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Alums
Discuss Cancer Therapies
by Matthew Green
On Thursday night, students, faculty, community members
and visitors filled the lecture hall in the new science center to
hear top medical experts discuss new cancer treatments currently being
tested and applied.
The symposium, entitled New Horizons In Cancer Therapies,
featured four speakers, all of whom are Oberlin alumni and have been
responsible for significant advances in various aspects of cancer
treatment.
Dr. Raphael E. Pollock (OC 72), professor of cancer biology
and surgery, is the chair of the Department of Surgical Oncology and
head of the division of surgery at the Universiy of Texas Medical
Center. While attending Oberlin, Pollock was a history major and only
studied medicine after graduating. He spoke on contemporary management
of soft tissue cancer.
Dr. David F. Ranney (OC 65) is the managing director of Global
Biomedical Solutions, located in Dallas, Texas. His presentation addressed
tumor drug targeting and imaging.
Dr. Harlan W. Waksal (OC 75) is executive vice president and
chief operating officer of ImClone Systems, Inc, a biopharmaceutical
company. He discussed molecular targets in cancer therapies.
The final speaker of the evening was Dr. Herbert C. Morse (OC 65),
who is the chief of the Laboratory of Immunopathology at the National
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the National Institutes
of Health in Bethesda, MD. He addressed new technologies to fingerprint
cancers.
The symposium was organized by Robin Treichel and Jan Thornton, both
professors of biology at Oberlin.
Essentially we wanted an event that would illustrate the high
caliber of education at Oberlin, particularly in the sciences,
Treichel said. She delivered the first presentation of the evening,
introducing the speakers and presenting a brief introduction to cancer
biology.
We selected the topic of cancer therapy because this past year
has seen the introduction of several new types of anti-cancer therapy
which are the culmination of 30 years of vigorous research into cancer,
she said.
We also thought that cancer was a topic that would be of wide
interest to the college community and to the wider Oberlin and Northeast
Ohio communities. Treichel emphazised the events potential
for bringing together town and gown in a highly educational
environment. She also noted that having distinguished alumni return
to campus was a way of providing current science students with valuable
resources for advice concerning career decisions.
Finally, we wanted to celebrate our new science facilities,
Treichel added.
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