AEF HEALTH CONFERENCES
Consistent with the mission handed down by AEF founder George Barasch, the Foundation takes part in activities that promote the health and well-being of Americans to lead long, active lives. These activities include hosting a yearly Health & Welfare Conference where medical experts discuss self-care, diagnosis, and advanced medical treatment of common illnesses in a wide variety of medical specialities. In addition to these conferences, AEF supports institutions and organizations that aid in medical education as well as the development of new technologies to treat existing illnesses. Detailed information on these activities is below.
Beginning in 1967, AEF introduced its yearly health and wellness conferences focused on improving quality of life through better self-care, nutrition, and exercise. The yearly conferences have continued to attract nationally renowned medical speakers across all specialties to lecture on medical innovations and practical information that can be applied to improve the lives of audience participants. Speaker lists and topics since 2010 are shown below.
Lectures:
Title: “Are men’s hearts from Venus & women’s from Mars?”
Joy M. Gelbman, MD
Assistant Professor in Cardiology Division
Weill Medical College of Cornell University
Title “How your immune system protects you against infections and cancer”
Richard Edelson, MD
Aaron and Marguerite Lerner Professor and Chairman
Department of Dermatology, Yale University School of Medicine
Castle Connolly 2012 “National Physician of the Year”
Title: “Caring for our aging eyes”
Ana G. Alzaga Fernandez, MD
Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology
Weill Medical College of Cornell University
Title “Sleep disorders in the elderly”
Brian Gelbman, MD
Associate Professor in Pulmonary Division
Weill Medical College of Cornell University
Lectures:
Title: “What should I eat, the chicken or the egg”
Theodore Tyberg, MD
Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine, Weill Medical College of Cornell University
Title “Your dental care: The good, the bad, and the ugly”
Michael Beals, DDS
Emeritus Chairman, Department of Dentistry
Hackensack University Medical Center
Title: “Don’t stroke: Prevent brain attack!”
Luke Kim, MD, FACC, FSCAI
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Interventional Cardiac & Endovascular Laboratory
Greenberg Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine
Weill Medical College of Cornell University
Title “New blood thinners for atrial fibrillation: Are they for everyone?
Christopher F. Liu, MD, FACC, FHRS
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Assistant Director
Cardiac Electrophysiology Laboratory
Weill Medical College of Cornell University
Lectures:
Title “What is the best diet for health, cholesterol, sugar and weight loss?”
Theodore Tyberg, MD
Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine
Weill Medical College of Cornell University
Title “Can’t walk? Let’s talk! Updates on international therapies for peripheral vascular disease”
Rajesh V. Swaminathan, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Weill Medical College of Cornell University
Title “Heart disease prevention”
Joy M. Gelbman, MD
Assistant Professor in Cardiology Division
Weill Medical College of Cornell University
Title: “Why am I short of breath?”
Brian Gelbman, MD
Associate Professor in Pulmonary Division
Weill Medical College of Cornell University
Lectures:
Title: “Spies and umbrellas: A medical mystery”
Jim W. Cheung, MD, FACC, FHRS
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Program Director Cardiac-Electrophysiology
Fellowship Program, Attending Physician
New York Presbyterian Hospital
Title: “Your best shot”
Robert Allan, Ph.D.
Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychology in Medicine
Weill Cornell College of Cornell University and New York Presbyterial Hospital
Title: Knowing your skin – It is on your side”
Richard Edelson, MD
Aaron and Marguerite Lerner Professor and
Chairman, Department hof Dermatology
Yale University School of Medicine
Castle Connolly 2012 “National Physician of the Year”
Title: “Improving health through nutrition: Is it too late?”
Richard Rivlin, MD
Former Professor of Medicine and Chief, Nutrition Division
Department of Medicine
Weill Cornell Medical College
Past President, American Society for Clinical Nutrition
Lectures:
Title: “The case of the broken heart”
Robert J. Kim, MD, FACC
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Director of Consultative Cardiology
Associate Program Director
Cardiovacular Disease Fellowship
Weill Medical College of Cornell University and New York Presbyterian Hospital
Title: “President Roosevelt: Did cardiovascular disease impair the U.S. recovery from WWII?”
William B. Borden, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine and Public Health
Nanette Laitman Clinical Scholar in Public Health
Weill Medical College of Cornell University and New York Presbyterian Hospital
Title “Lessons I learned from Pete’s dragon”
Theodore Tyberg, MD
Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine and Cardiology
Weill Medical College of Cornell University and New York Presbyterian Hospital
Title: “Give it all you’ve Got: How to reduce stress & anger in your life”
Robert Allen, Ph.D.
Clinical Associate Psychology and Medicine
Weill Medical College of Cornell University and New York Presbyterian Hospital
Title: “Neurology according to the bible”
Joseph E. Safdieh, MD
Assistant Professor of Neurology
Weill Medical College of Cornell University and New York Presbyterian Hospital
Lectures:
Title: “Healthy aging”
Jesse Roth, MD, FACP
Geriatrician-in-Chief
North Shore Long Island Jewish System
Professor of Medicine, AECOM
Title “Prevention of falls and importance of exercise in the elderly”
Lydia Rolita, MD
Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine & Geriatrics
NYU College of Medicine
Title: “Advances in interventional cardiology, ‘Mini’ cardiac surgery and robots”
Robert Frankel, MD
Director, Interventional Cardiology
Maimonides Medical Center
Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine
SUNY Health Science Center, Brooklyn, NY
Title: Eisenhower to the Poly-Pill: 50 Years of cardiovascular progress
Michael J. Wolk, MD
Past President, American College of Cardiology
Attending Physician
Weill Medical College of Cornell University and New York Presbyterian Hospital
MEDICAL TRAINING
IN CONFOCAL LASER ENDOMICROSCOPE
The Allied Educational Foundation has given Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City a grant to launch a training program for physicians in the use of a new diagnostic tool, the confocal laser endomicroscope (CLE), also known by its brand name, Cellvizio. An endoscopy is an imaging technique that a gastroenterologist uses to see inside the gastrointestinal tract from the esophagus to the colon. It is a thin flexible tube with a light on the end that is inserted through the mouth or the rectum. The CLE will allow physicians and researchers to visualize tissue in situ at the cellular level in real time. Cellvizio can help physicians more effectively diagnose a broad range of gastrointestinal diseases, including several forms of cancer.
The confocal laser endomicroscope is a probe that can be passed through the endoscope and through the use of the laser enables the physician to look into the tissue surface and make a pathological diagnosis. In the past, such diagnoses could only be done through the more invasive procedure of a biopsy with the inevitable waiting time for the result. CLE serves as an “optical biopsy”, offering an accurate diagnosis, no patient trauma, less time and the potential for immediate treatment.
The training program is under the direction of Dr. David Carr-Locke, Chief of the Division of Digestive Diseases at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York. The Allied Educational Foundation Training Program is a full day session which will be offered four times per year to physicians from around the country. Beth Israel Medical Center is the first training center for probe-based CLE in New York.
