Event on Friday-Saturday open to the public in Laredo
Two physicians/researchers from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio will speak at the 29th Annual Update in Medicine Conference this Friday and Saturday in Laredo.
Hosted by the Mid Rio Grande Border Area Health Education Center, the conference is attended by physicians, nurses, social works, dietitians, health care providers and members of the public. Registration is required by calling 956-712-0037.
Gail E. Tomlinson, M.D., Ph.D., will speak on “Genetic Risk Assessment for Cancer” at 8 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 26. Dr. Tomlinson is a professor of pediatrics and the Greehey Distinguished Chair in Cancer and Genetics. She serves as interim director of the Greehey Children’s Cancer Research Institute at the UT Health Science Center San Antonio.
Dr. Tomlinson is board certified in pediatrics and pediatric hematology-oncology. Her research interests are in the genetic origins of childhood cancer, particularly tumors of the liver. She initiated an investigation of predisposing factors underlying the increased incidence of leukemia in Hispanic children in South Texas.
Ralph A. DeFronzo, M.D., M.S., will discuss “Prevention of T2DM: Can It Be Achieved?” at 11:15 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 26. He is a professor of medicine and diabetes division chief for the Health Science Center. Dr. DeFronzo also serves as deputy director of the Texas Diabetes Institute and as a staff physician with the South Texas Veterans Health Care System.
His major interests focus on the pathogenesis and treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus, the central role of insulin resistance in the metabolic-cardiovascular cluster of disorders known collectively as the insulin resistance syndrome, and the etiology and treatment of diabetic nephropathy. Through his research, Dr. DeFronzo has helped define the biomedical and molecular disturbances responsible for insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes mellitus.
The annual conference will be held at the UT Health Science Center’s Regional Campus in Laredo, 1937 E. Bustamante St. The conference begins with registration at 11 a.m. Friday, Oct. 25, and adjourns at 6:20 p.m. Registration begins at 7 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 26, with speakers throughout the day. The conference adjourns at 5:35 p.m.
The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, one of the country’s leading health sciences universities, ranks in the top 3 percent of all institutions worldwide receiving National Institutes of Health funding. The university’s schools of medicine, nursing, dentistry, health professions and graduate biomedical sciences have produced more than 29,000 graduates. The $765.2 million operating budget supports eight campuses in San Antonio, Laredo, Harlingen and Edinburg. For more information on the many ways “We make lives better®,” visit www.uthscsa.edu
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