HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Dr. Judith Campisi, a pre-eminent research scientist with the Buck Institute on Aging in Berkeley, Calif., will visit Marshall University’s Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine later this week for two lectures on aging and the disease process.

Campisi will present “Aging and Chronic Disease: Puzzles & Promises,” at noon Thursday, Dec. 13, in the Harless Auditorium at the Marshall University Medical Center, sponsored by Marshall Internal Medicine.  The presentation is open to the public.

The internationally recognized scientist is also scheduled to present a research-focused lecture titled “Aging and Cancer:  Rival Demons,” to medical and biomedical sciences students at noon, Friday, Dec. 14, in room 102 at the Robert C. Byrd Biotechnology Science Center.

Campisi has spent the majority of her career studying the molecular and cellular links between cancer and aging. She and her team of researchers delve into how senescence – the process of cellular aging – can harm nearby cells in ways that promote cancer.

“We are absolutely thrilled to have Dr. Campisi visit Marshall University,” said Dr. Richard Niles, senior associate dean for biomedical graduate education.  “In addition to her outstanding achievements in the field of cancer and aging research, Dr. Campisi has served as a mentor to dozens of students and postdoctoral fellows and I know our students and faculty will certainly benefit from her visit.”

Campisi earned her Ph.D. in biochemistry at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and her postdoctoral training in cell cycle regulation and cancer at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School. She was an assistant and associate professor at the Boston University Medical School until 1991, when she accepted a senior scientist position at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. In 2002, she established a second laboratory at the Buck Institute for Age Research, where she is also a professor.

Date Posted: Thursday, December 13, 2012