Michael S. Brown, MD, Nobel Laureate, to Give Keynote

[August 13, 2012; Philadelphia, PA] – On Friday, August 24 and Saturday, August 25, some of the brightest minds will convene on Penn Vet’s campus to honor Ralph L. Brinster, VMD, PhD, Richard King Mellon Professor of Reproductive Physiology at Penn Vet.

Often regarded as the father of transgenesis, Dr. Brinster was the first veterinarian to receive the prestigious National Medal of Science. He has led the field of reproductive biology and germ cell biology for five decades and pioneering discoveries include culturing of early stage eggs, generation of chimeric mice by injecting teratocarcinoma cells into mouse blastocysts, transgenic technology and male germ cell biology.

As a tribute to his work and impact on science, his peers at Penn Vet and the University are hosting this two-day scientific symposium, which will provide an opportunity for some of the brightest minds around the globe to share with others the work they are doing in their labs and what their findings may mean for future generations.

Featuring more than 15 noted scientists, the keynote address for the two-day-long event will take place at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. At that time, Michael S. Brown, MD, director of the Jonsson Center for Molecular Genetics at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, Texas, will address attendees with a talk titled “Genetically Engineered Mouse Strains (GEMS): Models for Human Disease.”

Brown and his college Dr. Joseph L. Goldstein, discovered the low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor, which controls cholesterol in the blood. The team showed that mutations in this receptor cause Familiar Hypercholesterolemia, a disorder that leads to premature heart attached. This work laid the groundwork for statins, which, today, are taken daily by more than 20 million people worldwide. Brown and Goldstein shared many awards for this work, including the U.S. National Medal of Science and the Nobel Prize for Medicine.

The Symposium, which will take place at Penn Vet’s Hill Pavilion, 380 South University Avenue, Philadelphia, will begin at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, August 24. A full schedule of mini-talks is set for the day, ending with Brown’s keynote. Talks reconvene at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, August 25 and run through 2:15 p.m. Brinster will provide closing remarks beginning at 2:15 p.m.

For a full schedule and list of all speakers, please visit: http://www.vet.upenn.edu/calendarandevents/brinstersymposium/tabid/2384/default.aspx.