Professor
honored for
sickle cell work
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
Daniel Kim-Shapiro. pro
fessor of physics ai Wake Fores!
University, recently received a
MERIT Award from the
National Institutes for Health to
continue his pioneering
research
on sickle
cell ane
m j a .
Rarely
granted,
t h e
MERIT
(for
Method to
Extend
Research
in Time)
Kim-Shapiro
awards extend funding for
promising research without
requiring the researcher to apply
for additional funds
The $343,920 MERIT
award is renewable each year
for up to 10 years.
Kim-Shapiro and his collab
orators. including Bruce King in
Wake Forest's chemistry
department, are investigating
nitric oxide and how it might
promote better blood flow in
sickle-cell patients.
Hemoglobin is carried through
the bloodstream by red blood
cells, which must squeeze
through blood vessels to deliver
oxygen to the body. In sickle
cell anemia, the red blood cells
form rods and become rigid,
which prevents them from pass
ing through blood vessels.
The researchers contributed
to the discovery that nitrite, a
salt used to preserve food, is
converted to nitric oxide in the
body. They have already filed a
patent for the use of nitrite for
treating certain cardiovascular
conditions. They also seek to
understand more thoroughly
how the nitrite-to-nitric oxide
conversion process works and
then pursue possible clinical
applications of the salt in treat
ment of sickle cell anemia and
other diseases.
Kim-Shapiro was a keynote
speaker at the North Carolina
Sickle Cell Program
Conference held in Raleigh
April 27. He joined the Wake
Forest faculty in 1996.
Sickle cell
from pa#* TO
Hispanic population." she
commented. "We pick up a lot
of babies with sickle cell dis
ease who are Hispanic. That
means that we are serving a
more diverse population."
Despite the growing num
ber; of Hispanics who frequent
the SCDAP, sickle cell aware
ness remains low among non
black ethnic groups.
"Unfortunately, a lot of
people still think that sickle cell
disease affects just African
Americans, but that's not true,"
Robinson stated.
In an effort to break down
the stereotypes that render sick
le cell a black problem, the
SCDAP selected its first
Hispanic poster child, Hosea
Najaro Jr.. this year.
A fourth grader at Griffith
Elementary, Najaro's family
has been visiting the SCDAP
since they moved here from
Long Island, NY when he was
a toddler.
His father, Hosea Sr.. moth
er, Gloria and sister, Nancy, 14
all carry the sickle cell trait.
Mr. Najaro, who is originally
from El Salvador, said that they
knew Hosea was likely to have
Phoui by Layla Fanner
The Najaro family: mother, Gloria, sister, Nancy, and father Hosea Sr.
the disease long before he was
bom.
"They did a test on us
before my daughter was bom
and they told us that she got the
trait. They explained to us that
probably ... the next child that
we gonna have, he was gonna
be with the sickle cell," he said.
Hosea Jr. was diagnosed in
utero.
"When they did the test on
her in the womb, they told us
that he was going to be a posi
tive with the sickle cell," his
father explained. "They asked
us did we want to have the
baby or did we want to have an
abortion and I told them that
we gonna have the baby. We
just gonna try to deal with him
- whatever situation that he
gonna go through, we're gonna
go (through it) with him too."
At 10, Hosea Jr. is a happy
go-lucky child with a quiet
demeanor and a deceptively
innocent face. As the newest
SCDAP poster child, he bears
the burden of sickle cell for all
those who suffer like him. will
ing to share his own pain so
that others can find the strength
to seek help.
Mr. Najaro admitted that he
had some reservations about
allowing his son to take the
project on, but said his son was
more than willing.
"I was just looking at it like
he's going to bp in the public
and he's going to be showing
his face ... in many places, and
sometimes I just think, 'I don't
think we are the right persons
to try to be doing that for him,"'
he related. 'But then 1 was
talking to him and he said he
doesn't really care because he
really does accept what he is. 1
think (being the poster child is)
one of the parts in making him
more confident about it."
The family expressed their
hopes that more Hispanic-,
would get tested for sickle cell
after seeing Hosea 's face. They
say the SCDAP has helped
them to feel less alone as they
watch Hosea battle the disease.
"To the Hispanic communi
ty. the families, the ones who
don't know that the child got
sickle cell or he has not been
tested against the sickle cell,
they can call the agency and try
to get in touch with them
because they can get the child
tested, and not to worry about it
because the agency is there to
help," Najaro commented.
A boy of few words, Hosea
Jr. said it all when asked if he
had any friends with sickle cell.
"Not yet, but maybe I can
find some," he said.
Meals
from page A!
well with Joines.
"To give back $7 million
to the feds isn't something I like
to do," he said. "We need to
spend all that we can, particu
larly when we can feed hungry
kids."
The hope is that the new,
collaborative approach will
spark an increase in participa
tion.
"I think if -we get the word
out. if people are more aware
that our children are not being
fed in the summer and that fam
ilies are trying to stretch their
budgets, then something can be
done," stated Nan Griswold,
executive director of the
Second Harvest Food Bank of
Northwest North Carolina.
Florence Corpening, execu
tive director of the YWCA, has
agreed to do her part in bridging
the gap between the resources
available and the children who
need them.
"We have created a new
program called 'Healthy
Walking and Eating Breakfast
Club,' that means that ... over
300 children will walk to
Brunson or to Kennedy School
to have breakfast every single
morning," she told the audi
ence. "We will have over 300
children for the first time, who
will add to those numbers so
that money does not have to go
back to the state, and we use it
right here in our county."
The YWCA was pleased to
play such an important role in
feeding children, Corpening
said.
Volunteers are needed to
help the summer feeding pro
gram run smoothly. Several
local faith-based organizations
have already agreed to help out,
including the Ministers'
Conference of Winston-Salem,
Calvary Baptist, Union Baptist
and United Metropolitan
Missionary Baptist.
The Summer Feeding
Program for Hungry Children
will be held at 21 locations
countywide this summer. For
more information, or to volun
teer, visit www.cityofivs.org,
click on the link to the mayor's
office, and then the link for the
summer feeding program.
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1550 University Court Email: twellman@anc-nc.com
Winston-Salem, NC 27102
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YEARS
MECHANICS AND FARMERS HANK
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in the economic well-being of East Winston. It was very difficult for me to comprehend
why this attitude existed when looking at the high income levels of so many families who
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was able to see beyond the attitude that existed in areas of other communities in this city
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