Jerome Groopman’s approach to healing may be best summarized in a framed print of Maimonides’ physician’s oath that hangs in his office: "Inspire me with the love of my art and for thy creatures. In the sufferer let me see only the human being."

When Groopman is not in his lab at Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (part of Harvard Institutes of Medicine), where he is chief of experimental medicine, he focuses his expertise as a hemotologist and oncologist — and perhaps equally as important, his compassion — on the inner workings of his patients. It is this unusual blend of science and spirituality — a nexus of medicine, healing, and faith in the preciousness of life — that not only characterizes Groopman’s career but also defines his deepest essence. Eleven years ago, at the age of 44, Groopman turned his gentle yet meticulous lens to writing about his patients’ courage, endurance, and resilience.

His approach may be best summarized in a framed print of Maimonides’ physician’s oath that hangs in his office: "Inspire me with the love of my art and for thy creatures. In the sufferer let me see only the human being."

Patients at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center now have access to the most advanced technology in breast imaging with the addition of the Aurora® 1.5T Dedicated Breast Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) System. Englewood Hospital is the only hospital in New Jersey to offer the Aurora System, which is the only FDA-approved, dedicated breast MRI system.

"Patients at the Medical Center have had access to breast imaging services for the past few years with a whole body MRI unit," said Dr. Mindy Goldfischer, chief of Breast Imaging and associate director of the Leslie Simon Breast Care and Cytodiagnosis Center at Englewood Hospital. "Aurora’s unique system of magnetic gradients and coils was designed to only image breast tissue. The exclusive design of this system tailors the examination to each woman’s specific breast composition. This means that the images are of the highest quality."

ST. LOUIS – Bright, engaging, and full of energy, Bethany Spielberg is the kind of classroom teacher any Jewish school would be lucky to have.

Spielberg, 18, an education major at California State University, Fullerton, already teaches second grade at her Reform temple’s religious school.

Science correspondent

Embryonic stem cell research has generated much discussion worldwide despite the fact that it has not yet yielded concrete applications for human therapy. Gov. Jon Corzine signed legislation two months ago authorizing $270 million towards human embryonic stem cell research in New Jersey. This has opened up many doors to scientific breakthroughs and also stimulated much new discussion on the controversial topic. In response to the New Jersey legislation, Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, is presenting a program to address the latest breakthroughs and controversies in stem cell research. A Hadassah Young Leaders event, scheduled for March 15 at the Montclair Art Museum, will tackle the issues generated by this provocative technology.

Barry Schindler, of Mountain Lakes, a patent attorney with Greenberg Traurig, LLP, which supports firms pursuing stem cell research, will speak about the legal barriers. He will be joined by Dr. Gary Friedman, a nephrologists, transplant specialist, and founding trustee of the New Jersey Stem Cell Research and Education Foundation, who will talk about therapeutic applications of the technology.

On her first trip to Israel, Ridgewood resident Michelle Kortenaar learned how to turn a human ear into a radio speaker. And when she returned to New Jersey, she brought that skill, and many other novel science teaching strategies, back to her physics and biology classes at the Solomon Schechter Day School of Essex and Union in West Orange. She learned the unique approaches to hands-on science teaching at a summer institute for teachers sponsored by the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel.

"Every single day I came back to my room having changed my way of thinking about teaching," said Kortenaar, recalling her experiences during the 10-day Schwartz International Leading Science Teachers’ Seminar. She attended the seminar together with 10 other North American teachers and nine Israeli high school teachers. "The sessions were extremely practical. I’ve come back with many things that I’ve been able to implement in my class this year."