Michael T. Longaker, M.D., the John Marquis Converse Professor of Plastic Surgery Research at New York University School of Medicine, will deliver the 2000 James Barrett Brown Lecture at 4 p.m. Thursday, June 22, in Clopton Auditorium.
"Cranial Suture Fusion in Murine Models: Implications for Craniosynsotosis" is the topic.
Longaker's research interests include mechanisms of cranial suture fusion, tissue engineering, palate development and wound healing.
Longaker obtained a bachelor's degree in physiology from Michigan State University, where he was a championship basketball player. He then obtained a medical degree from Harvard Medical School. He joined the faculty of New York University School of Medicine in 1994 after residencies and fellowships at the University of California, San Francisco; New York University Medical Center; and the University of California, Los Angeles. He became director of plastic surgery research in 1996 and director of surgical research in 1999. He has 500 publications and was the 1999 recipient of the Dr. Bernd Spiessl Award from the American Society of Maxillofacial Surgeons.
The family of James Barrett Brown established the James Barrett Brown Lectureship in 1969, two years before Brown's death. The lectureship brings a distinguished plastic surgeon to the University each year for a series of lectures, residents' rounds and surgical demonstrations.
James Barrett Brown was a founding father of modern plastic surgery. He dramatically advanced the science of plastic surgery, developed a dedicated reconstructive surgical unit after World War II and personally trained a new generation of plastic surgery educators and leaders.
Brown was born in Hannibal, Mo., in 1899. After earning a medical degree at the University in 1923, he completed a surgical internship and residency at Barnes and St. Louis Children's hospitals. He joined the University faculty in 1925 to work with plastic surgeon Vilray P. Blair, M.D. Blair and Brown developed one of the few plastic surgery centers in the United States at that time.
He was named professor of maxillofacial surgery at the former School of Dentistry in 1936 and professor of clinical surgery at the medical school in 1948. In 1968, he became a professor emeritus of plastic surgery. During his career, he also served as chief of plastic surgery and as senior plastic surgeon at Barnes and St. Louis Children's hospitals and the Washington University clinics.
As chief of plastic and reconstructive surgery to the U.S. Army during World War II, Brown came up with the idea of returning injured soldiers who needed additional medical care to the United States in ships that had transported troops to Europe. He also worked tirelessly to have eight U.S. plastic surgery centers established for the treatment and rehabilitation of soldiers. Brown was appointed head of the largest center, at Valley Forge, Pa., where he supervised care for 2,500 patients. During his career, he published more than 300 scientific articles, 30 textbook chapters and eight books.