A Genetic Perspective on Autism - Noted Speakers at SPC

Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Open to the Public

Jersey City –The Biology Department of Saint Peter’s College will present a symposium on autism, featuring two guest speakers who are specialists in this field. On Wednesday, March 5, Clarence E. Schutt, Ph.D., from Princeton University, and Raymond S. Roginski, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School, will offer their professional views about this developmental disorder. Leonard Sciorra, Ph.D., FACMG, the Saint Peter’s College Joseph E. Schuh S.J. Professor of Health and Natural Sciences, will host A Genetic Perspective on Autism. Free and open to the public, the lecture will be held in Pope Lecture Hall from 8:30am until 12:00 noon. This lecture is being sponsored by The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey.

A Professor of Chemistry at Princeton University, Dr. Schutt will speak about “An Architectonic Perspective on Autism.” He is a founder and co-chair of The Eden Programs, which serve children and adults with autism. A founding trustee of The National Alliance for Autism Research, Dr. Schutt has served on various boards during his career and has received fellowships and honors too numerous to mention. He continues to research and lecture internationally. He earned a doctorate from Harvard University, a master’s degree from Michigan State University and a bachelor’s from the University of Michigan.

Dr. Roginski, an Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Roginski, whose fellowships and awards are also too numerous to mention, will offer a physician’s perspective in his lecture entitled, “Autism: A Selective Perspective from Genomics, Molecular Biology, Toxicology and Other Disciplines.” He has lectured extensively, with a particular interest in gene sequencing and mapping; his major research goals are to achieve a more detailed understanding of the actions of the neurotransmitter L-glutamate in the mammalian central nervous system. Dr. Roginski received his medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, where he also earned a doctorate and a master’s degree; he also earned a master’s and a bachelor’s degree from Yale University. A native of Hudson County, he was a valedictorian at Saint Peter’s Preparatory in Jersey City, NJ.

Saint Peter’s College is the Jesuit College of New Jersey. Founded in 1872, Saint Peter’s has an enrollment of approximately 3,000 students in undergraduate and graduate programs. The main campus is located in Jersey City. The College has a branch campus for adults in Englewood Cliffs, NJ and also offers courses at various corporate sites at the Jersey City waterfront and in South Amboy, NJ.