NC State hosts Musculoskeletal Health Summit

North Carolina State University hosted the first summit on “Building Bone-A-Fide Networks: Evaluating Musculoskeletal Health Promotion in North Carolina” on October 22-23.

The two-day summit provided a forum for clinicians, patients, scientists, health ministries, and public policy experts to exchange information regarding best practices for the advancement of the highest quality of musculoskeletal health and disability prevention.

The summit was funded through a $50,000 Healthspan grant from the National Academies Keck Futures Initiatives (NAFKI). Dr. Christine S. Grant, associate dean of faculty development and special initiatives and professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at NC State, received the grant in 2008. The grant, “Paradigm Shift Toward Positive Health and Healthspan Outcomes,” allows experts to focus on the way in which orthopedic events enhance orthopedic medicine and foster health care personnel diversity, while facilitating culturally competent care.

Dr. Augustus A. White III, the Ellen and Melvin Gordon Distinguished Professor of Medical Education, professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and professor emeritus of the Harvard/ MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, delivered the keynote address at the summit. He addressed health disparities, past and present, and engaged in a question-and-answer segment with the audience.  White made his remarks at the Biomanufacturing Training and Education Center (BTEC) on Centennial Campus.

A free youth program ran parallel to the conference at NC State’s Engineering Building I. The program provided underrepresented minority middle school and high school students with an opportunity to interact with professionals in biomedical sciences and medical fields.

NAKFI is a program of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) with support from the W.M. Keck Foundation.