PHOTOS: World-Renowned Medical Experts In CHOP Meet With Jewish Community Leaders

[PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE]

Community leaders shared an exclusive evening with world renowned medical experts at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) yesterday at a “Meet the Experts Event” on Wednesday March 5th. In collaboration with Chai Lifeline New Jersey, CHOP hosted a group of 100 Rabbinical leaders, askanim, heads of organizations and pediatricians from across the tri-state area.

“In our laboratories, many of which are housed in this building, our scientists are making discoveries that are transforming the field of pediatric medicine,” remarked CHOP CEO, Dr. Steven Altschuler, as he opened the evening in CHOP’s state-of-the-art Colket Translational Research Building. “They have found ways to repair birth defects while babies are still in the womb. They developed an innovative cell therapy that uses a patient’s own immune system to fight cancer. They pioneered a gene therapy treatment that can restore sight to the blind.” “

The program included presentations and personal tours by some of the world’s greatest experts in medicine including a demonstration by Dr. Scott Adzick, Surgeon in Chief, in the surgery simulator laboratory, and a tour of phyisican-scientist Dr. Steven Grupp’s T-Cell lab, a ground-breaking approach to curing cancer using a patient’s own immune system. Guests also visited CHOP’s Special Delivery Unit (SDU), the world’s first birth facility specifically designed for mothers carrying babies with known birth defects.

“Tonight, we at Chai Lifeline NJ have the opportunity to share the cutting-edge medical care and research that we have come to know over the past 14 years, ”
said Rabbi Sruli Fried New Jersey Regional Director of Chai Lifeline. “It is an honor and privilege to give other community advocates the opportunity to benefit from this knowledge as well.”

The commemorative evening included an official announcement by Dr. Altschuler regarding plans for a second Kosher Pantry in CHOP with the opening of the Beurger Center in 2015. The Buerger Center will be the most advanced pediatric outpatient facility in the nation.