Drs. Mary and Robert Elliott host the 22nd annual Elliott-Nowell-White Science Symposium Oct. 8-10 at Delta State University.Delta State University will host the 22nd annual Elliott-Nowell-White Science Symposium beginning Oct. 8. The three-day event will feature speakers in the fields of medicine, research and education. The affair kicks off Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. with an armchair session for science students by Dr. Robert Elliott in the Janice Wyatt Conference Room in Kent Wyatt Hall.
The symposium was created by Drs. Robert and Mary Elliott, both Delta State graduates, to introduce Delta State students to doctors and scientists of international stature who can serve as role models.
“I want to help perpetuate the legacy of Delta State as a school that helps the individual student to grow personally as well as academically and professionally,” said Robert Elliot. “I want to be involved in a program to stimulate young minds, just as my mind was stimulated by teachers and administrators at Delta State, and I want the student to learn from these experiences that every time we give something we get something.”
The Elliotts founded the Elliott-Elliott-Head Breast Cancer Research and Treatment Center in Baton Rouge, La., and with the combination of vision and hard work, turned the center into one of the leading privately owned breast cancer research centers in the world. Robert is the founder, CEO and director of the center, which treats patients from across the United States.
He also collaborates on research projects with other scientists from around the world, and he has spoken to medical audiences in the United States and Europe. He is the author of “Breast Cancer-Anger at the Enemy,” which deals with the lack of total breast cancer care available for women.
Trained as a general surgeon, Elliott feels that breast care should be a specialty of itself, with patients being able to receive the highest quality of care from one physician who reads their mammograms, examines them, performs their surgery and administers their therapies.
Thursday’s schedule features two speakers beginning at 4:30 p.m. in Jobe Hall Auditorium. Elliott will present “Cancer is a Metabolic Disease and not Genomic,” followed by Dr. Kwang Poo Chang, professor of microbiology/immunology, Chicago Medical School/RFUMS, discussing “Vaccination for disease Prevention and Control: The Necessity of Renewed Emphasis and New Approaches.”
On Friday at 8 a.m., also in Jobe Hall Auditorium, Allison Rolston, will discuss “The Role of a Physician’s Assistant,” followed by Dr. Pleasant Hooper of TMS BioScience Labs who will present “The Technology Revolution and the Birth of Biotechnology.” The final speaker will be Dr. Sharon Hamilton of the Delta State faculty, speaking on “Biological Applications of Modified Polymeric Materials.”
The symposium is just one of several initiatives to benefit Delta State students through “The Elliott Program of Excellence.” The Elliotts have established a program that provides fully-funded scholarships for outstanding Delta State students. Recipients of these prestigious awards are honored with the title of “Elliott Scholar.”
Elliott was bestowed an honorary degree of Doctor of Science from Delta State during the 2009 spring commencement ceremony.
The Elliott-Nowell-White Science Symposium is free and open to the public. For more information, contact the Department of Biological Sciences/Department of Physical Sciences at 662-846-4240.
