Libby Research Partnership meeting May 17 & 18

Submitted by CARD

 

The Center for Asbestos Related Disease (CARD Clinic) will be hosting a research meeting on Friday and Saturday May 17 and 18 here in Libby, Mont.

CARD are looking forward to the meeting as a way to reconnect with their research partners and for them to connect with each other regarding separate but related research areas to plan future research priorities about Libby Amphibole Asbestos.

CARD’s mission is to provide advocacy, care, resources and hope to the community, and all those across the nation impacted by Libby Amphibole Asbestos and Asbestos related diseases. A large part of what CARD does relies on our research which has helped and continues to help us better understand, prevent and treat asbestos related diseases. The vast majority of CARD’s patients have agreed to participate in research to help this cause, and we truly appreciate their dedication and commitment to helping others.

CARD wants to give patients and others in the community an opportunity to connect with researchers while they are in town, so they will be hosting a research reception from 4 until 5 p.m. on Friday, May 17 at the  CARD Clinic which is located at 214 East 3rd Street in Libby. Everyone are also welcome to attend this event.

Some locals who do important work related to Libby Amphibole have been invited to participate in the two-day research meeting including: 1. Brad Black, MD, CARD’s Medical Director   2.  Mark Peck, County Commissioner   3.  Virginia Kocieda PhD, Director of the Lincoln County Asbestos Resource Program   4. Jan Ivers, Lincoln County Board of Health   5. George Jamison, O&M committee chairperson  6. Tracy McNew, Administrative and Research Director of CARD.

Outside research partners scheduled to speak at the meeting include: 1. Dr. Roger Diegel, Rheumatologist who will present about autoimmune manifestations of exposure to Libby Amphibole (LA) fibers.  2. Patrick Ryan, PhD, from University of Cincinnati who will discuss childhood exposure to Libby Amphibole.   3. Jean Pfau, PhD, from Montana State University who will present about autoimmune markers for progression of asbestos related disease.   4. Claudia Henschke, MD, from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York who will present about lung cancer screening.   5. Kinta Serve, PhD, from Idaho State University who will present about the beneficial effects of flaxseed extract on health outcomes of exposure to LA   6. Curtis Noonan, PhD, from University of Montana who will present about CARD’s asbestos health screening program data   7. Jaime Szeinuk, MD, from North Shore University Hospital in New York who will present about CT scan comparisons from different asbestos-exposed populations.  8. Ian Blair, PhD, from University of Pennsylvania will present about biomarkers for asbestos related disease.  9. Ted Emmett, MD, from University of Pennsylvania will present about community needs in the wake of EPA asbestos cleanup.  10. Tony Reeves, PhD, from Cornell University and David Yankelevitz, MD, from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York will present about digital imaging and Libby disease.

Others who will attend the meeting include Raja Flores, MD Chief of Thoracic Surgery from Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, and Aubrey Miller, MD from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

Dr. Flores acted as Principal Investigator on the five-year LERP (Libby Epidemiology Research Study) project that preceded much of the current research being done on LA.

Dr. Miller was one of the first agency employees who responded to Libby when the extent of asbestos contamination was first realized nearly 20 years ago. His work to coordinate a community response aided development of much of the infrastructure that we have today.

Dr. Serve will also be bringing two of her graduate students to attend the meeting.