FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 22, 1985
SECOND ANNUAL MORTON LEVY MEMORIAL LECTURE PRESENTS NOBEL LAUREATE MARSHALL
NIRENBERG
The Second Annual Morton Levy Memorial Lecture on Sunday, March 24th
at 7:30 p.m. at the Loch Haven Art Center, will present Marshall W. Nirenberg,
Ph.D., recipient of the Nobel Prize in 1968 for uncovering the structure of
the genetic code.
Dr. Nirenberg's discovery has important implications for genetic
engineering and may one day provide the cure for certain inherited diseases.
He will discuss the future of genetics and the importance of using this
knowledge in an appropriate way.
The Morton Levy Memorial Lecture Series was created to perpetuate the
memory of long-time Orlando physician Morton Levy, who died in 1983. The
annual programs are devoted to preserving the ideals by which Dr. Levy lived
his life and are presented by his family and colleagues from Orlando Regional
Medical Center.
His wife, Rita Levy, says the lecture series deals with a part of living
that was close to Dr. Levy's heart.  "It's the philosophy of medicine--the
philosophy of humanism--that says the patient, above all, is most important."
Morton Levy was the grandson of a pioneer Jewish family that settled
in Orlando in 1911.  What made Dr. Levy unique in the medical community and
in the lives of his patients and friends was the blending of his medical
skills with his compassion and love of people.  Dr. Levy felt that preserving
the dignity of his patients was essential to their proper medical care.
"Morton Levy made a tremendous contribution toward raising the standard
of medical ethics and medical practice in this community," says Barry Seiger,
M.D., Chairman of the Morton Levy Memorial Lecture Committee. "It's because
of that contribution that we honor Morton Levy with this annual lecturship."
The first Morton Levy Memorial Lecture was held in 1984 and featured
Nobel Laureate Rosalyn Yalow, who discussed radioimmunoassay testing, a
technique she developed which revolutionized biomedical research and laboratory
diagnosis.  Dr. Yalow's lecture focused on society's fear of radiation and
the value of radioactive substances when used constructively in science and
medicine.