Yale child specialists speak about medical challenges

Two upcoming talks at the University of the South will address the medical challenges of childhood. The talks, by faculty at the Yale School of Medicine Child Study Center, are free and open to the public, and will be given in Blackman Auditorium of Woods Labs on the Sewanee campus. Residents of neighboring communities are especially welcome to attend.

George Lister will speak at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 2, on “The Changing Landscape of Health Care for Children and Families.” George Lister, M.D., focuses his research on the factors affecting infants at risk for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). He was recently appointed as the Jean McLean Wallace Professor of Pediatrics and serves as chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Yale School of Medicine. Lister is also chief of pediatrics at Yale-New Haven Hospital and physician-in-chief at Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital. He was formerly chair of pediatrics at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

Steven Southwick will speak at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 3, on the topic “Promoting Resilience Skills in Stressful Times.” Steven Southwick, M.D., is Greenberg Professor of Psychiatry, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Resilience at Yale School of Medicine. He is a recognized expert on the psychological and neurobiological effects of extreme psychological trauma. Southwick currently has a joint appointment at the Yale Child Study Center, and serves as an adjunct professor at the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine and medical director of the Clinical Neurosciences Division of the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

Both presentations are part of an Easter semester lecture series presented by Community Engaged Learning, the University of the South’s academic community engagement program.

This lecture series features a range of speakers from all over the world. They will address a variety of topics of concern for people living on the Cumberland Plateau and in surrounding communities. Most of the featured speakers are guest lecturers in Child, Family, and Community Development in Rural Appalachia, a psychology course developed out of a partnership between Sewanee’s Psychology Department and Yale School of Medicine’s Child Study Center.

Woods Lab is behind the McGriff Alumni House (map here: http://goo.gl/maps/UnKCV) on Georgia Avenue, and in front of duPont Library. Parking is available on University Avenue, behind Rebel’s Rest.

For additional information, contact Jim Peterman by phone at 931.598.1482 or by e-mail at jfpeterm@sewanee.edu.