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Faces of ASM:  Arthur Guruswamy 

ASM has a membership that is rich in its diversity. It includes individuals from many professional backgrounds such as education, government, health care, and industry who contribute to microbiology and its many facets. Its members come from many different backgrounds and countries around the world. This article presents one of the individuals among the "Faces of ASM." 
guruswamy Arthur Guruswamy is a stellar example of a mentor who values the support he received, and energetically supports the next generation. 

Guruswamy is a native of Sri Lanka. He earned his B.S. degree in Biology from Evangel College in Springfield, Mo. He is a scientist with the Virginia Department of General Services, Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services, in Richmond. 

In 2009 he received the prestigious ASM Scherago-Rubin Award for outstanding work in clinical microbiology. He has directly impacted pediatric patients, particularly in the identification of fungal pathogens previously unknown to affect them. 

Guruswamy's enthusiasm for microbiology goes beyond the lab bench. He traveled to Sri Lanka to teach a tuberculosis detection method that reduces time to treatment. He tirelessly offers wisdom to young scientists through Meet the Mentor Hours at ASM General Meetings. At the 2010 General Meeting, he led the discussion during the Underrepresented Members Committee's (UMC) inaugural Mentoring Breakfast. The breakfast allowed mentors to discuss career transitions with mentees in a roundtable setting. Guruswamy strongly promoted this format to reach a large audience while allowing personal interaction. 

Guruswamy participates in the UMC's online Minority Mentoring Program (www.asm.org/minoritymentoring). Having arrived in the United States with only $15 in his pocket, he benefitted from the mentoring efforts of ASM members. They provided much-needed friendship or guidance in his studies. ASM members picked him up when he stumbled and called him when he desperately needed encouragement. For these reasons Guruswamy did not hesitate to become a mentor himself. 

In the fall of 2005, through the online mentoring program, Guruswamy met a Nigerian university student, AO, who was in an accelerated B.S./M.S. program. AO's mother is a grade school teacher and his father works in a lab. The only access the family had to a computer was through a cyber cafe´, a mile from their home, where they paid by the minute for Internet access. Over the period of several years a friendship built on trust was developed between Guruswamy and AO. They talked about their families and, when asked, Guruswamy provided advice on classes and guidance on careers. Guruswamy sent AO journal publications and a much-needed textbook. Many problems were associated with mailing items to AO-it took more than two weeks for a letter to reach him, there were prohibitive customs duties, and theft was an ever-present threat. 

The need for a basic laptop computer became apparent due to precious study time that was wasted at the cyber cafe´. Obtaining a computer in the United States was complicated by the fact that the unit would require a Nigerian keyboard and electrical compatibility. Faced with a monumental task, a friend of Guruswamy's who had expertise with international computer issues offered to help. Sixteen professionals in three countries, England, Nigeria, and the United States, who were complete strangers prior to this project, also made time in their busy schedules to help. Several people shared the expenses. To ensure safe arrival, the laptop was hand-delivered to AO by a courier who traveled seven hours on rough roads from a Nigerian computer supply office. 

The impact on AO was dramatic. Rather than waiting his turn at a cyber cafe´ he was able to utilize the vast resources of scientific information on his own computer. A simple willingness on the part of Guruswamy to take action made a seemingly impossible task possible. He is a face of ASM that shows what can be accomplished when we work together to make science accessible for young people who share our passion. Guruswamy cites Thomas Dooley, who built hundreds of medical clinics in southeast Asia, "Dedicate some of your life to others. Your dedication will not be a sacrifice. It will be an exhilarating experience because it is an intense effort applied toward a meaningful end." 

Maureen S. Wright, Ph.D. 
Chair, Underrepresented Members Committee 


Award 

IB Chair Keith Klugman Receives John F.W. Herschel Medal 

ASM congratulates Keith Klugman, Chair of the ASM International Board and the William H. Foege Professor of Global Health in Emory's Rollins School of Public Health, on receiving the 2011 John F.W. Herschel Medal, the top science award in South Africa. 

Klugman, a native of South Africa, is a leading expert on antibiotic resistance in pneumococci, the leading cause of bacterial pneumonia, and his research on pneumococcal conjugate vaccine has led to groundbreaking advances in global public health. Klugman conducted the first clinical studies on a pneumococcal vaccine designed to prevent pneumonia in developing countries. His research group showed that the vaccine prevented pneumonia in young children, including among HIV infected infants. Subsequent analyses showed that children who had received the vaccine were protected from the secondary bacterial infections that follow influenza and are responsible for much of its morbidity and mortality. Although the vaccine is now available in the United States and most developed countries, Klugman is trying to develop strategies to make the vaccine more affordable and available in developing countries. 

The John F.W. Herschel Medal was awarded for Klugman's multidisciplinary contributions to science in South Africa and to the reduction in childhood mortality through the implementation of conjugate pneumococcal vaccination in developing countries. The honor was announced on 17 November 2010, and will be presented at The Royal Society South Africa's annual dinner in Cape Town on 27 September 2011.

 

Thomas S. Matney, Houston philanthropist and emeritus professor of genetics and environmental science at The University of Texas Health Science Center and M. D. Anderson Cancer Center Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, died on 28 November 2010 after an extended illness. Matney made important contributions to scientific understanding of cancer-causing agents and the genetic mechanisms that underlie the development of cancer. His wide-ranging philanthropic and service activities enhanced the well-being of hundreds of Houston-area children and families. He was 82 years old. 

Thomas Stull Matney was born on 21 September 1928, in Kansas City, Missouri. His family moved to Texas when he was 10 years old. He received bachelor's and master's degrees in biology and chemistry from Trinity University in San Antonio, and the Ph.D. degree in bacteriology from the University of Texas at Austin. 

In the 1950s, Matney served as Captain and later civilian Medical Bacteriologist in the U.S. Army Chemical Corps in Fort Detrick, Md., where he developed protections for chemical and biological weaponry. Matney moved to Houston to join the Biology Department of the M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute in September of 1962. 

He became the first associate dean of the newly formed UT Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and a Distinguished Professor Emeritus. He was also a member of M. D. Anderson Steering Committee for Alumni and Faculty. 

Matney was a generous supporter of the University and mentor to many graduate students. He personally financially supported students studying at the UTGraduate School of Biomedical Sciences. He established endowments of The Thomas Stull Matney Professorship in Cancer Genetics and The Thomas Stull Matney Professorship in Environmental and Genetic Sciences, both to support scientific excellence and service to graduate education. 

Matney's community service activities focused primarily on the well-being of at-risk children. He served as a consultant to the City of Houston Parks and Recreation Department about problems concerned with violence prevention in children. He was a Trustee and raised millions of dollars for Hospitality Apartments, which provides affordable housing for those undergoing long-term medical treatment in Houston. 

Matney is survived by his wife Nancy Lee Matney, and by a large extended family, including three children from his first marriage to Glenda O. Matney, who died in 1990: Charlotte Matney Appel and Andrew Thornton Appel, Scott Carter Matney, and Monte Mohler Matney; and grandchildren Taylor Annette Matney, Kimberly Erin Appel, and Erik Thomas Appel. Other survivors include siblings Edward Ross Matney and Susan DeVico; William Thomas and Susan Matney; Anna Laura Cecil and Peter Cecil; Susan Catharine Bell and David Bell; his stepchildren Diane and Ken Block, and Jinger Hoop and Jonathan Daniel; and his stepgrandchildren Erica and Lora Rainey and Luis Daniel.