The Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health is proud to announce that Sally LIttau was awarded the Arizona Health Sciences Center's Georgia Reynolds Dedicated Service Award for 2008.  Sally Littau, B.S., MT(ASCP), is a Coordinator for Health Research in the Community, Environment and Policy Division of MEZCOPH, and has worked for the University since 1992. The Georgia Reynolds Dedicated Service Award, a prestigious honor, is given annually to a recipient selected from nominees who work for all four of the colleges in the Arizona Health Sciences Center (AHSC).  The Georgia Reynolds Dedicated Service Award was presented to Sally at the AHSC Staff Awards for Excellence Ceremony on Tuesday, April 22, 2008. 

When asked "Why do you think you received this award?" Sally looked mystified and said, "I don't think I do anything spectacular.  I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing!"   But those who nominated her for the award disagree, with comments such as:

• "Sally is the most wonderful person I know.  We are all extremely fortunate to have her work with us, and the incredible thing is that she is the one that considers herself fortunate!"
• "Sally inspires an intense devotion among her coworkers.  Sally is of endless good humor and kindness."
• "Dedicated service does not bring justice to describing the unselfish and unyielding effort she devotes to her job on a daily basis."
• "Sally's record doesn't end with her dedication to her job in the College of Public Health.  She also makes time to be active in her church, makes quilts for newborns, hats for people on chemotherapy, and bags for children to brighten their days."

Sally works for MEZCOPH Associate Professor Jeff Burgess, and does all of the different types of laboratory work required for his research projects.  The type of work she does is medical technology; she uses laboratory tests and techniques to obtain research data.  This data is then used by MEZCOPH scientists in their research to improve the management of health conditions.

Some of the projects that Ms. Littau and Dr. Burgess are currently working on include investigating respiratory toxicology in firefighters and smoke inhalation victims — or studying the negative effects of smoke inhalation on the lungs of firefighters and burn victims. One of her main tasks in gathering data is performing ELISA tests/assays, which stands for Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assays.  These tests take an antigen and antibody and "complexes" them so she can read the quantity of a contaminant that is present.  The samples that she tests come from sputum induction and spirometry tests; spirometry gauges air volume and how quickly a patient can blow it out of his/her lungs.   Currently the population being studied is mostly firefighters, but they also performed the Maricopa burn unit study on smoke inhalation, investigating the effects of inhaling smoke on burn victims' lungs.  At left Sally is shown performing one of the ELISA assays in the laboratory.

Field work, or gathering data in real time outside of the laboratory, is especially enjoyable for Sally.  In one project, Assistant Professor Rene Anthony was using new air sampling pumps, personal devices that test the air that a firefighter breathes while fighting a fire which reports on the contaminants inhaled.  In prescribed burns they used the data output from the pumps to look for dust and contaminants that could cause cancer.  The results of this work are in publication now.

Sally works closely with Margaret Kurzius-Spencer and Jerry Poplin.  Sally collects and analyzes the lab results, and Margaret then does the scientific analyses of the data.  "Jeff (Burgess) has a great team!" says Sally.   That opinion is certainly shared by others at MEZCOPH, since Margaret received the AHSC Staff Award for Excellence for the outstanding MEZCOPH research employee for 2008, and Jerry received the same award in a previous year.  The three have worked together since 2003.

When speaking about her coworkers, Sally added, "I didn’t get this award all by myself— the people around me are are more responsible for anything I do well because of their willingness to advise, support, and encourage everything I do.  I’m not being humble, trust me, it is the truth."

Always Interested In Science - Even Moldy Cheese!

For as long as she can remember, Sally Littau has always been interested in science.  She recalled that when she was a child her mother used to pull cheese out of the refrigerator with mold on it, and then cut the mold off.  Then her mom would serve the cheese, which Sally thought was "awful!"  But then in school Sally's science teacher brought moldy bread and cheese to school and made slides of the mold for the kids to look at under the microscope, and Sally was instantly fascinated.   After that she wanted her own microscope.  Her parents were not wealthy people, she said, and microscopes are very expensive.  So her mom found an alternative that worked very well, though;  her parents bought her empty slides and all the set-up equipment needed so that she could use a borrowed microscope, so she learned a lot about microorganisms at an early age.  In her current work for MEZCOPH Sally frequently uses the microscope to study contaminants and other materials, for data gathering and analysis.   In the photo at upper left, Sally is shown preparing a slide at the five-headed microscope. This microscope is also used to teach students, since four students can watch what an instructor is doing.

Helping the Hospital on Weekends

Besides her full-time job at the University since 1992, Sally also works per diem on weekend shifts in the microbiology laboratory at Tucson Medical Center (TMC), studying "anything that comes out of our bodies."  She cultures samples and sees what pathogens grow to help doctors make accurate diagnoses. Sally "stays busy" working six days a week, an understatement.   When asked why she works the second job at TMC, Sally explains that there is a huge shortage of medical technologists in Tucson and that the hospital needs her help.   "The shortage is probably going to get worse," she says, explaining that young people are not going into the field, due in large part to a lack of education opportunities in medical technology.  The University of Arizona used to have a degree of Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences specializing in medical technology, and Sally was an instructor there until the unit was closed in 2003 due to budget cuts.  Sally worries that the median age of these important laboratory workers now is about 50 years old, and when these "baby boomers" all retire the shortage in medical technology will be even worse.

The work that Sally does for Dr. Burgess at MEZCOPH and Tucson Medical Center are very different in nature, she pointed out.  In research, she works on what she calls the "bigger picture," where goals are reached in a year or more.  The lab work she does in the hospital, though, gives immediate gratification.  "I've made a difference in someone's life on that day," she says.  Combining the two jobs, she says she "can't think of anything better to do" for a career.

Volunteer Work

Sally knits and quilts for charities.  When her aunt was receiving chemotherapy and began losing her hair, Sally started knitting "chemo caps" for patients.  The loss of hair causes these patients to lose heat through their head, which can greatly affect their health during this delicate time.  Sally experimented with new knitting stitches making these caps, and had knitting "races" with Rene Anthony, who Sally said could "knit three afghans and four sweaters to my one cap!" 

This year Sally is enjoying making quilts for the "Mission to Children" program through her church, which provides hand-made quilts to poor children across the U.S.-Mexico border.  Paloma Beamer, a MEZCOPH assistant professor, is also active in this program.

Teaching school children is another way Sally likes to volunteer.  She gives presentations to the children of friends, and next school year she is planning to do hands-on learning teaching about diabetes and glucose testing.  This year she discussed cleanliness with kids, and Sally showed parasites to the kids such as the ascaris roundworm that infects humans, and tapeworms.  "They learn what they can get from playing in the dirt if they don't wash their hands!" she said, smiling. 

One hopes that some of the kids that Sally volunteers to teach will be inspired by her demonstrations and grow up to work in medical technology as she does.

Written on May 30, 2008 by Loretta McKibben.