Newly Appointed Members to LRF Scientific Medical Advisory Council

The Lymphatic Research Foundation (LRF) has announced a restructuring of the Foundation's Scientific/Medical Advisory Council, comprising experts in the field from renowned academic and medical institutions in the US and Europe. Initially formed in 1999 shortly after LRF was founded, the Scientific/Medical Advisory Council (SMAC) provides guidance and support for the Foundation's programmatic and outreach/education efforts with the goal of helping to achieve LRF's mission of advancing research of the lymphatic system and finding improved treatments and cures for lymphatic diseases, lymphedema, and related disorders.

David C. Zawieja, PhD, Professor and Vice Chair, Systems Biology and Translational Medicine and Director of the Division of Lymphatic Biology at Texas A&M University and member of the LRF-SMAC since 2000, has accepted a three-year term as the Council's new Chair. Stanley G. Rockson, MD, Allan and Tina Neill Professor of Lymphatic Research and Medicine, Chief of Consultative Cardiology, and Director, Stanford Center for Lymphatic and Venous Disorders, Stanford University School of Medicine, a founding SMAC member, steps down as the Council's first Chair and remains on the new Council with designation of LRF Founding Scientific & Medical Advisor.

Other Council members include Kari K. Alitalo, MD, PhD, Academy Professor, Research Council for Health, The Academy of Finland; Helsinki; Stanley J. Goldsmith, MD, Director, Division of Nuclear Medicine, Department of Radiology at The New York Presbyterian Hospital and Professor of Radiology and Medicine at the Weill Medical College, Cornell University; New York, NY; Donald McDonald, MD, PhD, Professor, Department of Anatomy, University of California, San Francisco, CA; Peter S. Mortimer, MD, FRCP, Professor of Dermatological Medicine, St. George's and the Royal Marsdan Hospitals, London, England; Nancy Ruddle, PhD, Professor Emerita and Senior Research Scientist in Epidemiology and Public Health and Immunobiology, Biological & Biomedical Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT; Melody A. Swartz, PhD, Professor of Bioengineering and Director, Laboratory of Lymphatic and Cancer Bioengineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland; and Miikka Vikkula, MD, PhD, Professor of Human Genetics, de Duve Institute and Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium.

Lymphedema and Lymphatic Malformations Symposium

The Lymphatic Research Foundation and Children's Hospital Boston proudly sponsored a free symposium,” An Update on Primary and Secondary Lymphedema and Lymphatic Malformations” recently held in Boston, MA. This symposium was well attended by patients, family members, and health care professionals. Close to 75 attendees came to Children's Hospital Boston to hear Arin Greene, MD, MMSc of Harvard Medical School and Children's Hospital Boston talk on “The Presentation and Management of Lymphedema and Lymphatic Malformations,” and Miikka Vikkula, MD, PhD of de Duve Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium spoke on “The Genetic Basis of Lymphedema/Lymphatic Diseases.” These attendees listened intently to the current state of affairs of research and treatment and had the opportunity to ask questions relating to both talks. Dr. Steven Fishman, MD, Co-Director of the Vascular Anomalies Center at Children's Hospital Boston was the moderator for the evening and facilitated a lively discussion. Jacqueline Reinhard, Executive Director of the Lymphatic Research Foundation, gave an introduction to the program followed by the LRF video, ”Call to Action,” which highlights the need for further research for lymphedema and lymphatic diseases. LRF plans on holding symposia such as this at a selection of locations across the United States to continue its mission to raise awareness and for the lymphatic diseases and lymphedema.