ASH Holds a Special Symposium to Interest High School Students in Biomedica...( SAN FRANCISCO Dec. 3 -- The American...),Health

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Society of Hematology (ASH) will host its annual High School Student Symposium at the San Francisco Marriott on Thursday, December 4, 2008, beginning at 8:00 a.m. PST. The symposium, which encourages an interest in hematology, the biological sciences, and medical research, is held in conjunction with the Society's 50th Annual Meeting. This year, students will have the opportunity to explore research on sickle cell disease, an inherited blood disorder that distorts the shape of red blood cells, causing severe pain in patients who have the disease.

"Part of ASH's mission is to help train the next generation of biomedical scientists and clinicians, and the High School Symposium plays an important role in that endeavor, showing these young students that hematology is an exciting field that critically affects human health," said Scott D. Gitlin, MD, Chair of ASH's Committee on Training Programs, which organized the event.

Students from four local high schools, including Abraham Lincoln High School, Thurgood Marshall Academic High School, Wallenberg High School, and Galileo Academy High School, will participate in a series of activities related to sickle cell disease during the half-day symposium. Each student will receive a worksheet to gather data related to the presentations. Teachers will later use the worksheet to facilitate classroom discussions. In addition, small breakout sessions will provide the students with hands-on demonstrations and scientific techniques related to sickle cell disease and biomedical research.

After a kick-off breakfast, two physicians from the Children's Hospital and Research Center at Oakland will give presentations. Keith Quirolo, MD, will give a lecture on the diagnosis and clinical manifestations of sickle cell disease followed by Carolyn Hoppe, MD, who will discuss treatment options. Students will also have the
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