All welcome Dumbledore!!!

“Professor Dumbledore” (aka Richard Belitsky, M.D., HS ’82, FW ’83, deputy dean for education) came to the School of Medicine in January to introduce a traveling exhibit created by the National Library of Medicine (NLM). “Harry Potter’s World: Renaissance Science, Magic, and Medicine” uses the seven books about the boy magician as a launching pad for an exploration of science. The magic in the books is based in part, says the NLM, on Renaissance traditions—alchemy, astrology, and natural philosophy—that had a role in developing Western science. Middle and elementary school students enjoyed a scavenger hunt, which had them scouring the library for the initials of someone wearing a wizard’s hat, a paw print from Finn the Therapy Dog, stickers in the library’s brain room, and other items. Jun Wan, a visiting research scientist, donned Harry Potter glasses for a photo with “Professor Dumbledore.”

“If I can conjure up just a little bit of magic and wizardry,” said Belitsky, the Harold W. Jockers Associate Professor of Medical Education, “I’m going to try to make myself disappear and hope that all of you forever forget this moment.”