Philip A. May, Ph.D., a 1969 Catawba College alumnus and an internationally recognized expert in fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), delivered the 23rd Annual Mark Keller Honorary Lecture at The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health, on November 29 at the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Md. His presentation was titled “Prevalence of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders: Characteristics and Correlates.”
The NIAAA established the Mark Keller Honorary Lecture Series as a tribute to Mr. Keller’s pioneering contributions to the field of alcohol research. Each year, the series features a lecture by an outstanding alcohol researcher whose work makes significant and long-term contributions to our understanding of how alcohol affects the body and mind, how we can prevent, diagnose and treat alcohol misuse and alcohol use disorder, and how today's scientific advancements can provide hope for tomorrow.
Dr. May, whose distinguished career spans nearly 50 years, is co-leader of the Collaboration on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Prevalence (CoFASP) research consortium, which studies the prevalence of FASD among school-aged children in the United States. Earlier this year, the CoFASP published the findings of a pivotal study that more accurately reflect the true prevalence of FASD within the country and underscores the need for more focus on screening, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of FASD. Dr. May also serves as a Professor in the Department of Nutrition in the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Nutrition Research Institute in Kannapolis, N.C.
For additional information about the lecture see: www.niaaa.nih.gov/about-niaaa/our-work/research-portfolio/projects-initiatives/keller-and-mendelson-honorary-lecture.
