July faculty and staff features

Robert W. Taylor, director of the Virginia Real Estate Center at VCU
Taylor was named to a commission formed to review Henrico County’s land-purchase practices. The five-member commission will meet regularly to examine best practices for the county’s purchase of properties.

David Upton, Ph.D., professor of finance and chair of the Finance, Insurance and Real Estate Department, School of Business
Upton has earned the Accredited Investment Fiduciary Analyst designation by the Center for Fiduciary Studies. Holders of the mark have successfully completed a specialized program on investment fiduciary standards of care, subsequently passing a comprehensive examination and meeting the designation’s educational and professional experience prerequisites.

Adam P. Klausner, M.D., Department of Surgery
Klausner, assistant professor and director of neuro-urology, received the Dennis W. Jahnigen Career Development Scholars Award, totaling $200,000, to investigate urinary incontinence in elderly patients with normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH). The award is given by the American Geriatrics Society. 

Specifically, the two-year grant will allow Klausner and his colleagues to predict which patients with urinary incontinence can benefit most from shunting surgery. Shunting surgery is the recommended treatment for patients with NPH, a neurological disorder caused by an overflow of cerebospinal fluid (CSF) in the brain’s ventricles. Shunting surgery relieves the brain by relocating the fluid to the abdomen.

The bladder is among the areas affected by NPH. Additionally, NPH affects the ability to walk. It also affects memory and cognition.

Anthony Marmarou, Ph.D., professor of neurosurgery and director of research in the VCU School of Medicine’s Department of Neurosurgery, will mentor Klausner on this project, with additional guidance from Harold Young, M.D., chair of neurosurgery; Peter Boling, M.D., chair of geriatrics; and Harry Koo, M.D., chair of urology. This award helps promising academic specialists start and sustain careers in both education and research that are focused on aging issues.