Where else can you spend a Saturday morning learning from an NFL Hall of Famer what to look for when you suspect a concussion in your child, getting unique perspectives from a Pulitzer Prize-winning author about the biography of cancer or listening to tips on maintaining your cognitive health from an expert in the field?
On Saturday, Stanford Medicine hosted a free community day at the Li Ka Shing Center for Learning and Knowledge. Members of the communities surrounding the Stanford campus came to interact with School of Medicine faculty leaders, hear about the latest discoveries in medicine and explore an interactive pavilion that highlighted advances in medical technology, disease prevention and treatment. This year’s Health Matters, which also featured a Med School Morning program for teens, attracted more than 500 guests to the Stanford campus for a day of learning, fun and exploration.
The event featured keynote speaker Siddhartha Mukherjee, MD, PhD, Pulitzer Prize winning author of the New York Times bestseller The Emperor of All Maladies. Mukherjee, who attended Stanford as an undergrad, shared his view of cancer being one of humanity's greatest challenges and discussed the long-recorded history of the disease. Mukherjee, speaking from a stage in the Berg auditorium – named after his mentor, the Nobel Prize-winning chemist Paul Berg, PhD – eloquently described cancer as “a disease in which normalcy and illness are intertwined.” But also remarked that, “There is hope as we enter the age of targeted therapy.”
Other Stanford Medicine faculty gave presentations on topics ranging from sleep health and dementia prevention to big data for biomedicine and mental health and well-being. One highly attended session included neurosurgeon Gary Steinberg, MD, PhD, and former San Francisco 49er Steve Young. The two, who discussed sports-related concussions and brain injuries, also introduced the new Stanford Concussion and Traumatic Brain Injury Center. Set to open in the coming year, the center will provide a national center for the treatment of athletes, veterans and the community with state-of-the art diagnostic technology and availability 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Young said of the new center, “The fact that local parents will now have a resource,24/7 to bring their child and get some real help - that’s a really good thing.”
>In addition to attending sessions, many explored the Health Pavilion exhibits featuring interactive displays from throughout Stanford Medicine. Guests were excited to see up-close the work of Manu Prakash, MD, PhD, to get hands-on with his revolutionary “Foldscope” and learn more about it’s potential applications. The Stanford Clinical Anatomy division's virtual and 3D imaging technologies were a hit among kids and adults alike. But the favorite of the day seemed to be Stanford Life Flight and their crew who, in celebration of the program’s 30-year anniversary, gave tours of the helicopter to many lucky guests.
To learn more about the program and speakers and view recordings of some of the sessions, visit the event website. For information on future community events and to hear more about wellness topics and medical innovations at Stanford Medicine, follow @StanfordHealth on Twitter.
Eileen DiFranco is director of communications and media in the Office of Medical Center Development at Stanford.
Previously: Stanford Life Flight celebrates 30 years, Stanford Medicine to open its doors to community during Health Matters event, Stanford bioengineer develops a 50-cent paper microscope and Cancer’s Pulitzer Prize winner: Siddhartha Mukherjee, MD
Photo by Alex Johnson
