Church of the Epiphany

March 2  Beyond Hyperbole: A Christian's Hope for Stem Cell Research
Dr. Scott A. Noggle, PhD is director of the research laboratories at the New York Stem Cell Foundation. He previously managed the stem cell derivation core facility at The Rockefeller University.  During his Postdoctoral Fellowship in the lab of Ali H. Brivanlou at The Rockefeller University, he derived New York's first human embryonic stem cell lines and currently studies the potential use of stem cells to treat diseases like diabetes and Alzheimer's Disease.  Stem cells have been surrounded by misconceptions and controversy. However there is tremendous hope in the scientific community that these remarkable cells are key to treating or curing many diseases.  In this session we will discuss some of the latest ideas and progress in the field of stem cell research and address some of the misconceptions surrounding their origin. 

March 9 Assisted Reproductive Technology
The Rev. Dr. Anne Brewer, MD, MPH is a physician and serves as the Associate Residency Director at Stamford Hospital/Columbia University. She worked as a Family Practice physician in a number of settings in Connecticut over the past two decades. Dr Brewer is also an Episcopal Priest, and has a ministry as a Priest Associate at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.  The explosion in the past 20 years of the use of assisted reproductive technology, including artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization, surrogacy, brings new questions to many peoples’ daily lives about when life begins, what interventions are appropriate for an individual and a society, and what the definition of a parent is.

March 16 Ethics at End of Life: A Discussion of Conflicts and Choices
Fran Heller is the Senior Social Worker on the Palliative Care Consult Service at NY Presbyterian, Columbia University Medical Center.  Fran has been working with patients and family members since 2003 supporting them and helping them cope with the challenges brought on by the diagnosis of a serious illness. Fran has been actively involved in the Narrative Medicine program at the medical center and co-facilitates a monthly writing group that has been meeting at the medical center for the past 3 years.  

Catherine Mondonedo is a board certified Nurse Practitioner in Hospice and Palliative Medicine practicing as part of the Palliative Care Team at New York Presbyterian - Columbia campus.  She obtained her graduate nursing degree from Columbia University and has been serving the needs of those who are at the end of life in the hospital, hospice and nursing home settings for the past 10 years. Her interests lie in utilizing integrative / alternative therapies in combination with traditional medicine for the management of pain and other symptoms associated with terminal illness.