Long Wharf Theatre Hosts Global Health and the Arts: A Forum on Alzheimer's Disease 1/29/2010

As many as 5.3 million Americans are living with the burden of Alzheimer's Disease, a debilitating illness that is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States, according to the Alzheimer's Association.

In an effort to impart essential knowledge about the mechanism of the disease, as well as current research on possible treatments, Long Wharf Theatre, partnering with academic, medical and pharmaceutical professionals, is hosting a unique event. The theatre's Global Health & the Arts forum unites the soul-nourishing effects of art with the mental and bodily discipline of medical science.

This second annual event will take place on Friday, January 29, 2010, and feature a series of panel discussions on Alzheimer's disease research, culminating in a performance of Lil's 90th, a poignant and funny late-life love story that intertwines issues related to aging within its narrative. The forum will begin at 1:30 p.m. registration and a coffee bar. At 2 p.m. guests will be invited to the Mainstage for a program of speakers and panel discussions. From 5:30 p.m. to 7 pm dinner and dessert will be served. The performance of Lil's 90th will begin at 7 p.m., and will be followed by a final panel discussion.

"Last year we covered a disease, HIV-AIDS, which was thought at its outset to be intractable as a condition, but which became treatable like diabetes. This year, we are addressing a disease which is currently viewed as intractable with existing approaches, but given the progress made on the basic research front, newer therapies are in the pipeline which may convert the disease from inexorable progression to a disease which may be more treatable and manageable," said event chair David Scheer, president of Scheer & Company, Inc., and a vice-chair of Long Wharf Theatre's Board of Trustees. Scheer has been organizing the event in conjunction with Dr. Stephen Strittmatter, neurology professor at Yale University.

Leaders from across the country in the field of Alzheimer's research will participate in this exclusive gathering. Academics from the Yale University School of Medicine, as well as representatives from the University of California and Washington University, will speak, along with senior research and development leaders from pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. The event is sponsored by Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Bristol Myers Squibb, Yale-New Haven Hospital, and Genentech, among others.

Long Wharf Theatre Artistic Director Gordon Edelstein, Robert Alpern, Dean of the Yale Medical School, will be among those offering introductory remarks, along with David Scheer. Also scheduled to speak are Dr. David Hafler, chair of neurology at Yale; Dr. David Holtzman, a professor of developmental biology, associate director of the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center and a member of the Hope Center for Neurological Disorders at Washington University; Dr. Lennart Mucke, director and senior investigator at the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease at the University of California, San Francisco; Dr. Leo M. Conney Jr., professor and chief section of Geriatrics at Yale. Also speaking are, Larry Altstiel, vice president of Pfizer, specializing in neuroscience research and clinical development; Dr. Husseini K. Manji, global therapeutic area head, neuroscience research and development, Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceuticals Group; Dr. Stephen Paul, executive vice president, science and technology, Eli Lilly and Company; and others.

Participants will then see a performance of the world premiere of Lil's 90th by Darci Picoult at 7 p.m. on Stage II. As Lillian nears a milestone birthday, she and her family put the finishing touches on the much-anticipated party at which she'll make her singing debut. There's a speech to be written, a band to rehearse and, of course, an outfit to choose. But then Lil's husband Charlie's secret gets out-the birthday surprise that he hoped would make her day may instead tear their lives apart.

After the performance there will be an audience talkback moderated by Michael Fuchs, one of the producers of the AIDS documentary "And The Band Played On..." and the former Chairman of HBO. "The human impacts of this disease are devastating, thus, communicating the human issue in an artistic venue can help people understand the gravity of the problem and inspire people to tackle solutions for therapy," Scheer said.

Tickets to the event are $150 and include the conference, dinner and the performance. For more information call Eileen Wiseman, director of development, at 772-8237 or visit www.longwharf.org.

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