Scientist to speak on rare degenerative disease in children
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — When Connie Weaver, head of Purdue's Department of Foods and Nutrition, read a newspaper story about a family whose three of four children have an incurable disease, she asked a national specialist to come to Indiana to help educate the public.Dr. Marc Patterson, an expert in child neurology, will speak about Niemann-Pick disease at 4 p.m. April 11 in Stewart Center, Room 218 A-C. Patterson is professor of clinical neurology and pediatrics and head of the Division of Pediatric Neurology at Columbia University.
The talk, "Niemann-Pick C — from Bedside to Bench and Back," is free and open to the public. It will be preceded by a 3:30 p.m. reception.
Niemann-Pick is a childhood illness that leads to a progressive degeneration of the nervous system that is always fatal. The parents of the children who captured Weaver's attention are Trent and Julie Smith of West Lafayette. Weaver went to a fundraiser for the family and asked if she could help.
"I was familiar with the disease because Peter Penchev, a retired National Institutes of Health scientist whose wife is a longtime collaborator and adjunct professor in our department, identified and cloned the gene for this defect," Weaver said. "Peter trained Marc Patterson from Columbia University, who is the principal investigator for an experimental protocol that was prescribed for the Smith children. I asked the family if they would welcome Peter and Marc into their lives, and they said yes."
The Smiths said they believe it is important to spread the word about this rare disorder.
"We realize that the only way for us and other Niemann-Pick families to win this fight is to raise awareness of the disease and seek help in fighting it," Julie Smith said.
Patterson has conducted research on Niemann-Pick disease. He is a frequent national and international lecturer and contributor to the literature on neurological disorders in children. He is the recipient of several awards, including the Charles Mitford Lilley Prize from the University of Queensland, the Royal Australian College of Ophthalmologists Prize and a Fulbright award.
Born and educated in Australia, he graduated from the University of Queensland and trained in medicine, pediatrics and neurology at the Royal Brisbane, Royal Children's and Royal Women's Hospitals. He received his medical degree from Mayo Graduate School of Medicine in New York City, with a specialty in pediatric and adolescent medicine.
The lecture is part of the Sigma Xi Distinguished Lecture series, of which Weaver is chair. Sigma Xi is a global science and engineering scholarly society that brings together scientists from across disciplines to exchange ideas.
The talk is co-sponsored by Purdue's Department of Biochemistry and the Lafayette Center for Medical Education.
Writer: Maggie Morris, (765) 494-2432, maggiemorris@purdue.edu
Source: Connie Weaver, (765) 494-8231, weavercm@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
Note to Journalists: To speak to Trent or Julie Smith, contact Maggie Morris, Purdue News Service, at (765) 494-2432.
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