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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Murray Brilliant, Ph.D., who recently joined Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation as Director of the Center for Human Genetics, will appear this Sunday night, October 18, on a program airing on The Learning Channel (T.L.C.).

Brilliant will be featured on “Albino Island,” a segment on the “My Shocking Story” series on T.L.C. The segment, scheduled to run at 9 p.m., features his previous work on behalf of albinos in the African nation of Tanzania. Albinism occurs in about one of every 1,400 people in Tanzania, far more frequently than the worldwide rate of 38,000.

Unfortunately, albinos in Tanzania are targeted because their bones are thought to have value for use in potions made by witch doctors. The graves of albinos have been unearthed and, most recently, live albinos have been murdered for their bones. Brilliant has worked with a group trying to put pressure on the Tanzanian government to stop this practice, and to better understand why albinism is so common in Tanzania.

The Marshfield Clinic system provides patient care, research and education with 45 locations in northern, central and western Wisconsin, making it one of the largest comprehensive medical systems in the United States.