MEDIA TIP SHEET


	With St. Valentine's Day coming up, we wanted to offer a few
feature story ideas from the University of Virginia. 

ROMANCE -- A LA (VIELLE) FRANCAIS

	Adultery.  Fidelity.  Betrayal.  Trust.  hese issues appear
daily in headlines of news stories about the rich and famous -- and
crop up in the everyday lives of individuals.  But the approach of St.
Valentine's Day -- even with its late-20th century commercial focus on
roses, chocolates and lingerie -- brings to mind the human dilemmas
that love has created throughout the centuries. In his course,
"Literary Lovers of Medieval France," Robert Cook, a professor of
French at the University of Virginia, uses old French romantic texts
(in modern English translation) to spur class discussions of the moral
issues raised in the famous "Lais of Marie de France," a 12th century
authoress, in Beroul's "Romance of Tristan," and in the "Authurian
Romances" of Chretien de Troyes.  Students read about Guigemar, who
falls in love with the young wife of a jealous old man. Or Equitan,
whose king betrays him by sleeping with his wife. The authors didn't
draw conclusions for the readers, but wrote to stimulate discussion of
the moral issues involved -- issues that resonate in relationships
even today.

	For more information, call Cook at (804) 924-4627. 


MAKING RELATIONSHIPS WORK

	Phyllis Koch-Sheras and Peter L. Sheras know all about couple
talk. Together they have delved into the murky waters of marital
relationships, writing about their research in family psychology and
sex therapy with humor and common sense.  Married for 20 years, the
Sherases, both associate professors of education/human
services-clinical psychology at U.Va., have been working with couples
-- together -- even longer. 

	In addition to giving seminars around the country, the couple
serves as psychological commentators for "Spiritual Homepage," a
weekly half-hour program that debuted Jan. 1 on Odyssey, cable
television that offers religious, values-based family shows. Each
week's program explores a theme, such as loneliness, intimacy,
suffering, prayer and miracles, through documentaries, interviews with
experts and media reviews. As psychological commentators for the
series, the husband-and-wife team offer their perspectives on issues
being addressed in each show. On the first show on forgiveness, they
explained how people may experience difficulties if they don't deal
with past hurts. "We explained the importance of releasing oneself
from the prison of anger and resentment," said Sheras. 
	Sheras and Koch-Sheras also recently began a segment on
couples broadcast on WINA radio's "Charlottesville Live" program,
which airs the second and fifth Thursdays of each month. 

	They can be reached for further information at: Peter, (804)
971-4747; Phyllis, (804) 924 7034, or at home -- and they do not mind
being called in the evening -- (804) 973-3536. E-mail also works:
pls@virginia.edu.


IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH

	Dr. Victoria Camerini and David Camerini met while graduate
students at Harvard University. Although they had little free time,
their labs were located across the hallway from each other, making an
encounter inevitable.

	Today, Victoria Camerini is an assistant professor of
pediatrics and her husband, a professor of microbiology at U.Va. They
came to Charlottesville after completing residencies in Los Angeles.
Both conduct research on the immune system, while Victoria Camerini
provides clinical care as well.

	A neonatologist who cares for sick newborns, Victoria Camerini
studies immunology as it relates to the gastrointestinal tract. She is
researching T-cells that live in the guts of newborn infants. 

	David Camerini conducts research on the Human Immunodeficiency
Virus. His research explores the ways in which HIV causes other
diseases. He is developing cell therapy for treating HIV. 

	For more information, call Victoria Camerini at (804) 924-
5429, and David Camerini at (804) 243-6119.

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February 5, 1997