Tie Between Genetics, Chronic Diseases Topic of Next Library Lecture at MSU Billings 

MSU BILLINGS NEWS SERVICES — If your uncle Art has a bad heart, where does that leave your chances? And if your grandmother struggled with managing diabetes, should you start managing your life differently?

Those questions and others will be at the core of the next Montana State University Billings Library Lecture, “Getting More Life Out of Your Hand-Me-Down Genes: Using Family Health History to Reduce Chronic Disease Risk.”

The MSU Billings Library Lecture is Tuesday, Feb. 12 from noon to 1:30 p.m. in the Liberal Arts Building, Room 205. The LA Building is located near the center of the university’s main campus, 1500 University Drive . 

The lecture is free and open to the public.

The featured speaker will be Dr. Carl Hanson, a public health expert at Brigham Young University . Hanson spent 11 years teaching health and physical education at MSU Billings and was the founding dean of the MSU Billings College of Allied Health Professions.  

Hanson will be touching on a number of topics that relate to family history, genetics and chronic disease, including:  

• How do multiple genes, personal behavior and the environment interact to cause chronic disease?
• What chronic diseases have a strong family history connection?
• How can one collect family health history information?
• What should you do with family health history information once it is acquired?

At BYU, Hanson maintains an interest in administration by teaching a graduate course in Public Health Administration. He also teaches Public Health Education Methods, Planning and Evaluation at the undergraduate level.

He enjoys working with communities and involving students in service-learning projects. He has worked collaboratively on many community initiatives of public health interest, especially those targeting youth and families. He also maintains an interest in rural health issues and health disparities among Native American populations. He is currently collaborating with faculty colleagues at BYU to study the family as a public health setting of practice.

Hanson received a doctorate in community health education from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and his bachelor’s and master’s degree from BYU. He and his wife Loraine have 4 children and reside in Spanish Fork, Utah .

For more information on the MSU Billings Library Lecture, contact Brent Roberts, associate library director, at 657-1655.