Professor from Canada to Give Public Lectures on Cloning and Modern Medicine

Wednesday, 27 March 2013, 11:48
Yury Monczak, assistant professor of medicine at McGill University in Canada, will give a series of lectures on March 25-27 at the Ukrainian Catholic University School of Bioethics. The Molecular Pathology Lab director promises that the lectures on bioethics and cloning will be straightforward and interesting, so that anyone who has basic knowledge of biology can learn about global trends of modern medicine.

Yury Monczak, assistant professor of medicine at McGill University in Canada, will give a series of lectures on March 25-27 at the Ukrainian Catholic University School of Bioethics. The Molecular Pathology Lab director promises that the lectures on bioethics and cloning will be straightforward and interesting, so that anyone who has basic knowledge of biology can learn about global trends of modern medicine.

“First, I’ll talk to the students about the basic principles of molecular biology (DNA, RNA, genes, mutations, etc.). During the second lecture I will speak about the traditional approach to molecular diagnostics, and then about the research of the human genome as this information can be used in diagnostics and about the consequences of abusing this kind of information,” says Yury Monczak.

According to the professor, modern medicine is undergoing a profound revolution. “Earlier, the diagnosis depended on the recognition of the morphology of tissues or cells. Now scientists have studied what causes the disease, the genes that are responsible for the healthy or sick state of the organism. In the near future diagnostics will increasingly rely on studies of the genetic profile of each person, which will allow us to foresee the disease, choose the appropriate treatment at an early stage.”

Treatment, according to the scientist, is now done via the “designer” drugs, which opens the era of “targeted therapy”: “This is revolutionary therapy where the medicine is basically personalized and tailored to each patient individually, depending on his or her genetic profile,” says the Canadian professor.

During the lectures “Bioethics and Cloning,” Yury Monczak will also talk about cord blood transplantation, genetic manipulation in the laboratory, and will touch upon the topics of stem cells and cloning of animals and humans.

“The subject of cloning is extremely important, because today there is the ability to manipulate stem cells to grow artificial organs in vitro, stem cells from any other differentiated cells and convert them to other families of cells. Many organisms have been cloned, and now comes the attempt to clone a human – but it’s much more complicated than we can imagine. Humans have discovered the key to the very core of our physical existence and are beginning to ‘play’ with the strongest aspect of biological life – the genetic code. Do humans understand what the consequences can be? To form a common approach and opinion on the current state of biology, we must understand bioethical approaches in this area.”

The lectures will take place within the curriculum of the School of Bioethics of UCU. However, during the three days, anyone can attend the lectures in the conference hall of the Faculty of Philosophy and Theology (35a Khutorivka St.). Time of the lectures – 18:00-21:00.

Each year the School accepts students for a certificated program in bioethics “In the Service of Life.” Professors from different countries, including Germany, Italy, Austria and Ukraine, give lectures. Many topics are discussed at the program on bioethics, including prenatal and preimplantation genetic diagnosis, genetic diagnosis, reproductive medicine and genetic engineering, the status of the human embryo cloning, organ transplantation, euthanasia, etc.

Professor Yury Monczak

Dr. Yury Monczak is the director of the Molecular Pathology Lab and Professor of Genetics at the Medical Faculty of McGill University (Canada). Professor Monczak with his mother founded the Mykhailo Monczak, Rev. Ivan Hawryluk, Daria Kohutiak and Sofia Kokotska Memorial Fund as part of the Ukrainian Catholic Education Foundation. He cares about moral and ethical problems and their assessment from a Christian point of view. The idea of humanizing medicine based on Christian values ​​and respect for human life is important for him.

UCU Press Service

 

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