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TV actor Hill Harper and three highly-respected Black doctors engaged more than 500 Martin Luther King Jr. High School students in New York City during a town-hall symposium that explored the impact of technology in medicine.
The event was one of more than a hundred activities taking place during Black Family Technology Awareness Week sponsored by IBM and Career Communications Group.
Drama vs. reality
The students saw the bridge between drama and reality when "CSI:NY" star Hill Harper described how the TV crime drama about forensic investigators who use high-tech science to follow the evidence and solve crimes in The Big Apple is produced. Hill then introduced a real forensic doctor, Dr. Matthias Okoye, to describe the actual processes.
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IBM Host Marilyn Johnson, vice president, market development, with Martin Luther King Jr. High School student |
The director of the Nebraska Institute of Forensic Sciences, Inc. and an associate professor of forensic pathology at Creighton University School of Medicine, Dr. Okoye highlighted the ways technology is used to determine the identities of crime, accident and disaster victims.
Hill, who went to Brown University and Harvard University, and holds a law degree, encouraged the students to stick with education as he did and stay in the game so they can overcome any minor setbacks. You have a problem when you get out of the game, out of education, and that's the mistake he told the students. He emphasized that he couldn't do what he does on the TV show if he didn't have education since he needed to portray a forensic pathologist accurately. Treating heart disease using technology
A cardiologist, recognized for her work in the treatment of arrhythmias and in developing clinical tools to treat heart patients at risk for sudden death, shared the role technology has played in her discipline as well as in the treatment of heart disease, one of the leading causes of death among Blacks. |
Guest speakers Dr. Matthias Okoye and TV actor Hill Harper noted difference between what the students see on CSI:NY and the actual forensic processes |
Dr. Leigh Ann Hutchinson also told the students that she has had hurdles in her life, and while they may also have hurdles to overcome, don't get angry or upset. Remember that no one can take away the educational accomplishments you achieve she said. Dr. Hutchinson is chief executive officer of Long Island Arrhythmia Associates LLC, director of the Electrophysiology Laboratory, Southside Hospital, Bay Shore, NY, and assistant professor of Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY. |
Dr. Leigh Ann Hutchinson shared the role technology has played in the treatment of heart disease |
Tracing African ancestry with DNA
In addressing the students, Dr. Rick Kittles, PhD, a medical geneticist and associate professor of human cancer genetics at Ohio State University's Tzagournis Medical Research Facility, revealed the ancestry of a school administrator who provided African Ancestry, a technology company co-founded by Dr. Kittles, with a DNA sample earlier this month.
During the symposium, students peppered the impressive role models and IBM hosts with questions such as, "How long did it take you to get your education?," How much do you make?," and "What kind of IBM technology is being used in Iraq?."
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Technology rules
In summing up the program, Dr. Colin Parris, vice president, product management, IBM Systems and Technology Group, and the moderator of the symposium, said that technology is the new theme for the 21st century and affects everybody's life.
"We're seeing breakthroughs in medicine that 20 years ago, doctors and researchers could only dream about," he said. "To build on today's successes however, we need you. We need you to take every math, science and technology course that is available and dream 'big dreams.'" |
IBM Symposium Moderator Dr. Colin Parris |
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