Harbor-UCLA Pediatrics

Department of Pediatrics faculty member Dr. Jennifer Yee (Division of Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism) and former faculty member Dr. Michael Kaback (Division of Medical Genetics) will be honored at the 7th Annual Legends 2010 event.

Join the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center for a memorable evening celebrating the distinguished service and the many contributions of LA BioMed’s and Harbor-UCLA’s physician-researchers.

Event Details
The 7th Annual Legends 2010
Thursday, May 20, 2010 - 6:30 p.m.
Trump National Golf Club
Rancho Palos Verdes, CA

For more information and tickets ($175 per person) please contact:
Lisa Bosnich
Office of Institutional Advancement
LA BioMed
310.222.4240
lbosnich@LABioMed.org

This year’s honorees include:

Dr. Michael M. Kaback, (Medical Genetics), 1972-1986
Dr. Kaback is a former faculty member of the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Medical Genetics. He is currently a Professor in the Department of Pediatrics and Reproductive Medicine at the University of California, San Diego. Michael Kaback is a world renowned leader in the understanding and treatment of Tay-Sachs disease.

A mere 40 years ago, parents did not know they were carriers of the Tay-Sachs disease until after they had given birth to a child with this fatal genetic disorder. Due to genetic screening and outreach launched by Dr. Michael Kaback and others at LA BioMed in 1971, the disease has been virtually eliminated in the U.S. and Canada among Ashkenazi Jews of Eastern European origin. Ashkenazi Jews are most likely to carry the recessive genes that cause Tay-Sachs disease.

Dr. Kaback created the California Tay-Sachs Disease Prevention Program, an outreach and testing program that has spread around the world. It has helped Ashkenazi Jews and other high risk groups determine whether they are likely to give birth to a child with the disorder. Tay-Sachs disease is usually fatal within the first four to five years of life. Other organizations have used Dr. Kaback's program as a model to markedly decrease the incidence of another genetic disorder, Thalassemia, in Sardinia and throughout the Mediterranean.

Dr. Stanley G. Korenman, Medicine (Endocrinology), 1966-1970
Dr. Korenman, an endocrinologist, was a member of the Harbor-UCLA Department of Medicine from 1966 to 1970. He served as the founding director of the General Clinical Research Center at LA BioMed. Today, he serves as Medical Director of the General Clinical Research Center at UCLA, Professor of Medicine and Associate Dean for Ethics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

Dr. Korenman is a world-renowned ethicist and the author of more than 135 peer-reviewed publications and 67 books and book chapters, including the Office of Research Integrity’s authoritative publication on ethics for human research. He founded the MD-PhD program at UCLA and served as the Director of UCLA’s Medical Scientist Training Program from 1981-2003.

As a researcher, Dr. Korenman developed the estrogen receptor assay for human breast cancer that is still used 40 years later to direct choices of therapy. Dr. Korenman also determined the sequence of reproductive hormones characterizing changes in normal menstrual cycles throughout reproductive life and into menopause. He also studied the relationship between gonadotropin and androgen changes in men with aging and erectile dysfunction.

Dr. William H. Swanson, Medical Director, 1965-1997
Dr. William Swanson, was the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center Medical Director and an Associate Dean and Professor of Medicine at UCLA School of Medicine from 1967 to 1997. From 1967 to 1997, Dr. Swanson dedicated himself to public service by leading the medical staff at Harbor-UCLA through challenging and rewarding times.

Under his leadership, the executive team at Harbor-UCLA developed one of the nation’s leading medical teams and Harbor-UCLA became known as one of the best public hospitals in the country. Dr. Swanson was also instrumental in LA BioMed’s development and success. He served on LA BioMed's Board of Directors, as the secretary of its Executive Committee and as a member of its Human Subjects and Research committees when LA BioMed was known as the Research and Education Institute or REI. He received the Distinguished Service and Leadership Award from Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in 1993. He is retired.

Dr. Lucien B. Guze, Medicine (Infectious Diseases), 1967-1981
Dr. Lucien Guze, served as the Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center Department, from 1967-1981. He will receive a memorial tribute presented by Dr. Jack Edwards, Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine.

Dr. Guze was widely praised as a teacher, receiving the UCLA Best Teacher Award from five graduating classes. He was also renowned for his research on pyelonephritis, an infection of the kidneys and the ducts that carry urine from the kidneys. His group developed the first experimental model imitating the human disease which was then used for a wide range of studies.

Dr. Jennifer K. Yee , Department of Pediatrics (Endocrinology)
Dr. Yee will be honored as the 2010 Liu Young Investigator and the winner of the Richard B. Weitzman Memorial Award for Meritorious Research in the Biomedical Sciences.

Dr. Yee is researching childhood obesity and is collaborating with Dr. Mina Desai, who has established several animal models of programmed obesity. Dr. Yee is being mentored by Drs. W.N. Paul Lee and Michael Ross as she seeks to understand how the fatty acid building process can lead to fat cell growth. Her goal is the development of information that could help devise treatments for obesity.

“Dr. Yee is an example of the exceptional young researchers at LA BioMed who will lead it into the second half of the 21st century,” said Dr. Meyer, LA BioMed President and CEO. “Her research seeks to increase the understanding of one of the most vexing health care issues: childhood obesity. We are especially pleased to honor her with these two awards to help her continue her vital studies.”