News

Experts to Focus on Genomics and Public Health at Alumni Day 2005
(Reprinted from EPH Today)

We can be certain that genomics will grow further in importance in public health as the public becomes more knowledgeable and more demanding of genetic services, and as knowledge of our genes and their functions permits more effective strategies for treatment and especially for prevention, the special responsibility of public health. (Omenn,G, AJPH, 996, Vol 85, 1703)

There is now general agreement that the ongoing genomics revolution, highlighted by the sequencing of the human genome, will result in changes in how diseases are prevented, diagnosed and treated. In the near future, genomic advances are likely to help control infectious diseases and in the longer term, chronic conditions such as heart disease, cancer, and major psychoses. The genomics revolution however brings with it complex ethical, legal, social and economic challenges for which practitioners in public health and medicine are not yet ready. Misuse of genetic information, stigmatization, and the potential for creating a genetic underclass that may be denied insurance because of differential risk factors or genomic-based drugs because of poverty or access problems are a few of the ethical concerns that health professionals must address.

Genomics also brings the promise of providing the scientific knowledge to reduce the health inequities between rich and poor, developed countries and developing countries. Whether this revolution enhances human health or further magnifies health disparities, will be the result of how theory meets practice in both public health and clinical care. An informed debate about the issues is just beginning to take place and can make headway only if health professionals at all levels have in-depth knowledge of both the potential benefits and risks of likely outcomes. The focus of Alumni Day 2005 is Genomics and Public Health: Theory Meets Practice and the program is designed to give alumni an overview of the promise and challenges which genomics presents to public health. Two well-known experts will be featured speakers, Kenneth Kidd, Ph.D., Professor, Genetics, Psychiatry, and Biology, Yale University and Peter Singer, MD, MPH '90, Professor of Medicine, University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics and Director, PAHO/WHO Collaborating Centre for Bioethics.

Professor Kidd will discuss the implications of biogeography of human populations for race and public health. Specifically, he will explore race and geography from a global perspective including how distribution of genetic variation among individuals and populations gives us a better understanding of differential susceptibility to disease. Dr. Singer will explore the bioethical implications of the genomics revolution including the incremental harnessing of genomics and biotechnology to improve health in developing countries.

A panel of faculty and alumni experts will respond. They will discuss the genomics revolution from the perspective of their own work which includes its impact on toxicology, mental health, molecular epidemiology, public health practice and environmental law. Honored at the annual Award Luncheon this year will be James S. Marks, MD, MPH'80, Senior Vice President, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, who will receive the 2005 Distinguished Alumni Award. There will be one inductee into the Public Service Honor Roll, Jerald Fagliano, PhD, MPH '85. In addition, Dr. Singer will receive the Award for Excellence in Bioethics.

Alumni Day also includes an invitation for alumni to attend a ceremony, the unveiling of the new bust of C-E.A Winslow in the gathering space on the lower level of LEPH, the Dean's cocktail reception at the medical school and the Lobster Roast, an event traditionally shared with YSM on the Harkness Lawn.