Dr. Tom Rothstein has announced the initiation of a research seminar series at WMed, Seminars in Investigative Medicine, and has developed a list of speakers that represent a veritable who’s who in the field of immunology for the 2017-2018 academic year.
The monthly series, which will kick off in October with an inaugural event at the W.E. Upjohn M.D. Campus, will serve as a gathering point for what Dr. Rothstein said is the community of investigators at WMed and “beyond the medical school.”
“This can be the focal point for bringing investigators together,” said Dr. Rothstein, assistant dean for Investigative Medicine and director of the Center for Immunobiology. “I want to get everyone talking and working together to promote new discoveries that help patients. In this context we want to help promote interactions with our local institutions, including Borgess Health, Bronson Healthcare and the West Michigan Cancer Center.”
Mark Jay Shlomchik, MD, PhD, will serve as the inaugural speaker for the new Seminars in Investigative Medicine when he visits WMed on Wednesday, October, 11, 2017. Dr. Shlomchik is an endowed professor and chair of the Department of Immunology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
The work in Dr. Shlomchik’s lab at Pitt is focused on systemic autoimmune diseases, long-lived B-cell immunity and immunopathogenesis. In his lab, he and other researchers are using transgenic and knockout mouse models to address the questions of how autoreactive B cells arise and what roles the cells play in mediating autoimmune disease.
The slate of speakers for the Seminars in Investigative Medicine who will follow Dr. Shlomchik includes:
Wednesday, November 8, 2017
Michael Paul Cancro, PhD, professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine
Wednesday, December 6, 2017
Patrick C. Wilson, PhD, associate professor, Department of Medicine-Section of Rheumatology, at the University of Chicago; member of the Committee on Immunology for the Knapp Center for Lupus and Immunology Research
Wednesday, January 10, 2018
Barbara Kee, PhD, professor, Department of Pathology at the University of Chicago, member of the Committee on Immunology, the Committee on Cancer Biology and the Committee on Molecular Medicine/MPMM
The upcoming events will all be held at the Upjohn Campus and will be open to the public.
Dr. Rothstein said the new speaker series will serve to highlight the best and the brightest in the field of investigative medicine.
“We are bringing in people who will provide intellectual stimulation for us all and will talk about the latest, hottest stuff going on in their labs,” Dr. Rothstein said.
He said the events, he believes, will also create a broader awareness of WMed, of “what we have here and of the quality of the science we’re developing here.” He expressed the hope that all members of the WMed community – students, residents, fellows, faculty and staff – will come and participate.
CME Credit Available for Dr. Shlomchik’s Visit
Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine designates this live activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.