F ormer South African President Nelson Mandela will be at the UW Health Sciences Center Thursday, Dec. 9, to participate in an invitation-only forum on challenges facing those striving to improve health conditions throughout the world.
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Curtis holds endowed profesorship

W illiam Curtis, assistant professor of surgery, has become the first holder of the Lester and Connie LeRoss Endowed Professorship in Cardiovascular Surgery.
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Benedetti authors editorial on birth injury

T homas Benedetti, professor of obstetrics and gynecology and director of maternal-fetal medicine at UW Medical Center, is the author of an editorial on birth injury and method of delivery in the Dec. 2 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Briefly

UW researchers have described the structure of a key blood-clotting protein involved in hemophilia A, the most prevalent and serious type of hemophilia.

Revealing the structure of the protein, called factor VIII, gives scientists a first-hand glimpse at the subtle molecular changes -- often just a single errant atom -- that cause the disorder.

The discovery was published in the Thursday, Nov. 25, issue of Nature. For an animated image of the protein, visit senior author Dr. Barry L. Stoddard's Lab Web page.