U.T. Dallas to Host Top Sickle Cell Disease Experts

 

Jan. 10
Symposium to Mark Opening of UTD Sickle Cell Research Center

 

 

 

RICHARDSON, Texas (Dec. 13, 2001) – Five of the world’s top experts
on sickle cell disease will discuss progress in combating the serious
blood disorder at a free public symposium next month at The University
of Texas at Dallas (UTD).

The event also will serve as the official opening of UTD’s new
Center for Sickle Cell Disease Research. The center was established with
the arrival this fall of Dr. Steven Goodman, the center’s director,
from the University of South Alabama, where he headed the USA
Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center. Goodman is also the new head of the
Department of Molecular and Cell Biology at UTD and is the C.L. and
Amelia A. Lundell Professor of Life Sciences.

 

The symposium will be conducted from 12:30 p.m. to approximately 5
p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 10, in the McDermott Library Auditorium, Room
2.410, on the UTD campus in Richardson. From 5 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., a “research
roundtable” will be held, where the sickle cell experts will answer
questions from members of the audience, followed by a one-hour reception
for all of those in attendance.

Earlier that day, at 10 a.m. in the same auditorium, UTD and state
and local government officials will mark the opening of the university’s
sickle cell research center. Members of the public may attend this event
as well.

“Rarely does a group of researchers of this caliber involved in
basic and clinical sickle cell research come together in a single
location, and we are honored to serve as host for this event,” said
Goodman. “We want to provide residents of the Dallas-Fort Worth area –
particularly the African-American community – an update on efforts to
develop better treatments and ultimately a cure for the disease. In
addition, we want to raise the visibility of the new sickle cell
research effort at UTD and, frankly, garner support for that research.”

Sickle cell anemia is an inherited blood disease that can cause
serious health problems – some leading to death – among victims, most of
whom are African-American or other individuals of African descent. It is
estimated that eight percent of African-Americans are carriers of the
sickle cell gene and are said to have sickle cell trait. Approximately
two out of every 1,000 African-Americans suffer from the disease.

In addition to Goodman, the following researchers will participate in
the UTD symposium:

 

  • Dr. Kwaku Ohene-Frempong, director of the Sickle Cell Center at the University of Pennsylvania Health Science Center.
  • Dr. Betty Pace, director of pediatric programs for the Sickle Cell Center at the University of South Alabama.
  • Dr. Robert Hebbel, vice chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Minnesota.
  • Dr. George Buchanan, director of the Sickle Cell Program at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.

 

“The quality of symposium participants speaks volumes about the
esteem in which Dr. Goodman is held in the sickle cell research
community,” said UTD President Dr. Franklyn Jenifer. “This is
precisely the position in which UTD wants to be – serving the
community by working with the very best minds in this field as part of
a worldwide effort to cure this deadly disease.”

UTD, together with The University of Texas Southwestern Medical
Center at Dallas, has applied for funding from the National Institutes
of Health (NIH), which, if granted, would make the institutions’
joint research effort the first NIH-funded sickle cell center in Texas
and one of only 10 in the United States. A decision from NIH on the
funding application is expected sometime next spring.

Goodman brought to UTD a number of NIH-funded research projects
from the University of South Alabama. In addition, support for the
Center for Sickle Cell Disease Research is anticipated from other
sources, including investigator-initiated research grants and funding
from state agencies.

 

About UTD


The University of Texas at Dallas, located
at the convergence of Richardson, Plano and Dallas in the heart of the
complex of major multinational technology corporations known as the
Telecom Corridor, enrolls more than 7,000 undergraduate and 5,000
graduate students. The school’s freshman class traditionally stands at
the forefront of Texas state universities in terms of average SAT
scores. The university offers a broad assortment of bachelor’s, master’s
and doctoral degree programs. For additional information about UTD,
please visit the university’s web site at www.utdallas.edu.