LA BioMed researchers honored at annual Legends event May 10th

April 27th, 2012
The 2012 Legends event, an annual gathering for the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (LA BioMed), will honor two former and one current LA BioMed researcher - Drs. John Buster, Keh-Ming Lin, and Albert Parlow - on Thursday, May 10, at 6 p.m., at Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. The evening will also recognize Michele Berk, Ph.D., who will be presented with the 2012 LA BioMed Young Investigator Award and the Richard E. Weitzman Memorial Award for Meritorious Research.

"We are proud to honor three such distinguished scientists such as Dr. Buster, Dr. Lin, and Dr. Parlow, all of whom have made significant contributions in their respective fields of medicine, and we are also pleased to recognize Dr. Berk for her outstanding work with dialectical behavior therapy for adolescents," said David Meyer, Ph.D., president and CEO of LA BioMed. "All these individuals have carried on with LA BioMed's legacy of groundbreaking research and medical breakthroughs that continue to positively affect individuals in the community and worldwide."

Dr. John Buster: History's First Embryo Transfer

Dr. John Buster was responsible for a number of groundbreaking medical advancements during his 21 years at LA BioMed and Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. Having started out as an intern at Harbor-UCLA in 1966, Dr. Buster and his team performed the first ever embryo transfer in history in 1983, which led to the first human birth resulting from that transfer in 1984.

Additionally, Dr. Buster and his team published findings on the first case series of ectopic pregnancies (outside the uterus) treated successfully with methotrexate, a cancer chemotherapy agent. More recently, Dr. Buster has developed a transdermal patch for women designed to deliver chemically identical testosterone directly into the micro vascular circulation.

Dr. Albert Parlow: Modern Thyroid Deficiency Test and Human Growth Hormone

Dr. Albert Parlow's history with LA BioMed and Harbor-UCLA spans nearly five decades. In the 1970s, he was credited with developing a thyroid deficiency test for infants that is currently used in most of the industrialized world to help prevent irreversible developmental disabilities. Dr. Parlow was also instrumental in developing the most highly purified form of a human pituitary gland growth hormone that would help shorter kids grow taller, without the accompanying adverse side effects.

Dr. Parlow joined the faculty at the UCLA School of Medicine in the mid-1960s as a lecturer and Associate Research Physiologist in the field of obstetrics/gynecology. He was a major contributor toward building the A.F. Parlow Library of Sciences on the campus of Harbor-UCLA in 1983.

Dr. Keh-Ming Lin: Leader in Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences

Dr. Keh-Ming Lin has been engaged in clinical and translational research for more than three decades. In addition to original works in cross-ethnic psychopharmacology and psychiatric nosology, he also has made significant contributions in epidemiology, medical anthropology, and refugee research; has translated major psychiatric classics that are still in print; and is the founder of two major Asian mental health centers in Los Angeles.

Dr. Lin joined UCLA's Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences in 1979, and has been a Professor Emeritus since 2004.

Michele Berk: LA BioMed Young Investigator and Winner of the Weitzman Prize

From the start of her professional career, Dr. Michele Berk has committed herself to the study, advancement, and teaching of cognitive-behavioral treatments for suicidal behavior in adolescents and adults.

Dr. Berk created and directs two specialty psychotherapy clinics at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center: the Adolescent Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT-A) Clinic and the Adolescent Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Clinic. Both are designed to teach and train therapists, to conduct psychotherapy, and to facilitate ongoing research related to the critical need for effective treatments for adolescents at risk for suicide.

Provided by Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor

This Phys.org Science News Wire page contains a press release issued by an organization mentioned above and is provided to you “as is” with little or no review from Phys.Org staff.

More news stories

US psychiatry gets makeover in new manual

The latest makeover to a massive psychiatric tome honored by some, reviled by others and even called the "Bible" of mental disorders is being released Saturday with a host of new changes.

New case of SARS-like virus in Saudi: ministry

A new case of the deadly coronavirus has been detected in Saudi Arabia where 15 people have already died after contracting it, the health ministry announced on Saturday on its Internet website.

US seizes Bitcoin operator accounts

US authorities seized the accounts of a Bitcoin digital currency exchange operator, claiming it was functioning as an "unlicensed money service business," court documents showed Friday.

Morocco to harness the wind in energy hunt

Morocco is ploughing ahead with a programme to boost wind energy production, particularly in the southern Tarfaya region, where Africa's largest wind farm is set to open in 2014.