The Biomechanics of Human Motion
Thomas Andriacchi, PhD
Professor of Mechanical Engineering (Biomechanical Engineering) and of Orthopaedic Surgery

How people walk, or play sports, can impact whether they get hurt.  Studies from the Stanford BioMotion Laboratory may lead to a design for walking shoes that could slow the rate of osteoarthritis progression but also may help athletes prevent knee injuries that cause chronic osteoarthritis later in life.  This tour will focus on the biomechanics of human motion as it relates to sports injury and human performance.  Visitors will see a unique method to capture human movement that has been developed in the laboratory as well as on-going studies on knee injuries in sports.

A New Era in Targeted Therapies to Treat Cancer
(This session is targeted for PhD alumni. MD alumni are also welcome to attend.)
Amato Giaccia, PhD
Professor of Cancer Biology and Associate Director of the Stanford Cancer Center, Stanford University School of Medicine

Standard cytotoxic agents for treating cancer are imperfect due to toxicity to normal, non-cancerous tissue.  A major focus of cancer research is aimed at identifying specific molecular features of tumors in order to directly target the cancer with the hope of reducing or eliminating unwanted side effects.  Targeted therapy for the treatment of cancer and metastasis has made great advances in the last decade.  In this talk, we will discuss new approaches to develop targeted therapies for the treatment of cancer that are more specific and effective.

How to Kill the Cells that Might Kill the Patient
Stefanie S. Jeffrey, MD
Associate Professor of Surgery (General Surgery) at the Stanford University Medical Center, Chief, Surgical Oncology Research, John and Marva Warnock Faculty Scholar in Cancer Research at the School of Medicine  

Soild tumors, such as carcinomas of the lung, prostate, breast and gastrointestinal tract, are comprised of mixed populations of malignant cells that may differ in their metastatic potential and drug sensitivity.  Research in the Jeffrey Lab is focused around the question of how to best predict specific therapies that will benefit an individual cancer patient at a given time in the course of their disease.  In other words, how to kill the cells that might kill the patient?

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are malignant cells identifiable in the blood of cancer patients that may seed or re-seed metastases.  The Jeffrey Lab, in collaboration with scientists at the Stanford Genome Technology Center and the Stanford Department of Electrical Engineering, has invented a robotic devise that isolates live circulating tumor cells (CTSs) from the blood of cancer patients.  The lab's focus is to study the genes and proteins that are expressed by individual CTCs to learn more about the basic biology of metastases and to determine if CTC characterization can better guide drug choice for individual cancer therapy.

Visual Anatomy: Past, Present and Future
Amy L. Ladd, MD
Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery (Hand Surgery) and, by courtesy, of Medicine (Immunology & Rheumatology) and Surgery at the Stanford University Medical Center

The study of visual anatomy is the basis for the depiction of human body in classic art and has also been used for medical education.  Visual anatomy is the descriptive science dealing with anatomical features that can be studied by sight.  Dr. Ladd will showcase the evolution of anatomy education from the18th century Italian waxworks of Clemente Susini to the stereoscopic images of cadaver dissections of Dr. David L. Bassett and on to  the modern, high-resolution three-dimensional representations of anatomical structures modeled from fresh dissections.  This tour will include a visual presentation given inside the Goodman Simulation Center.

Stanford’s role in the Future of Health Care
Charles G. Prober, MD
Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education; Professor of Pediatrics (Infectious Diseases) and of Microbiology and Immunology

Stanford has a tradition of recruiting students who have passionate interests and vast creativity. The mission of the School of Medicine is to develop and direct our students’ skills and passion so they can become outstanding clinicians and scientists who improve the health of the world’s people through research, innovation, and leadership. The key goals of the Stanford MD curriculum is to meld the 21st century basic laboratory and medical sciences and to help each student build in-depth study and independent research in an area of personal interest through scholarly concentrations.  Dr. Prober will be describing how the new curriculum is helping students become leaders in health care.