Discovery lecturer to tackle diabetes-induced birth defects
Birth defects expert E. Albert Reece, M.D., Ph.D., MBA, vice president for Medical Affairs at the University of Maryland, will deliver the next Discovery Lecture on Thursday, Feb. 24.
E. Albert Reece, M.D., Ph.D., MBA
The talk, “Unraveling the Syndrome of Diabetic Embryopathy,” will be held at 4 p.m. in 208 Light Hall.
Babies born to women with diabetes are two- to four-times more likely to have serious birth defects, including heart defects and neural tube defects.
Reece's lab has identified specific cellular and biochemical changes (including the depletion in membrane lipids and phospholipids and excess “free radicals”) that play important roles in these anomalies.
He and his colleagues have also developed the technique of embryofetoscopy for early prenatal diagnosis and eventually for curative fetal therapy.
Reece, who is also the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor and Dean of the School of Medicine, is a member of the Institute of Medicine and has served as the chair of the Council of Deans of the Association of American Medical Colleges.
Reece's lecture is sponsored by the Department of Pediatrics. For a schedule of the Discovery Lecture series and video of previous lectures, go to www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/discoveryseries.