Sometimes what you get depends on who you know.
There is likely no better example of that than the lineup for this year’s II+C (Imagine, Inspire, Challenge) Symposium at the Mississippi University for Women, which is scheduled for Feb. 23-24.
Each year, the symposium brings in a nationally recognized scholar, researcher, or practitioner in science, medicine, or a related STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) field, as well as distinguished panelists who will highlight the challenges and rewards of pursuing scientific study and careers.
This year, the symposium will focus on heart research in under-served communities and will feature a group of experts one might expect to find at a major international health conference held in a major city.
“It’s quite an honor for us,” said Maridith Geuder, director of university relations at The W. “It’s a great opportunity for our students, of course, but for everyone in our community.”
This year’s symposium features six of the top researchers and medical doctors in the field of heart medicine.
Much of the credit for that belongs to one of those speakers, Dr. Doris Taylor, a MUW alumna.
Taylor, was born in Columbus and grew up in Steens, earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from The W in 1977 and has since become a renowned pioneer in the field of regenerative heart research, which focuses on enabling heart patients to use their own DNA to regenerate the heart. Scientists believe Taylor’s research could someday lead to a breakthrough, replacing the current practice of heart transplants, which often fail because the patient’s body rejects the transplanted heart.
Taylor, director of the Regenerative Medicine Research Department at Texas Heart Institute in Houston, spoke at The W’s commencement ceremony in the spring, and the idea of enlisting her support to put together this year’s II+C Symposium emerged during her return to campus.
“For us, Doris Taylor is sort of like Eudora Welty,” Geuder said. “She really spearheaded our efforts to put on this year’s symposium. Her status as a researcher means she has contacts with the leading people in the field all over the country. That really made this possible. That she could she get these leaders in the field to come to our symposium tells you all you need to know about how Doris is viewed in the field on medicine. We’re so grateful to her.”
The keynote speaker with be Dr. Robert Robbins, CEO and President of Texas Medical Center, whose research work includes the investigation of stem cells for cardiac regeneration, cardiac transplant, bio-engineered blood vessels and automated vascular devices.
In addition to Robbins and Taylor, the two-day symposium will also feature Dr. Janet Rich-Edwards of Harvard University’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston; Jane F. Reckelhoff, PhD., of the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson; Dr. Jianyi “Jay” Zhang of the University of Alabama-Birmingham; and Dr. Nanette K. Wenger of Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta.
About half of the university’s 3,000 students are enrolled in health-related studies, Geuder said.
“This is really a great opportunity for our students,” she added. “But it’s also a wonderful opportunity for the public. This is something I think everyone in the community can benefit from, especially with the heath care challenges that are so common in our state.”
To register to attend the symposium, which is free to the public, go to the university’s website at http://www.muw.edu/iic.
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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