Special to the Daily
It seems as if Vail might hold the fountain of youth, keeping folks active and healthy longer than peers in other locations. But even if you’re in the peak of health, if someone told you that there was a way to age slower and heal faster, would you listen? Join the Vail Symposium on Thursday, March 28, at Vail Interfaith Chapel for a special program that will discuss this fascinating — and crucial — topic.
“The idea that we can stay younger longer is a compelling one,” said Kris Sabel, executive director of the Vail Symposium in a press release. “Our speakers aren’t touting face creams or plastic surgery — they’ll be discussing ways to slow aging, which can have not only an individual effect, but also an impact on our country as whole.”
As our country’s population gets older, our healthcare system will face significant challenges to meet the needs of an aging population. Dr. Andrew Friedson, an assistant professor of economics at the University of Colorado Denver and also an assistant professor of health systems management and policy at the Colorado School of Public Health, is an economist who studies the health care sector. He will address health economics, discussing the growth in health care costs, the difficulties in paying for it and the idea of “bending the cost curve” so that we will be able to afford our health care in the future.
Dr. Johnny Huard is a regenerative-medicine researcher, with more than two decades of stem cell research. He is seeking ways to help the body age slower and heal faster to not only impact individuals, but also to help prevent the staggering cost of healthcare for our aging population. Huard’s research has led to methods to delay aging by years, thus improving the quality of life for individuals and reducing healthcare costs for society.
Join the Vail Symposium as our experts present the whole story on health care, from the economic health of our country to interventions both innovative and accessible. Attendees will leave with actionable items to begin living younger immediately.
About the speakers
Dr. Friedson is an economist who studies the health care sector. He is an assistant professor of economics at the University of Colorado Denver and also holds a secondary appointment as an assistant professor of health systems management and policy at the Colorado School of Public Health where he teaches health economics and health care policy. Friedson serves on the editorial review board of INQUIRY, an academic journal covering health care organization, provision and financing. He is also the winner of the National Tax Association’s 2014 Richard Musgrave prize for excellence in research.
Dr. Huard is a world-renowned scientist and is currently the chief scientific officer and director of the Center for Regenerative Sports Medicine at the Steadman Philippon Research Institute (SPRI) in Vail. Huard is also the distinguished professor and vice chair for research in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Additionally, he is the director of The Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine Center for Tissue Engineering and Aging Research in Houston.
Prior to his new position at SPRI and UTHealth, Huard held the Henry J. Mankin professor and vice chair for Musculoskeletal Cellular Therapeutics and the director of the Stem Cell Research Center in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh for 20 years. He also held joint appointments in microbiology and molecular genetics, bioengineering, pathology and physical medicine and rehabilitation, pediatrics and the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) at the University of Pittsburgh. Huard was also the deputy director of Cellular Therapeutic Research at the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh.
