Thursday, April 18th, 2013, 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. at the Harn Museum of Art
Forum on Health, Medicine, and Culture
Five distinguished speakers from different disciplines presented their current work, followed by attendees break-out sessions to raise awareness of the diversity of work happening at UF, identify potential overlap in our interests, and discuss opportunities for collaboration.
Speakers:
Michael S. Okun, M.D. “Bridging the Cultural and Language Divide in Parkinson’s Disease”
Dr. Okun is considered a world’s authority on Parkinson’s disease treatment, and his publications provide a voice and an outlet to empower people living all over the world. He is currently Administrative Director and Co-director of the University of Florida Center for Movement Disorders and Neurorestoration.
Eric Segal, PhD. “Interdisciplinary Collaborations at the Harn Museum of Art”
Dr. Segal is Curator of Academic Programs at the Harn Museum of Art.
He specializes in American Art, race and visual culture studies (including popular illustration).
Vassiliki B. Smocovitis, Ph.D. “The Devil’s Heritage: Masuo Kodani, Human Genetics, and the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission in Japan (1947-1954)”
Dr. Smocovitis is Professor of the History of Science in the Department of Biology and the Department of History. She is a historian of biology with an interest in the emergence of the post-war biomedical sciences, especially in the context of the cold war. She is currently working on Masuo Kodani, a Japanese American geneticist, and his work on the “human chromosome story,” which emerged from his studies on genetic material collected from the survivors of the atomic blasts at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Jill Sonke, MFA. “Arts in Medicine at UF”
Ms. Sonke is Co-Founder and Director of the Center for the Arts in Medicine at the University of Florida, is on the faculty of the School of Theatre and Dance at the University of Florida and is Assistant Director and Artist in Residence for Shands Arts in Medicine at the University of Florida. She has been an Artist in Residence in the Shands Arts in Medicine program since 1994, where she founded the Dance for Life program. Ms. Sonke is active in research, curriculum and program development at UF, International exchange and study abroad, and is a frequent presenter and guest artist at universities, conferences, hospitals, and festivals throughout the United States and abroad.
Carolyn M. Tucker, Ph.D.: “Patient-Centered Culturally Sensitive Health Care ‘with an Ear for the Beat of Different Hearts”
Dr. Tucker is the Florida Blue Endowed Chair in Health Disparities Research at the University of Florida (UF) and the Richard and Thelma O. C. Barney Endowed Term Professor of Health Disparities in the UF College of Medicine (2008-present).