Four internationally recognized experts on tobacco research and behavior will lecture at the WVU Health Sciences campus Sept. 9, 10 and 11 during the second annual Tobacco Research Intensive Lecture Series (TRILS). The talks are free and open to the public. Free lunch will be provided, so RSVP is requested by Sept. 2.
Teen smoking, smoking as depicted in the movies and the marketing of new smokeless tobacco products are among the subjects to be covered.
The lectures are sponsored by the Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center at West Virginia University, along with the Prevention Research Center and the Department of Community Medicine.
The schedule:
Wednesday, Sept. 9, noon, Room 1905 Learning Center
Kenneth Tercyak, Ph.D., Georgetown University
A child health psychologist, Tercyak is also an associate professor of oncology in the Division of Health Outcomes & Health Behaviors and of Pediatrics at Georgetown University Medical Center, where he serves as a member of the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center and Fisher Center for Familial Cancer Research.
Lecture title: “Attention Deficits, Disruptive Behaviors, and Tobacco Control Among Youth,” highlighting recent progress in studies of high-risk behavior in children and teens with attention-related difficulties and discussing ways to improve clinical and public health approaches to tobacco control.
Thursday, Sept. 10, 10 a.m., Okey Patteson Auditorium
Ellen R. Gritz, Ph.D., M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
Gritz is professor and chair of the Department of Behavioral Science and Olla S. Stribling distinguished chair for cancer research at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. She has published more than 298 journal publications, books, book chapters, teaching aids and other publications on cigarette smoking behavior including prevention and cessation. She also has expertise on women and high-risk groups including ethnic minorities, youth, cancer patients and people living with HIV/AIDS.
Lecture title: “Tobacco Dependence and Treatment in Cancer Survivors,” covering smoking prevalence rates among cancer survivors and use of smoking cessation programs in oncology treatment settings.
Thursday, Sept. 10, noon, Okey Patteson Auditorium
Gregory Connolly, D.M.D., Harvard
Connolly is interim director for the Division of Public Health Practice and professor at Harvard School of Public Health. He is the former director of Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s Tobacco Control Program. He has published more than 100 scientific articles on tobacco product design, marketing and tobacco-control interventions. He is currently the principal investigator on three National Institutes of Health research projects.
He has repeatedly testified before Congress.
Lecture title: “Smokeless Tobacco: Public Health Panacea or Pandemic?” covering patterns of smokeless tobacco use along with its appeal, addictiveness and toxicity compared with cigarettes. Also the role the U.S. Food and Drug Administration could play to reduce smokeless tobacco use.
Friday, Sept. 11, noon, Room 2094
James Sargent, M.D., Dartmouth Medical School
Sargent is an attending physician at the Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital in Lebanon, New Hampshire, and professor of pediatrics and professor of community and family medicine at Dartmouth Medical School. His practice includes adolescent substance abuse and tobacco control and his areas of focus include media and health.
Lecture title: “How Smoking in Movies Affects Adolescent Smoking and How Public Health Advocates Are Affecting Smoking in Movies,” exploring how smoking in movies is a cause of smoking among teens and how to influence the film industry’s behavior.
Anyone may attend the lectures, but to RSVP for lunch contact Ophp@hsc.wvu.edu.
The lectures also will be Webcast – see http://prc.hsc.wvu.edu. Continuing medical education credits are available for healthcare professionals. For information call 304-293-0267.
For information on the Prevention Research Center see http://prc.hsc.wvu.edu/.
For information on continuing medical education credits see http://www.cme.wvu.edu/.
For information on the Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center see http://www.hsc.wvu.edu/mbrcc/.
For information on the Department of Community Medicine see http://www.hsc.wvu.edu/som/cmed/.
-WVU-
ab/08/24/09
CONTACT: Andrea Brunais, HSC News Service
304-293-7087