The next Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC Maury Strauss Distinguished Public Lecture will be held tomorrow, Thursday, November 4 at 5:30 PM in room M203, at 2 Riverside Circle where Mark L. Batshaw, MD will present, “Gene Therapy and Liver Transplants for Birth Defect.”
Dr. Batshaw is the Developmental Pediatrics Senior Investigator at the Center for Genetic Medicine Research at the Children’s National Hospital in Washington, DC and Professor of Pediatrics at The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Until this summer, Dr. Batshaw had served as the Chief Academic Officer at Children’s National Hospital, leading its growth to become one of the top children’s hospitals and pediatrics research institutes in the United States and in the world.
Registration is required for in person attendance at http://fralinbiomed.info/batshaw-lecture in order to limit seating and follow public health guidelines. Masks are required and full Covid-19 vaccination is strongly encouraged for all in-person attendees. For those who cannot attend in person, they may watch the program live at https://virginiatech.zoom.us/j/89350646999 or https://fbri.vtc.vt.edu/events/live-webcast.html
Dr. Batshaw is a leading innovator in the development of treatments for urea cycle disorders in children, a rare group of rare genetic metabolic disorders that are associated with episodes of coma and brain damage. These disorders are due to an accumulation of ammonia that is normally detoxified in the liver through a cycle of enzymes that, when functioning normally, leads to the excretion of toxic waste. Dr. Batshaw will discuss the history of the development of therapies for these disorders, including the potential use of gene therapy and gene editing to cure these disorders.
Dr. Batshaw has been awarded the C. Anderson Aldrich Award for physicians in the field of child development, the Arnold J. Capute Award for service and advocacy for children with disabilities by the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Arc’s Distinguished Research Award. He is past President of American Pediatrics Society.