LOS ANGELES (April 27, 2012) – The 2012 Legends event, an annual gathering for the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (LA BioMed), will honor two former and one current LA BioMed researcher - Drs. John Buster, Keh-Ming Lin, and Albert Parlow - on Thursday, May 10, at 6 p.m., at Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. The evening will also recognize Michele Berk, Ph.D., who will be presented with the 2012 LA BioMed Young Investigator Award and the Richard E. Weitzman Memorial Award for Meritorious Research.
"We are proud to honor three such distinguished scientists such as Dr. Buster, Dr. Lin, and Dr. Parlow, all of whom have made significant contributions in their respective fields of medicine, and we are also pleased to recognize Dr. Berk for her outstanding work with dialectical behavior therapy for adolescents," said David Meyer, Ph.D., president and CEO of LA BioMed. "All these individuals have carried on with LA BioMed's legacy of groundbreaking research and medical breakthroughs that continue to positively affect individuals in the community and worldwide."
Dr. John Buster: History's First Embryo Transfer
Dr. John Buster was responsible for a number of groundbreaking medical advancements during his 21 years at LA BioMed and Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. Having started out as an intern at Harbor-UCLA in 1966, Dr. Buster and his team performed the first ever embryo transfer in history in 1983, which led to the first human birth resulting from that transfer in 1984.
Additionally, Dr. Buster and his team published findings on the first case series of ectopic pregnancies (outside the uterus) treated successfully with methotrexate, a cancer chemotherapy agent. More recently, Dr. Buster has developed a transdermal patch for women designed to deliver chemically identical testosterone directly into the micro vascular circulation.
Dr. Albert Parlow: Modern Thyroid Deficiency Test and Human Growth Hormone
Dr. Albert Parlow's history with LA BioMed and Harbor-UCLA spans nearly five decades. In the 1970s, he was credited with developing a thyroid deficiency test for infants that is currently used in most of the industrialized world to help prevent irreversible developmental disabilities. Dr. Parlow was also instrumental in developing the most highly purified form of a human pituitary gland growth hormone that would help shorter kids grow taller, without the accompanying adverse side effects.
Dr. Parlow joined the faculty at the UCLA School of Medicine in the mid-1960s as a lecturer and Associate Research Physiologist in the field of obstetrics/gynecology. He was a major contributor toward building the A.F. Parlow Library of Sciences on the campus of Harbor-UCLA in 1983.
Dr. Keh-Ming Lin: Leader in Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences
Dr. Keh-Ming Lin has been engaged in clinical and translational research for more than three decades. In addition to original works in cross-ethnic psychopharmacology and psychiatric nosology, he also has made significant contributions in epidemiology, medical anthropology, and refugee research; has translated major psychiatric classics that are still in print; and is the founder of two major Asian mental health centers in Los Angeles.
Dr. Lin joined UCLA's Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences in 1979, and has been a Professor Emeritus since 2004.
Michele Berk: LA BioMed Young Investigator and Winner of the Weitzman Prize
From the start of her professional career, Dr. Michele Berk has committed herself to the study, advancement, and teaching of cognitive-behavioral treatments for suicidal behavior in adolescents and adults.
Dr. Berk created and directs two specialty psychotherapy clinics at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center: the Adolescent Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT-A) Clinic and the Adolescent Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Clinic. Both are designed to teach and train therapists, to conduct psychotherapy, and to facilitate ongoing research related to the critical need for effective treatments for adolescents at risk for suicide.
Tickets for the Legends event are $175. For additional information or to RSVP, please contact Lisa Bosnich, lbosnich@labiomed.org, (310) 222-4240.
About LA BioMed
Founded in 1952, LA BioMed is one of the country's leading nonprofit independent biomedical research institutes. It has approximately 100 principal researchers conducting studies into improved treatments and cures for cancer, inherited diseases, infectious diseases, illnesses caused by environmental factors and more. It also educates young scientists and provides community services, including prenatal counseling and childhood nutrition programs. LA BioMed is academically affiliated with the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and located on the campus of Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. For more information, please visit www.LABioMed.org