Science Symposium for Donors Held at IMM

Members of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Development Board Bob Graham, Virgil Waggoner and Lucian Morrison, took time to talk with C. Thomas Caskey, M.D., CEO and director of The Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine for the Prevention of Human Diseases during a recent symposium.

A first of its kind symposium for friends, donors, community volunteers and scientists took place Oct. 9 at The Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine for the Prevention of Human Diseases (IMM).

The evening event allowed guests to hear from some of the world’s leading research scientists on the topic of “Personalized Medicine for Disease Prevention.”

Generous support from IMM donors has enabled the recruitment of talented investigators in the areas of cardiovascular disease, cell signaling, human genetics protein chemistry, vascular biology, immunology and autoimmune diseases.

Paul Simmons, Ph.D., director of the Center for Stem Cell Biology at the IMM, was among the three scientists who spoke. He addressed new science using stem cells in a new direction for cancer therapy. Rick Wetsel, Ph.D., director of the Laboratory for Developmental Biology and holder of the William S. Kilroy Sr., Chair in Pulmonary Disease, highlighted examples of using stem cells for the first time in curing lung disease. Perry Bickel, M.D., director of the new Center for Diabetes and Obesity Research, explained how cells get fat and the outcomes fat cell biology research has on developing new treatments for diabetes and obesity.

“Incredible progress was accomplished in 2006- 2007 that could not have been achieved without the generous support we received. We want to extend our gratitude and share our future plans because research being done here will no doubt change the way we diagnose, treat and prevent disease in our time,” said C. Thomas Caskey, M.D., chief executive officer and director of the IMM, in closing remarks.

Also in attendance and instrumental in the IMM’s achievements in new science since it was founded in 1995 were Irma Gigli, M.D., IMM deputy director and a faculty member at the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS), James T. Willerson, M. D., health science center president, and Ferid Murad, M.D., Ph.D., IMM director emeritus and a GSBS faculty member.

By Kristen Hook, Institutional Advancement