Singh Power

[Astroboy]

Meharvan “Sonny” Singh, PhD
Associate Professor
Pharmacology and Neuroscience
How long have you worked at UNTHSC?
I have been at UNTHSC for about 7 ½ years.
What does your position at UNTHSC entail?
In my current position here at UNTHSC, I conduct and provide oversight to a research program dedicated to increasing our understanding of how hormones influence the brain, particularly within the context of neuroprotection, aging and Alzheimer’s disease.
In addition, I provide didactic instruction to both professional (i.e., medical students and PA students) as well as graduate students (MS and PhD students in the Graduate School of Biomedical Science). I am also heavily invested in training/mentoring graduate students in biomedical research.
I am also the graduate advisor/coordinator for the Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience, director for translational research and education for the Institute on Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease Research (IAADR), and director of research for the Center FOR HER, and in addition, have the privilege of serving on various other institutional committees.
Like my fellow colleagues here at UNTHSC, I also represent our institution through service on external committees and organizations. These include serving on the Board of Directors for the North Central Texas Alzheimer’s Association and serving as a peer reviewer for various scientific journals, and for both federal and non-federal granting agencies (such as the NIH and the Alzheimer’s Association).
Is there anything about your department that your fellow faculty, staff and students may not know?
Our department has the distinction of having three funded NIH Program Project Grants. Very few programs across the country can say the same.
The Health Science Center’s values are compassion, integrity, excellence, pride, innovation and teamwork. Can you give an example of how your department or your coworkers demonstrate one of these values?
Our department is very collaborative. In fact, it is one of the major factors that drew me to UNTHSC. The unselfish teamwork that our extraordinarily talented faculty exhibits on a day-to-day basis is precisely what underlies much of our program’s success. I have personally benefited from having such talented faculty around me, evidenced by our collaborative publications and funded grants.
What's the best thing about working at the Health Science Center?
For me, the best thing about working at UNTHSC is the faculty here that I have the privilege of calling my colleagues. We have faculty that are truly leaders in their field and who have genuine interests in collaboration. I thoroughly enjoy having the ability to walk into my colleague’s office to “bounce” an idea off of them to gauge its merit. It is such interactions that make the hard work we put in worthwhile.
What do you like to do when you aren't at the Health Science Center?
I love the game of golf. It is such an important part of my life that I managed to find a way to partner my love for golf with UNTHSC. I’m proud to say that a golf tournament that my wife and I initiated, “The Sonny Singh Open,” intended originally to get friends together for some fun/frustration out on the course, is in its sixth year. Through this event, we are pleased to be able to support the Rachel Dauphin Memorial Scholarship fund at UNTHSC.
Is there anything else you would like to share?
Professionally, I am proud to be associated with UNTHSC and look forward to contributing towards its future successes. Personally, I am overjoyed to share with you that as of five weeks ago, my wife and I became the proud parents of our first child, Jaania K. Singh.

 

[spnadmin]

Cool Nam Jap ji!

Now we have Singh Power and Kaur Power. Next I am going to post for another Singh ji.

 

[spnadmin]

Photo, third from the bottom - by Nancy Rokos.

Sports

Harmandip Singh: New Jersey's Rising Basketball Championby TOM RIMBACK


Toms River, New Jersey, U.S.A.

Harmandip Singh Ghuman is instantly recognizable yet somehow even his closest friends have trouble pronouncing his name. The Lenape Indians junior is one of the top basketball players in the Tournament of Champions.



His friends call him Herman, with an 'e,' not an 'a.'
"It doesn't really matter to me," Ghuman said. "Even teachers mispronounce it. I don't mind. People call me Herman."



At a lanky 6-foot-4, Harman would stand out anyway. Add in his full beard and turban required by his faith that makes him an inch or two taller, and he not only sticks out, he can't be missed.
Sikhism, a 500-year-old religion founded in India and dedicated to devotion and remembrance of the One God of all creation, is the world's fifth-largest religion. Among other things, its followers keep their hair unshorn.



Men wear turbans to cover their hair. Harman color-coordinates his light-weight turban with his uniform jersey. Tonight he'll wear the road red against No. 1 St. Patrick's in a TOC semifinal - and he'll be noticed.



"I'm able to work everything out around basketball," Harman said. "I've been playing basketball since fourth grade and I've never really seen anybody else wearing a turban on the court. I guess it is an honour to be one of the only ones out there."



Lenape plays in the Olympic Conference American Division, which is known for its rugged play and fierce rivalries. There are more than a few vocal and unrelenting fan bases to play in front of, too. Harman, who's a quick, easy target for opposing fans, has the perfect makeup to combat the crowds.



"Herman's always been one of my better friends so I never even thought about him being different," point guard Mike Celestin said. "A lot of times you'll hear discriminating cheers. But honestly, the games when he's hearing cheers like that, he's hitting four, five 3's. It makes him angry, gives him a little spark."



Harman is a 3-point shooting specialist, who's become a defensive replacement as well. He's averaged 5.3 points in the playoffs and has 19 3-pointers on the season.



The pace of the game in Wednesday's quarterfinal win over Neptune didn't suit Harman's strengths. He played a little over two minutes in the game, but he was tabbed as a substitution after Lenape's timeout with 19.5 seconds left. The game's final shot was designed to go through Harman.



"We set up a normal play but we made sure that we had Harman there as an option," Lenape coach Chuck Guittar said. "They did a nice job of defending Harman and we couldn't get it to him. We trust him with the ball. At the end of the game, we know that he's either going to take the good shot or make a good decision with the ball. He was in there for the right reasons. Harman's special."
Just as his turban hides the hair he doesn't cut, the forward's stoic outward demeanour hides his true personality. There's a private side to him that outsiders can only guess at.



"Herman's hilarious," Celestin said. "When you first meet him, he's a pretty quiet kid. But when you get to know him he opens up. He keeps us all loose. He's pretty smart and has an amazing work ethic. Everybody has a big role on this team and Harman has a bigger role than most guys."



To a man, from the first player introduced to the last guy on the bench, no one could imagine this team being where it is today without their 'Herman.' He has appreciated every minute of it.



"It's an honour to play for a team like this," he said. "The 2004 team, as great as it was, didn't win a Tournament of Champions game. To be able to say we did something that team didn't do, that's a real honour."

[Courtesy: The Burlington County Times]
March 21, 2009