Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Understanding the Past, Transforming the Future

Understanding the Past, Transforming the Future
MD/PhDs in the Social Sciences and Humanities Meet in Philadelphia

By Ippolytos Kalofonos and Seth Holmes
Contributing Writers

Discussions of contemporary medical research are frequently accompanied by proclamations that we are entering a genetic age that will see the rise of personalized medicine based on individual genotyping. Stem cell research is gaining momentum and may lead to dramatic breakthroughs in diseases such as Alzheimer and Parkinson’s that lack effective treatment.

Yet, many of the most vexing challenges in medicine today are decidedly macroscopic in nature. The numbers of uninsured people in the United States grows even as the amount of money spent on health care grows. Health problems across the globe, from infectious disease to obesity to drug abuse, are as related to social, political and economic problems as they are to molecular mechanisms. Are the medical leaders of today and tomorrow prepared to confront these challenges?/.../

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