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For Release: March 8, 2010
Contact:
David Corriveau, Media Relations Officer, Dartmouth Medical School, at David.A.Corriveau@Dartmouth.edu or 603-653-0771; or
The Center for Continuing Education, at 603-653-1532 or at DCMS@dartmouth.edu.

Dartmouth Community Medical School to examine 'Bionic man and Super Woman'


DCMS series will focus on biotech,
nanotechnology, fertility

Hanover, N.H.—Dartmouth Medical School (DMS) experts in biotechnology, genetics, and fertility this spring will offer an explorer's guide through the growing jungle of options for fixing human ailments and injuries.

On Tuesday nights between April 6 and May 18 in DMS' Kellogg Auditorium, lecturers for the Dartmouth Community Medical School (DCMS) will deliver variations on the topic of "Bionic Man and Super Woman: Medicine Changing Human Capabilities."

"We want to bring the community up to speed about the technological advances that are beginning to impact how our species manages to survive a significant injury," says Lionel Lewis, M.D., a DMS professor of medicine and of pharmacology and toxicology, and director of the DCMS curriculum. "We need also to look at research angles that are potentially going to increase our lifespan far beyond what anyone could have imagined not so long ago."

Lewis adds that along with offering insight into medical technologies, the series will highlight the growing collaboration among faculty researchers at the medical school and Dartmouth's Thayer School of Engineering on medical and surgical technologies.

"People may be hearing in the media about some of these current advances," Lewis says. "We're actually doing some of these things here."

Joseph Rosen, M.D., and James Geiling, M.D., will open the series on April 6 with "Walk This Way: Robotics in Motion." Rosen is an associate professor of surgery and radiology, specializing in plastic and reconstructive surgery. Geiling, an associate professor of medicine, is the chief of medical services at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in White River Junction, Vt.

On April 13, Patricia Ernst, Ph.D., and Richard Powell, M.D., will outline the latest in stem-cell and gene therapy in "Tissues and Genes Get Turned On." Ernst is an assistant professor of genetics, and Powell is a professor of vascular surgery.

The April 20 lecture, "Unparalleled Maneuvers in 3-D: Robotic Surgery," will feature John Seigne, M.B.B.Ch., and Richard Rothstein, M.D. Seigne is an associate professor of surgery in urology, while Rothstein is a professor of medicine.

In the April 27 session - "Can You See Me Now?" - Keith Paulsen, Ph.D., and Steven Poplack, M.D., will talk about current and future breast-imaging modalities. Paulsen is a professor of radiology, Poplack an associate professor of radiology and of obstetrics and gynecology.

On May 4, Ian Baker, D.Phil., and P. Jack Hoopes, D.V.M., Ph.D., will discuss "Where's Nano: Nanotechnology and Its Future Role in Medicine." Baker is the Sherman Fairchild Professor of Engineering at Dartmouth College's Thayer School of Engineering and the school's senior associate dean for academic affairs. Hoopes is an associate professor of surgery and of medicine.

The series turns to issues of reproduction, fertility, and cloning in the sixth session, "The Perfect Copy." The speakers are Paul Manganiello, M.D., a professor of obstetrics and gynecology, and Steve Fiering, Ph.D., an associate professor of genetics, and of microbiology and immunology.

Lewis will wrap up the series on May 18 with "It's Got Your Name on It: Personalized Medicine - the Genome, the Chip, the Prescription."

Pre-registration is required, through the Center for Continuing Education at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. Forms are available online. The $30 fee for the full series covers the cost of materials for all seven sessions. High-school students and teachers are welcome to register, and all participants are encouraged to ask questions in class.

"We haven't specifically devoted time to an ethical discussion," Lewis says, "but I would be shocked if those types of questions didn't come up."

-DMS-

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