Keynote Lectures

Dr. Phelps is the original inventor of PET (Positron Emission Tomography) scanner. Dr. Phelps earned his B.S. in Chemistry and Mathematics from Western Washington State University in 1965 and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Washington University in St. Louis in 1970. He joined the Medical School faculty of Washington University School of Medicine in 1970 - 1975. From 1975 -1976 he was a member of the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1976 he joined the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA where he is the Chief of the Division of Nuclear Medicine. He is actively engaged in medical research, educational programs and multimedia technologies at UCLA. Dr. Phelps uniquely holds six academic positions at UCLA. In additional to serving as the Departmental Chairman and holding an endowed professorship, he is also the Director of the Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, Professor of Biomathematics, the Director of the Institute for Molecular Medicine and the Chief of Nuclear Medicine.

Dr. Phelps along with his colleague Dr. Edward Hoffman and CTI, Inc. developed four generations of PET scanners. Along with his UCLA colleagues and students, Dr. Phelps has used PET to study the biological basis of normal organ functions, cancer, numerous disorders of the brain and heart, and to transition PET molecular diagnostics into the healthcare system and pharmaceutical research. In addition, Dr. Phelps has published over 680 peer reviewed Scientific papers and books and book chapters.

Presidential Guest Speaker
Martin Buser
Friday, April 25, 2008
11:20 am

Born in Zurich, Switzerland, Martin Buser is a four time Iditarod champion, 1992, 1994, 1997 and 2002. He holds the record for the fastest finish time in Iditarod history in the 2002 race in 8 days, 22 hours, 46 minutes and 2 seconds.

Martin began mushing at age 17 in Switzerland. In 1979, he moved to Alaska to expand his knowledge of training and techniques. He and his wife Kathy own and manage "Happy Dogs Kennels" located in Big Lake, Alaska.

"Insight on Innovation"

Dr. Johnson was one of the pioneers in arthroscopic surgery. As such he has over 40 US patents related to orthopedic surgery. The most notable invention is that of the motorized instrumentation, know as the "shaver". He has a long interest in cartilage healing and repair including introducing the concept of arthroscopic abrasion arthroplasty. His interest continues after concluding his clinical practice with long term studies on cartilage repair which he will be presenting. Another aspect of his career has been in the business of medicine. He was owner of a small surgical company for over 20 years prior to selling in 2002 to an international corporation. He will be sharing today some of the insights gain from that aspect of this endeavor. Hence the title of the presentation; The Business of Medicine; Medicine first, then Business.