Ebola, Lassa Fever and HIV “Virus Hunter” to speak at GSO Symposium

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 18, 2004
GSO Symposium
Contact: John Holder (979) 458-0669
The Texas A&M University System Health Science Center
Office of Communications
http://tamhsc.edu
Graduate Student Organization Symposium Tomorrow
Every year, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows at The Texas A&M University System Health Science Center take their work to dozens of conferences around the country, indeed around the world. The posters and talks presented at these events represent some of the very best science that is done in the United States. The Graduate Student Organization Symposium provides a yearly update on these progressive accomplishments made in all areas of the medical sciences by graduate students at the A&M Health Science Center.
This year’s symposium will take place at the Joe H. Reynolds Medical Building, on the West Campus of Texas A&M University, on February 19, 2004. The event will feature posters, talks, vendors, and two presentations by Dr. Joseph McCormick, assistant dean and James H. Steele Professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. Dr. McCormick, trained in virology and public health, founded the CDC Lassa fever Research Project in Sierra Leone and was a member of the team that investigated the first Ebola epidemic in 1976. His presence will provide a unique opportunity to hear about the advances made in hemorrhagic fever science, and also the profound repercussions that these devastating infections can have on real people.
Following is the schedule of events for the symposium.
8 a.m. – 9 a.m. Poster and Vendor Set-up
9 a.m. – 11. a.m. Student Poster Presentations
11 a.m. – Noon Virus Hunters in Action: Ebola, Lassa and HIV in Africa – Dr. Joseph McCormick—Lecture Hall I
Noon-1 p.m. Lunch Break
1 p.m. – 3 p.m. Student Oral Presentations
3 p.m. – 4 p.m. Pathogenesis and Immunity in Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers
– Dr. Joseph McCormick—Lecture Hall I
4 p.m. – 5 p.m. Symposium Awards
All events will take place in the Reynolds Medical Building.
The symposium will also include door prizes and awards for the best posters and talks in Junior and Senior divisions. Symposium organizers have solicited abstracts from graduate students and postdoctoral fellows at all A&M Health Science Center components.
The Texas A&M University System Health Science Center provides the state with health education, outreach and research. Its five components located in communities throughout Texas are Baylor College of Dentistry, the College of Medicine, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, the Institute of Biosciences and Technology and the School of Rural Public Health.
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