George Liepa Sigma XI Speaker Series
The 2025 George Liepa Sigma Xi Annual Speaker event will take place on Thursday, March 20th, 2025. Dessert Reception Immediately Following
The George Liepa Sigma Xi Annual Speaker Series Endowed Fund at Eastern Michigan University presents:
Dr. Phillip Levy, "Can We Achieve Lifespan Equality in Our Lifetime? Perspectives on New Paradigms in Population Health"
Thursday, March 20, 2025, 7–8 p.m. in The Student Center Auditorium, Dessert Reception Immediately Following
About the lecture: Perhaps the greatest indicator of health inequity is the difference in the number of years that a population lives, on average. Inequality in lifespan is the confluence of myriad factors, many of which may be amendable to intervention if delivered at scale to comnunities at greatest risk for premature morbidity and mortality. Using data from programs that he developed, including an innovative model of targeted mobile health outreach, Dr. Phillip Levy will showcase efforts within the State of Michigan and beyond that are actively seeking to improve such outcomes. Delivered in a manner that will energize and inspire, learners will walk away with new found knowledge to further research endeavors aimed at improving both quality and quantity of life.
Phillip Levy, MD, MPH is the Edward S Thomas endowed Professor of Emergency Medicine at Wayne State University where he currently serves as Associate Vice President for Translational Sciences and Director of the Wayne Health Mobile Unit Program, which he founded in April 2020. A fellow of multiple professional societies including the American College of Emergency Physicians, the American Heart Association, and the American College of Cardiology, Dr. Levy is a leading health equity researcher with a focus on population level cardiovascular disease risk reduction who has overseen more than 110 funded studies from various entities since his arrival at Wayne State in 2002 including current grant support from the NIH, CDC, and American Heart Association. In addition to the delivery of acute and emergent care, Dr. Levy brings extensive expertise in deep community phenotyping using integrated, multidimensional data, and design as well as execution of targeted intervention programs. Related to the latter, Dr. Levy is leading for the Michigan Mobile Health Corps, a statewide initiative that will bring universal access to free cardiometabolic prevention screenings in the community using mobile units with remote delivery of clinical and social support services.
For more information please contact the Graduate School at 734.487.0042 or [email protected]. This event is free and open to the public.
History
The George Liepa Sigma XI Speaker Series Endowed Fund was established in 2011 in memory of Dr. George Liepa [PDF]. George was an active campus member of Sigma Xi, a professor of human nutrition and a department head in the College of Health and Human Services.
When the Graduate Research Fair was created, it was his idea to have a science-related speaker present at the end of the day. George secured funding from Sigma Xi National to start the event and was a key figure in helping to select the annual speaker as well as marketing the event to EMU students, faculty and local high schools.
Previous George Liepa Sigma Xi Speakers:
- Thursday, March 20th, 2025 - Dr. Phillip Levy, MD, MPH "Can We Achieve Lifespan Equality In Our Lifetime?"
- Thursday, March 14, 2024 - Dr. Sarah Comstock: ""Human Milk: Shaping Microbial Communities, Supporting Positive Child Health Outcomes"
- Thursday, March 23, 2023 - Dr. Jeremy Bassis: "A Tale of Two Cities: Climate Resilience and Adaptation in a Changing World"
- Thursday, March 17, 2022- Dr. Stefan M. Pasiakos: "Leveraging Nutritional Science to Optimize Soldier Health and Performance" [PDF]
- Thursday, March 18, 2021 - Dr. Anne Casper, "Effective Teaching to Support Inclusivity and Diversity in STEM" [PDF]
- Due to COVID-19, the 2020 George Liepa Sigma Xi Speaker Series event was postponed until 2021.
- Thursday, March 21, 2019 - Dr. Sophia Lunt, "Starving Cancer Away: Deciphering Metabolic Rewiring in Cancer" [PDF]
- March 15, 2018 - Richard Lunt, "Solar Panels: A Revolution in Distributed Power Production" [PDF]
- March 23, 2017 - Marie S. O’Neill, “Climate Change and Health: Research and Partnerships for Action” [PDF]
- November 17, 2016 - David Cappelleri, “Robots Deliver Results: Multi-Scale Robotics and Automation, from the Large to the Microscopic” [PDF]
- November 19, 2015 - Dana Dolinoy, “Your Epigenome: DNA is not Necessarily Your Destiny” [PDF]
- November 13, 2014 - Gary Huffnagel, “Your Gut: So Much More Than a Digestive System” [PDF].
- March 18, 2013 - Donald Beitz, "Genetic Regulation of Bovine Milk Fatty Acid Composition: Improving the Healthfulness of Milk through Selection" [PDF]
- March 26, 2012 - Jeanette Hasse, "Nutrition Strategies to Improve Organ Transplant Outcomes" [PDF]
- March 21, 2011 - Carol Ireton-Jones, "Malnutrition, Inflammation & Energy Metabolism" [PDF]
- March 16, 2010 - Elizabeth Friedman, "Archaeological Science: Forging Common Ground across Academic Disciplines" [PDF]
- March 23, 2009 - Norman G. Hord, "Dietary Guide to Prevent Cancer" [PDF]
- March 24, 2008 - Jeanette Adams, "Preserving the Nation’s Cultural Heritage through Chemistry: Analytical Materials Science at the Library of Congress" [PDF]
- March 26, 2007 - William S. Harris, "The Cardioprotective Effects of Fish Oils: Consensus and Controversies"
- March 27, 2006 - Peter Mancuso, "Phat Hormones: The emerging Role of the Adipokines in Health Care"
- March 28, 2005 - Tony England, "The Opportunity Cost of the New NASA" [PDF]
- March 22, 2004 - Howard Van Till, "Finders and Keepers: Can Religion Keep What Science Finds?" [PDF]
- March 24, 2003 - Jacqueline Krim, "Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems: These Squeaky Wheels Will Get No Grease" [PDF]
- March 18, 2002 - Milford Wolpoff, "Paleo-Anthropology" [PDF]
- Fall 2001- external speaker, topic: genetic engineering of food