The Distinguished Lecture Series in Sports Medicine at Hope College will feature the address ""Recognition of MRSA and Other Skin and Soft Tissue Infections" by Dr. Robert Baker of the MSU-Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies on Wednesday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m. in the Maas Center.

The public is invited. Admission is free.

Baker will provide an overview of MRSA and other skin and soft tissue infections, which he notes can have serious consequences. He will also discuss risk factors for athletes; treatment and prevention of skin and soft tissue diseases and complications; and return to play for athletes with skin infections.

Baker directs the accredited family medicine fellowship in sports medicine at the Michigan State University Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies. He and his fellows serve as the team physicians for Kalamazoo College, the USTA Boys Tennis Championships, professional soccer and baseball, and Kalamazoo area high school athletics.

The Distinguished Lecture Series in Sports Medicine, which features a variety of topics, is designed for health care professionals with an interest in physically active patients, and is intended for students, educators and clinicians alike. It is co-sponsored by Shoreline Orthopaedics, Orthopaedic Associates of Grand Rapids and the college.

Additional presentations in the series during the 2007-08 school year have been scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 24; and Monday, April 21. All lectures in the series begin at 7 p.m. and will be presented in the college's Maas Center, which is located on Columbia Avenue at 11th Street.

Additional information about the Distinguished Lecture Series in Sports Medicine may be found online at:

https://hope.edu/academic/kinesiology/athtrain/dlssm/index.html