8:00- 8:45 AM
Registration / Refreshments
8:45- 9:00 AM
Keynote Address:
Joan Kirkendall; Associate Provost9:00- 10:00 AM
Research Presentations:
Prof. Mary Erskine;
"Behavior and Neuroscience: An Intimate Relationship'Prof. Ann Stokes;
"Robots, Walking Machines and Rotating Chain's: Dynamics and Control Research at Boston University"
10:00-12:00 AM
Lab Visits and Demo /
Informal Poster Session12:00-12:45 PM
Lunch provided for all participants
12:45-1:15 PM
Panel Discussion: Pathways Taken by Women Scientists
Moderator: Prof. Ann Georgi, Harvard Medical School
Panelists:
- Carol Espy-Wilson, Harvard Medical School
- Gladys Friedler, BU Medical School
- Susan Loverso, Isis Distributed Systems
- Xiaomei Wang, Cynosure Inc. (medical optics)
1:15- 1:30 PM
Hot Topics Presentation:
Dr. Lisa Geller, Harvard Medical School;
"How Modern Medicine Affects Human Evolution."
1:30-1:45 P.M.
Break
1:45-2:20 P.M.
Hot Topics Roundtable Discussions
2:20-2:30 P.M.
Recap and End of Program
Academy of Notre Dame, Tewksbury
Arlington Catholic High School
Avon High School
Brookline High School
Cambridge Ringe & Latin School
Concord Academy
Dana Hall
Danvers High School
East Bridgewater High School
Foxborough High School
Framingham High School
Hyde Park High School
Ipswich High School
Lexington High School
Lowell High School
Malden High School
Montrose High School
North Quincy High School
Norwell High School
Notre Dame Academy, Hingham
Plymouth North High School
Plymouth South High School
Quincy High School
Reading Memorial High School
Swampscott High School
Taunton High School
Thayer High School
The River's School
Ursaline Academy
Waltham High School
West Roxbury Academy
Winthrop Academy
Woburn High School
1. WOULD YOU WANT TO BE TESTED?
There is presently no treatment for Alzheimer's disease, a fatal neurodegenerative disease that strikes people primarily after age 70. It is possible is a very small number of cases to identify a gene that causes this disease.
--Would you wanted to be tested for a disease for which there is no treatment?
There is another gene related to Alzheimer's called Apo E. People with this gene have an increased risk of getting Alzheimer's disease - but not everyone with this gene actually gets the disease.
--Would you want to be tested for this kind of gene?
Gaucher's disease generally affects people in middle age. About 1/3 of the people with the genes for this disorder can get the disease, which ranges from very mild to quite severe. Gaucher's disease can be treated, but the average cost of treatment is over $100,000 per year and people are generally not treated until they show symptoms of the disease.
--Would you want to know if you were at risk for this type of genetic disease?
2. WHO NEEDS TO KNOW THE RESULTS?
If a close relative of yours, such as a parent or a sibling, is tested for a genetic disorder, their information may also indicate whether or not you are at risk for that disorder.
--Should they have to tell you such information?
3. IS COMPULSIVE GENETIC TESTING/THERAPY EVER JUSTIFIED?
Phenylketonuria (PKU) is a relatively common recessive genetic disorder which causes mental retardation. All 50 states test infants at birth for this disorder, which can be effectively treated by eliminating phenylalanine from the child's diet.
--Are there circumstances under which someone should be compelled to undergo genetic testing?
People with PKU generally graduate to a less restrictive diet in their late teens. However, women with PKU are likely to have a mentally retarded child unless they go back onto the restrictive diet before and during pregnancy. There are some who advocate "tracking" girls with PKU so that if they ever become pregnant, their doctors can be notified about their disease. Should someone ever be compelled to undergo treatment for a genetic disease?
4. IS COMPULSIVE TESTING/TREATMENT FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASES OK?
An increasing number of cases of tuberculosis, a highly infectious disease, are drug resistant. People with these forms of the disease must take a large number of medications and often undergo a series of extremely painful injections. Some people with drug-resistant tuberculosis are homeless and for various reasons do not comply with medical treatments. This has caused some places to incarcerate these people against their will in order to treat them.
--Are there circumstances under which someone should be compelled to be tested for communicable diseases such as tuberculosis or HIV? Forced to undergo treatment?
5. FEARS FOR THE FUTURE OF SOCIETY...
Some people believe that because genetic tests are expensive and not available to most people in the world that we will create a class system based on genetics. Others believe that because many people have a deterministic view of genes (that is, believe that any traits with a genetic component are unchangeable), people with so-called "bad" genes will be treated differently by society. Do you think these are realistic fears?
Further Reading:
The Company Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World
Out of Balance by Laurie Garrett.Proceed with caution: Predicting Genetic Risks in the Recombinant
DNA Era by Neil A. Holtzman.
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