For Immediate Release
July 12, 2007

 BUFFALO, NY – The public is invited to a stimulating presentation by an outstanding scholar in the field of social justice and research. Vanessa Northington Gamble, MD, PhD, Director, National Center for Bioethics in Research and Health Care, Tuskegee University, will discuss issues of race and health care disparities, Wednesday, July 25 at 6 pm in the David C. Hohn, MD, Lecture Hall, Research Studies Center, Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI).

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown will introduce Dr. Gamble as she offers an historical perspective on the famous Tuskegee Study as it relates to healthcare disparities in the 21^st century. Dr. Gamble is being invited as part of the introduction of a new RPCI Office of Cancer Health Disparities Research because of her expertise in issues of racism, social justice and research. The public also is invited to a community reception at 5 pm.

The Tuskegee study has come to symbolize racism in medicine, ethical misconduct in human research, paternalism by physicians, and government abuse of vulnerable people. Recognized for its negative impact on the relationship between African Americans and the bio-medical professions, the study is seen as a significant factor in the low participation of African Americans in clinical trials, organ donations efforts and routine preventive care. 

In 1997, Dr. Gamble chaired the Tuskegee Syphilis Study Legacy Committee that led to the public apology by President Bill Clinton for the public health role in the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. The study was revealed as “the longest non-therapeutic experiment on human beings in medical history” in 1972 by the New York Times. Dr. Gamble will offer insights into the impact that study has today with challenges of reducing health disparities. Her presentation is titled, “United States Public Health Service Syphilis Study at Tuskegee: Experimentation, Revelation, Commemoration and Transformation.”

“Roswell Park is pleased to invite the Western New York community to join us for this unique opportunity to review the past and future of racism, ethics and health disparities with a premier scholar on the topic,” said Deborah Erwin, PhD, Director of the Office of Cancer Health Disparities Research, RPCI. “The international contributions made to this field by Dr. Gamble will undoubtedly provide new insights in the critical task of evaluating research and the role of clinical ethics.”

The Office of Cancer Health Disparities Research at Roswell Park is committed to providing resources and energy to create an exemplary outreach and research program to address issues of cancer health disparities in minority and medically underserved populations. The goal of this program is to assure that all cancer patients and communities in Western New York benefit from the clinical and scientific advances accomplished by the Institute.

Roswell Park Cancer Institute, founded in 1898, is the nation’s first cancer research, treatment and education center and is the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center in Upstate New York. RPCI is a member of the prestigious National Comprehensive Cancer Network, an alliance of the nation’s leading cancer centers. Roswell Park has affiliate sites and collaborative programs in New York, Pennsylvania, and in China. For more information, visit RPCI’s website at www.roswellpark.org, call 1-877-ASK-RPCI (1-877-275-7724) or e-mail askrpci@roswellpark.org.

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