New Distinguished Endowed Lecture series at School of Medicine Greenville
January 24, 2023
The inaugural David A. Wilson, M.D. Innovations in Medicine Distinguished Endowed Lecture will be held Feb. 23 at USC School of Medicine Greenville.
This endowed lectureship is a new, annual speaking event held at School of Medicine Greenville. The lecture series will highlight bold strides in medicine and aims to engage the surrounding medical community and draw national attention to the school. The University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville is pleased to present Dr. Sabra Klein, Ph.D., as the inaugural speaker. Dr. Klein, a renowned microbiologist and researcher, will be giving a presentation on the topic, “Sex-Specific Differences and Pregnancy Impact Outcomes from COVID-19 Infection and Vaccination.”
The event will be held at 5:30 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 23, at the USC School of Medicine Greenville (SOMG) Lecture Hall located at 607 Grove Road, Greenville.
“Thanks to the generosity of the Wilson family and the Sargent Foundation, School of Medicine Greenville is bringing a world-renowned scientist, Dr Sabra Klein, to discuss this timely topic through the David A. Wilson, M.D. Distinguished Endowed Lecture,” said SOMG Dean Dr. Marjorie Jenkins. “We have all been affected by COVID-19 in one way or another, so this is a topic that will engage not only our medical community but also all community residents of the upstate. Our hope is that all will feel welcomed to come out and learn.”
The event is free and open to the public and will also be livestreamed. For more information about the event, to RSVP, or access the livestream, please see here: https://www.sc.edu/
The David A. Wilson, M.D. Innovations in Medicine Distinguished Endowed Lecture Series is named after pioneering physician David A. Wilson, the first board certified general surgeon in Greenville. Dr. Wilson helped secure the first accreditation of surgical training at Greenville Health System (now Prisma Health). Dr. Wilson instituted a formal training program for surgery here and conducted groundbreaking research on tuberculosis. In 1956, after only 10 years of practice, Wilson died of a glioblastoma. In 2019, Oxford University acknowledged him for his innovative research and surgical treatment for Tuberculosis.
His family, along with the Sargent Foundation, established the lectureship series in celebration of his innovative work, including his research on and surgical treatment of tuberculosis.
Join us for our inaugural David A. Wilson, M.D. Innovations in Medicine Distinguished Endowed Lecture Series. The University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville is pleased to present Dr. Klein as the inaugural speaker.
Dr. Klein is a Professor of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Klein’s research examines sex-specific differences and the effects of pregnancy on immune responses to viruses. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Klein investigated why men and women have different COVID-19 outcomes
Dr. Klein’s presentation will cover aspects of virus-specific immunity, including to COVID-19. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has increased awareness about sex-specific differences in immunity and outcomes following respiratory virus infections. Strong evidence of a male bias in COVID-19 disease severity will be presented based on clinical data and preclinical animals models, which illustrate sex differential immune responses against SARS-CoV-2. Prior to the pandemic, data from other viral infections, including influenza viruses, showed profound sex differences in virus-specific immunity, including locally in the respiratory tract. Klein’s lab has used influenza A viruses to interrogate sex-specific immunity to infection and vaccination. Although males are more susceptible to most viral infections, females possess immunological features that contribute to greater vulnerability to immune-mediated pathology while experiencing better protection following vaccination. Both sex chromosome complement and related X-linked genes (e.g., TLR7) as well as sex steroids, including estrogens and androgens, play important roles in mediating the development of sex differences in immunity to respiratory viral infections and vaccination.
