Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) will present The Seventh Annual Sue Kim Hanson Lecture in Immunology on Friday, September 12, 2008 at noon in the School's Keefer Auditorium. The annual lecture is in honor of Sue Kim Hanson, MA, PhD '02, a former researcher in BUSM's Pulmonary Center. Kim Hanson, along with her husband and daughter, were passengers on United Airline flight 175, the second plane that struck the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

The lecture titled, "Transcription factors that regulate inflammatory diseases," will focus on immune system transcription factors that control the severity of autoimmune diseases like inflammatory bowel disease. It will be presented by Dr. Laurie Glimcher, MD, the Irene Heinz Given Professor of Immunology, Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases at Harvard University School of Public Health.

Glimcher's laboratory uses biochemical and genetic approaches to elucidate the molecular pathways that regulate CD4 T helper cell development and activation. The complex regulatory pathways governing Thelper1/Thelper2 (TH1/TH2) responses are critical for both the development of protective immunity and for the pathophysiologic immune responses underlying autoimmune diseases.



Kim Hanson moved to Boston and earned a MA degree in medical sciences from BUSM in 1992. After graduation, she joined the School's Pulmonary Center. She then concurrently entered the PhD program in the department of pathology and laboratory medicine at BUSM.

Her thesis project was an investigation of the role of interleukin-16 in immunity and targeted deletion of the interleukin-16 gene in mice. Her degree was awarded posthumously by unanimous vote by the thesis committee.

"Sue was on her way to a promising career in molecular biology," said David Center, MD, Gordon and Ruth Snider Professor of Pulmonary Medicine, Professor of Medicine and Biochemistry at BUSM. "While her life was taken at an early age, her legacy lives on through this annual lecture. We are proud to remember and honor her and her family each year."

Established in 1873, Boston University School of Medicine is a leading academic and research institution, with an enrollment of nearly 630 students and more than 1,100 full and part-time faculty members. It is known for its programs in arthritis, cardiovascular disease, cancer, human genetics, pulmonary disease and dermatology, among others, and is one of the major biomedical research institutions in the United States. The School is affiliated with Boston Medical Center, its principal teaching hospital, and Boston Veterans Administration Medical Center. Along with Boston Medical Center and 15 community health centers, the School of Medicine is a partner in Boston HealthNet.

Source: Gina Digravio
Boston University