Science Café series to be held at Milwaukee Public Library

The Community Engagement Key Function of the Clinical and Translational Science Institute of Southeast Wisconsin will hold a series of Science Cafés at the Milwaukee Public Library’s Central location that are free and open to the public. The theme of the 2013 series is “Science and a Healthier You,” and topics will include obesity, biomedical innovations, Alzheimer’s and dementias, and breast cancer screening and prevention.

The series kicks off Tuesday, March 19 with a discussion led by Robert Topp, PhD, RN, associate dean for research at Marquette University’s College of Nursing; and Angelique Harris, PhD, assistant professor of social and cultural sciences at Marquette University. More than one third of adults in the U.S. are obese. Dr. Topp and Dr. Harris will identify some myths and truths about obesity and its impact on health, and discuss weight loss through lifestyle change and exercise.

On Tuesday, April 16, Malgorzata Franczak, MD, associate professor of neurology at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW), will present the program, “Wait, What did you Say? Learning about Alzheimer’s and Dementias.” More than five million people in the U.S. are living with Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Franczak will share information about research and resources available for patients and their families.

Tuesday, May 21, Andrew Greene, PhD, Dr. Robert D. and Dr. Patricia E. Kern Professor of Biotechnology and Bioengineering at MCW, will lead a conversation about biomedical innovations and the methods by which scientists bring ideas from the laboratory into patient care.

The 2013 Science Café series concludes Tuesday, June 18, with a discussion about breast cancer screening and preventive health led by Alonzo P. Walker, MD, Ruth Teske Professor in Surgical Oncology at MCW. Dr. Walker will discuss the types of breast cancer, the recommendations for screening, and will offer resources for uninsured or underinsured patients, along with prevention tips.

All four Science Cafes will be held at the Milwaukee Central Library at 814 W. Wisconsin Avenue, in the first floor meeting room. Discussion begins at 6:00 p.m. and continues through 7:30 p.m. The discussions are designed to engage and involve members of the community, and all are free and open to the public. Registration for the March café is available now at https://ctsi.mcw.edu/community/science-cafe/, or contact Mia DeFino at (414) 955-5754 or mdefino@mcw.edu.

Science Cafés are a program of the Community Engagement Key Function of the Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) of Southeast Wisconsin. Funding for this program comes in part by the CTSI of southeastern Wisconsin and in part by Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Research and Education Initiative Fund, a component of the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin endowment at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

CTSI is part of a national consortium of top medical research institutions. Working together, the CTSI institutions are committed to improve human health by streamlining science, transforming training environments and improving the conduct, quality and dissemination of clin­ical and translational research. The CTSI program is led by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health.

The eight member organizations of the CTSI are the Medical College of Wisconsin, Marquette University, the Milwaukee School of Engineering, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the BloodCenter of Wisconsin, Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, Froedtert Hospital and the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center.