Global Health Conference in New York City - October 2nd

[Guest guest]

Dear all,

This conference will likely be of interest to many people on this

list.

UNITE FOR SIGHT SYMPOSIUM

GLOBAL PARTNERS: YOUTH, CORPORATIONS, AND ACADEMIA

BRIDGING HEALTH DIVIDES

Saturday, October 2, 2004

Symposium 12-4:30 PM ET at NYU School of Medicine

Followed by Jazz For Peace Festival at 5:30 PM

New York City

Register by September 20th - Reduced Rate

All of the funds raised from the $8 registration fees will go toward

Unite For Sight's sight-restoring cataract surgery programs in Humjibre,

Ghana and Nyamuswa, Tanzania this Fall.

Group Rates Available

Register at

http://www.uniteforsight.org/2004_symposium.shtml

Contact .Staple@... with any questions.

Unite For Sight is pleased to invite you to attend an exciting

international conference for students, volunteers, physicians,

professors, corporate professionals, nurses, public health professionals,

and leaders in ophthalmology, pubic health, academia, corporations, and

policy.

Confirmed Plenary Speakers:

" Stem Cells to the Retinal Rescue, " Dr. J.

Young, PhD, Director, Minda de Gunzburg Research Center for Retinal

Transplantation, Schepens Eye Research Institute and Assistant Professor

of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School Dr. Waldman, MD, MPH Professor of Clinical

Population & Family Health and Deputy Director of the Center for

Global Health and Economic Development at Columbia University Mailman

School of Public Health " Bridging Health Divides: A Federal Perspective, " Ms.

Rosemary Janiszewski, Deputy Director, Office of Communication,

Health Education and Public Liaison; Director, National Eye Institute

Health Education Program, NIH. " Entrepreneurship in Medical Technology and the Role of

Venture Capital, " Mr. Mart , President, Callaway

Private Equity Partners " Eye Diseases and Community Experiences in

Tanzania, " Dr. Muhsin Sheriff, MD, MPH, MUCHS - Harvard

Research Collaboration, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; MPH in Quantitative

Methods Candidate at Harvard School of Public Health Unite For Sight Summer 2004 Interns in Tanzania and Ghana:

" Better Vision, A Better Life: Ghana Health and Education

Initiative and Unite For Sight Restoring Eyesight in Rural Ghana, "

Alison Polk- " Unite For Sight Improving Eye Health in Rural

Tanzania, " Sachin Jain " Unite For Sight's Eye Health Programs in Dar es Salaam,

Tanzania, " Sally Ong

Biographies of Speakers

Dr. J. Young, PhD

Director, Minda de Gunzburg Research Center for Retinal

Transplantation, Schepens Eye Research Institute and Assistant Professor

of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School

Dr. Young is one of the world’s leading researchers in stem cells in

the eye and the use of stem cells for the reversal of blindness.

His lab focuses on the use of neural stem cells for retinal

transplantation. His research projects include “integration of

transplanted neural progenitor cells into the retina of immature and

mature dystrophic rats,” “bioengineering and stem cells to treat optic

neuropathy,” and “differentiation of retinal progenitor cells into

specific cell types.”

Dr. Waldman, MD, MPH Professor of Clinical

Population & Family Health and Deputy Director of the Center for

Global Health and Economic Development at Columbia University Mailman

School of Public Health

Dr. Waldman is the former director and founder of the program on

Forced Migration and Health at the Mailman School of Public Health.

He is the immediate past-chairman of the International Health Section of

the American Public Health Association. His research focuses on

child health in developing countries, medical epidemiology, infectious

and communicable diseases, health problems in complex emergencies, and

immunizations. He has served as a member of the Board of Directors

of the International Center for Humanitarian Reporting, coordinator of

the World Health Organization's Global Task Force on Cholera Control,

deputy director for Technical Directors for the BASICS project, a member

of the World Health Organization's Advisory Board for Health in Complex

Emergencies, and a member of hte U.S. Armed Forces Epidemiology

Board. He is also author of numerous articles on public health in

complex emergencies and refugee camps.

Dr. Waldman began his career with the World Health Organization's

Global Smallpox Eradication Program in Bangladesh. He subsequently worked

at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for more than twenty

years where he directed technical support activities for the Combating

Childhood Communicable Diseases Project. In the 1980s and 1990s, he and

his colleagues at the CDC published a series of studies on the

epidemiology of refugee health and provided public health assistance in

many international humanitarian crises.

Ms. Rosemary Janiszewski

Deputy Director, Office of Communication, Health Education and

Public Liason; Director, National Eye Institute Health Education Program,

NIH.

Ms. Janiszewski has worked in the health education field for more

than 20 years at both the state and federal level. Since 1989, she has

directed NEI health education activities, including the National Eye

Health Education Program, a program to prevent vision loss through public

and professional education programs. She implemented the Healthy

Vision 2010 program, a vision-related component of Healthy People

2010Before joining the NEI , Ms. Janiszewski was the coordinator for the

Cancer Information Service in Illinois. She also served as a program

coordinator at the American Heart Association of Wisconsin. She received

her MS in community health education at the University of Wisconsin-La

Crosse. She is a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES).

Mr. Mart

President, Callaway Private Equities Partners

Mr. 's company is a placement agent for venture capital and

private equity financing in the medical device industry.

Dr. Muhsin Sheriff, MD, MPH

MUCHS - Harvard Research Collaboration, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania;

MPH in Quantitative Methods Candidate at Harvard School of Public

Health

Dr. Sheriff is Internal Medical Monitor at the MUCHS (Muhumbili

University College of Health Sciences) - Harvard Research Collaboration

in Tanzania. He is a medical doctor with an MPH in Management and Policy

who is studying for a 1-year MPH degree in Quantitative Methods at

Harvard School of Public Health. He will share inspiring stories about

his work to improve community health in rural areas of Tanzania. 'In

addition to his full time job, he volunteers with a group of medical and

non-medical personnel in conducting 'eye camps' in rural villages where

they provide vision screenings and refractions, distribute eyeglasses,

give health checkups and advice, and organize eye surgeries. Dr. Sheriff

received a Volunteer Service Award in 2001 from the International Medical

Relief of Western New York, Inc for coordinating eye surgical camps in

Tanzania.

Unite For Sight Student International Intern Speakers

Alison Polk-,

Unite For Sight's Cataract Surgery Program in Humjibre, Ghana

Alison Polk- lived and worked in Ghana between August 2003

and August 2004, where she was the Ghana Health and Education

Initiative‚s co-Project Coordinator and Financial Officer in Ghana. She

developed GHEI's English enrichment program for middle school students,

supervised construction of GHEI's Community Center, and volunteered in a

nearby private hospital. She also coordinated the first Unite For Sight

cataract surgery program during June 2004 in conjunction with the Ghana

Health and Education Initiative (GHEI).

Prior to her year in Ghana, Alison graduated from University of

Pennsylvania with a degree in Health and Societies with a concentration

in Health in Africa. She has done development work in the Dominican

Republic and Tanzania doing construction and working in a secondary

school. She also studied at the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

during Summer 2002.

Since her return to the United States in August, Alison has assumed

the position as Vice President for External Affairs with the Ghana Health

and Education Initiative. She will continue to develop and coordinate

future GHEI/Unite for Sight Volunteer Programs in Humjibre, an important

effort aimed at preventing eye disease and restoring eyesight. She plans

to attend medical school in the future.

Sachin Jain,

Unite For Sight's Program in Nyamuswa and Mwanza, Tanzania

Sachin Jain is a second-year medical student at Rush Medical College

in Chicago, IL. Some of his interests include advocacy for underserved

populations, universal health coverage, and international public health.

He traveled to rural Tanzania as a Unite For Sight intern in the summer

of 2004 to implement several eye care initiatives, such as establishing a

cataract surgery program, an eye clinic, and eye health education in

local schools. He has also been honored with an Albert Schweitzer

Fellowship for the 2004-05 academic year. His fellowship focuses on

delivering eye care services, and diabetes and asthma education to a

homeless community in Chicago. Sachin is also the Unite For Sight

Regional Director for the Midwest and national co-coordinator for the

American Medical Student Association's Direct Action Interest

Group.

" My experience in Tanzania this summer was life-changing. By

screening people for cataracts, distributing eyeglasses, relieving the

cost of medications, and teaching eye health in schools, I gave hope to

the village of Nyamuswa. Where advanced, high-tech care was but a dream,

I showed that ophthalmic care, and health care in general, can be a

reality for them, despite the poverty and lack of access to services. I

can't imagine doing anything more worthwhile with my

summer. "

Sally Ong,

Unite For Sight's Program in Tanzania

Sally is a sophomore undergraduate student at Duke University. She is

from Johor, Malaysia and is considering a double major in Biology and

Political Science. Sally is involved with service-learning initiatives,

including participating in a course entitled " Humanitarian

Challenges at Home and Abroad FOCUS program " and teaching a

course entitled " Service Learning: Expanding Your Duke Education

beyond the Classroom. "

Sally is the co-Vice President of Duke's chapter of Unite For Sight.

As a Unite For Sight Student Intern in Tanzania during Summer 2004, she

prescribed eyeglasses, participated in cataract eye surgery camps, and

implemented eye health education programs in schools throughout the

country.

" It was a wonderful experience working in Tanzania. The need for

eyeglasses and other eye services is real and urgent. You sense it from

the questions people ask, the requests they make and the stories they

tell. Average wage is Tsh 48,000 (USD 43) while a pair of eyeglasses

costs Tsh 30,000 (USD 27). People cannot afford eyeglasses. Every

Tanzanian I met has been very receptive to our programs. From the policy

makers to the villagers, everyone supports our work, appreciates our

efforts and invites us back to Tanzania. Sensing a need in the community

is one thing, being supported and respected by the people made the

internship very much more fulfilling. "

Register at

http://www.uniteforsight.org/2004_symposium.shtml

Contact .Staple@... with any questions.