Women’s Health Symposium offers insights into the brain

By Sharon Reynolds

The 2019 Carolyn P. Horchow Women’s Health Symposium offered attendees a captivating look into brain discovery and care underway at the Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute.

Sisters Peggy Dear and Betty Regard served as Co-Chairs and welcomed a sellout crowd of more than 300 guests to the UT Southwestern campus for the event, which celebrated its 20th anniversary. The March 21 program, “Exploring the Ultimate Frontier: Inspired Insights Into the Brain,” featured presentations about Alzheimer’s disease, depression research, immunology and the brain, memory loss, and brain tumors, followed by roundtable discussions and the chance to interact with experts from various fields.

 
(From left) Co-Chairs and sisters Betty Regard and Peggy Dear join the event’s faculty advisor, Dr. Carol Croft, and physician advisor, Dr. Carol Podolsky.

 

Event speakers (from left) include Drs. Marc Diamond,
Elizabeth Maher, Andrew Czysz, Mary “Molly” Camp,
Brendan Kelley, and Benjamin Greenberg.
(From left) Mary Holdcroft-McKay, Joan Cantwell,
Bettye Wilson, and Marshall Wilson

 

Ashley Lindsay (left) and Megan Portacci
Daughters of Carolyn P. Horchow, (from left) Lizzie
Routman and Regen Fearon

 

Joan Payseur (left) and Cindy Gary
(From left) Emily Clark, Janet Stone, Dr. Theodora Ross, Cathy Phelan, and Jane Tucker
Sarah Ehlen (left) and Annette Leslie

 See more photos and watch presentation videos from the
Women's Health Symposium.


“Dallas has long benefited from the largesse of Peter and Edith O’Donnell, but this Institute bearing Mr. O’Donnell’s name is very special. Peter O’Donnell recognized that the brain is the body’s most complex system, and brain disorders are one of the greatest challenges of our time,” Mrs. Dear said.

This gathering is an opportunity to hear from both clinicians and basic scientists who are working together to provide the highest level of patient-centered care to our community and to develop new therapies for some of the most challenging neurological diseases,” Mrs. Regard said.

Dr. Daniel K. Podolsky, President of UT Southwestern, spoke about the potential of transformative brain discovery being led by UT Southwestern.

“Important contributions to understanding and treating the many disorders which affect the brain will be made at many of our peer institutions around the world in the coming years,” Dr. Podolsky told guests in opening the event. “However, UT Southwestern is committed to being in the vanguard. The Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute is driving an ambitious vision as top priority at UT Southwestern. We are making the investments to deliver on that vision and change the trajectory of progress toward better means of treatment and prevention of brain diseases for future generations.”

Established in 1999 by longtime friends Carolyn Horchow and Patricia Patterson, the Women’s Health Symposium began as a health event that provided current medical information tailored to women and afforded access to leading researchers and clinicians at UT Southwestern. After Ms. Horchow’s passing in June 2009, the event was named the Carolyn P. Horchow Women’s Health Symposium to honor her and the contributions she made to UT Southwestern and the greater Dallas community.

Dr. Podolsky holds the Philip O’Bryan Montgomery, Jr., M.D. Distinguished Presidential Chair in Academic Administration, and the Doris and Bryan Wildenthal Distinguished Chair in Medical Science.