May 29, 2003

Contact: John Scarffe, KU Endowment Association, (785) 832-7336.

Bioterrorism lectures to take place June 6 at KU Medical Center

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Emergency and military personnel can learn about the six bioterrorism bacterial, viral and toxin agents most likely to be used in a terrorist situation as well as the state's preparedness program for smallpox defense on Friday, June 6, at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan. The lectures are free and open to the media and the public.

Registration for the first Colonel Wallace N. Weber, Medical Corps, U.S. Army, Lectureship on Military and Disaster Medicine will begin at 4:30 p.m. in the Stoland Lounge, followed by two lectures at 5 p.m. in Rieke Auditorium. To reserve a seat, please call (913) 588-1433 by June 4.

"These lectures will be of great interest to first responders, including police, fire, medical and military personnel in the area," said Donald F. Hagen, M.D., executive vice chancellor of KU Medical Center. "This is an example of the type of leadership we have provided to the state of Kansas since the September 11th tragedy. We have consistently served as a source of critical information, including providing forums for outside speakers. We are pleased to be able to host these lectures, which speak to current needs among emergency professionals."

Weber, for whom the lecture series is named, will present the first lecture of the evening, discussing why the six agents are believed to be especially suitable for terrorism. He will provide a history of the agents and discuss how victims are exposed, how each agent causes disease, how they are spread, contracted or distributed, and how each is treated.

Weber, a 1969 graduate of the KU School of Medicine, has 31 years of military experience, including service in the first Gulf War, where he and 500,000 other U.S. military personnel were exposed to the threat of bioterrorism agents. He was commander of a 400-bed U.S. Army evacuation hospital and is currently a director and dermatologist at Heartland Dermatology Center, P.A., in Hays. He is certified by the American Board of Dermatology and, with the American Board of Pathology, granted special competence in dermatopathology.

Joining Weber will be retired Col. Thomas I. Clements, M.D. Clements will explain the smallpox program from the federal to the local level and what resources are available locally to assist with problems, questions or complications. He also will address how a case of smallpox or a terrorist attack using smallpox would be dealt with in the community.

Clements is the special projects medical officer of the Bioterrorism Program of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. He is the smallpox adverse events coordinator for the state and oversees projects such as the smallpox vaccination program. He holds a degree in medicine from the University of Kentucky and a master's degree in public health and tropical medicine from Tulane University of Louisiana. He served in the military for more than 26 years, including two tours of duty with special forces. Clements is certified by the American Board of Preventative Medicine and is a diplomate of the American Board of Family Practice.

A fund to support the lectureship recently was endowed at the Kansas University Endowment Association by Weber. The lectureship will annually address issues pertinent to military and disaster medicine.