:Isla Vista.Siliezar’s first draw to psychology was a healthy cynicism.A course on Freudian psychology intrigued him but made himquestion the scientific basis forpsychology. To get the otherside of the story, he enrolled inexperimental psychologyclasses, and found a reliance onempirical evidence and quantitative analysis that resonated.That mixture of respect forresults and analysis of processhas served Siliezer well. Afterreceiving both a Master’s inArchitecture and Urban Planning and an MBA with an em-phasis in Corporate Finance fromUCLA, Siliezarturned his leadership talent to thetelecommunications industry.Management positions with GTEand EDS Corporations, among others, honed his industry expertise.Siliezar joined NIIin 1998 in anticipation of the company’s launch of itsdigital network inLatin America andAsia.During his captaincy of NII’sfinancial helm, he has steeredthe company through a turnaround that stands out evenamong the boom and bust dramas typical of the industry.Siliezar derives particular satisfaction from the fact that inonly 9 years, the company grewfrom having no customers oroperating revenue to one withover 3.5 million customers andmore than 3.5 billion in annualrevenue. His contribution tothis success was acknowledgedin 2004 when he received anInternational Business “Stevie”Award for Best Financial Executive. The award was made inrecognition of his vision, commitment to results, implementation of innovative practices, andbusiness savvy in helping turnthe company’s fortunes around.Saliezar credits his adherenceto a core set of values as guiding him through the inevitabledifficulties and disappointments. “What’s sustained meduring difficult periods? In myown case striving for excellence,perseverance, confidence, keeping calm, and leading by example have served me well. ”For Siliezar, those principlesmutated into a personal leadership by values style that he hasbeen called upon to share beyond his own company. Amember of the Lumen Institute, a Christian-based organization for leaders committedto values-based policy anddecision making, Siliezar sees“how much raw demand thereis in the business communityand from government leadersfor a meaningful discussion ofThe “Stevie” awardvalues.”Beyond his corporate roles,Siliezar has sought to have asignificant impact on hisglobal community by servingon the Board of Directors ofthe World Education and Development Fund. Based inNew York, Worldfund’s mission is to support high qualityand results-driven pre-Kthrough 12th grade educationas a key to transcending poverty in Latin America and theCaribbean.Siliezar’s connections toUCSB are personal as well asprofessional. He met his wifeElva while a student at UCSB.As he notes: “We’ve beenmarried 28 years and she’s stillteaching me about psychologyon a daily basis!”This June, the couple willtravel from their home in Oakton, VA (where they live withson Justin, a high school wrestler) back to UCSB to celebrate the graduation of theirniece from UCSB’s BiologicalSciences department.If Siliezar were to offer advice to today’s UCSB students,it’d come back to values. “Ican’t emphasize enough theimportance of developing acore set of values to serve aslighthouses in the darkest oftimes. It’s not about makingsoft choices but rather aboutchoosing the harder right instead of the undemandingwrong.”Byron and wife Elva on a recent trip to Japan

Inside PsychologyVolume 3Page 4Research Brief: Cold Medication CautionResearch Brief: Support across CulturesParents: think twice about giving your kids an extra dose of coldmedication. Even seemingly benign ones, including decongestantsand cough suppressants, can make the brain more vulnerable tothe addictive properties of illicit stimulant drugs, such as cocaine.Psychology professor Karen Szumlinski and her colleagues foundthat juvenile exposure to such over-the-counter drugs can producelater changes in neurotransmitter systems in the nucleus accumbens, a brain region involved in reward, and also therefore in drugaddiction.The researchers tested the effects of phenylpropanolamine(PPA), which used to be an ingredient in many popular children’scough, cold, and allergy medications like Alka-Seltzer Children’sCough and Cold. One group of mice was injected with PPA whileanother received saline injections as a control. At 10 weeks of age,adulthood in mice years, the research team exposed the animals tococaine and measured changes in neurotransmitter and proteinlevels in the nucleus accumbens.The findings revealed that juvenile exposure to PPA blunts theability of cocaine to increase levels of dopamine and norepinephrine but enhances the drug’s ability to increase levels of the aminoacids, glutamate and GABA. These neurochemical insights confirm the researchers’ earlier behavioral findings that pre-adolescentPPA treatment enhances the rewarding effects of (story continues p.8)Many of us deal with stressors large and small by turning to othersfor help and advice. But research by Psychology professors DavidSherman and Heejung Kim shows that when the chips are down,Asian Americans are far less likely than European Americans toseek social support from those around them.“This finding may be surprising, given the rugged go-it-aloneindividualism of European American culture, and the much moreother-oriented collectivistic nature of Asian American cultures,”noted Sherman. Compared to people in individualistic cultures,members of collectivistic cultures often consider the group’sneeds, goals, and well being before those of individual members.And that difference might just explain the findings. WhileEuropean Americans see asking for help and advice as a takecharge way to solve their problems, Asian Americans are moreworried about the impact of sharing their problems on others.Asian Americans in the studies were much more likely to worrythat seeking support for themselves would burden others inappropriately, make problems worse, or disrupt or embarrass the group.That’s not to say that social support networks don’t comethrough for Asian Americans, however. They just seem to play adifferent role. “It’s the explicit seeking to solve one’s own problems that doesn’t work for norms in collectivistic cultures,” sayKim. “But Asian Americans might just spend (story continues p.8)Focus on Giving: The Charles G. McClintock AwardEddy vanAvermaet,NancyFraser,ChuckMcClintock,and WarrenThorngate,from left, atFrancesciPark, one ofChuck’sfavoritefield-tripdestinations.No-one ever called himCharles. McClintock, the firstsocial psychologist hired intoUCSB’s fledgling PsychologyDepartment in 1956, exudedwarmth and welcome to staff,students, and colleagues alike,and introduced himself simplyas Chuck to all he met.Chuck received his Ph.D.from Michigan in 1956, andspent his entire professional lifeat UCSB until his retirement in1992. His death in 1996 fromcancer left as many behind whocalled him close friend as it didvalued colleague.Chuck’ s research on valueorientations – a concern forfairness and cooperation, forexample, or for competitionand winning — in social interactions won him internationalrespect and acclaim.He was also widely appreciated for his passionate andpainstaking mentoring, a formof teaching that he preferredover delivering lectures. Therewas nothing Chuck liked bet-ter than to discuss and debategood ideas or bad (and preferably over wine).But more than anything,Chuck brought everyone intothe fold. “In his quiet humbleway, he made sure that everyone felt included, that everyone felt that someone wasinterested in them, and thatthe social program functionedwell for everyone,” remembersDave Hamilton, longtime colleague of Chuck’s.The ineffable quality of human warmth that Chuckbrought to the academic enterprise prompted the social psychology faculty to found theCharles. G. McClintock Awardin his honor. The award wasestablished by many generousdonations made by Chuck’sfamily, friends, and colleaguesafter his death.McClintock Award recipients have all been productiveresearchers even as graduatestudents, and have all beenrecognized by the departmentas engaging and effectiveteachers. But they have in addition provided above andbeyond service to their fellowprogram members – servingon important committees,instigating changes in studentpolicies, organizing programevents, or just providing socialsupport, a quality that Chuckwould probably have appreciated most of all.“Although I never had thechance to meet Chuck, it isclear that his memory lives on.I'm very proud to have received an award in his honor,"says 2005 McClintock Awardrecipient Sara Crump, now anAssistant Professor at BakerUniversity, KS.To contribute to theMcClintock Award in Chuck’smemory, please contact ChairDaphne Bugental [email protected]

Inside PsychologyVolume 3Page 5Making a Difference: Cell growth in mice brains gives clues to treating Huntington’s diseaseMice with the Huntington’s disease gene show motor deficitsMice in Psychology Professor Tod Kippin’s lab leave theirmark on the world: Wobbly squiggles of tracks left by theirinked paws, to be exact. They’re not too steady on their feetand their balance isn’t so sure. They can be sitting on theirhind limbs one minute, and tumble into a somersault the next.These genetically-engineered animals have the gene that produces Huntington’s disease in humans, and that makes themperfect for helping Kippin understand the neurological underpinnings of the rare inherited genetic disorder that affects bodymovements, coordination, and cognition.Kippin’s mice show many of the same deficiencies in movement and coordination that human sufferers of the diseasedo. They also show the same type of neurological degeneration. Human Huntington’s patients suffer extensive nerve cellloss in the striatum, a brain region that coordinates movement.While monitoring progressive neuron loss in Huntington mice,Kippin and his colleagues also kept track of neural stem cellcounts. Neural stem cells give rise to all three of the main typesof cells found in the brain and thus have the potential to replace lost neurons in damaged brain regions. The research teamsoon made a startling discovery: as their diseaseprogressed, the number ofneural stem cells in themice increased by as muchas 250 percent.“We were surprised thatthe number of neural stemcells went up,” Kippinsaid. “Normally, neuralstem cells are maintainedas a stable population untilvery old age.”The finding was so unexpected that Kippin and hiscolleagues were initiallywary of the results. Theynot only double-checkedthe analyses but conductedadditional experiments tosee if the data told thesame story. And sureenough: Neural stem cellsTracks made by normal (left) andHuntington’s (right) micecounts multiplied in the Huntington disease mice.Whatever turned the skyrocketing increases on seemed tohave a permanent effect. Evenwhen the affected stems cells wereremoved from the mice and isolated in tissue culture, they continued to proliferate at a higher rate.While the increase in cell countswas surprising enough, it alsoraised another puzzle: Why didn’tthe new neural stem cells help theTod Kippinmice fight off the disease?The first thing the researchers checked was whether these precursor cells for neurons were ready to help where help was needed.Kippin observed that some of these cells were in fact re-routedfrom the olfactory bulb (where they normally migrate and becomeintegrated with surrounding brain tissue) into the striatum, rightwhere extensive neurodegeneration is observed in Huntington'sdisease. So not only can neural stem cells respond to neural damageby increasing in proliferation, but the cells that are generated canalso be recruited to the site of damage.Despite the fact that the right cells seem to be in the right place,the affected animals still succumb to the disease. Kippin’s currentstrategy is to try to get more help on the scene sooner: “Our nextcourse of action is to find ways to increase neurogenesis even more,or perhaps to induce it earlier.”To do so, Kippin is testing various drugs in the hopes of findingones that can jump-start the generation of neurons. So far, he hasfound that haloperidol, an antipsychotic drug, increases neural cellproduction and he’s now testing the effects of other similar antipsychotics.“Once we have a betterunderstanding of this phenomenon, we will be able toadjust pharmacologic treatments to improve clinicalefficacy by choosing optimal doses [and] getting different drugs,” Kippin said.Knowing that stem cellsNeurons (red) and glia (green) derived from anaturally proliferate in resingle neural stem cellsponse to Huntingtons’ isgood news beyond the need to treat the disease itself. “The fact thatneural stem cells persist and increase in number means that we maybe able to both direct their proliferation and coax more of theminto becoming neurons, attenuating some of the consequences ofneurodegeneration,” Kippin said.Since neuron loss is the common hallmark of other diseases suchas Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, as well as the consequence ofstroke and traumatic brain injury, the research has important treatment implications in all these cases.If they help show how neural stem cells can be harnessed to reverse neurodegneration, Kippin's Huntington's mice will leave amark much more indelible than their wobbly footprints.

Inside PsychologyWhere Are They Now? Psychology ClassNotesJames Fozard ’54 the last class to graduate from the Riviera campus. The majorinfluence in my early psychology career was Dr. Robert Gottsdanker. After finishing my doctorate at Lehigh University and post doc at MIT, I spent most of mycareer doing research on aging. Years later, Dr. Gottsdanker became interested inreaction time differences in young and old adults and contributed significantly toresearch in that area. I served on various scientific committees with him and at hisinvitation, and gave a lecture on age differences in memory and perceptual motorfunction at UCSB. My wife who accompanied me on that trip exclaimed, afterviewing the Goleta campus, "How did you get any work done here?" a questionthat I answered evasively. I am partly retired, but serve as Associate Editor forGerontechnology, and work part time at the School of Aging Studies at the University of South Florida in Tampa. Most of my work is helping young faculty developwinning research proposals! [email protected] Born ’66 I married another psych major, Bill Puterbaugh, between mysophomore and junior years; I went back to my maiden name when we divorced 20years later. I was an acupressure practitioner, led women’s groups, taught acupressure and workshops in the holistic health field before receiving an MA in clinicalpsychology from John F. Kennedy University in 1993. I was licensed as a Marriageand Family Therapist in 1999, and have a private practice in Los Gatos, CA. I livein Santa Cruz, CA, which evokes many fond memories of Santa Barbara. I havetwo grown sons, each of whom is happily married and productively employed, aswell as two granddaughters who I’ll bet are cuter than [email protected] R. Reese ’67 I was appointed on faculty and taught Experimental Psychology at Holy Names College, Oakland, from 1970 until 1973. Dr. Gogel was aninspiration to me as I became a college instructor. In 1975 I received an M.P.H.from UC Berkeley. From 1987 until 2003 my experience includes over ten years aschief executive officer of federally qualified health centers and local public healthdepartments including organizations in Washington, Idaho, Kansas, Missouri andKentucky. For the last three years I’ve served as a regional epidemiologist inSoutheast Kentucky and as a cancer control and prevention consultant for theUniversity of Kentucky’s Prevention Research Center. My son, Jeremy, completedhis first year of medical school this week in Dayton, Ohio.Jim West ’70 and Susie West ’71 Jim received a M.Ed. in CounselingPsych in 1973. He retired at the end of 2006 from Allan Hancock College inSanta Maria after working there for 17 ½ years as a counselor, counselingdepartment chair, and Dean, Counseling and Matriculation. Prior to that, hespent twelve years as an instructor, counselor, and football coach at MariposaCounty High School and three years as a counselor/coach at Nordhoff HighSchool in Ojai, Ca. Suzie has been teaching 6th grade at May GrishamElementary School in the Orcutt School District since 1989. Prior to that, shetaught 6th grade for twelve years in Mariposa California. Jim continues at thecollege as an adjunct instructor for the college’s leadership classes and advisorfor the Associated Student Body Government program. [email protected] Jess McCormick ’71 I reside in Honolulu, Hawaii, a few hundredfeet from Waikiki, on the lower slopes of Diamond Head. I retired from mywork as an Industrial Psychologist at AT&T in 2001 and moved here from NewJersey. I am single. I do a lot of surfing. Last year I bought a new HarleyDavidson motorcycle from a dealer in New Jersey and rode across the countryto Los Angeles, stopping at the homes of friends and several national parksalong the way.Susan LaCava ’72 I am a lawyer in Madison, Wisconsin specializing inplaintiff's class actions. Most of my cases are antitrust actions alleging pricefixing conspiracies, but I also represent defrauded investors and consumers. Mymost recent case is against the alcoholic beverage industry alleging that itsmembers have deliberately targeted minors in their [email protected] Allan Gardner ’74 Greatest accomplishment: Still married to myfirst wife. Owner of 2 Management Companies that specialize in HomeownersAssociations. Avid horseman, skier and golfer. Two children, one son whoworks with me and one married daughter employed as a food scientist. Nograndchildren yet, maybe in a couple of years. We have lived in Truckee, CA forthe past 26 years.Volume 3Page 6Marc Axelrod ’74 I got an MA in Occupational and Environmental Healthfrom CSUN and work in industrial hygiene and safety for Boeing in Anaheim. Mypsychology degree from UCSB was a great foundation for my career – I still remember learning about Mazlow’s 'need hierarchy' as Safety was right there on thebottom after physiological needs - I apply this everyday. I am married - 23 years to another former UCSB student Elizabeth Gross, a pharmacist. We have threechildren - Julia, a sophomore SFSU, Jack, a freshman at UCSC, and Joseph, asophomore at Beverly Hills High School. I love baseball - I am immediate pastpresident of our local Little League and I was recently on a National Championship 'over 48' team.Kathleen (Budke) Gates ’74 Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, University ofVermont, 1980. Currently in practice at 644 East Thompson Blvd., Ventura, CA93001. Practicing full-time in private practice since 1982. Practice is limited toadults. Certified as a Psychoanalyst by the Los Angeles Psychoanalytic Society andInstitute, now the New Center for Psychoanalysis in 1999. Husband is RobertGates. Our daughter, Sarah Gates is graduating from UCSB in Anthropology inJune, 2007.Van Riley ’75 My wife, Mary, also graduated UCSB in 1975. After working in aresidential treatment center for emotionally disturbed children, I began a teachercredentialing program at UCLA. After teaching math and science, I completed anMA in Education Administration from SDSU. In Encinitas, I worked up theadministrative ranks from principal through assistant superintendent. In 1995, Iobtained my first superintendent position in Carpinteria where I completed myPhD from UCSB in Education Leadership. I assumed superintendent positions inOjai Unified followed by Huntington Beach Union High School District. I havethoroughly enjoyed every position I have held in public education. Providingavenues for young people to better their lives has been a rewarding career for me.Michael Doughton ’76 I now live in Sacramento and am a Senior StaffCounsel for the California Energy Commission.Stephen Newman ’77 Married Sarah Jewel (UCSB 1977 Biology). We havetwo boys: Ben, 19, attending University of San Francisco, and Sam, 14, about tobegin high school. We live in Winters, CA, a small agricultural area just west ofUC Davis. Stephen is a family physician (MD George Washington University,1981 and UCSF Family Practice Residency 1984), and Sarah (MPH Berkeley 1984)directs marketing and business development for NorthBay Healthcare in FairfieldCA. We still miss and love to look at old photos of our little house at 6732 DelPlaya, and were saddened to read of Harry Carlisle's death in your last issue.Ken Kallio *81 I am currently Chair of the Psychology Department at SUNYGeneseo, where I have been since leaving UCSB. We have 16 faculty and over400 majors. Strange as it may seem, I actually like the job of chair. My researchinterests have wandered over the years, but most recently I have been doing experiments on working memory using a multispan task. My wife (Colleen) and Ihave two sons, both of whom, we are happy to report, have recently graduatedfrom college. [email protected] W. Eby ’84 *91 After a post-doc UC, Irvine and teaching stint at CSU,San Bernardino, I accepted a research position at the University of MichiganTransportation Research Institute (UMTRI) in 1993 focused on transportationsafety and mobility. Currently I am an Associate Research Professor and Head ofUMTRI's Social and Behavioral Analysis Division. Starting in Summer 2007, Iwill be the Founding Director of the Michigan Center for Accessibility and SafetyThroughout the Lifespan (M-CASTL), a University Transportation Center sponsored by the US Department of Transportation. I feel fortunate that my education in psychology at UCSB and mentorship by Jack Loomis have allowed me topursue my dreams. [email protected] Givens ’86 Currently the Scheduling & Publications Manager for theUCSB Office of the Registrar. I have been a UCSB staff member for over 20years.Pamela Childres (Herrema) ’87 I got a

Inside Psychology Volume 3 Page 2 Alum Shares Experiences. “Health Psychology’s not just about research, it’s about the impact of health on people’s lives” says Professor David Sherman. That was certainly true this April when Scott Norris, a 1988 psychology graduate