AAAS - Center for Public Engagement with Science and Technology - Philip Hauge Abelson Advancing Science Seminar Series

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Philip Hauge Abelson

Philip Hauge Abelson Advancing Science Seminar Series

Science editor emeritus Dr. Philip Hauge Abelson was one of the most extraordinary scientists of our age. The quality and range of his work was astounding. He made major contributions to physics, geology, geochemistry, geophysics, and molecular biology. His positions of leadership and service on national advisory committees enabled him to shape national science and technology policy. And under his 22-year tenure as the editor-in-chief of Science, he took the journal to a new level of quality and prominence.

One of the most remarkable aspects of Dr. Abelson’s role as AAAS senior adviser and Science editor emeritus was that his interests focused on the cutting edge and the future, not the past. He founded and sponsored “The Advancing Science Seminar Series” to encourage participants to think about where science is going, not where it has been. The series has since been renamed in his honor.

This year’s Advancing Science Seminar—“Breaching Barriers in Alzheimer’s Disease”—appropriately reflects Dr. Abelson’s enthusiasm for pushing scientific boundaries and leveraging science to improve human quality-of-life. This year’s event will emphasize cross-disciplinary information-sharing among researchers to speed the development of new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, in keeping with the goals of Science Translational Medicine, the latest journal published by AAAS. A daylong public symposium will focus on understanding the genetic and molecular factors that underlie Alzheimer’s disease, the use of imaging and biomarkers to detect the disease in its earliest stages, and new strategies for developing effective therapeutics.

Breaching Barriers in Alzheimer’s Disease

[PHOTOGRAPH] A silver stain image of the signature pathological lesions in the Alzheimer's disease brain: an amyloid plaque (left) and a neurofibrillary tangle (right). [Photo courtesy of Nigel Cairns, Washington University]]

A silver stain image of the signature pathological lesions in the Alzheimer's disease brain: an amyloid plaque (left) and a neurofibrillary tangle (right).

[Photo courtesy of Nigel Cairns, Washington University]

Wednesday 6 April 2011

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) affects an estimated 4 to 5 million Americans, who progress from minor memory problems and behavior changes, to complete incapacity and loss of self, to death. As the Baby Boomer generation ages, it is estimated that the number of Americans with the disease will reach much higher. Although a handful of drugs can relieve symptoms, no treatments are available to safely halt or slow the disease. However, AD-related research is revealing the genetic and molecular factors that underlie the disease, the importance of neuroimaging and biomarkers to detect AD in its earliest stages, and new treatment strategies, including the development of vaccines and small molecule drugs. Research from the front lines of our efforts to combat Alzheimer’s disease will be explored during the 2011 Philip Hauge Abelson Advancing Science Seminar.

Watch the Abelson Seminar

Watch all of the speakers in the “Breaching Barriers in Alzheimer’s Disease” event.

Morning Session

Alan I. Leshner

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

Welcome

8:30 a.m.—8:40 a.m.

AAAS Centers:

Philip Hauge Abelson Advancing Science Seminar Series

Breaching Barriers in Alzheimer’s Disease

Watch the Abelson Seminar

Morning Session

Session I: Glimpses Into the Alzheimer’s Brain

Session II: Aberrant Cells And Proteins In Neurodegenerative Disease

Session II Continued: Aberrant Cells And Proteins In Neurodegenerative Disease

Sponsors

The Abelson Advancing Science Seminar Series Advisory Committee

Past Abelson Advancing Science Seminars