Dr. George T. Capone featured at Down syndrome conference

from thedailystar.com:


Down Syndrome research scientist Dr. George T. Capone will be featured at a special full-day conference at The Kennedy-Willis Center at Pathfinder Village in Edmeston, NY on Friday, June 10. The conference, "Medical and Behavioral Issues in Down Syndrome" is open to parents, educators and professionals who work with people with developmental disabilities.

A printable registration form and more information on Capone's conference is available at www.pathfindervillage.org; a registration fee of $70 will be charged and includes conference materials, refreshments and lunch. For more information, contact Bonnie Laugen, director of the Kennedy-Willis Center, at 965-8377, ext. 154/112, or e-mail blaugen@pathfindervillage.org.

"For 15 years, people have turned to the Kennedy-Willis Center for the latest research information on Down syndrome," Laugen said in a media release. "It is very exciting to have this opportunity to share Dr. Capone's expertise with the community and learn about baseline research that will shape our understanding and methods of care for years to come."

Capone is one of the country's preeminent research scientists in Down syndrome, according to the release. Capone is the head of the Down syndrome clinic at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore and has conducted research that explores the neurobiologic basis of cognitive impairment, behavioral and psychiatric disorders that may be associated with the chromosomal condition. He and his colleagues have been published in the Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, Journal of the Neurological Sciences and the American Journal of Medical Genetics.

Capone also is an attending physician at KKI and an associate professor of pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He attended Wesleyan University and worked as a research assistant at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, before obtaining his M.D. from the University of Connecticut in 1983.

The conference is part of the 15th anniversary celebration for the Kennedy-Willis Center on Down Syndrome, Pathfinder Village's outreach and education initiative. The center provides counseling and training for direct care staff, medical professionals and families who care for people who have Down syndrome and other disabilities.

Founded in 1980, Pathfinder Village is a privately funded, nonprofit, residential community for children and adults who have Down syndrome. For more information, visit www.pathfindervillage.org or www.pathfindervillagestories.org, or visit the Pathfinder Facebook page.