The UC Davis Health System announced another talk in the Dean's Lecture Series, featuring an authority on the organization of academic medical centers, and the annual Summer Institute on Neurodevelopmental Disorders.

The lecture is free and open to the general public, whereas the summer institute, with tuition, is designed for clinicians, educators, students and therapists, as well as parents of children and adults with neurodevelopmental disabilities, including autism, and caregivers of children and adults with such disabilities.

'The Leadership Imperative for Academic Medicine'

The speaker is Darrell G. Kirch, a physician, educator and scientist, and president and chief executive officer of the Association of American Medical Colleges.

The organizers of his talk here said he will address ongoing changes in health care and how these changes are providing opportunities for the redesign of medical education, research, clinical care and community engagement.

As the leader of the organization responsible for strengthening the education, research and patient care initiatives of the nation’s medical schools, teaching hospitals and health systems, Kirch is a respected spokesman and advocate for health care reform.

“Our nation faces tremendous fiscal challenges fueled by unsustainable increases in health care costs and spending at the federal, state and private levels,” Kirch said. “Redesigning health care is a moral and economic imperative for the future of our nation. Health care systems — especially academic health systems — need to be ready to take on this challenge and lead the way in facilitating this transformation.”

Kirch’s career spans all aspects of academic medicine. Prior to becoming president of the Association of American Medical Colleges in 2006, he held leadership positions with the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center at Pennsylvania State University and the Medical College of Georgia. He is a psychiatrist and neuroscientist who once served as acting scientific director of the National Institute of Mental Health.

The Dean’s Lecture Series, hosted by Claire Pomeroy, vice chancellor for Human Health Sciences and dean of the School of Medicine, brings nationally recognized speakers to Sacramento to illuminate how science, technology and policy can improve health and health care for all. Pomeroy is a member of the board of directors of the Association of American Medical Colleges.

Kirch’s talk is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. Tuesday (July 12) in the auditorium at the MIND Institute, 2825 50th St., Sacramento. A reception is planned after his talk.

People interested in attending the free program are asked to register in advance; registration can be arranged by telephone, (916) 734-9101 or by e-mail, specialevents@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu.

Videos of previous installments in the Dean's Lecture Series.

Summer Institute on Neurodevelopmental Disorders

This year’s program, “Across the Lifespan: Research to Practice,” includes two keynote speakers: Louis Vismara, a physician and one of the founders of UC Davis’ MIND Institute, and daughter Laurie Vismara, an assistant research scientist at the MIND Institute, discussing “Autism Research and Policy: A Family Journey," about the importance of family advocacy in advancing research and public policy. The Vismaras have a son and brother with autism.

Other speakers will include educators and clinicians from around the state and nation.

The organizers listed these highlights: “Fist Signs of Autism: Rethinking Onset,” by Sally Ozonoff, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the MIND Institute and an internationally respected expert in the early identification of autism; and “Environmental Contributors to Autism Spectrum Disorders,” by Isaac Pessah, director of UC Davis’ Center for Children’s Environmental Health.

The daylong conference, Friday, Aug. 5, is sponsored jointly by the MIND Institute, UC Davis’ Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities and the UC Davis Health System’s Office of Continuing Medical Education, and California State University, Sacramento. The conference chair is UC Davis’ Robin L. Hansen, professor of pediatrics, and director of the Center of Excellence in Developmental Disabilities and clinical programs at the MIND Institute.

Tuition (including lunch): $175 for health care professionals and other professionals, $100 for students and parents-caregivers. Discounts: $150 for two parents registering together, $160 per person for groups of five or more professionals from the same agency. Tuition goes up after July 15, to a range of $120 to $210.

The venue for the institute is the University Union Ballroom at Sacramento State University.

Continuing medical education credits are available. Information is available online or by telephone, (916) 734-5390, from the UC Davis Health System’s Office of Continuing Medical Education.

A preconference workshop is scheduled from 1 to 4 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 4, on “Self-Advocacy: Giving Persons With Disabilities a Voice.” The organizers Barbara Glaeser and Debra Cote, professors of special education at California State University, Fullerton, will lead the workshop, to be held at the MIND Institute.

Workshop fee: $85, including a copy of The Self-Advocacy Strategy Manual (book and DVD). To register, contact Sharon Fallis, sharon.fallis@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu. The registration deadline is July 18.

More information, including the institute and workshop fliers.