University at Buffalo's summer lecture series started back up this June as the UBThisSummer program aims to involve students and the community in an array of activities.
This year's lineup includes experts from a number of fields discussing the most current and important news in their respective fields. The lecture series provides a free opportunity for anyone in the community to see what breakthroughs and discoveries are being made here in Buffalo.
"We have been fortunate to have great support from the UB administration and surrounding community," said A. Scott Weber, Vice Provost and Dean for Undergraduate Education. "And we have developed a core audience that attends just about every lecture."
Weber and his staff decided on the lecture lineup by selecting UB's most promising or topical research, as well as the most talented and engaging speakers. Several of the topics are relevant to specific world events in which UB experts are involved.
"This year we are fortunate to have Dr. Andre Filiatrault discuss his recent work in Haiti following the tragic earthquake," Weber said. "Dr. [Michael] Sheridan's talk focuses on volcanic and other disasters, a very timely discussion given the recent volcanic activity in Iceland."
A goal of the UBThisSummer lecture series is to bring in non-UB affiliated community members in an attempt to raise awareness in the surrounding area as to the importance and impact that UB has on the area. Not only does the program hope to interest unfamiliar community members, but students as well.
"The UBThisSummer lecture series offers undergraduate, graduate and professional students the opportunity to partake in exciting discussions with some of UB's most distinguished faculty and we welcome student participation," Weber said.
On June 9, Daniel Brazeau, PhD and research associate professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, gave his lecture titled, ‘The Genomics Revolution and Personalized Medicine.' Brazeau was pleased with the overall turnout at the lecture.
"[The lecture] was a great way to get the word out there," Brazeau said. "[I was able to] promote this unglamorous but important field to new and continuing students."
Brazeau's field of pharmacogenomics and personalized medicine is an up-and-coming breakthrough that will revolutionize modern medicine. Currently a general medicine or treatment will be prescribed to a patient and any number of outcomes may happen. The treatment may do what it is supposed to do, do nothing at all or perhaps even have adverse negative effects on the patient.
"The main advantage of personalizing medicine is to reduce toxicities and increase safety in drugs," Brazeau said.
This treatment will not only make medicine more effective and rapid, but will also eliminate any costs associated with patients who do not respond to a specific drug. There are two aspects of pharmacogenomics that can achieve this.
The first looks at an individual's genetic makeup to determine the impact a drug may have on the individual. For example, some people can't convert codeine into the painkiller morphine so paying and administering that treatment is costly and ineffective. With personalized treatment, this problem can be avoided and proper treatment applied.
The second aspect of pharmacogenomics is specifically dealing with the disease.
"Individualizing the disease is going to revolutionize medicine," Brazeau said. "For instance, breast cancer may be caused by a few different reasons. You can then breakdown breast cancer into subtypes that have their own specific and more effective treatment."
As of now, this field of medicine is in the beginning stages of development but could potentially become commonplace medicine once perfected.
The UBThisSummer lecture series takes place every Wednesday at 4 p.m. through July 28 in 225 Natural Sciences Complex.
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Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
