Exploring the nuances and breadth of biomedical science

Health & Science Horizons at Santa Clara University is a series of events designed to enrich student, faculty, and community understanding of modern healthcare topics. Boasting dynamic and eminent speakers, the series features interdisciplinary programs aimed at inspiring an intellectual dialogue across campus and in our community. Health & Science Horizons brings out the best of a Jesuit education, reflecting Santa Clara’s institutional commitment to the pursuit of informed ethical discourse.

Health & Science Horizons is presented in partnership with the Gerald and Sally DeNardo Lectureship, the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, the Center of Performing Arts, the Department of Anthropology, and the Public Health Program.

Regina Rabinovich

Tuesday, April 13
7:30 p.m.
Louis B. Mayer Theatre
Advance reservations requested, free

Gerald and Sally DeNardo Lectureship and the President's Speaker Series: “Global Health: Taking Stock of 'Neglected Diseases'” As director of Infectious Diseases Development at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Dr. Rabinovich develops and implements strategies for the prevention, treatment, and control of diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and pneumonia. Given that vaccines are often unavailable for poor countries, Dr. Rabinovich has embarked on a personal crusade to create awareness of the impact of these diseases on global health.

Merrill Singer

Thursday, April 22
6 p.m.
St. Clare Room, 3rd Floor, Learning Commons,
Sobrato Technology Center & Orradre Library, free.

"Syndemics!"  While the H1N1 flu virus introduced us to the idea of pandemics, Dr. Merrill Singer has developed the concept "syndemic" to draw attention to the significance of disease interactions. A syndemic occurs when two diseases afflict a population at the same time, one magnifying the negative health effects of the other, especially as a consequence of adverse social conditions such as poverty.  Dr. Singer, a cultural and medical anthropologist, holds a dual appointment as Senior Research Scientist at the Center for Health, Intervention, and Presentation, and Professor of Anthropology at the University of Connecticut. 

Nicole Hassoun

Tuesday, May 4
12:00 noon
Wiegand Room
Arts & Sciences Building, free

Ethics at Noon: “Fair Trade Health: Access to Essential Drugs for the Poor.” About one third of all deaths, 18 million per year, are poverty-related. Reasons for this include that the global poor cannot access many of the existing drugs and technologies they need and that little of the new drugs and technologies benefits the poor. Dr. Hassoun considers new ways of restructuring incentives for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to encourage them to exte3nd access to essential drugs and technologies to the poor. An Assistant Professor in Philosophy at Carnegie Mellon University, Dr. Hassoun is spending this year at the Center for Ethics and Society at Stanford University.

Angels in the Dust

Tuesday, May 18
7:00 p.m.
Recital Hall
Music & Dance Building, free

This film depicts the inspiring story of Marion Cloete, who, with her husband and three daughters, fearlessly walked away from a privileged life in a wealthy Johannesburg suburb to build Botshabelo, an extraordinary village and school that provides shelter, food, and education to more that 550 South African children.  Angels in the Dust is a story of hope and healing in the face of a staggering crisis as AIDS is leaving entire South African villages decimated and thousands of children orphaned, with no adults to raise them. Talkback immediately following the film. Co-sponsored by the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics and the Center of Performing Arts.

For more information call 408-554-2301 or visit www.scu.edu/denardo

If you have a disability and require a reasonable accommodation, please call Marie Brancati at 408-554-2301 (voice) or 1-800-735-2929 (TTY-California Relay) at least 72 hours prior to the event you wish to attend.