The program, presenting the newest understandings for preventing, treating, and managing chronic disease, will feature a global chronic disease specialist, nine leading medical researchers and scientists who are pioneers in the fields of medicine and health, and a global policy strategist.
Speakers will include: Robert Beaglehole, World Health Organization; Robert S. Langer, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); Eric J. Topol, Case Western Reserve University; Gerald I. Shulman, Yale University; Michael Liebman, Windber Research Institute; Napoleone Ferrara, Genentech; Holly Wyatt, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center; Rick Lifton, Yale University School of Medicine; Robert T.V. Kung, ABIOMED; Michael Sefton, University of Toronto; and Susan Raymond, Changing Our World, Inc.
Cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and obesity now account for almost half the global burden of disease. These chronic diseases are no longer a developed country problem. More people die from so-called "rich country diseases" in low- and middle-income countries than in the developed world. Of the 177 million people affected by diabetes, two-thirds live in the developing world. As new directions in technology and treatment are uncovered and strategies reassessed, the goal of relieving the global burden of these diseases becomes ever more reachable.
The series namesake, Dr. Philip Hauge Abelson, was one of the most remarkable scientists of our age. He made major contributions to physics, geology, geochemistry, geophysics and molecular biology. His positions of leadership and service on national advisory committees enabled him to shape national science and technology policy. And under his 22-year tenure
'"/>
Contact: Barbara Rice
brice@aaas.org
202-326-6436
American Association for the Advancement of Science
5-Dec-2005