Tuesday, April 7, 2009: The MURDOCK Study Community Registry: What does it really mean?
L. Kristin Newby, MD, MHS and Rowena Dolor, MD, MHS

Drs. Kristin Newby and Rowena Dolor are kicking off Duke’s 2009 MURDOCK Study Seminar Series with an overview of the Community Registry and Biorepository answering questions such as: What is it? Why is it important? How does it involve me? Dr. Newby is an associate professor of medicine in Duke's division of cardiology and co-directs the Cardiac Care Unit at Duke University Medical Center. She is also the principal investigator of the cardiovascular disease project in Horizon 1 of the MURDOCK Study.

Dr. Dolor is a general internist at Duke and the Ambulatory Care Service at the Durham VA Medical Center and director of the Primary Care Research Consortium (PCRC), a network of primary care practices in the Duke University Health System and outlying communities.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009: Maps Where People Matter
Marie Lynn Miranda, PhD

This presentation will discuss how environmental exposures may contribute to human disease, either directly or indirectly by increasing individual susceptibility. The seminar will highlight how exposures are measured and subsequently included in research analyses, as well as which exposures are of particular concern in North Carolina.

Dr. Marie Lynn Miranda is an associate professor of environmental sciences & policy in the Nicholas School of the Environment. She is the director of the Children's Environmental Health Initiative.

This Seminar has been CANCELLED.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009: Ethics and Policy Issues in Biorepository Research
Laura M. Beskow, MPH, PhD

Biorepositories—collections of biological samples and health information—are an important resource for research into new ways to detect, treat and maybe even prevent health problems. Biorepository research raises some concerns, however, about issues such as informed consent and privacy. This seminar will explore these issues, including some of the “best practices” that have been recommended to both protect research participants and facilitate beneficial research.

Dr. Beskow is an assistant research professor at the Duke Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy in the Center for Genome Ethics, Law, and Policy. She is a co-investigator in the MURDOCK Study and principal investigator of “Simplifying Informed Consent for Biorepositories,” a MURDOCK-funded study. She is also a Faculty Associate in the Trent Center for Bioethics, Humanities & History of Medicine and Associate Director of the ethics core of the Duke Translational Medicine Institute.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009: Communities & Research: The Importance of Involvement
Mary Anne McDonald, MA, DrPH

Dr. McDonald will begin this seminar by discussing the significance of involving communities in research projects. She will then moderate a panel of local healthcare providers who represent the selected MURDOCK Study sites where participants can enroll. A Q&A session between the audience and panelists about the registry, enrollment and community involvement will conclude the seminar.

Dr. McDonald is an assistant professor at the Duke Center for Community Research (DCCR) in Duke’s department of Community and Family Medicine, division of community health.

* Interested attendees will have an opportunity to sign up to learn more about how they may join MURDOCK Study Community Registry and Biorepository.

Time: 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM

Location: David H. Murdock Research Institute Core Laboratory on the North Carolina Research Campus, Kannapolis, NC

Registration is required.  Please go to http://forms.dukehealth.org/dtmi/duke.nsf/seminar to register to attend any of these seminar sessions.