Event Archive
ASEF Luncheon - June 1, 2010
David Weiner, PhD, Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and Chair of the Gene Therapy and Vaccine Program
Dr. Weiner's lecture is titles: "Where do we stand with DNA vaccine technology for HIV vaccines?"
DNA vaccines were a highly promising technology that did not perform well in initial studies in the clinic as a vaccine platform and was relegated to a second class status for vaccine development. However, several technological advancements over the past decade are being evaluated in nonhuman primates and clinical studies addressing a variety of important human diseases. The future of this technology for HIV vaccination strategies will be discussed.
Dr. Weiner has published 250 papers and 22 chapters on DNA vaccines, smallpox vaccines, and vaccines for agents of bioterrorism. He majored in biology in undergraduate and graduate school and joined Penn as a post-doc in pathology in 1986. From 1990 to 1993, he served as Director of Biotechnology at the Wistar Institute.
This luncehon is scheduled as follows:
Date: Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Time: 12:00p.m.
Location: The Lenape Room of the University Club. (Located on the 2nd floor of The Inn at Penn - enter from 36th and Walnut Street).
Please confirm your attendance by sending a RSVP via email to Rachael Berget (rberget@mail.med.upenn.edu) or via phone (215-898-7160).
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ASEF Luncheon - May 11, 2010
Hakon Hakonarson, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics
Dr. Hakonarson's lecture is titled: " GENETICS OF COMPLEX MEDICAL DISORDERS"
Genetic diversity, most notably through single nucleotide polymorphisms and copy number variation, together with specific environmental exposures, contributes to both disease susceptibility and drug response variability. Recently, genome-wide association (GWA) studies have increasingly gained popularity, as they enable scientists to associate specific variants with the predisposition for complex disease, such as type 2 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, autism and asthma. The relatively new methodology has stirred new hope for the mapping of genes that regulate drug response related to these conditions. Collectively, these studies support the notion that modern high-throughput SNP genotyping technologies, when applied to large and comprehensively phenotyped patient cohorts, will readily reveal the most clinically relevant disease-modifying and drug response genes. This presentation addresses both recent advances in the genotyping field and highlights from GWA studies, which have conclusively uncovered variants that underlie disease susceptibility and/or variability in drug response in common disorders.
This luncheon is scheduled as follows:
Date: Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Time: 11:45a.m.
Location: The Lenape Room of the University Club. (Located on the 2nd floor of The Inn at Penn - enter from 36th and Walnut Street).
Please confirm your attendance by sending a RSVP via email to Rachael Berget (rberget@mail.med.upenn.edu) or via phone (215-898-7160).-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASEF Luncheon - April 27, 2010
Witold Rybczynski, Hon. FAIA, Hon. ASLA, Martin & Margy Meyerson Professor of Urbanism, School of Design | Professor, Wharton School
Dr. Rybczynski's lecture is titled: " How a Cornfield Became New Daleville: An Case Study of Housing on the Exurban Frontier"
We drive past a new development in the country and think, how did that pop up so fast? The answer is, it probably took years. Witold Rybczynski, Martin and Margy Meyerson Professor of Urbanism, describes how he followed the story of the transformation of a Pennsylvania cornfield into a “neotraditional” housing development, which was the subject of his recent book, Last Harvest. Real estate is and always has been an American obsession. Many of the founding fathers were developers and a vast population of local and national builders, developers, planners, and architects help determine the way we live today—and will live tomorrow. Rybczynski describes the creation of a residential subdivision in Pennsylvania’s rural Chester County—from acquiring land, designing infrastructure, planning lot size, selecting builders, to the day the homeowners move in. This talk will thread together the causes of sprawl and exurban growth, the influence of zoning and community standards, and the reasons behind the dimensions of our kitchens and placement of our picket fences.
This luncheon is scheduled as follows:
Date: Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Time: 11:45a.m.
Location: The Lenape Room of the University Club. (Located on the 2nd floor of The Inn at Penn - enter from 36th and Walnut Street).
Please confirm your attendance by sending a RSVP via email to Rachael Berget (rberget@mail.med.upenn.edu) or via phone (215-898-7160).
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ASEF Luncheon - March 26, 2010
Franz F. Hefti, Chief Scientific Officer of Avid Radiopharmaceuticals
Dr. Hefit's lecture is titled: "Molecular Imaging of Alzheimer's Disease"
Alzheimer's disease is a major public health crisis, with more than 5 million Americans afflicted today. In the future, it may be possible to diagnose Alzheimer's disease years before symptoms arise, by imaging the brain pathology that causes the disease.
Dr. Hefti has 20 years experience in the pharmaceutical industry (Rinat Neuroscience Corp., Merck & Co., and Genentech) and spent a decade as a professor in academia (University of Southern California and University of Miami). He has published over 250 papers on neurotrophic factors and topics in neuropharmacology and a textbook "Drug Discovery for Nervous System Diseases", Wiley (2004). Dr. Hefti received a Ph.D. from the University of Zürich and did his postdoctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Max Planck Institute in Munich.
This luncheon is scheduled as follows:
Date: Friday, March 26, 2010
Time: 12p.m. - 2p.m.
Location: The Lenape Room of the University Club. (Located on the 2nd floor of The Inn at Penn - enter from 36th and Walnut Street).
Please confirm your attendance by sending a RSVP via email to Rachael Berget (rberget@mail.med.upenn.edu) or via phone (215-898-7160).------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASEF Luncheon - February 5, 2010
Paul A. Offit, MD, Professor, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Dr. Offit's lecture is titled: "Communicating Science to the Public"
In 1998 a paper published in the British medical journal, Lancet, claimed that the combination MMR vaccine caused autism. The author claimed that measles vaccine given in combination with mumps and rubella vaccines damaged intestinal epithelial cells, allowed entrance of encephalopathic proteins, and eventually damaged the central nervous system, causing autism. Since that original publication, twelve separate studies have examined the incidence of autism in children who did or did not receive the MMR vaccine—all with the same result; MMR didn’t cause autism. More recently, the use of an increasing number of thimerosal containing vaccines has led to the fear that the mercury containing preservative caused neurodevelopmental damage, including autism. Six separate studies have now examined this relationship, again showing no association between vaccines and autism. Strategies and challenges for communicating this information to the public will be discussed.
References: Offit, PA. Autism’s False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure. Columbia University Press, September 2008.
This luncheon is scheduled as follows:
Date: Friday, February 5, 2010
Time: 11:45a.m.
Location: The Lenape Room of the University Club. (Located on the 2nd floor of The Inn at Penn - enter from 36th and Walnut Street).
Please confirm your attendance by sending a RSVP via email to Rachael Berget (rberget@mail.med.upenn.edu) or via phone (215-898-7160).
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ASEF Luncheon - January, 2010
------------------------------------------------------------------------------Emily Conant, MD, Professor, Department of Radiology
Dr. Conant's lecture is titled: "An Update on Breast Cancer Screening"
Dr. Emily Fox Conant, Chief of the Breast Imaging Division of the Department of Radiology, will discuss the controversy surrounding the recent recommendations about breast cancer screening. In November 2009, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force announced its recommendations that women with a normal risk of breast cancer begin having mammograms biannually starting at age 50. This conflicts with the recommendation of, for example, the American Cancer Society, which advises that women age 40 and older have a screening mammogram annually.
Dr. Conant did her residency and fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
This luncheon is scheduled as follows:
Date: Friday, January 29, 2010
Time: 11:45 a.m.
Location: The Hourglass Room of the University Club. (Located on the 2nd floor of The Inn at Penn - enter from 36th and Walnut Street).
Please confirm your attendance by sending a RSVP via email to Rachael Berget (rberget@mail.med.upenn.edu) or via phone (215-898-7160).
ASEF Luncheon, December 9, 2009
Leonard Warren, MD, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Cell and Developmental Biology and Professor Emeritus at Wistar
Dr. Warren's lecture is titles: "Immigrant Scientists in America"
Dr. Warren's extensive research activities were initially focused on the characteristics and metabolic role of glycoproteins. He then returned to fundamental studies of the surface membranes in both normal and malignant animal cells.
After his retirement, Dr. Warren turned his interests to a quite different area, the writing of Scientist Biographies. His first book brought the life of Joseph Leidy in to the foreground. Biographies of other remarkable historical persons followed. In July, 2009, his fourth biography was published, presenting the life story of "Maclure of New Harmony".
This last luncheon of 2009 is scheduled as follows:
Date: Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Time: 11:45a.m.
Location: The Lenape Room of the University Club. (Located on the 2nd floor of The Inn at Penn - enter from 36th and Walnut Street).
Please confirm your attendance by sending a RSVP via email to Rachael Berget (rberget@mail.med.upenn.edu) or via phone (215-898-7160).
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ASEF Luncheon, November 9, 2009
Stuart L. Fine, M.D., Professor and Chairman of Ophthalmology and Director of the Scheie Eye Institute.
Dr. Fine's lecture is titled: "Age-Related Macular Degeneration: Epidemiology, Classification, Diagnosis and Treatment"
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the most devastating eye diseases - and has been largely incurable. A variety of methods have been used over the years to bring some hope; Photocoagulation and other laser techniques were tried, but most attempts did not give satisfactory results. Advances in modern molecular biology finally made a variety of experimental pharmacological treatments possible.
By far the most promising approach to treating AMD came with the discovery of a vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in animal tissues, which was purified and characterized. This led to the early suggestion that an antibody to VEGF might be able to control endothelial growth in tumors. A widely known example of such a monoclonal antibody, made on an industrial scale, is known under its trade name Avastin; it was developed and approved for terminal states of metastatic cancers. the first experimental use of Avastin on an AMD patient was reported in 2003. Quite a number of such experimental applications followed in Institutes and Centers all over the world. More recently, a modified monoclonal antibody fragment, the anti-VEGF drug Lucentis was used in combination with intravitreal injection. This led to detectable clinical improvements and even some partial improvement of vision. This can therefore be considered a therapy for at least one form of AMD which is coupled with a corroidal neovascularization process. Much further work and more clinical trials will be needed to establish this as a proven therapy. (Advanced spectrometric techniques such as ORT should be used for refined imaging of the retina and its layers. The audience looks forward to learn about these and other new developments in AMD Therapy.
This luncheon is scheduled as follows:
Date: Monday, November 9, 2009
Time: 11:45a.m.
Location: The Hourglass Room of the University Club. (Located on the 2nd floor of The Inn at Penn - enter from 36th and Walnut Street).
Please confirm your attendance by sending a RSVP via email to Rachael Berget (rberget@mail.med.upenn.edu) or via phone (215-898-7160).
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Retirement Planning, November 3, 2009
Change from an active professional life in the academic world to the status of a retired person (i.e. Emeritus) is an unavoidable part of our lives. Many factors have to be considered to help making this transition a comparatively easy process, especially in these times of economic uncertainties.
A "Team" of Administrative Officers of our Medical School and the University has, in the past few years, guided many of our colleagues through the complexities of the retirement process by presenting lecture and discussion sessions at the end of each academic year.
Since these sessions were very informative and successful, we decided to schedule such a session also for the Autumn.
Our "Vicki and Hilary Team"...
Victoria Mulhern, Executive Director, Faculty Affairs and Professional Development (FAPD) of the Medical School
Hilary Lopez, Senior Benefits Specialist, University of Pennsylvania Division of Human Resources...have agreed to provide a "Autumn Retirement Planning Session", in which they will present the most recent regulations and data, with ample time for individual and personal discussion.
This session is scheduled as follows:
Date: Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Time: 3:30pm - 5:00pm
Location: Reunion Hall, John Morgan Building, Ground floorPlease confirm your attendance by sending a RSVP via email to Rachael Berget (rberget@mail.med.upenn.edu) or via phone (215-898-7160).
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ASEF 2009 Emeritus Dinner, October 27, 2009
On this day, we will have our annual reception and dinner to welcome and honor the retirees of the past academic year. The festivities are scheduled to be as follows:
Reception: 5:00p.m. - 6:15p.m. (free of charge)
Location: Lobby of Biomedical Research Building (BRB)At 6:15p.m. we will move to the Auditorium of the Biomedical Research Building (BRB) for the Introduction of the Retirees by the President of ASEF, Dr. Howard Goldfine. The highlight of the evening will be an Address by the Dean of the School of Medicine, Dr. Arthur H. Rubenstein.
This year's honorees are Angelina Castro, MD, Charles C. Clark, PhD, George W. Drach, MD, David R. Goldman, MD, John Monroe, PhD, Edward N. Pugh, Jr, PhD, Alan Rosenquist, PhD, Alan Schreiber, MD, Alfred Sellers, MD, Michael E. Seltzer, MD, Howard M. Snyder, MD, and Peter Sterling, PhD.
The Dinner, ($40/person), will follow the address from the Dean and will be held on the 14th floor Faculty Lounge of the Biomedical Research Building (BRB).
Please join us in honoring our retirees and greeting old and new friends.
Please send you RSVP as soon as possible to Rachael Berget (rberget@mail.med.upenn.edu) or via phone (215-898-7160).
Please make your check ($40/person) payable to "Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania" and send your payment to:
Rachael Berget
Faculty Affairs and Professional Development
University of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine
328 Anatomy Chemistry Building
3620 Hamilton Walk
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6015
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ASEF Luncheon, October 20, 2009
Dupont Guerry IV, MD, Professor Emeritus of Medicine (Oncology) will be the featured speaker.
He has centered many of his research activities on Melanoma - a poorly understood and often disastrous disease which is rapidly spreading in our society, especially also in the younger population. It is a very difficulty disease to detect early, has quite varying courses, and if not controlled early on, is usually fatal.
In his research projects at Penn, Dr. Guerry addressed the role of immunobiology factors in tumor progression. He was, and is, active in the development and application of therapeutic possibilities for the patients with metastatic disease. He is also interested in the identification of risk factors which could be used in predictive models for patients with high risk of developing melanoma disease.
His book: "Melanoma: Prevention, Detection, and Treatment". Yale University Press 2005, with coauthor Catherine M. Poole, is highly acclaimed for it's coverage of these topics and for bringing much insight into the real characteristics of Melanoma.
Dr. Guerry's lecture is titled: "What Can You Do About Your New Grandchild's '1 in 50' Chance of Developing Melanoma: From Genetic Susceptibility to Action"
This Luncheon is scheduled as follows:
Date: Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Time: 12:00p.m.
Location: The Lenape Room of the University Club. (Located on the 2nd floor of The Inn at Penn - enter from 36th and Walnut Street).
Please confirm your attendance by sending a RSVP via email to Rachael Berget (rberget@mail.med.upenn.edu) or via phone (215-898-7160).
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ASEF Open House / Reception
September 30th, 2009An "Open House / Reception" will be held to introduce ASEF's New Office Space on the 21st Floor of Penn Tower to the new members.
We invite all our colleagues to join us for a tour of the new facilities which consist of a work/study room, furnished with computers and desks, a lounge, and a small office for private consultations and other professional needs.
Light refreshments will be served at the Reception while you can enjoy the impressive views of the Penn Medical Center, the Perelman Building, and most of the other health-related medical buildings, under construction or already completed. (Directional signs will be posted in Penn Tower to guide you to the location.)
Date: Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Time: 4:00p.m. to 6:00p.m.
Location: 21 Penn TowerPlease send your RSVP by email to Rachael Berget (rberget@mail.med.upenn.edu) or phone via 215-898-7160
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ASEF Luncheon, September 29, 2009
John Trojanowski, MD, PhD, Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, is the speaker at this Luncheon Event.
His research interests are focused on the molecular mechanisms of neural dysfunction, degeneration of the nervous system, and concomitant losses of communicative activities and cerebral functions, both in normal ageing and in neuro-degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, other forms of dementia, and Parkinson’s disease.
Dr. Trojanowski’s lecture is titled: “Tau-Focused Drug Discovery for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Tauopathies”.
He has provided the following Abstract :
Neuronal inclusions comprised of the microtubule-associated protein tau are found in a number of neuro-degenerative diseases,
commonly known as tauopathies. In Alzheimer’s disease, the most prevalent of these tauopathies, misfolded tau , is probably a key pathological agent.
Recent Phase III clinical trial failures suggest that it is timely and prudent to consider alternative drug discovery strategies for Alzheimer’s disease. Here we review those directed at reducing the consequences of pathological tau, including strategies to decrease misfolded tau and to compensate for the loss of normal tau functions.
This Luncheon is scheduled as follows:
Date: Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Time: 11:45a.m.
Location: The Hourglass Room of the University Club. (Located on the 2nd floor of The Inn at Penn - enter from 36th and Walnut Street).
Please confirm your attendance by sending a RSVP via email to Rachael Berget (rberget@mail.med.upenn.edu) or via phone (215-898-7160).
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To: ASEF Membership
From: David M. McCarthy, M.D.
Chair, ASEF Service Subcommittee
Re: Medical Volunteering Opportunities
Date: April 16, 2009
The current economic climate is causing severe hardship for many individuals. Those of us who are more fortunate can be of help to others in worse circumstances. Assistance might be in the form of charitable donations or volunteering. As clinicians we have a unique set of skills which are in great demand.
For ASEF members who are interested in volunteering their time to provide medical care, we have identified two available opportunities. If you are aware of other similar organizations, please let me know.
1. Community Volunteers in Medicine (CVIM)
This is a nonprofit organization in West Chester, PA which serves the needs of people who have no health insurance and are not covered by government programs; mostly these are working people (and their families) without health insurance. It is open Monday thru Friday, from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm (8:00 pm on Mondays).
It provides on-site medical and dental care to over 10,000 people, provided by 200 volunteer physicians, dentists, nurse practitioners, nurses, dental hygienists, social workers, pharmacists, and other professionals. There are opportunities for generalists and specialists. Another 150 physicians in the community collaborate with CVIM to assist patients that need specialist consultations and diagnostic evaluations in their respective offices. Simple lab tests are provided on-site, and there are agreements with local specialists and Chester County Hospital studies such as radiology and echocardiography.
A Pennsylvania medical license is required, but since this clinic is covered by the Federal Torts Claim Act there is no requirement for malpractice insurance; providers are appointed as Volunteers by the clinic and cannot be sued as individuals. A medical license with retired status does not require active medical liability insurance.
For further information: Community Volunteers in Medicine
300 B Lawrence Drive
West Chester, PA 19380
Phone (610) 836-5990
Email: mwirshup@cvim.org
Web: http://www.cvim.org/
2. University City Hospitality Coalition (UCHC) Medical Clinic
The UCHC clinic is a medical student-run clinic in West Philadelphia supported by dedicated physician volunteers and pharmacists. Since the early 1980s, the clinic has maintained a commitment to providing accessible and dependable medical care to West Philadelphia's homeless and underserved. In doing so, the clinic continues to expand its services and programs to address the specific health needs of its patients. Over the years, this has resulted in the implementation of a hypertension management program, diabetes screenings, physical examinations, provision of free medications, influenza vaccinations, and condom distribution.
UCHC needs physician volunteers. The clinic is held every week on Wednesdays in the basement of the Church of St.Agatha-St. James at the intersection of 38th and Chestnut Streets. There are also legal, dental and social work clinics held at this location on Wednesday nights. As a volunteer, your level of commitment is completely up to you, and whether you volunteer once a month or once a year, they are more than happy and grateful to have you work with them. The time commitment on the night you volunteer is from 6:30 pm to approximately 7:45 pm, during which you and the medical students will attend on patients and formulate clinical management plans together. This opportunity is a chance not only to give back to the community, but to also be a mentor to future physicians.
This opportunity does require a medical license and liability insurance coverage (under the University of Pennsylvania Health System). Volunteers should inform their department of their involvement in this clinic.
For further information or to volunteer, send an Email to:
uchc_scheduling@yahoo.com
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Special Seminar
Richard G. Lonsdorf, M.D.
Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry and Law
University of Pennsylvania Law School
“Controversial Bioethical Issues”
February 5, 2008
4:00 PM
Reception to Follow
Reunion Hall, John Morgan Building
Sponsored By:
ASEF
Association of Senior and Emeritus Faculty
All are welcome to attend
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Life After Retirement
Originally held on 28.Mar.2006
At "Life After Retirement," on March 28 2006, guest speaker, Dr. Leonard Warren, Professor Emeritus of Cell and Developmental Biology, and Institute Professor Emeritus at the Wistar Institute discussed the following books which he has published post-retirement.
- Joseph Leidy, The Last Man Who Knew Everything, Yale University Press, 1998.
- Adele Marion Fielde, Feminist, Social Activist, Scientist, Routledge, London, 2002.
- Constantine Samuel Rafinesque, A Voice in the Wilderness, University of Kentucky Press, 2004.
- William Maclure, Radical Philanthropist, Father of American Geology, under review.
Rules for Investing in a Restrained Market
Originally held on 17.Jan.2006
Those who are interested may like to know that Prof. Malkiel's book from which much of the material for his talk was taken: The Random Walk Guide to Investing, Burton G. Malkiel, 1st ed., New York: Norton, c2003. is available from the University Bookstore for $14.95 plus $1.05 tax (unless you swear that you're going to use it in the classroom!). You should also be aware that his longer classic, more scholarly, but therefore less accessible: A Random Walk Down Wall Street: Including a Life-Cycle Guide to Personal Investing, Burton G. Malkiel, 8th ed., New York: Norton, c2003. is also available there for $17.95 plus tax.
Associated Files:
Funding for Clinical Research
Monthly Luncheon Meetings are held in the Lenape Room at the University Club on the second floor of the Inn at Penn.The cost is $9.90 for a full lunch or you can opt for a lighter lunch consisting of soup and a sandwich or soup and a salad for $6.90. Join us for an excellent lunch with colleagues and listen to the fascinating speakers. Please RSVP to asef@mail.med.upenn.edu as there is limited seating.
Luncheon Meeting, originally held on December 11, 2007
12:00pm
Dr. Stephen Gluckman
"Global Health Initiative of the Department of Medicine and the Medical School"
A review of the history, present structure, and plans for Medicine's program in Botswana.
Dr. Gluckman is Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Infectious Diseases Clinical Services at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also the Clinical Director of the Botswana-Penn Partnership of the School of Medicine.
Also, if you are interested in day trips or travel, check out www.squaretrips.com
It's not connected with ASEF in any way- it's just a great resource!