Broadway House for Continuing Care, a UMDNJ affiliate and New Jersey’s only long-term care facility for adults living with HIV/AIDS, is participating in a tree-decorating contest for non-profit organizations. The event is sponsored by K-Mart in West Orange, where the trees are displayed. Broadway House staff has decorated a tree honoring the fight against HIV/AIDS. Customers will vote on their favorite tree from now until December 16th. There is a monetary prize for the organization whose tree gets the most votes. The store location is 235 Prospect Avenue, West Orange, next to Whole Foods Grocery Store and Wendy’s. The ballots are located next to the customer service desk in the front corner of the store. If you have the opportunity, please go by K-Mart, view the trees and vote for your favorite. 
A research team at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) at UMDNJ Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (RWJMS) has found the cancer suppressing p53 gene plays a vital role in the reproduction of mice, a finding that may encourage new exploration in the role it may have in the fertility of human females.
The lead researcher, Dr. Arnold J. Levine, is a member of CINJ and professor of pediatrics and biochemistry at RWJMS. The research, published in the journal Nature, shows that p53 turns on a gene responsible for making a cell protein (cytokine), which is vital to reproduction.
A recent study focusing on the perception of stigma among Latinos receiving antidepressants could ultimately lead to improved care for depression among this minority population. The study yielded descriptions of perceived stigmas and showed Latinos apprehend negative associations and social consequences related to diagnosis of depression and use of antidepressant medication.
UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson faculty members, Dr. Alejandro Interian, assistant professor of psychiatry; Dr. Javier I. Escobar, professor and chair of the department of psychiatry; and Dr. Peter J. Guarnaccia, adjunct associate professor of psychiatry, were among the co authors of a paper reporting those results. The paper appears in the December issue of Psychiatric Services, a journal of the American Psychiatric Association.
School athletes in Essex County will receive free custom-made mouth guards as a result of a grant from the Giants Foundation to the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.
The Giants Foundation provided $15,000 to the Foundation of UMDNJ to support the Mouth Guard Protection Program for Inner City High School Athletes, which is being coordinated by two dentists at the UMDNJ-New Jersey Dental School. Approximately 200 youth will have an opportunity to receive a free oral examination, customized mouth guard and a free carrying case bearing the N.Y. Giants logo. The purpose of the program is to eliminate and decrease the severity of mouth and jaw injuries.
