Eco-medicine is topic of next medical school's Dean's Hour Ecological medicine is the topic of the next Dean’s Hour at noon Wednesday, March 21, at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences. David Wallinga will present “Ecological Medicine - Preventing Chronic Disease Through Healthier Food and Healthier Environments,” which is free and open to the public. The talk will be held in the Reed Keller Auditorium at the medical school’s Wold Center, 501 North Columbia Road, and lunch will be provided for all attendees. Director of the Food and Health Program at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) in Minneapolis, Minn., Dr. Wallinga’s expertise includes the health impacts of industrialized food production, including the overuse of antibiotics in livestock. He is a leading authority on the health impacts of environmental pollutants — including food-borne pollutants — on the developing brains and other organs in fetuses and children. He co-authored "In Harm's Way: Toxic Threats to Child Development," and authored "Putting Children First: Making Pesticide Levels in Food Safer for Infants and Children." Prior to joining IATP in 2000, Wallinga worked in the Public Health Program of the Natural Resource Defense Council in Washington, D.C. He received a medical degree from the University of Minnesota Medical School, and a master's degree from Princeton University. The presentation will be broadcast at the following video conference sites: Southwest Campus conference room B, Southeast Campus room 225 and Northwest Campus office. It can also be viewed on the medical school’s web page at http://www.med.und.nodak.edu/depts/mit/webcast/dean.html and through Internet video-conferencing on desktop computers through the medical school’s CRISTAL Recorder (call 701-777-2329 for details). The Dean’s Hour Lecture Series is a forum for the discussion of health care, medicine, research, education and related issues of the day. Dr. Wallinga’s presentation is supported in part by the Dr. Ralph Leigh Lectureship. For more information, please contact the Office of the Dean, 777-2514. -- Amanda Scurry, public information specialist, UND SMHS, ascurry@medicine.nodak.edu, 701-777-0871