JACKSON — Two local chapters of the Brandeis National Committee — the Harmony Chapter and the Westlake/Jackson Chapter — will be joining other central New Jersey chapters to sponsor a fundraiser that will promote the ongoing Science for Life project.

The April 8 event will be held at the Forsgate Country Club, Forsgate Drive, Monroe Township.

Marie Santoro, co-president of the Harmony Chapter, said the 10 a.m. program will feature Dr. Gregory Petsko, an award-winning scientist and professor at Brandeis University, who will discuss research being conducted at the university into Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases.

Petsko graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University in 1970 and received a Rhodes scholarship to Oxford University, where he completed his doctoral research in 1973. He has a doctorate in molecular biophysics from Oxford University.

As of July 1, 2008, Petsko began a threeyear term as chair of the Biochemistry Department at Brandeis.

His honors include election to the National Academy of Sciences, receiving a Guggenheim Fellowship; election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; and election as president of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Petsko was recently named president-elect of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. The IUBMB unites biochemists and molecular biologist in 77 countries through their academies of science, research councils and biochemical societies.

The cost to attend the April 8 event, which is open to the public, is $25. A check made out to the Brandeis National Committee will serve as a ticket when received at the door.

Funds will go to Brandeis University for research in neurodegenerative diseases. For further information, call 917-589-9286.