Philip Hauge Abelson Advancing Science Seminar Series

Translational Medicine & Human Health

20 November 2009

The 2009 Abelson Advancing Science Salon Event on Translational Medicine and Human Health offered an opportunity to hear from and interact with researchers who are working at the forefront of an exciting field. Often described as an effort to carry scientific knowledge “from bench to bedside,” translational research builds on basic science advances —studies of biological processes using cell cultures, for example, or animal models—and uses them to help develop new therapies or medical procedures.

Dr. Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D., Chief Scientific Adviser for the new journal Science Translational Medicine, provided an overview on efforts to speed basic scientific advances into clinical practice. The program also showcased scientific investigations that might someday yield improved treatment strategies for people with glaucoma, connective-tissue diseases such as Marfan syndrome, and perhaps even spinal cord injuries. Dr. Hal Dietz, M.D., of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and Dr. Erin Lavik of Case Western Reserve University shared their latest findings before answering questions.

Welcome

Alan I. Leshner

Chief Executive Officer, AAAS, and Executive Publisher of the journal Science

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Speakers

Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D.

Senior Fellow, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Global Health Program, and Chief Scientific Adviser, Science Translational Medicine

An Overview of Translational Medicine

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Hal Dietz, M.D.

Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Victor A. McKusick Professor of Medicine and Genetics, Institute of Genetic Medicine, and Departments of Pediatrics, Medicine, and Molecular Biology & Genetics, and Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Marfan Syndrome and Related Disorders: From Molecules to Medicines

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Erin Lavik, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University

Engineering Therapies: A Circuitous Route from Glaucoma to Blood Substitutes

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View Lavik's slides as a PDF

Past Abelson Advancing Science Seminars

"Science, Stress, and Human Health" [24 October 2008]

"New Horizons in Polar Science" [30 October 2007]

"Microbes, Minerals, and the Environment" [26 October 2006]

"New Directions in Health:" The Global Burden of Chronic Disease [8 December 2005]

The Abelson Advancing Science Seminar Series Advisory Committee

AAAS thanks the Abelson Advancing Science Seminar Series Advisory Committee whose support was critical in developing the program. Members included colleagues and family members of Dr. Abelson who helped preserve his vision.

John Abelson

Ellen Abelson Cherniavsky

Mr. and Mrs. John P. Cherniavsky

Neva Cherniavsky

Stephen P.A. Fodor

Claire Fraser-Liggett

Maxine Frank Singer