1974

While I was in Boston this summer I went to the famous "Cheers" bar. It was nice, but we have our own "Cheers" bar here in Macon. Now, they don't sell quiche or imported beer, but the buffalo wings are unbeatable, served either hot or on fire, and the beer choice is easy because it's either Bud or Bud Lite on draft. You can't get a fancy T-shirt here, but they do have free refrigerator magnets. Your friends can call in but it's unlikely anyone will know your name because most of the patrons are truck drivers. And don't ask for espresso, cappucino, or cafe au lait because no coffee is served at Cheers in Macon, but it's the best place in America to watch the Braves beat up on the Giants.

Occasionally I devote my entire column to someone who is noteworthy, and I believe that Craig Thompson deserves all this space.

Craig has recently been named the first director of the Gwen Knapp Center for Lupus and Immunology Research, one of the five biomedical research centers in the new Institute for Molecular Medicine in Chicago. Craig has also been appointed a professor in medicine, molecular genetics, and cell biology. Craig got his M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, completed his residency at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, and was a fellow at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. He also served as a research medical officer in the navy. He is a leading researcher in the mechanisms of the human immune response. He is moving from the University of Michigan's Howard Hughes Medical Institute, where he studied the immune system and the complex cellular interactions that occur as the immune system responds to a foreign invader. Craig will bring a team of nine co-workers with him from Michigan and will head the search for five other faculty investigators for the Center. "We hope that by understanding these cell-to-cell interactions we can find ways to intervene and block immune responses that lead to graft rejection in transplantation and to auto-immune diseases, " Craig said. Lupus affects as many as 500,000 Americans, primarily women in their childbearing years. Other related diseases include rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile diabetes, and multiple sclerosis.

Well, today is the first day of classes for incoming first-year law students. A new year, a new start!

Dean's Office, Mercer Law School, 1021 Georgia Ave., Macon, GA 31207-0003