Date and Time
January 28, 2009
1:30 PM - 3:00 PM

Availability
Open to the public
No RSVP required

Speaker
Paul H. Wise - Stanford University

Recent evidence has suggested that events early in life--even during gestation--can influence the risk of developing conditions such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer as adults. These processes are the focus of intense basic scientific and epidemiologic research and are thought to involve complex gene-environment interactions, including epigenetic processes. Some have suggested that these early life events occur during developmentally sensitive, if not critical, periods whereby early exposures can influence health outcomes long into the future. While these observations are fascinating, what are their relevance to the development of effective health and social policies? To what extent are current trends in adult-onset disease merely the product of child-based exposures? What does the observation of lifecourse effects say about the utility of different prevention strategies, particularly those implemented later in childhood, adolescence, or as adults?

This discussion will present work very much in progress directed at making sense of early lifecourse effects on the requirements of public policy. There is a need to develop new analytic approaches capable of assessing not only statistical significance but real-world relevance of different gene-environmental interactions. Of special concern is the ability to assess the relevance of these interactions over different developmental stages, their inherent amenability to intervention, their contribution to inequalities in health outcomes, and ultimately to questions of social justice.