Stuart H. Orkin, M.D., will discuss Stem Cell Regulation when he delivers the Twelfth Annual Mavis P. Kelsey Lecture at IBT on Friday, November 9, 2007, at 4:00 p.m.  The lecture will be held in the IBT auditorium on the second floor.

Dr. Orkin chairs the Department of Pediatric Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Center and is the David G. Nathan Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.  Dr. Orkin is also a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator at Children’s Hospital, Boston.  For 25 years his work has dominated the field of blood disorders, greatly improving the ability to diagnose blood disorders, leukemia and other diseases, and helping to develop new and improved ways to treat these conditions. His research not only revolutionized the molecular pathology of inherited disorders, but provided the standard by which similar work is now measured. Today, in the key area of stem cell research, Dr. Orkin's groundbreaking work has shown how different sets of genes are activated in stem cells to cause them to produce red and white blood cells and platelets.

The Institute of Biosciences and Technology established the Mavis P. Kelsey Lecture Series in 1995 to enable eminent scientists to address topics of relevance to researchers within the Texas Medical Center community.  The series honors  Dr. Mavis P. Kelsey, Dr., noted Houston physician, author, philanthropist, and alumnus of Texas A&M.

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