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April 20-24, 2009

1st Presidential Lecture Series on Current Affairs:
Health Care Half Truths

Monday, April 20th
HEC Auditorium, Goldwin Smith Hall
7:15-9:00pm

The keynote address on current issues in U.S. health care is sponsored by Cornell University President David Skorton, and serves as an introduction to the week-long series. Addressing these issues will be Dr. Arthur Garson, pediatric cardiologist, Vice President of University of Virginia and Dean of the School of Medicine, who has co-authored the widely acclaimed Health Care Half Truths: Too Many Myths, Not Enough Reality.

Arthur Garson, Jr., is the Executive Vice President and Provost of the University of Virginia and the Robert C. Taylor Professor of Health Science and Public Policy. He is responsible for the planning and operations of the University’s 10 schools, as well as academic planning. He co-chairs the Commission on the Future of the University. In 2002, Dr. Garson was appointed Vice President and Dean of the University of Virginia’s School of Medicine. During his tenure as dean, he led health-system wide strategic and operational planning; as well, the School of Medicine started a Master of Public Health program, the Academy of Distinguished Educators, the Center on Health Care Disparities, the Patient Education Institute, the Medical Education Research Institute, and the Virginia Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (a joint effort among several schools).

He has served as Special Consultant in Health Programs and Policy to the State of Texas, Department of Health and the North Carolina Vocational Rehabilitation Commission. He chaired the North Carolina Health Planning Commission Committee charged with drafting legislation on practice guidelines, report cards and malpractice reform. He chaired the State of Texas Health Care Information Council’s Subcommittee on Outcomes Reporting. In 1999-2000, Dr. Garson served as President of the American College of Cardiology.

In addition, he has served on the White House panel on Health Policy; and as Chair of the American College of Cardiology’s task force on the uninsured, leading a broad coalition of physician and patient groups, working on legislation for the uninsured. He also is a member of the ACC’s working group on systems to improve quality care. He has served on the Institute of Medicine Task Force on rapid improvements in the healthcare system, the IOM Committee on Disabilities, and the Commonwealth Fund Task Force on health insurance and the uninsured. He was appointed by Secretary of Health and Human Services Thompson to chair the National Advisory Council of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in 2003.

Dr. Garson helped to originate and draft a bill that has recently been introduced into both houses of the US Congress, the “Health Partnership Act” (S. 325 and H.R. 5606), which fund grants to states for innovations to improve coverage for the uninsured, quality, and efficiency. His book, “Health Care Half Truths: Too Many Myths, Not Enough Reality,” was published in April, 2007. In 2007, Dr. Garson was elected a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. He currently chairs the committees concerned with health care reform of the American College of Cardiology and was appointed by Governor Tim Kaine to be a member of the Virginia Healthcare Workforce Advisory Council.

Interactive Health and Wellness Fair

Tuesday April 21st
Willard Straight Hall
11:00-3:00pm

Lunchtime health fair in Willard Straight Hall with a focus on nutrition, wellness, meditation, and complementary therapies. Dr. Maria Gentry is a trained physician in Osteopathic Medicine and will share her unique perspective on the nexus of allopathic and integrative medicine. Sadie Hays is a practitioner at the Ithaca Free Clinic; 90% of the patients she sees make under poverty-level wages. She will share her insight on the steps necessary to take charge of our health, and she and her staff will provide workshops on acupuncture, meditation, and other wellness techniques. Healthy snacks will be provided.

Click here to learn more about the Ithaca Free Clinic and Center for Health.


Dr. Maria Gentry	Sadie Hays

Sick Around the World: What Other Countries Are Doing Right

Tuesday April 21st
Lewis Auditorium, Goldwin Smith Hall
6:15-8:00pm

Documentary showing of “Sick around the World” film, describing health care systems of peer nations. A panel discussion will be led by Dr. Sean Nicholson, Dr. Kosali Simon, and Dr. Jeffrey Snedeker after the documentary to discuss what the United States can learn from these other health care systems. Dinner will be provided.

	Dr. Kosali Simon is an associate professor in the Department of Policy Analysis and Management (PAM) at Cornell University, a Faculty Research Fellow of the National Bureau of Economic Research, and a Research Associate of the Census Bureau. Her research investigates the impact of state and federal regulations attempting to ease the availability of private and public health insurance for vulnerable populations through state 'small-group' reforms, public health insurance expansions, Medigap rate regulations and adding prescription drug coverage to Medicare.
	Dr. Sean Nicholson is an associate professor in the Department of Policy Analysis and Management (PAM) at Cornell University and a Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research. He is currently conducting research in four areas: the value of new medical technologies; how physicians develop their treatment styles; measuring the financial benefit to an employer of investing in the health of its workers; and the causes of autism.
	Dr. Jeffrey Snedeker is the former president of the Tompkins County Board of Health and serves on the Board of Directors of Cayuga Medical Center to overlook the operation of the enterprise. Dr. Snedeker is board certified in both pediatric medicine and pediatric infectious disease. He has a faculty appointment at University Hospital in Syracuse, where he teaches pediatric infectious disease and sees patients in the tertiary-care setting.

Bench to Bedside - Exploring Translational Medicine

Wednesday April 22nd
Lewis Auditorium, Goldwin Smith Hall
6:15-8:00pm

Keynote lecture by Dr. William Trochim and panel discussion led by Dr. Elaine Wethington, Dr. Chih-Chang Chu, Dr. Mark Rubin, and Dr. Ann Forsyth on the burgeoning role of translational medicine in 21st century health care. Translational medicine integrates research inputs from basic, social, political, and economical science to optimize the delivery of health care. Translational medicine is the evolved form of interventional epidemiology, and serves to bridge the gap between laboratory research and medical practice. Dinner will be served.

	Dr. Trochim is the Director of Evaluation for the Weill Cornell Clinical and Translational Science Center -- a collaboration of Weill Cornell Medical College, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, The Hospital for Special Surgery, Hunter College and Cornell Cooperative Extension -- and participates actively in the NIH Clinical and Translational Science Awards national evaluation. He is developing evaluation systems for the HIV/AIDS Clinical Trials Networks of the Division of AIDS (DAIDS) of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).
	Dr. Wethington is a medical sociologist, jointly appointed in the Departments of Human Development and of Sociology at Cornell University. Her research interests are in the areas of stress and the protective mechanisms of social support. She is Co-Principal Investigator and Pilot Study Director of the Cornell Institute for Translational Research on Aging and is the Co-Principal Investigator for the New York City Interdisciplinary Geriatric Research Center.
	Dr. C.C. Chu, the first receipt of the Rebecca Q. Morgan 60's Chair Professor, joined the Cornell faculty in 1978 after completing postdoctoral research on biomaterials for maxillofacial prostheses at the Medical Center of the University of Alabama in Birmingham. In applied research, Dr. Chu focuses on the study of biomaterials, particularly the design and synthesis of novel biodegradable polymers/fibers/fabrics for tissue regeneration and repair including vascular grafts, wound closure and drug control/release purposes. Dr. Chu has published over 145 research papers, a recipient of 59 US and international patents with many pending, an author and editor of the book Wound Closure Biomaterials and Devices. He will provide insights about how an academic laboratory bench invention could be transformed into patients on bedside via licensing to a healthcare industry for commercialization development.
	Dr. Mark A. Rubin is a practicing genitourinary pathologist, who joined Weill Cornell Medical College in July 2007, as a Professor in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. The focus of Dr. Rubin's laboratory-based research for the past 10 years has been the development of molecular prostate cancer biomarkers to help distinguish indolent from aggressive disease. He has over 170 peer-reviewed publications, predominantly in the area of prostate cancer, multiple U.S. and international patents for molecular biomarkers, and over the past few years has been the Principle Investigator of 3 R01 grants, a U01 grant, a Prostate SPORE Project and a Department of Defense Idea Award, all in the area of prostate cancer progression.
	Dr. Ann Forsyth, trained in planning and architecture, works mainly on the social aspects of physical planning and urban development. The big issue behind her research and practice is how to make more sustainable and healthy cities. Professor Forsyth's contributions have been to analyze the success of planned alternatives to sprawl, particularly exploring the tensions between social and ecological values in urban design. Several issues prove to be the most difficult to deal with in planning better places and provide a focus for some of her more detailed investigations: suburban design, walkability, affordable housing, social diversity, and appropriate green space. Some of the relationships between architecture, city planning, and health can be explored on her website: http://www.designforhealth.net/. She has won over fifty awards, citations, and fellowships for individual and collaborative professional and research work. She has had visiting appointments at Columbia University, the University of Sydney, and Macquarie University. She has practiced in the private sector in both the United States and Australia and is a certified practicing planner in the Australian Planning Institute.

Arts and Medicine

Thursday April 23rd
Lewis Auditorium, Goldwin Smith Hall
6:15-8:00pm

American documentary-maker Aaron Deemer, based in Beijing, will speak on using film and photography as a medium for health awareness and policy change. He will display some of his own work and share the impact it has had on East Asia’s battle with the Hepatitis B Virus.

Aaron Deemer is a photographer and film-maker who has produced several well-known documentaries for US-based non-governmental organizations on health care in China. In 2006, he received two Honorable Mentions from the International Photo Awards and in 2007 was featured in the Communication Arts Photo Annual. His projects include portfolios and documentaries of mental illness, hepatitis B, coal-mining, plastic surgery, and the Dolma Fund in China. He has recently completed Across Qinghai, a documentary following the vaccination in Qinghai Province, China of 500,000 children against hepatitis B.

Get Involved: Opportunities in Ithaca & Beyond

Friday April 24th
HEC Auditorium, Goldwin Smith Hall
3:00-4:15pm

Cynthia Calori

Students will have the opportunity to learn about how they can get involved in the various branches of health at Cornell, in the Ithaca community, and abroad. Representatives from health careers services, researchers in health related fields, doctors, nurses, and practitioners from Cayuga Medical Center and Ithaca Free Clinic (among many others) will be present to share their experiences and offer opportunities to get involved.

NYC Business & Medicine Symposium

Thursday April 30th
Weill Cornell Medical College - Uris Auditorium
Ithaca Campus Simulcast - Sage Hall B10
3:00-8:00pm

Website: Business Medicine Symposium

The NYC Business and Medicine Symposium is hosted by the Weill Cornell Medical College and The Johnson Graduate School of Management. A panel event exploring the state of collaboration between industry, academia, and government to address global public health needs will be held from 3:00-4:45PM. The second panel discussion, held from 5:00-6:45PM, will dissect evolving reimbursement practices and what it means to be a doctor. Those who cannot attend the NYC Symposium are welcome to attend the Ithaca campus simulcast at Sage Hall Room B10. Simulcast attendees will be able to participate actively in the discussion.

Panel 1

3:00-4:45pm

Exploring the state of collaboration between industry, academia and government to address global public health needs.

Panel 2

5:00-6:45pm

How will evolving reimbursement practices change what it means to be a doctor?

Cocktail Reception

7:00-8:00pm

Great Hall, Weill Greenberg Center.

Cornell's Broadest Healthcare Conversation

1st Presidential Lecture Series on Current Affairs:Health Care Half Truths