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Dr. Cecilia Patino-Sutton was appointed on August 1 as Director of Education of the Center of Education, Training and Career Development (CETCD) of the Los Angeles Basin Clinical Translational Science Institute. A medical doctor from Argentina, she specialized in Allergy and Clinical Immunology and worked in academic and community health centers for almost 20 years. She was trained as a clinical researcher in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Johns Hopkins University and she recently completed her PhD in Epidemiology in the Department of Preventive Medicine at USC. Her research interests include health disparities (quality of life and quality of care) across diverse populations, asthma epidemiology and outcomes, and vision.

Cecilia has a master degree in education obtained at the School of Medicine in Cordoba, Argentina and has over 20 years of experience in teaching and developing educational programs for medical students, residents, fellows and public health PhD students from diverse populations in both Latin America and the US. While a faculty member in Argentina, she taught cellular biology, embryology and genetics and for the past decade she has been involved in teaching clinical research methods, epidemiology and biostatistics. She is committed to a career as an educator and researcher and comments: “teaching has been one of the most rewarding of my professional activities.” 

An April 12 Associated Press article highlighted research led by professor of preventive medicine, Keck School of Medicine, USC, Rob McConnel linking asthma in children to traffic-related exposure at schools located near freeways and busy streets. BusinessWeek, The Press Enterprise Newspaper, United Press International, SoCal Minds, and Futurity.org also featured the research.

A March 29 New York Times article reported that Flora L. Thorton Chair of the Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, USC, Jonathan Samet chairs the Food and Drug Administration’s new Tobacco Products Scientific Adviosry Committee which will address the issue of regulation menthol cigarettes. The Associated Press and WebMD also covered the story.

A March 29 MSN.com article noted a research project by associate professor of research in the Departmen of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, USC, Donna Spruijt-Metz that uses technology to monitor obese teenagers’ eating and exercise habits.

Donald Kennedy, Bing Professor of Environmental Science and President Emeritus at Stanford University, spoke on January 29 about the promise of—and the problems associated with—the human genome map and society’s use of it, both for medical and forensic uses. His presentation was the first in a planned seminar series on translational medicine organized by Keck School of Medicine Dean Carmen A. Puliafito.

John Samet, chair of the Department of Preventive Medicine at the Keck School, introduced Kennedy as someone who “has made the right enemies, and therefore must be doing the right things”—a reference to Kennedy’s position as editor of the journal of Science from 2000-2008, where he became a lightning rod for criticism for his willingness to speak out about the intersection of science and politics.

In his presentation, Kennedy said the complete mapping of the human genome, first announced in 2000, held much promise for scientists, researchers, and physicians. Labeled the “blueprint of life,” by leading scientists, the human genome sequence was going to usher in a new age of truly personalized medicine, such as preventive therapies to preclude diseases predicted by the presence of certain genes.

However, Kennedy noted, the promise has not yet been fulfilled, due in large part to the lack of understanding of the epigenome, which can control the expression of genes. The discovery of the epigenome has added another layer of variability into the process of managing and preventing disease on a genetic basis.

“It’s not the case that all of us, eventually, will have bar codes that we can take to our doctor that will induce him or her to write prescriptions that will immunize us against health risks that our genome is suggesting. We don’t know anything automatically, based on the genetic sequence, about the expression level of tha particular gene. It’s a very difficult business.”

While he did not dismiss the possibility of utilizing genetic information to better understand and treat disease, Kennedy told the audience that it would require a more sophisticated understanding of both genetics and epigenetics. “And then we will know how much use this whole area of investigation will be to clinicians who are trying to help other human beings.”

Kennedy’s questioning of the value of genetic information continued with an examination of the usage of DNA evidence in the prosecution of criminal cases. According to his presentation, the criteria by which law enforcement officials may declare that an individual’s DNA matches that present at a crime scene appears to be too broad. However, federal law enforcement agencies have decided not to allow scientific access to state and national DNA databases.

“Scientific enterprise can surely tolerate strong differences of view if there is good access to the content of the argument,” Kennedy said. “But it’s a different matter when an important part of the judicial system simply walks away and refuses to permit analysis of the data. It is employed to make vital judgments about the fate of human lives. . . I think it is a bad system.”

A webcast of the seminar can be found at http://tinyurl.com/ydoxuxd.

Written by Sare Reeve for “The Weekly.”