Sally Wenzel, M.D., a global expert on severe asthma, will deliver the next Flexner Discovery Lecture on Thursday, Nov. 9.
Her lecture, “Precision Medicine and Asthma: Is the Vision Meeting the Reality?,” will begin at 4 p.m. in 208 Light Hall. It is sponsored by the Medical Scientist Training Program.
Wenzel is professor of Medicine and director of the Asthma Institute at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
Asthma has long been recognized as a heterogeneous disease. Wenzel and her colleagues pioneered the concept of different asthma phenotypes, including molecular characterization of various types of asthma. They were the first to identify a new disease, called asthmatic granulomatosis, which has features of asthma and autoimmune-like disease.
Though uncertainties remain for patients whose clinical characteristics do not match one of the described asthma phenotypes, targeted treatment is having considerable impact on the overall morbidity of the disease.
Wenzel received the American Thoracic Society (ATS) Elizabeth Rich Award for her role in promoting women in science and the ATS Award for Scientific Achievement. She was also honored with the ATS Foundation’s Breathing for Life Award.
For a complete schedule of the Flexner Discovery Lecture series and archived video of previous lectures, go to www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/discoveryseries.
