Symposium helps dad understand daughter鈥檚 medical condition
Graham Smith of Dublin, 帝王会所, is neither a medical clinician nor a research scientist. But when the Heritage College hosted experts from around the world for the third annual International Symposium on Growth Hormone and Metabolism in June, he was there, talking shop with them.
Smith had learned about the upcoming symposium from Jennifer Klein, 帝王会所鈥檚 assistant dean for persistence and student success 鈥 and Smith鈥檚 sister. He showed up hoping to learn whatever top scientists and clinicians could tell him about the health prospects of his 6-year-old daughter, Hadley, who was born with a growth hormone (GH) deficiency. Since her condition was diagnosed three years ago, she has taken a daily injection of human GH to compensate for her body鈥檚 inability to produce the hormone.
鈥淚 really had three purposes,鈥 Smith recalled. 鈥淚 had specific questions about the cause of growth hormone deficiency, I wanted to see where the research was headed, and I wanted to see what my daughter鈥檚 outlook was as an adult.鈥
Though the research presentations at the gathering were by and for experts, Smith said he was made to feel welcome and came away with valuable new insights into Hadley鈥檚 condition and what her future may hold.
鈥淚 did learn a good deal about my daughter鈥檚 outlook as an adult,鈥 he said. 鈥淟earning about the complex interactions that happen within the endocrine system was extremely useful. And then being able to tie all of that into her long-term outlook was very helpful, and it educated me in being better able to talk to her physicians.鈥
John Kopchick, Ph.D., was one of the symposium鈥檚 main organizers. Kopchick, who holds the Milton and Lawrence H. Goll Eminent Scholar Endowed Professorship of Molecular and Cellular Biology at the Heritage College, said he was glad Smith was able to attend and pick the brains of some of the world鈥檚 premier GH experts.
鈥淚 had not met Graham before the symposium,鈥 Kopchick said. 鈥淗e contacted me, asking if he could come, and I said, 鈥楢bsolutely, sure!鈥 I was really impressed that he stayed, he learned. He was able to learn information on up-to-date issues that perhaps a normal family doctor or endocrinologist, whoever treats his daughter, might not have. Because the material presented was new and as good as it gets.鈥
For example, Kopchick said, Smith learned that longitudinal studies have found no indication that injections such as those his daughter is taking can cause cancer, reproductive problems or mental health issues. Other good news, he said, is that drugs now being developed may in the near future make it possible for children with Hadley鈥檚 condition to take their shots less often.
鈥淭he companies have formulated growth hormone differently, which they鈥檙e trying in patients to administer twice a week, once a week, even once a month,鈥 Kopchick explained. 鈥淣one of those have been approved yet, but that鈥檚 coming. No one likes needles, especially children. So if instead of once a day you could do it once every two weeks, that would be great.鈥
For his part, Smith said he was impressed not only by how responsive the symposium participants were, but how engaged they are in the work they鈥檙e doing.
鈥淎bsolutely! They were friendly and genuinely excited,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 meet a single person who seemed to just be, you know, punching in and out. People were genuinely enthusiastic about their research and their work, and that was comforting to see.鈥
Klein called her brother鈥檚 involvement in the symposium a wonderful example of how the university and its medical college turn research findings into human benefits.
鈥淚ntellectual pursuit here makes concrete changes in people鈥檚 lives and in their quality of life,鈥 she said. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 what I witnessed.鈥