Parkinson’s Disease, Treatment and Personal Perspectives to be Explored
with Biology Conference at Long Island University’s Brooklyn Campus
March 7 conference is free and open to the public

Brooklyn, N.Y. – On Saturday, March 7, at Long Island University’s Brooklyn Campus, a special conference will focus on Parkinson’s disease, a chronic and degenerative movement disorder that has no cure and afflicts as many as one million people in the United States. The conference will feature presentations from individuals affected by the disease and from researchers of innovative dance and fitness therapies as well as from neurologists and clinicians.

Entitled, "Parkinson's Disease: What It Is and How Can It Be Treated," the conference is co-sponsored by the Brooklyn Campus biology department and the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation. It will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 7, in room 119 of the Zeckendorf Health Sciences Center on the Campus, located at the intersection of DeKalb Avenue and Flatbush Avenue Extension. This event is free and open to the public.

The morning session of the conference will address issues in diagnosis and treatment with presentations by Martin Niethammer, M.D., of the Movement Disorders Institute at the Harvey Cushing Institutes of Neuroscience of the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System; Panida Piboolnurak, M.D., assistant professor of neurology at Weill Cornell Medical College; and Yasser Salem, Ph.D., assistant professor of physical therapy at the Brooklyn Campus with two members of the Brooklyn Parkinson’s Group.

In the afternoon, innovative dance and fitness programs developed at the Brooklyn Campus will be presented by J. Adam Noah, Ph..D., engineer and technical director, and Shaw Bronner, Ph.D., associate professor of research and director, both at the ADAM Center and MoCap laboratory at the Brooklyn Campus; assistant sports sciences professors David Spierer, Ed.D. and Yasser Salem, Ph.D., and associate physical therapy professor Rebecca States, Ph.D., also of the Brooklyn Campus.

“This conference will increase awareness of Parkinson’s disease among the general public as well as among students, who are future medical care practitioners,” said the event’s organizer, biology professor Carole Griffiths. She added, “Most importantly, it will send a message of hope about symptom management to patients and their families.”

For further information about the conference, please contact Carole Griffiths at (718) 780-4164 or Carole.Griffiths@liu.edu.

Media Contact: (718) 488-1015

Posted: February 23, 2009