Pledge of Allegiance: : William Li lead the pledge.
Thought for the Day: Jonnie Dukes said he is very thankful for everything he has in his life, his new girlfriend, friends and our Rotarians who help other people. He prayed for good health, the health of the planet and all of the creatures in it. Look forward positively and keep it going.
President Phil showed a picture of himself at the Rotary Convention in Singapore with the president of the San Mateo Club, Joan Rosas, and one of our speakers today, Susan Dean of the San Francisco Chinatown Club. Phil’s eyes were shut in the picture, but we assume he was paying attention.
Visiting Rotarians and Guests:
Jill Hodges and Susan Dean today’s Speakers
Ernie Scheppler Jr
Mark Lucchesi
Meg Fiones - San Bruno Club/District Foundation Chair and her husband Ned.
Jeanne Urich – for her 1st visit
Bob Doerr's guest: Phil Magic for his first visit.
Mark Lucchesi introduced “Doc” Ernie Scheppler Jr. California State Hall of Fame basketball coach. He is the son of long time Rotary member “Doc” Ernie Scheppler. Every year we give a BHS athletic scholarship in the senior Ernie’s name.
Announcements:
The 100th Anniversary committee is working hard on the plans for this major celebration to take place on January 30—SAVE THE DATE!!. If you have something to contribute please contact Christine Krolik or President Phil.
Meg Fiones, the District 5150 Foundation Chair, reminded us that the event aboard the USS Hornet is happening on October 12. See Joe La Mariana for details and tickets or go on-line to the Rotary District website. Meg reiterated the importance of the Foundation. It is at the core of all of our projects and international efforts, and whatever we give this year, goes to the Foundation, earns interest, and comes back to us in 3 years for our use in our projects in the form of District Designated Funds. It is so important for each and every Rotarian to donate to the Foundation every year with at least a minimum contribution: EREY means “every Rotarian every year.”
Newscast (or Whatever this was---!):
Peter Comaroto, our dual American-Italian citizen or Italian-American or whatever he is (?) pulled out of his pocket a bottle of “very special” olive oil and proceed to ask us questions about Italy—the winner would get the bottle (and the oil inside as well.) So, since many of us have traveled to Italy we thought this would be a “piece of pizza cake” but it was not.
The answers:
There are 20 regions in Italy.
Rome was founded in 753 BC – wow! There are some petrified pizzas out there-
Four types of pasta in Rome: elbow, twisty, shells and old --- did I get that right?? (actually I could not spell the correct answers)
Cary Koh, that well known foodie won the bottle of Olive oil! He will use it to oil his violin.
Presentation:
Program:
Charlene Drummer introduced today’s speakers who are here seeking our Club’s support for their San Francisco Chinatown Rotary Club Project in Guatemala. She explained how our contributions to the Foundation (mentioned above) work to provide DDF funds to support international projects like our current project in India. Each year our District 5150 receives these funds which are allocated to each club depending on the amounts donated by each club over the prior 3 years. She mentioned our club is way behind on total donations to the Foundation in comparison with other clubs of our size, and in getting every one of our members to make this separate donation of whatever amount, even if small, every year. We should all try to improve our participation in the Foundation this Rotary year so we can up our Club’s game and provide more funds for our important projects!
Charlene introduced Jill Hodges and Susan Dean who presented a wonderful talk with slides on their rotary global grant towards eliminating cervical cancer in Guatemala. Some of the highlights of the talk are as follows:
Cervical cancer mortality is 6 times higher in Guatemala than in the US
Indigenous women and those in rural areas are disproportionately affected. 40% of the population is indigenous and 22 languages are spoken.
Cervical cancer is mostly avoidable and treatable but there are a lack of awareness and access, logistics due to cost and distance to help, and cultural barriers
The Foundation grant goal for their project is $198,000 and the Foundation has approved it. They have a clinic which has screened 9000 women and treated 122.
They are expanding access to HPV vaccines for girls 9-16, and now for boys as well. The government is in control of vaccine access but have helped.
There are formidable challenges in being sensitive to religious aspects.
More women doctors are being sought since women patients are resistant to seeing male doctors.
Please see the video for more information on this impressive successful Rotary project
Improving the discovery of new medicines with AI and quantum technologies
The discovery and development of a new drug takes 10-15 years, costs $1.3-4 billion, and has only a 14% success rate for clinical trials. With serious unmet medical needs for many diseases, shortening the drug discovery timeline and clinical trial success rates will be crucial to delivering new patient treatments. Desiree Thayer will discuss the drug discovery process and how AI and quantum technologies are accelerating the process with faster and more accurate predictions.
Desiree Thayer, PhD, is a biomedical scientist and alliance management professional at SandboxAQ. She received bachelor’s degrees in chemistry and biochemistry from the University of Michigan and a doctorate in biochemistry in 2006 from The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, CA. She worked at the University of California San Francisco as a researcher in neuroscience before transitioning to biotech and biopharma companies in the Bay Area. She led drug discovery programs at Amunix, Nura Bio, Atomwise, and Exelixis in oncology, neurodegeneration, and inflammation. Desiree moved into alliance management in 2020, leading strategic partnerships between biopharma companies, startups, and academic researchers to bring innovation to the drug discovery process.
