Richard Darilek, a senior political scientist at RAND Corporation, has been appointed the new director of the RAND-Qatar Policy Institute (RQPI), RAND President and CEO James A. Thomson announced. Darilek will be based in Doha, Qatar. He succeeds economist C. Richard Neu, who has completed his three-year term as director of RQPI. Neu will continue his work on economic issues at the Santa Monica headquarters of RAND, a nonprofit research organization. Before joining RAND in 1982, Darilek directed the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force on Mutual and Balanced Force Reductions, and was a special assistant in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Darilek has conducted a number of studies at RAND involving crisis and conflict prevention, including studies focused on the Middle East. www.rand.org
Crafts Around the Corner on Ocean Park Boulevard recently celebrated its grand reopening, which was “really successful,” according to co-owner Jennie Shafer. The retail store carries craft kits and art supplies, the craft table provides the space and time and the venture offers everything from guitar lessons to yoga for kids to cooking class to “awesome birthday parties.” It’s okay to just drop in Tuesday through Saturday from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. www.craftsaroundthecorner.com
UCLA Medical Group has been recognized as one of California’s top performing physician organizations by the Integrated Healthcare Association, a nonprofit statewide group of health plans, physician groups and health care systems. This is the second consecutive year that UCLA Medical Group achieved the distinction, which is based on measures of preventive care and chronic care management, patient satisfaction and information technology application. “We practice evidence-based medicine,” said Dr. Samuel A. Skootsky, medical director of the Group, “and we take patient satisfaction seriously.” Several of the Group’s clinical practices are located in Santa Monica. www.healthcare.ucla.edu
Emmett Keeler, a Santa Monica resident and RAND Corporation researcher, has been elected to the Institute of Medicine, established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences. “Election is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of medicine and health,” said IOM President Harvey V. Fineberg. Dr. Keeler is a professor of health sciences at the UCLA School of Public Health and a senior mathematician at RAND.
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