Campus News

Media Advisory: Sigma Xi spring dinner lecture features AIDS researcher Linda M. Parsons

Athens, Ga. – The University of Georgia Chapter of Sigma Xi will hold its annual Spring Dinner Lecture and Awards Reception on Thursday, April 12 from 6-9 p.m. at the Visitor’s Center on the University of Georgia’s south campus. The lecture will be presented by Linda M. Parsons, a senior service fellow in the International Laboratory Branch of the Global AIDS Program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The title of Parsons’ lecture is “Drug Resistance in Tuberculosis.”

Parsons is a recognized authority in the area of detection of drug resistance in the pathogens responsible for tuberculosis and has been heavily involved in research to improve DNA PCR assays for diagnosis of HIV infection in infants. HIV has been shown to create conditions under which tuberculosis can become epidemic, a particular problem if strains of the pathogen have become resistant to standard drug regimens.

There will be a social hour and reception with refreshments beginning at 6 p.m. Parsons’ lecture will begin at 7 p.m. The chapter awards program follows immediately at 8 p.m. The cost per ticket is $8 in advance and $10 at the door. Space is limited, and reservations should be made by contacting Jeff Dean at jeffdean@uga.edu before Friday, April 9.