Dr. Mark Gregory Robson, dean of agricultural and urban programs and professor of plant biology and pathology, SEBS/Rutgers University.
Dr. Mark Gregory Robson, dean of agricultural and urban programs and professor of plant biology and pathology at Rutgers University’s School of Environmental and Biological Sciences and professor of environmental and occupational health at the Rutgers School of Public Health, will present the Bloustein School’s 2014 Ruth Ellen Steinman and Edward J. Bloustein Memorial Lecture, “Rutgers’ Global Reach and Sustainable Agricultural Development: Challenges and Opportunities,” on Thursday, March 6, 2014.
The event will be held in the Special Events Forum at Rutgers University’s Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Civic Square Building, 33 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ. It will begin at 5:00 p.m.
Dr. Robson’s research focus is on health risks from exposure to pesticides and agricultural chemicals. In this illustrated lecture, Dr. Robson will present research findings from his projects funded by NIH Fogarty, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and USAID. Rutgers University programs in global health and agricultural have been instrumental in working to improve the health of rural people and their environment through training and research in rural communities, as well as developing university-based programs to train local scientists and health care providers to build sustainable and long-term solutions to the rapid growth and intensification of food systems in the developing world. This presentation will look at the opportunities and challenges in rural agricultural health using examples in Southeast Asia and West Africa.
Dr. Robson will also make some personal reflections on Dr. Steinman and Dr. Bloustein and the unique relationship he had with them as a graduate student in the 1970s.
The Ruth Ellen Steinman and Edward J. Bloustein Memorial Lecture was established to honor the memory of these two extraordinary individuals. For nearly 19 years, the Blousteins dedicated their enormous energies to Rutgers University. The fund was created in 1988 after Ruth Ellen died following a long and heroic battle with illness. Sadly, there was cause to broaden the purpose of the fund when Edward Bloustein, Rutgers’ beloved president, died suddenly a year later in December 1989. The endowment supports an annual lecture series that is intended to celebrate the values and interests Ruth Ellen and Ed cherished and cultivated throughout their lives, namely the preservation of animal species and the natural environment; the celebration of love, happiness, and laughter as tools of clinical medicine; and the exploration and promotion of humane values.
The event is free and open to the public. RSVP is requested toRSVP@ejb.rutgers.edu by Wednesday, February 26.
1.5 American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) Certification Maintenance credits available for this event.