Editor’s Pen
Denise Flock-Williams
For this issue we had to bid a fond farewell to Darlene Guillot, who has been faithfully transforming word documents and accompanying images into the comprehensive newsletter you read online. We wish her well as she enjoys retirement.
I was personally saddened to find out about another yet another retirement from LSU Health Sciences Center. Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs and Dean of the School of Graduate Studies Dr. Joe Moerschbaecher has also announced plans to transition to retirement. I am happy to know he will retire with emeritus status and will still be around to lend his insight and wisdom. I have had the distinct pleasure of working with him since he was head of pharmacology and can’t picture this campus without his calm and steady presence and leadership.
I was heartened to hear from so many of you after the last newsletter, especially from our regional campuses which carry out critical components of our mission. This issue’s Spotlight is on the Lafayette Regional Campus, and I look forward to shining a light on the Baton Rouge Regional Campus in the next issue.
With all the focus on COVID for so many months now, the threat of Zika had fallen off my radar. Dr. Edward Wojcik led a study that identified how microcephaly and blindness may develop in Zika-infected fetuses, and a new way to potentially avoid these neurodevelopment birth defects.
Lastly, I am grateful to the team who makes this newsletter possible: Dr. Judy Crabtree,
Todd LaGrange, Dr. Richard DiCarlo, and each and every one of you who send me ideas,
information and articles for the newsletter. Please contact me at dflock@lsuhsc.edu anytime with information or pictures that we can share.