PENN Medicine Media Seminar Series

WHO &

WHAT:

Moderator: Craig B. Thompson, MD,
Director of the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania.

“Fetching” New Approaches to Cancer Treatment: Penn’s School of Medicine & School of Veterinary Medicine are Enlisting “Man’s Best Friend” in the Fight Against Cancer

Robert Vonderheide, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Hematology/Oncology from Penn’s School of Medicine and Karin Sorenmo, DVM, Chief, Oncology Section, Matthew J. Ryan Veterinary Hospital’s and Associate Professor of Oncology at Penn’s School of Veterinary Medicine, will present data on their success using an immunotherapy vaccine to treat lymphoma in pet dogs – and hopefully someday in humans as well.

Special Guest: Lymphoma patient and clinical trial participant Kyra the Rhodesian Ridgeback and her humans Eileen and Brian Eisenhower.

Trans-oral Robotic Surgery
World’s First Robotic Procedures to Treat Head & Neck Cancers
For patients with cancer of the mouth and throat, surgery is a frequent course of treatment, often leading to speech and swallowing dysfunction and external scarring and disfigurement. Bert O’Malley, Jr. MD, Gabriel Tucker and Chair of Penn’s Department of Otorhinolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery and Gregory S. Weinstein, MD, Vice Chair of Otorhinolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery and Co-Director of the Center for Head & Neck Cancer, have recently completed a study – the most comprehensive and largest to date – that demonstrates the effective use of the daVinci Surgical Robotic System® to perform Trans-Oral Robotic Surgery (TORS). Use of the robot greatly reduces surgical trauma for patients without compromising positive treatment outcomes.

Penn Fertility Care and The Oncofertility Consortium
Preserving the Life of Cancer Patients – Now and for Generations to Come
Clarissa Gracia, MD, Assistant Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology and reproductive endocrinologist, will discuss her work and research in the field of oncofertility which seeks to find the most effective ways to preserve fertility in cancer patients and survivors. Dr. Gracia and her colleagues are working to find improved and effective fertility preservations options for female cancer patients. Penn Fertility care is one of only 5 institutions in the U.S. recently designated as an official inaugural member of the national Oncofertility Consortium which was awarded a $21 million grant from the NIH.

Cancer & the Web: Providing Patient Resources

Penn radiation oncologist James M, Metz, MD, is the Editor-in-Chief of OncoLink, Penn’s award-winning cancer resource – the oldest (founded in 1994), largest, and one of the most trusted sources of cancer information on the Internet. Dr. Metz will present an overview of patient-oriented cancer web sites to reveal how and where both the media and consumers can get comprehensive information about specific types of cancer, updates on cancer treatments, and news about research advances.

WHERE & WHEN:

The University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine

The Hill Pavilion – Allam Room
380 S. University Ave. (Entrance on 38th Street) Phila, PA 19104

November 8, 2007
Noon – 1:30 p.m.

Lunch will be served.

FREE Parking is available at the Matthew J. Ryan Veterinary Hospital, 39th & Spruce Sts.

To learn more about the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Philadelphia, visit http://www.penncancer.org/.

To learn more about OncoLink, visit http://www.oncolink.com/.

To read more about , click here.

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PENN Medicine is a $3.5 billion enterprise dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. PENN Medicine consists of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System.

Penn's School of Medicine is currently ranked #3 in the nation in U.S.News & World Report's survey of top research-oriented medical schools; and, according to most recent data from the National Institutes of Health, received over $379 million in NIH research funds in the 2006 fiscal year. Supporting 1,400 fulltime faculty and 700 students, the School of Medicine is recognized worldwide for its superior education and training of the next generation of physician-scientists and leaders of academic medicine.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System includes three hospitals — its flagship hospital, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, rated one of the nation’s “Honor Roll” hospitals by U.S.News & World Report; Pennsylvania Hospital, the nation's first hospital; and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center — a faculty practice plan; a primary-care provider network; two multispecialty satellite facilities; and home care and hospice.

Penn Medicine is one of the world’s leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, excellence in patient care, and community service. The organization consists of the University of Pennsylvania Health System and Penn’s Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine, founded in 1765 as the nation’s first medical school.

The Perelman School of Medicine is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $550 million awarded in the 2022 fiscal year. Home to a proud history of “firsts” in medicine, Penn Medicine teams have pioneered discoveries and innovations that have shaped modern medicine, including recent breakthroughs such as CAR T cell therapy for cancer and the mRNA technology used in COVID-19 vaccines.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System’s patient care facilities stretch from the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania to the New Jersey shore. These include the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Chester County Hospital, Lancaster General Health, Penn Medicine Princeton Health, and Pennsylvania Hospital—the nation’s first hospital, founded in 1751. Additional facilities and enterprises include Good Shepherd Penn Partners, Penn Medicine at Home, Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital, and Princeton House Behavioral Health, among others.

Penn Medicine is an $11.1 billion enterprise powered by more than 49,000 talented faculty and staff.

PENN Medicine Media Seminar Series

October 29, 2007

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