Invitation to Cover

PHILADELPHIA — The University of Pennsylvania’s Center of Excellence in Environmental Toxicology (CEET) and the Center for Public Health Initiatives (CPHI) will co-host a symposium on February 18, 2014 about the public health effects of natural gas drilling operations.

This meeting aims to profile the state of the science as it relates to the public health and environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing. Stakeholders from the four major affected groups – government, academia, industry, and concerned citizens – will all be participating as speakers and attendees. The symposium will profile ongoing research on this topic, and the day will end with a session on citizens’ concerns and a panel discussion. 

Sessions and speakers include:

The Hydraulic Fracturing Process - Are there effects on air and water quality?

Tim Bechtel, PhD, Earth and Environmental Studies, Franklin and Marshall College

Peter DeCarlo, PhD, Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering & Department of Chemistry, Drexel University

Lisa Senior, Acting Water-Quality Specialist, USGS Pennsylvania Water Science Center

Public Health Impact - What is happening now?

Lisa McKenzie, PhD, MPH, Department of Environmental and Behavioral Health, Colorado School of Public Health

Trevor M. Penning,  PhD, CEET Director, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania

Reynold A. Panettieri, Jr, MD, Director, Airways Biology Initiative & CEET Deputy Director, University of Pennsylvania

Beizhan Yan, PhD, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Columbia University

Marilyn V. Howarth, MD, Director, CEET Community Outreach and Engagement Core; Adjunct Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, University of Pennsylvania

Brian Schwartz, MD, MS, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; Senior Investigator, Geisinger Center for Health Research

Industry Practices and Regulation

Satinder S. Sarang, PhD, DABT, Toxicologist, Shell International; Vice Chair, American Petroleum Institute’s Exploration and Production Health Issues Group

Samantha Beers, Esq., Environmental Protection Agency, US EPA Mid-Atlantic Region III

Senator Stewart J. Greenleaf, (R) Montgomery/Bucks County, Pennsylvania 12th Senate District

Citizen’s Concerns: What are the concerns of the community?

Rebecca Roter, Founder, Breathe Easy Susquehanna County

Joseph Otis Minott, Esq., Executive Director, Clean Air Council

When: Tuesday, February 18, 2014, 8:00am – 5:30pm

Where: Smilow Center for Translational Research Rubenstein Auditorium and Lobby, 3400 Civic Center Blvd, Philadelphia, PA 19104 (enter through the front entrance of the Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine)

What: Agenda and other details can be found on the CEET web site. Registration is free but required for attendance and for participation via web. Please register here

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.

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