May 8 - Seventh Annual Bernier Memorial Lecture

May 8, 2014  - 7th Annual Suzanne M. Bernier Memorial Lecture in Skeletal Biology - Maurizio Pacifici, PhD, Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Pennsylvania and Director of Orthopaedic Research, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “Synovial Joint Development and Postnatal Function: Molecular Regulators and Therapeutic Targets”.  McKellar Room, UCC, 2-4:00pm.  VIEW POSTER

Dr. Pacifici's research has contributed to our basic understanding of how joints, and articular cartilage in particular, acquire their structural and functional features during embryogenesis and early postnatal life and how molecular regulators of these processes can be targeted for the treatment of joint disease. Dr. Pacifici currently holds the Bong S. Lee Endowed Chair in Pediatric Orthopaedics.

This lecture series and award honors Dr. Suzanne Bernier (Schulich faculty member in the Dept of Anatomy and Cell Biology), colleague, collaborator and mentor, who passed away in 2007 at the age of 42, after battling breast cancer for several years. These yearly events celebrate the memory of Dr. Bernier who was a passionate arthritis researcher.  She was a founding member of Western's CIHR Group in Skeletal Development and Remodelling and dedicated her research career to understanding the pathways that regulate cartilage destruction in inflammatory arthritis.  Through both her research program and involvement with The Arthritis Society, Suzanne was a wonderful role model who encouraged both her colleagues and students to give back to the community that supports them.