The 1997 Aging Successfully series scheduled for April 3 and 10 from 9:30am-noon will focus on misconceptions about aging and on ground-breaking medical research at MIT. The programs, co-sponsored by the Women's League and the MIT Medical Department, will be held in the Tang Center's Wong Auditorium.
"Myths and Fallacies of Aging" on April 3 will look at the aging process as a gradual loss of resilience. How this affects both physiological and psychological health will form the basis of a three-physician panel discussion with Brigham and Women's geriatrician Neil M. Resnick and Mt. Auburn psychiatrist Daniel P. Asnes, moderated by Michael A. Kane of MIT Medical.
Dr. William M. Kettyle, MIT Medical's associate director, will moderate "Medical Breakthroughs from MIT" on April 10. The session samples work of three Institute researchers: Associate Professor Elazer R. Edelman of the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, who applies his medicine/engineering background in studying coronary artery disease at the molecular level and engineering new ways to thwart its progress; Linda G. Griffith, associate professor of chemical engineering, who grows "mini-livers" smaller than a dime to study how cells organize into functioning livers; and Emilio Bizzi, head of the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, who integrates biology and engineering in his studies of motion and how muscles work, research which could lead to new treatments for problems such as atherosclerosis.
These seminars mark the 10th anniversary of the Aging Successfully series, which has grown to cover not only aspects of aging but timely medical issues of all kinds. Conceived and organized by former MIT first lady Kay Stratton, they are part of the Catherine N. Stratton Lecture Series.
The session are free and open to the public. Coffee will be served in the Tang Center lobby from 9am before each session; a question-and-answer period follows each program. Garage parking will be available on Ames Street behind Legal Seafoods. For more information, contact Sis de Bordenave in the Women's League office, x3-3656, .
A version of this article appeared in the April 3, 1997 issue of MIT Tech Talk (Volume 41, Number 25).
