When: Thursday April 11, 2019 – 7:30 PM
Where: Montgomery Community College (Rockville Campus) – Humanities Building (HU), Conference Room 009
(Get Directions, Campus Map)

Speaker: Dr. Babak Behnam
Language: Farsi

Synopsis:

Genetics looks at specific genes, how they relate, react with each other, and their association with particular pathologic phenotypes (diseases), while genomics refers to the study of individual entire genotype (genetic makeup). Nowadays scientists, doctors, and patients are able to have a genetic test with much DNA information for a number of illnesses. Genomic medicine investigates genes (coded by DNA), their linkages to our health, and the complex but individual biological details for diagnosis and effective treatment. Genomic medicine contribute to diagnosis, prenatal Screening (during pregnancy), inheritance prediction in cases of a family history of serious genetic disorders, and in predisposition/assessing risk (susceptibility) to complex genetic (polygenic) disorders based on individual phenotype. So, it makes a significant difference in four different levels: personal, doctors, national, and world-wide scales. In National level, strategies to care for rising trends and particular programs (e.g. NBS) are developed. On a world-wide scale, projects like OMIM or Genetics Home References, means that everybody with rare syndromes can get the answers to their questions. Although scientists approach genetically for only particular disorders (to avoid facing to big data), genomic medicine is evolving to find a chemical or genetic bottleneck for conditions such as schizophrenia and asthma.

About the Speaker:

Babak Behnam did a medical (MD) degree at Iran University of Medical Sciences (1997), followed by a MSc in Molecular Medicine in Sheffield University, and a PhD in Human Genetics at University College London (2005). Then he awarded a NIH-based (NRSA) postdoctoral fellowship in medical genetics at U Michigan and moved to United States. Also he did some translational neuroscience research as adjunct faculty at University of Central Florida (2007-2009). Then he joined back to IUMS and served as a faculty member, clinical geneticist, and director of diagnostic genetic laboratory at dept. Medical Genetics Children Hospital (2009-2015). In 2016, he came back to the US and did an additional board-accredited fellowship in Clinical Biochemical Genetics at NIH. At the same time and in parallel, he has done some translational research in Undiagnosed Disease Program (UDP) at NHGRI, and published about 25 scientific articles including some reports of Iranian patients with rare genetic diseases as well as the patients registered in UDP. As a scientist in clinical and laboratory medicine, and also based on his medical education, his main interest is in genomic medicine and molecular mechanisms of the diseases. He has contribution and authorship in more than 60 scientific papers.

For this lecture: light refreshment will be provided

When: Thursday October 18, 2018 – 7:30 PM
Where: Montgomery Community College (Rockville Campus) – Humanities Building (HU), Conference Room 009
(Get Directions, Campus Map)

Speaker: Mehrdad Michael Massumi, MD
Language: English

Synopsis:

Chronic Pain Management is a multidisciplinary and multimodal approach to a complex set of problems that produce physical and psychological disabilities with significant costs to the individual and society. The opioid crisis to a large extent is due to overdependence of physicians and patients on this class of medications – i.e. opioids – in managing chronic pain syndromes. This talk will elaborate on the expanding collections of multi-class medications that thanks to better or newly understood molecular mechanisms are being used in novel combinations and applications to rectify chronic pain syndromes. Such categories as GABAergics, TCAs, SSRI / SNRIs, antiarrhythmics, cannabinoids, calcium channel blockers, anti-seizure and other antidepressant classes of chemicals – in recombinant and single applications – promise a new and effective approach to the chemical remediation of such complex chronic pain syndromes. In applying these therapeutics the need for opioid interventions will be minimized. Mechanisms leading to the efficacy of these non-opioid medications and upcoming avenues of molecular research and developments conducive to even more effective remedies will be discussed. Both the professional audience and lay members attending will find the subject matter, content and deliberations presented in this talk interesting and thought-provoking.

About the Speaker:

Mehrdad Michael Massumi, MD is a board-certified specialist in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and a Diplomate of the American Academy of Pain Management. After graduation with honors from the University of Birmingham Medical School, United Kingdom and two years of surgical residency training at the Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C. he undertook and successfully concluded his residency in Rehabilitation Medicine in Seattle, WA in 1988. He remains active at the Harvard Postgraduate Medical Association since 2006. Dr. Massumi has been in practice for thirty years in Maryland. He was the founder or director of many Rehabilitation, Spine and Pain clinics in the Baltimore Metropolitan hospitals. He is a former clinical faculty of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at Johns Hopkins Medical School. He is currently in private practice in Towson, MD and more recently also in Rockville, MD. In his thirty years of practice of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Pain Management Dr. Massumi has treated over 14,000 patients. He is referred patients from community and hospital based physicians of all specialties as well as nurses, physical therapists, pharmacists and other allied healthcare providers. Patients are from Maryland, other States and other countries.

For this lecture: light refreshment will be provided

When: Thursday July 19, 2018 – 7:30 PM
Where: Montgomery Community College (Rockville Campus) – Humanities Building (HU), Conference Room 009
(Get Directions, Campus Map)

Speaker: Dr. Bahram Roughan
Language: English

Synopsis:

Unique abilities of science and engineering majors as problem solvers, critical thinkers, and aptitude in dealing with abstract ideas and ambiguities may represent the necessary but not sufficient skill-set for the emerging generation of entrepreneurially motivated students preparing to enter a highly networked and high-tech knowledge economy. This presentation examines the need for greater focus on developing entrepreneurial mindset through Technical Innovation and Entrepreneurship education as part of their degree completion. Developing approaches in enhancing the entrepreneurial-mindset of students in the technical fields matches the paradigm shift associated with developing high tech and highly connected world and it resonate well with the growing number of entrepreneurially-minded college age students. This talk introduces current efforts in enhancing entrepreneurial mindset in science and engineering disciplines aiming at enhancing desirable skill-set for graduates aiming at entering the job market including desires to engage in startups and tech ventures.

About the Speaker:

Bahram Roughani currently is serving as Associate Dean for Natural and Applied Sciences at Loyola University Maryland. Prior to 2013, he served as the founding department head of physics at Kettering University, led the establishment of the very first full co-op undergraduate physics program in the country, established the very first ABET accredited Applied Physics degree program, and received the American Physical Society’s ward for “Improving Undergraduate Physics Education”. His most recent efforts involve development of new models for Physics Innovation and Entrepreneurship (PIE) in collaboration with American Physical Society (APS) that is supported by NSF. Bahram Roughani received BS (Physics) and MS (Physics: Optics) from Indiana State University, and MA (Physics) and PhD (Experimental Condensed Matter Physics) from University of Cincinnati. His research work in experimental condensed matter physics focuses on laser spectroscopy and electron microscopy of electronic materials. He has presented nearly 50 invited talks in addition to conference papers and peer reviewed journal publications related to his scholarship and his efforts in enhancing higher education programs.

For this lecture: light refreshment will be provided