People & achievements in the greater Ann Arbor area, including Lord, Aeck & Sargent and Procerus Skin Care

• Procerus Skin Care of Ann Arbor, a medical spa and laser clinic, opened for business in mid-October at 315 Eisenhower Parkway, Suite 8, in Ann Arbor. The owner, Dr. Kathleen Gilmore, is a graduate of the University of Michigan and longtime area family physician.

• Arbor Hospice recently welcomed dentist Keith Tobin, to its Plymouth medical team to oversee the care of patients in Plymouth, Livonia, Northville, Novi, West Bloomfield, Westland and surrounding communities. Arbor Hospice is headquartered in Ann Arbor.

• The University of Michigan Council for Disability Concerns recently announced that U-M law professor Samuel Bagenstos will receive the 2012 James T. Neubacher Award Oct. 26 in recognition of his advocacy and scholarship on disability rights. Following a stint as visiting professor at the U-M Law School in 2008, Bagenstos joined the law faculty in 2009—a post he left temporarily for two years to serve as principal deputy assistant attorney general for civil rights in the Civil Rights Division of the U. S. Department of Justice. At DoJ, he was responsible for appellate, disability rights and special litigation. His major achievements included promulgation of the 2010 Americans with Disabilities Act regulations, the first comprehensive ADA update since its passage in 1991.

• Briarwood Mall shoppers will notice changes this holiday season, including new stores, changes in dining options and a few store re-locations. Additions include L'Occitane, a luxury beauty brand, which is planned to open Dec. 1; Sisters Art and Gifts, showcasing local Michigan artists of many mediums, which recently opened in the south Sears wing; Franklin Vine, offering an assortment of accessories, including purses, scarves and shoes, which recently opened in the south JC Penney wing; and Brighton Collectibles, which sells handbags, jewelry and other gift items and accessories, which will open in Center Court by Dec. 1. Brighton takes over the space formerly occupied by Gymboree, while Gymboree’s new location is in the Von Maur wing. Panda Express's newly-remodeled space is slated to be open by Nov. 23, while Carmelita’s Kitchen will close temporarily and move to a larger location in the south Sears wing. Mrs. Field’s temporarily closed its current location Oct. 14, and the cookie store will reopen in Center Court in late November.

• Gov. Rick Snyder Oct. 11 announced a number of appointments to the Michigan Council for Rehabilitation Services and seven to the Commission for Blind Persons. Among the Michigan Council for Rehabilitation Services appointees were Albert Kresta of Ann Arbor, president and CEO of Ann Arbor-based Ave Maria Communications, who will represent business, industry or labor; and Dennis Stanford of Ypsilanti, former U.S. Census Bureau field operations supervisor and disabled military veteran, representing disability advocacy groups. Both of the appointees' terms expire Dec. 31, 2013. Among the Commission for Blind Persons appointees is Josie Barnes Parker of Ann Arbor, director of the Ann Arbor District Library and Washtenaw Library for the Blind and Physically Disabled. Under her leadership, the Ann Arbor District Library and Washtenaw Library for the Blind and Physically Disabled have received local and national recognition for adopting new technologies that provide special services to a broader population, including elementary, middle and high school students. Appointees will serve a term at the pleasure of the governor.

• Researchers at the University of Michigan have determined how the hormone leptin, an important regulator of metabolism and body weight, interacts with a key receptor in the brain. Leptin has been of interest for researchers in obesity and Type 2 diabetes since it was discovered in 1995. Georgios Skiniotis, a faculty member at the Life Sciences Institute and assistant professor in biological chemistry at the U-M Medical School, employed electron microscopy to obtain the first picture of the interaction between leptin and its receptor. The paper "Ligand-Induced Architecture of the Leptin Receptor Signaling Complex" has been published in the journal Molecular Cell. Other U-M authors on the paper were Liliya Mancour and Gerwin Westfield of the Life Sciences Institute and Department of Biological Chemistry and Hikmat Daghestani, Somnath Dutta, Justin Schilling, Austin Oleskie, Jeffrey Herbstman and Steven Chou of the Life Sciences Institute.

• This October, Ann Arbor's Perich Advertising + Design celebrates 25 years in business. Ernie and Shirley Perich opened the firm in 1987.

• Butzel Long attorney and shareholder Robert A. Boonin was recently elected vice-chair (chair-elect) of the Labor and Employment Law Section’s Council at the Section’s Annual Business Meeting and Program held during the State Bar of Michigan’s Annual Meeting in Grand Rapids. Boonin is based in Butzel Long’s Ann Arbor office.

• The Sarcoma Alliance for Research through Collaboration, a not-for-profit consortium dedicated to providing infrastructure to support collaborative sarcoma research, announced in mid-October that it has received a Specialized Programs of Research Excellence grant from the National Cancer Institute. This grant will provide $11.5 million over five years in support of sarcoma translational research. SARC is based in Ann Arbor.

• Three University of Michigan faculty members have been elected to the Institute of Medicine, an honor considered one of the most prestigious in the health and medical fields. Among the 70 newly elected IOM members are Dr. John M. Carethers, the John G. Searle Professor and chair of Department of Internal Medicine; Dr. John O. DeLancey, the Norman F. Miller Professor of Gynecology in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology; and Martin A. Philbert, professor of toxicology and dean of the U-M School of Public Health.

• A new computer skills training firm has opened in Ann Arbor: MacNirvana LLC. Owner and trainer Rob Lewis provides training live and in person or online via videoconferencing.

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