May 12 event will showcase Stanford's medical research, patient care

Community members are invited to a get a first-hand view of some of the newest facilities at Stanford University Medical Center as well as hearing about the future of medicine from experts in fields ranging from cancer to stem cells to dementia.

The medical center is sponsoring “Healing Matters” on May 12 to showcase its contributions to both medical research and patient care. It will run from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the School of Medicine’s Li Ka Shing Center for Learning and Knowledge. A light breakfast and a boxed lunch will be provided.

The event is free, but those interested must RSVP by contacting Carolyn Yao at cyao1@stanford.edu or (650) 234-0643. Registration is being handled on a first-come, first-served basis.

The day will begin with welcoming remarks from Ron Johnson, CEO of JC Penney and a member of the Stanford Hospital & Clinics board of directors. Afterward, participants will attend breakout sessions on such topics as:

• Transforming billions of points of data into new insights and diagnostics for disease.
• How to prevent, diagnose and treat dementia.
• How the genomic age is affecting the understanding of breast cancer.
• Movement disorders and what can be done about them.
• Earlier detection of cancer.
• The prospects of using stem cells to repair heart damage.

In addition, participants can choose to take walking tours of the Jill and John Freidenrich Center for Translational Research that is now under construction, or the newly opened Stanford Women’s Cancer Center in the Blake Wilbur Building.

The day will conclude with a discussion led by Philip Pizzo, MD, dean of the School of Medicine, and Amir Dan Rubin, president and CEO of Stanford Hospital & Clinics, of what the patient experience will be at the new Stanford Hospital scheduled to open in 2018. The presentation will include a virtual fly-through of the new hospital.