GroshLink

While reading through this morning's news updates I came across The Public’s Quiet Savior From Harmful Medicines (Gardiner Harris. NY Times. 9/13/2010), an article on the life/work of Dr. Frances Oldham Kelsey.

... On Wednesday, Dr. Margaret Hamburg, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, will honor Dr. Kelsey with the first Kelsey award. It will be given to a F.D.A. staff member annually. The award will come 50 years after Dr. Kelsey, then a new medical officer at the agency, first sat down to consider an application from the William S. Merrell Company of Cincinnati to sell a sedative named Kevadon, which was widely prescribed in Europe for morning sickness in pregnancy.

As it turned out, the drug (better known by its generic name, thalidomide) would cause thousands of children in Europe to be born limbless or with flipperlike arms and legs. With her probing analysis of Merrell’s application and her insistence on scientific rigor, Dr. Kelsey ensured that the effects in the United States were far more limited. ... -- The Public’s Quiet Savior From Harmful Medicines (Gardiner Harris. NY Times. 9/13/2010)

Some excellent research stories, one was particularly humorous as it underscored the dedication of researchers serving the public common good.  Makes the whole article worth a read ;-)

Taking a step back from the article, I am reminded of the immense value of a ministries such as ...

1. PSU-CMS (affiliated w/CMDA) in which we are bridging physicians, medical students, nurses, nursing students, researchers, and graduate students in their 'call to care as followers of Christ in a unique university hospital setting.'  As you may know, I am currently preparing for another day at PSU-Hershey Medical Center with the Christian Medical Society. Today's weekly lunch lecture will feature a physician giving testimony to following Christ first in all aspects of life.  Tonight we'll provide a free dinner in the midst of a crazy study stretch for the next Anatomy & Physiology exam.  Pray for the materials to come together well for the two gatherings, a gift of hospitality for the leadership team, and insights in conversation/presentation with all those who will be involved.
2. Christian Scholar Series:  On Sunday, September 26, a unique partnership between Elizabethtown Brethren in Christ, Hearts & Minds Bookstore, and InterVarsity Christian Fellowship's Central PA Christian Scholars Network will bring Dennis Hollinger, President of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, to Central PA.  As you may know, Hollinger has written on and given counsel on a number concerns in the area of Bioethics. So in addition to passing out lots of copies of Hollinger's "classic," Head, Heart & Hands* over the past couple of weeks, I've also been sharing/recommending The Meaning of Sex:  Christian Ethics & the Moral Life (Baker, 2009) and Choosing the Good: Christian Ethics in a Complex World (Baker, 2002)** with members of the academic and medical community. If you're in Central PA, don't miss the opportunity to hear/interact with one of Lancaster County's own!  For more info and to RSVP visit http://www.etownbic.org/hollinger.

*FYI: Byron Borger's post here

**FYI: Byron Borger's post here