Diane DeZwaan ’05 is conducting cancer research in the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. She is one of the authors of a research article whose impact of has been much larger than expected. The article, which appears in the journal PLOS/Genetics, is titled “The Stress-Regulated Transcription Factor CHOP Promotes Hepatic Inflammatory Gene Expression, Fibrosis, and Oncogenesis.” Her research provides evidence of a chain of events that leads to the formation of liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma, or HCC), the third most common cause of cancer death worldwide. Liver cancer is most commonly caused by viral hepatitis, alcoholism, or obesity, all of which activate cell stress in the liver. DeZwaan’s research may be the first that links elements of this stress response–specifically the expression of a stress-regulated transcription factor called CHOP–to the appearance of cancerous tumors in the liver. The research also showed that exposure (in mice) to a tumor-causing agent when CHOP is absent results in fewer tumors and less cell death. The findings of the research establish CHOP as a biological marker for liver cancer and showed its importance in promoting liver tumor formation. It’s possible that the genesis of tumors by CHOP is a common feature of liver cancer. The research raises intriguing questions that require additional research, which may lead to important new insights into the development of liver cancer. The editors of the magazine were so taken by the potential of the work that they contributed a perspectives article (“The Integrated Stress Response in HCC: Not Just CHOPped Liver”) on it. Television and print media outlets in Iowa have published stories on DeZwaan’s research. As an undergraduate at K DeZwaan majored in biology, studied abroad in Australia, and played on the Hornet basketball team.
alumni
Jordan Klepper ’01 joins The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Jordan Klepper ’01 has joined The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, as the newest correspondent on the popular late-night Comedy Central show. During his March 3 debut episode, Jordan reported “live” from Ukraine, but his take on events in the politically unstable country quickly devolved in a comedic take on his own new and perhaps unstable job status.
Jordan has performed at New York City’s Upright Citizens Brigade (UBC) improvisational comedy and sketch comedy group for three years. He was also a correspondent on the comedic sports show Friday Night Tailgate on the Big Ten Network for three seasons, and performed at Second City and iO theaters in Chicago, where he met his wife and frequent collaborator Laura Grey. Together, Klepper and Grey created and starred in the UCB Comedy-produced pilot Engaged, which they later turned into a web series. His TV credits include IFC’s Bunk and MTV’s I Just Want My Pants Back.
Jordan grew up in Kalamazoo, attending Kalamazoo Central High School and the Kalamazoo Area Math and Science Center. A Heyl Scholar at K, he earned his B.A. degree in mathematics, while participating in many Theatre Department and Festival Playhouse productions. He often performed in K’s student run improv troupe, Monkapult.
Jordan’s sister, Caycee (Klepper) Sledge ’05 is K alumna and classmate of another well-known Monkapult alumnus, Steven Yuen ’05, who appears as Glenn on AMC’s popular TV show The Walking Dead.
Jordan is the first new correspondent on The Daily Show in more than two years and joins Samantha Bee, Jason Jones, Aasif Mandvi, and Jessica Williams. The Daily Show airs Monday through Thursday at 11 p.m. ET on Comedy Central.
Check out a selection of web videos, short films, and web series featuring Jordan Klepper and Laura Grey at http://klepperandgrey.tumblr.com and http://splitsider.com/2014/03/the-daily-show-hires-jordan-klepper-as-its-newest-correspondent.
Break a leg, Jordan!
K Alum and Social Justice Warrior Dies
Chokwe Lumumba ’69, mayor of Jackson, Mississippi, died on February 25, 2014. He was 66. He came to K from Detroit, Michigan, as Edwin Taliaferro. He majored in political science, played football and basketball, and was instrumental in the creation and growth of the College’s Black Student Organization. He was profoundly affected by the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., which partly inspired his lifelong dedication to human rights and social justice.
Lumumba changed his name in 1969. He took his new first name from an African tribe that resisted slavery centuries ago and his last name from the African independence leader Patrice Lumumba. His loss is widely mourned, and a news obituary appeared in the February 26 New York Times.
Lumumba moved to Jackson, Mississippi, in 1971 to work in the civil rights movement there, then returned to Michigan where he earned his law degree (Wayne State University) and continue the fight for political and economic liberation of all people. He returned to Jackson in 1988 and spent the next two decades as a tireless defense attorney and human rights advocate, representing mostly African-American defendants.
A dedicated socialist, Lumumba was also a leader and organizer of the “Republic of New Afrika Movement,” a group that welcomes both blacks and whites in the struggle “for human rights for black people in this country and human rights around the globe,” said Lumumba.
Lumumba served one term on the Jackson City Council before he was elected Mayor of the capital in 2013. Among his achievements he persuaded voters to add a local sales tax to improve the city’s aging infrastructure. He is fondly remembered by many family and friends, among them Kalamazoo College classmate and fellow Mississippian Max Garriott ’69, who wrote: “I was privileged to witness his early development as a leader in the turbulent 1960’s at Kalamazoo College, and fate had it that as two Northerners from widely varying backgrounds we found ourselves shortly after graduation in service to the African-American community of the Jackson area, he as a lawyer and I as an educator. Jackson shall be forever rightfully proud of this giant of a man who, in the short span of seven months, managed to rally even the most skeptical citizens to his side. His firm commitment and gentle demeanor, coupled with courage and determination in the face of adversity, are exactly what this wonderful city needs to emulate as it now faces a future deprived of his guidance as its mayor. My prayers go out to his beautiful family and friends.”
LuxEsto did a feature story (Fall 2010) on Lumumba, and that article closed with his own words: “The struggle for human rights–black rights and white rights–is far from over. Everywhere you look in the world today, you see economic oppression, class oppression being visited on suffering human beings.
“That oppression is simply not acceptable. It must be fought. And you can be sure we will go right on fighting against economic and social injustice of every kind for as long as it takes!”
Sing me a song of the Revolution
Marching like fire over the world,
Weaving from the earth its brightest red banner
For the hands of the masses to unfurl.
Sing me a song of the Revolution
Drowning the past with a thunderous shout:
Filled with the strength of youth and laughter,
And never the echo of a doubt.
O mighty roll of the Revolution,
Ending the centuries of bloody strife,
Ending the tricks of kings and liars,
Big with the laughter of a new life.
Breaking the bonds of the darker races,
Breaking the chains that have held for years,
Breaking the barriers dividing the people,
Smashing the gods of terror and tears.
Cutting, O flame of the Revolution,
Fear from the world like a surgeon’s knife,
So that the children of all creation
Waken, at last, to the joy of life.
(Langston Hughes, “Song of the Revolution”)
Professor Emeritus of Sociology Richard Means Dies
Richard L. Means ’52, professor emeritus of sociology, died on February 15, 2014. He came to K as an undergraduate student in 1948, when he transferred from the University of Toledo. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy. At K he won the Hodge Prize in philosophy and was president of the student body. He was also a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He and fellow K graduate, Joyce Allen, married in 1953.
Means earned a bachelor’s degree in divinity from Colgate Rochester Divinity School (1956) and an M.A. and Ph.D. (sociology) from Cornell University (1959 and 1964, respectively). He served as a chaplain at Cornell (1956-59) and was ordained as an Associate Minster of the First Congregational Church (1957). He returned to K in 1961, where he received tenure (1964) and was promoted to full professor (1972). He retired from K in 1993, having served the College for 32 years.
Among the qualities that made him exceptional, wrote his colleague and friend, Dean of the Chapel Robert Dewey, on the occasion of Mean’s 25th service anniversary with the College, were his “command of a discipline, intellectual curiosity beyond that discipline, stimulating conversation, collegial support, a sense of humor, a broad range of interests and an impressive knowledge of each, a passionate concern for the vitality and quality of the College and for the problems confronting society, the nation, and the world.” His research and teaching interests were broad and deep and included the family, criminology, mental health institutions, the sociology of religion, race relations, alcohol and drug abuse, the environment, and social gerontology. Citing the breadth of his colleague’s intellectual interests Dewey likened Means to “a man in a conning tower rotating his periscope across the wide horizon to see and grasp what he finds there.” Means wrote numerous journal articles on various topics in sociology and religion, and he was the author of the book The Ethical Imperative: The Value Crisis in America, which was used in college classes at Grinnell and Carleton, among others.
After he retired from K, Means served as interim minster of the First Congregational Church of Kalamazoo. He then served as interim minster of the First Congregational Church of Coloma, Michigan.
He is survived by Joyce, his wife of 60 years, their three children, three grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews. A memorial service will be held at 2 PM on Thursday, February 20, at First Congregational Church, 129 S. Park Street. Friends and family will have the opportunity to gather for a time of remembrance and fellowship on Friday, February 21, beginning at 3:30 in the Kiva at Friendship Village, 1700 N. Drake Road.
K Alumni in the News
Gerald E. Rosen ’73, who has served for 24 years as a U.S. District Court judge in Detroit (five years as chief judge), delivered the 29th annual I. Goodman Cohen Lecture in Trial Advocacy at Wayne State University Law School in Detroit on Feb. 4. Rosen’s lecture, “Trial Practice as Viewed from the Perspective of the Trial Judge,” took place in the Spencer M. Partrich Auditorium at the law school, 471 W. Palmer St.
David Porada ’02 is now project manager in the Detroit office of Tri-Merit LLC, a national leader in providing research and development tax-credit services to CPA firms and individual clients. He holds a law degree from University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. He previously served as an account executive at Robert Half Legal where he dealt directly with executives at corporations and partners at law firms to assess their needs and address complex issues. David also spent time as a research specialist with Thomson Reuters Westlaw.
Molly (Shelter) Parker, D.O. ’05 has opened a family practice with a special interest in women’s health at Three Meadows Medical Plaza in Hillsdale, Mich. The Ann Arbor native earned her doctor of osteopathy degree at Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine in Kirksville, Mo.
Megan Bauer ’12 will receive the 2014 Henry D. Messer Youth Activist Award, one of the annual Catalyst Awards from Equality Michigan, for emerging as a powerful force in Michigan’s LGBT equality movement. As Community Engagement Coordinator the Kalamazoo Gay and Lesbian Resource Center since late 2012, Megan has had an impact not only in the Kalamazoo area, but across Michigan. During her K days, she worked with Habitat for Humanity as an AmeriCorps volunteer and with Queers for Economic Justice in New York. Megan will receive her award at Equality Michigan’s annual dinner February 22 at Motor City Casino to honor the individuals, groups or organizations leading the fight to secure equality for LGBT and HIV-positive persons in Michigan.
Sam Bertken ’12 wrote an entry for the real estate blog Movoto titled “30 Things You Need To Know About Kalamazoo Before You Move There.” It’s fun and informative and yes, you need to know these things about Kalamazoo (and about K, which gets TWO entries in his blog post). At last count, Sam’s entry had earned nearly 46,000 views.
Keeney Swearer ’13 is part of a group art show at the Kalamazoo Book Arts Center in the Park Trades Center, 326 W. Kalamazoo Ave, Suite 103A, Feb. 7-28. An opening reception takes place Friday Feb. 7 from 6-9 p.m. during the February Art Hop in downtown Kalamazoo. Read more about Keeney and see his artwork at www.keeneyswearer.com.
Eric Glanz ’13 was the subject of a recent Detroit Jewish News article. Eric is taking post-graduate classes in biological sciences at Wayne State University in Detroit and preparing for the Medical College Admission Test. The West Bloomfield, Mich.-native was a four-year starter on the Hornet baseball team (catcher!) and co-captain during his junior and senior seasons. He was also a member of K’s Athletic Leadership Council, hosted potential student-athletes, and tutored Kalamazoo area middle school students in math. He’s now a Class Agent for the K Class of 2013.
Jessica English ’94 Delivers a Win for Birth Kalamazoo
Jessica English ’94 is the grand prize winner of the Kzoom Video $10,000 video services giveaway in Kalamazoo. Jessica owns and operates Birth Kalamazoo, which offers natural childbirth and breastfeeding classes, birth and postpartum doulas, lactation consults, and birth doula training. She received $7,500 in video services, after receiving 4,091 votes in the online voting contest.
Teju Cole ’96 Tweets His Newest Story
Teju Cole ’96 has published a short story titled “Hafiz.” Or, rather, his followers have published it on Twitter through a series of tweets and retweets.
“I took advantage of the hospitality of my friends and followers online by asking them to tweet out certain things,” he told National Public Radio’s Rachel Martin recently. 
“…[W]hen I retweeted all of these things, in sequence, they all joined together to make a coherent story. It was just an idea, very much dependent on the generosity and kindness of the people I asked to participate, and I think it worked out quite interestingly.”
Here’s a sampling of the 30-plus tweets that compose the story:
11:05 AM – 8 Jan 2014
. . . to the subway, I saw a man on the ground. He sat on the sidewalk, under trees, with his feet out to the quiet street.
11:14 AM – 8 Jan 2014
There was a stillness in the scene, as in an altarpiece. There was a helpless air in those who stood around him.
12:07 PM – 8 Jan 2014
He gave no indication of being aware of our presence. He was tranquil, wordless. The tears were falling from his eyes.
12:59 PM – 8 Jan 2014
Coming close to take his pulse, I smelled alcohol. His tear-stained cheek shone. I placed a thumb on his wrist. His hand was cold.
Teju Cole is the author of critically acclaimed novel “Open City.” Listen to his interview with Martin and read “Hafiz” in this National Public Radio report.
Aaron Saari ’98 is new part-time pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Yellow Springs, Ohio
Aaron Saari ’98 was recently hired as the new part-time pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Yellow Springs, Ohio. A bible scholar and theologian, Aaron is the author of “The Many Deaths of Judas Iscariot,” a book about the historical figure and the issue of suicide. He’s been a visiting professor at Xavier and adjunct instructor at Antioch University Midwest teaching courses in writing, Christianity, and non-Western religions.
Aaron, who grew up in Yellow Springs, hopes to attract new people to the church by emphasizing the church’s inclusivity and social justice commitment.
Read more about Aaron’s life and work in this Yellow Springs News article.
Important Film Will Shed Light on Use of Rape as a Weapon of War
Ivana Ivkovic Kelley ’95 has launched a Kickstarter campaign to complete post-production of a documentary film she is making on the use of systematic rape as operational military doctrine during the Bosnian War. The fundraising campaign is the second associated with the project. A successful first campaign of $16,000 supported travel, filming, and production costs of the project, which is titled Persephone Speaks: The Forgotten Women of Bosnia. “The sexual violation of women erodes the fabric of a community in a way that few weapons can,” she wrote. “Rape’s damage can be devastating because of the strong communal reaction to the violation and the pain stamped on entire families. “I’m excited for this film to shed more light on the issue of sexualized violence, and hope this will be the first of many documentaries to come.” Ivkovic was born in Croatia and emigrated to the United States (Chicago) as a young child. Growing up she spent alternate summers “home” on the Adriatic coast with Croatian friends and relatives. Her first year at K was the year the Serbian army invaded Slovenia and Croatia, beginning the Bosnian War. For her Senior Individualized Project, Ivkovic worked for Kareta, a small nonprofit feminist group Zagreb, assisting survivors of Serbian rape-death camps.
After graduating from K (political science and women’s studies) Ivkovic earned an M.F.A. (playwrighting) from the University of Southern California and then worked for a number of small production companies and large studios in Los Angeles. She has interviewed many survivors of the war in Bosnia and recently left her studio job to devote her full time to completion of the Persephone project. The second Kickstarter campaign has less than a month to complete; readers are invited to participate.
Research Published on Alzheimer’s Molecules
Biology professors Jim Langeland ’86 and Blaine Moore join one K student and three K alumni as authors of an important paper that will soon be published in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution. The co-authors are Nathalie Botezatu ’14, Maddie Gillentine ’13, Ashley (Boehmke) Benson ’08, and Kyle Wilson ’08. All were (or are) biology majors at K, and in the case of some, the scientific work—which describes the evolution of key molecules involved in Alzheimer’s disease—was part of a Senior Individualized Project (SIP). The work is groundbreaking in at least two ways. First, it approaches Alzheimer’s disease from an evolutionary perspective. And second, it illustrates a particular niche approach to research that the scientific environment at K is well positioned to pull off.
“The experiments that culminated in this paper began in 2007 with the SIP work of Benson and Wilson,” says Langeland. “The six-year duration shows that science can take a long time to come to fruition.” That duration derives, in part, from the complementary expertise of the two collaborating labs—Langeland’s expertise in gene evolution and Moore’s background in Alzheimer’s disease research and experience with cellular expression of proteins. According to Langeland, for most of the larger labs the exigency of understanding Alzheimer’s in order to development treatments for it may not favor such an extended timeline or evolutionary approach. Indeed, Moore says, “Most researchers in the Alzheimer’s field are exclusively focused on inhibiting the production of protein fragments that have been linked to the progression of the disease. One of the exciting aspects of this project was the chance to take a broader view of the proteins involved in the disease process.”
A broader view allows for unique approaches (suggesting that time and creativity are the two pillars of the particular niche approach to research for which K is so well-equipped). Six years ago Langeland decided to investigate the evolution of two molecules associated with Alzheimer’s—APP and BACE. BACE acts like a scissors to cut (or cleave) APP. The excess accumulation of one of the “cut pieces” (a.k.a. products or substrates, this particular one known as A-Beta) is linked to the development of the disease. Benson and Wilson sought answers to how far back on the evolutionary tree of life these molecules could be found. Turns out that APP is nearly a billion years old. BACE (and its cleavage effect) is much younger, about 500 million years old. Just down the hall, Moore’s lab had been studying the regulation of enzymes that produce A-Beta, and had well-developed systems for expressing Alzheimer’s proteins and analyzing cleavage products. Put the two together and you have a unique project that would have been unlikely at a larger institution or medical school.
The principle of natural selection suggests that BACE’s action on APP is vital to life in ways we don’t yet understand, according to Langeland. The A-Beta substrate may be some kind of mistake that natural selection is unable to “correct” because Alzheimer’s expresses so late in human lifetimes, usually long after reproductive success has been achieved. Moore says, “It’s essentially a wrong place, wrong time phenomenon. The APP substrate evolves the A-Beta motif, then comes in cellular contact with preexisting BACE. The result is a devastating disease process that is most likely an accidental by-product of some normal, as yet unknown, cellular process.”
Moore and his lab (including Gillentine and Botezatu) conducted an elegant experiment to confirm the importance of the BACE molecule. They expressed the BACE molecule from an organism—in this case a primitive marine dweller called amphioxus—that diverged from the human evolutionary branch some 750 million years ago. Amphioxus has no A-Beta. Then, Moore’s group discovered that amphioxus BACE nevertheless acts as a scissors to the human APP molecule. The result adds evidence to the biological importance (albeit unknown) of BACE’s cleaving action.
According to Langeland, an evolutionary approach to diseases may suggest molecular targets for treatment intervention, and, just as important, the limitation of a non-nuanced approach to potential targets.
The paper is titled “Asynchronous Evolutionary Origins of A-Beta and BACE-1.” The work was supported, in part, by a Great Lakes Colleges Association (GLCA) New Directions Initiative Grant, a program that supports professional growth of mid-career liberal arts faculty, with particular emphasis on projects outside traditional boundaries.