The California Science Center presents:

"Science Matters: The Medicalization of Race"
A speakers program exploring challenging science issues at the forefront of public concern
 
Saturday, November 21, 2009
1:00 – 2:30 p.m.

California Science Center
700 State Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90037
Donald P. Loker Conference Center

Many scientists argue that the concept of ‘race’ has no biological meaning and that racial classification is a social construct that perpetuates harmful inequities. Others contend that racial groups can genetically differ from one another and that the differences can have medical importance.
What is the scientific basis of race and human variation? How much emphasis should doctors and researchers place on the role of race in health issues? Program moderator Tavis Smiley will discuss this issue with panelists who offer different viewpoints on the science and policy of racial categorization in medical research and disease treatment.

Distinguished panelists include:

Tavis Smiley — Moderator
Host, Tavis Smiley on PBS and The Tavis Smiley Show from PRI

Pragna I. Patel, Ph.D.
Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles

Yolanda T. Moses, Ph.D.
Professor of Anthropology, University of California, Riverside

Esteban Gonzalez Burchard, M.D., M.P.H.
Associate Professor of Biopharmaceutical Sciences and Medicine, University of California, San Francisco

Michael Montoya, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Anthropology, University of California, Irvine

Admission is FREE! Register online: http://goto.californiasciencecenter.org/sm or by phone: (213) 744-2420