BrieflyNoted

Harlem’s Children’s Zone Creator to Speak Feb. 19

Geoffrey Canada, who has won national recognition for his pioneering work to help children and families in Harlem—block by block, child by child—will deliver a free public lecture titled “Communities Educating Children” from 2:30 to 4 p.m. Feb. 19 at Pitt’s Center on Race and Social Problems, School of Social Work Conference Center, 2017 Cathedral of Learning.

The Harlem Children’s Zone (HCZ) has been called “one of the most ambitious social experiments of our time” by The New York Times Magazine. Under the leadership of Canada, HCZ works to provide comprehensive services to children and their families in central Harlem. Initiated as a pilot program in the mid-1990s, HCZ has expanded to 97 blocks and approximately 8,000 children.

HCZ services include workshops for expectant parents and parents of children up to 3 years of age; all-day prekindergarten that includes classes in English, Spanish, and French; and best-practice programs for children of every age through college, including fitness and nutrition, after-school care, and community building.

Registration is not required; for more information, call 412-624-7382.

—By Sharon S. Blake

Pitt Cancer Institute Director to Give 2009 Bernard Fisher Lecture

Nancy E. Davidson

Nancy E. Davidson, the new director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI), will present the 2009 Bernard Fisher Lecture on Wednesday, Feb. 25, in tribute to Bernard Fisher, the University of Pittsburgh’s pioneer in the biology and treatment of breast cancer. The lecture, titled “Endocrine Therapy for Breast Cancer: A Translational Odyssey,” will begin at 4 p.m. in Auditorium 6, Scaife Hall.

Davidson also serves as associate vice chancellor for cancer research and as chief of the Division of Hematology-Oncology in the University’s Department of Medicine. She most recently served as professor of oncology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and director of the Breast Cancer Program at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins.  Davidson’s career has been dedicated to advancing the understanding of the molecular and cellular biology of breast cancer and to pioneering new therapeutic approaches to the disease.

—By Kristin Beaver