Faculty and alumni of the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth will discuss recent advances in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of chronic and life-threatening diseases in a medical education session on Friday, September 19, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.
This event, which is open to the public and part of Geisel’s Alumni Reunion, highlights current contributions by faculty and alumni to research on cancer, diabetes, and tuberculosis. These illnesses are among the leading causes of death in America, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The session will take place in the James C. Chilcott Conference Center (Auditorium G) at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.
The first new tuberculosis (TB) vaccine in 90 years to demonstrate a protective effect in humans was developed – and is now in clinical trial – at Dartmouth. C. Ford Von Reyn, professor of medicine, will discuss development of the DAR-901vaccine, current global patterns of the disease, and the importance of an improved vaccine in achieving the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goal of eradicating tuberculosis by 2050. Dr. Von Reyn is a graduate of Dartmouth College, Class of 1967, and the Geisel School of Medicine (then Dartmouth Medical School), Class of 1969.
A recent study led by Christopher Amos, a genetics professor at Geisel, has discovered a variant of the BRCA2 gene – commonly associated with breast cancer – that confers a 2.5-fold greater risk for development of squamous lung cancer. Dr. Amos will discuss this research and earlier findings of another gene variant that influences risk for lung cancer and smoking behavior and medicine applications for smoking cessation that can be tailored to a patient’s genetic profile.
Medical and engineering collaborations at Dartmouth have produced powerful new tools to detect and treat cancer. Brian Pogue, an engineering science professor, will present visual examples of light imaging used in radiation therapy; molecular imaging of metastatic tumor cells in lymph nodes; and molecular-fluorescence contrast agents used in surgical resections.
The underlying causes of Type 2 Diabetes and lifestyle choices that can help prevent this chronic disease will be discussed by Edward Horton, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Senior Investigator at Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, Mass. Dr. Horton is a 1954 graduate of Dartmouth College and Geisel, Class of 1955.
For information, contact the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth Office of Alumni Relations at (603) 653-0726 or Geisel.Alumni.Relations@Dartmouth.edu.
The Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center designates this live activity for a maximum of1.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
