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GREENVILLE — East Carolina University’s Brody School of Medicine and Vidant Health invite the community to virtually attend the 13th annual José G. Albernaz Golden Apple Distinguished Lecture presented by ECU Medical & Health Sciences Foundation and Vidant. The event is at noon on Wednesday, Oct. 20. This year’s featured lecturer is Dr. Stephen Trzeciak, who will discuss “Compassionomics” and how 40 seconds of compassion can create a meaningful connection with others.

For the first time, this year’s presentation will be livestreamed on the Vidant Health (@VidantHealthNC) and ECU Brody School of Medicine (@ECUBrodySOM) Facebook pages, where it can be viewed by students, faculty, clinical team members and the general public. Limited in-person attendance is by invitation only to safeguard against COVID-19.

While Trzeciak’s lecture is aimed at clinical community members, including practicing clinicians, residents and medical school students, the lessons around compassion can be applied to all facets of well-being in everyday life.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a considerable toll on all-around well-being,” said Dr. Julie Oehlert, Vidant Health Chief Experience Officer. “At a time when all those that work in health care are tired, stressed and have endured considerable loss, Dr. Trzeciak’s lecture will remind us about the importance of compassion not only for our patients, but each other and ourselves. Compassion is a key ingredient for resilience and well-being not only in health care but in our everyday lives. We are pleased to be able to welcome the community to share in learning about this important topic, which is so relevant for where we are right now.”

Trzeciak is a physician scientist, chief of medicine at Cooper University Health Care and professor and chair of medicine at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University in Camden, New Jersey. Trzeciak is a practicing intensivist and a National Institutes of Health-funded clinical researcher with more than 100 publications in scientific literature, primarily in the field of resuscitation science.

Currently, Trzeciak’s research is focused on a new field called “Compassionomics,” the study of the scientific effects of compassion on patients, patient care and those who care for patients. He is an author of the best-selling book: “Compassionomics: The Revolutionary Scientific Evidence that Caring Makes a Difference.” For his work in this new field, Trzeciak was awarded the 2019 Influencers of Healthcare Award by The Philadelphia Inquirer.