Dr. Ronald Crystal will present a lecture “The Human Genome: What Your Genes Tell About You, Your Family, Your Past & Your Future” at Temple Emanuel of Great Neck, Thurs., April 7 at 7:30 p.m. as part of the fourth season of Stephen C. Widom Cultural Arts
Crystal is professor and chairman of the Department of Genetic Medicine of the Weill Medical College of Cornell University, where he is also the Bruce Webster Professor of Internal Medicine, director of the Belfer Gene Therapy Core Facility and Attending Physician at the Weill Cornell-New York Presbyterian Hospital.
After earning a B.A. degree in physics from Tufts University, an M.A. degree in physics from the University of Pennsylvania, and an medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania, Crystal completed his medical post-graduate training at Massachusetts General Hospital in Internal medicine and in pulmonary medicine at the University of California, San Francisco.
In 1970, Crystal joined the National Institutes of Health, where he served as chief of the pulmonary branch of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute until moving to Weill-Cornell in 1993.
During the 1970s and ‘80s, Dr. Crystal focused much of his research on the pathogenesis and therapy of inflammatory diseases of the lung.
The work of his laboratory formed the basis of the current understanding of the pathogenesis of lung fibrosis and the hereditary form of emphysema associated with alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency, a disease for which he developed the FDA-approved therapy now used to treat thousands of patients worldwide.
In the late 1980s, Crystal shifted his focus to gene therapy, a field in which he is a pioneer.
He was the first to use a recombinant virus as a vehicle for in vivo gene therapy, and has carried out human trials of gene therapy for cystic fibrosis, cardiac ischemia, cancer and central nervous system disorders.
His current research interests are deciphering how human genetic variation modulates gene expression in the context of environmental exposure and exploiting these relationships to re-categorize human disease at the biologic level and identify who is at risk for disease.
Admission is free; donations are welcome.
Call 516.482.5701 for further information and to learn about discounts for the SCW Sunday subscription series.
Temple Emanuel of Great Neck is located at 150 Hicks Lane in Great Neck.
