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Leading Pediatrician Addresses the Future of Children's Health |
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From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Can diseases such as Alzheimer's, obesity and diabetes be prevented before birth? According to Jonathan D. Gitlin, M.D., the Helene B. Roberson Professor of Pediatrics and Professor of Genetics at the Washington University School of Medicine, researching whether diseases that strike adults are already genetically encoded in individuals while still in the womb, may enable physicians to one day address and prevent diseases in infancy. In a talk entitled "Child Health Research in the 21st Century: Obstacles and Opportunities," Dr. Gitlin, who is also scientific director of the Children's Discovery Institute, will address why, despite substantial investments in both the academic and private sectors, the health status of our nation remains dismal -- particularly the health and wellness of our children. "The amount of money currently dedicated to research that could identify key factors leading to diseases both in childhood and later in their adult lives is very small compared to the funding for adult onset diseases such as heart disease or cancer." Dr. Gitlin will also discuss how the identification of human genome sequencing now offers researchers the opportunity to change not only the direction of science, but also of medical care, by looking into more ways to prevent diseases from conception while understanding each person's individual genetic make up. There is also tremendous potential for drug discovery and small molecule alteration for long-term intervention and prevention of diseases that could be genetically imprinted in individuals before birth. Dr. Gitlin uses zebra fish to illustrate this theory with a chemical genetic screen to identify small molecules and note their influence on nutrient metabolism.
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