Friday, October 23, 2009
Epigenetics expert to speak at IUSM-Evansville's 2009 Corcoran Lectures
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Wendy Knipe Bredhold Media Relations Specialist, News & Information Services 812/461-5259 It seeks reasons, for example, why one identical twin may develop a disease, like cancer, diabetes or even obesity, while the other twin with the exact same genes is healthy. Or if our increased use of plastics, like bisphenol A (BPA), relates to increased rates of obesity. Potential answers, and even more questions, await us in the science of epigenetics, the focus of the Indiana University School of Medicine-Evansville Corcoran lectures on October 27. The University of Southern Indiana is the host campus of the IUSM-Evansville regional campus. The 2009 speaker at the Corcoran lectures will be biologist Dr. Randy Jirtle, featured on the PBS Nova program, "Epigenetics," about how our lifestyles and environment can change the way our genes are expressed and differentiated with aging. The recipient of the first Epigenetic Medicine Award in 2008, Jirtle is director of the Laboratory of Epigenetics and Imprinting at Duke University and is a professor of radiation oncology at the school's medical center. His groundbreaking research with agouti mice has revealed that a mother's diet during pregnancy can influence gene expression in her offspring by altering the epigenome. Since obtaining his M.S. (1973) and Ph.D. (1976) in radiation biology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Jirtle has published over 150 scholarly articles and registered three patents. He currently serves on the editorial boards of three scientific journals and manages the epigenetics website geneimprint.org, which focuses on the quest to understand how environmental factors can affect human disease. "Epigenetics in Human Health and Disease" will be Jirtle's topic at the 11:30 a.m. invitational luncheon and lecture in Carter Hall in the University Center. He will address "Epigenetics: The Ghosts in Your Genes" at a free, public lecture at 5:30 p.m. in Mitchell Auditorium in the Health Professions Center. The IU School of Medicine-Evansville sponsors the annual Patrick J.V. and Margaret B. Corcoran Lecture in memory of its founding director, Patrick J.V. Corcoran, M.D., and his wife Margaret B. Corcoran, a nurse. Daughters of the late Dr. and Mrs. Corcoran, Val Corcoran Wenzler, M.D., Sheila Corcoran, Ellen Corcoran Hegeman, and Monica Corcoran, established an endowment to provide medical lectures to the Evansville community and scholarships to area medical students. Dr. Corcoran was a professor of medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine and assistant dean from 1971 to 1983. For more information, contact Pamela Hinkebein or Dr. Rex D. Stith at IUSM-Evansville at 812/464-1831. |
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