Translational Research Forum

Each therapeutic focus area in this track will be kicked off with a session of Key Opinion Leaders in the field followed by two additional sessions featuring academic scientists working in breakthrough areas of commercial relevance. The therapeutic focus areas for 2011 are Infectious Diseases, Neurology, Oncology and Regenerative Medicine.

Infectious Diseases Track
Track Co-Chairs:
Michael Barbachyn, PhD, Head of External Science, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals
Ken Stover, PhD, Senior Director, MedImmune

Recent Developments in the Field of Bacterial Resistance
The emergence of a plethora of clinically useful antibacterial agents in the 20th century has sometimes been thought to mark an end to the need for additional new antibiotics, as the mortality burden associated with microbial disease has definitely been alleviated to a considerable extent.  However, the resiliency of bacteria to environmental pressures, including xenobiotics such as antibacterial agents, suggests that the situation is more dynamic than it appears on the surface.  Indeed, the continued development of bacterial resistance to available antibacterial agents strongly suggests that there will be an ongoing need for the discovery and development of new antibiotics.  A number of potential solutions have been advanced.  This session will focus on some of the more exciting recent small and large molecule developments in the antibacterial agent field.  The wide variety of potential therapeutic and prophylactic approaches under investigation suggests that this session will be a vibrant one, with a strong interplay between representatives from both the academic and industrial sectors. top

Moderator

• Michael Barbachyn, PhD, Head of External Science, AstraZeneca

Key Opinion Leaders

• Juliane Bubeck-Wardenburg, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Chicago
• Arturo Casadevall, MD, PhD Professor & Chair, Microbiology & Immunology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
• Alan Cross, MD, Professor, Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine
• Vance Fowler, MD, MHS, Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases Duke University

Translational Research Presenters

• Juliane Bubeck-Wardenburg, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Chicago
• Arturo Casadevall, MD, PhD Professor & Chair, Microbiology & Immunology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
  Dr. Casadevall works on the mechanisms of antibody-mediated immunity.  He is an advocate of the re-introduction of antibody-based therapies in infectious disease
• James Collins, PhD, Professor, Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Founding member,  Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University
  Professor Collins' group works in synthetic biology and systems biology with a particular focus on network biology approaches to antibiotic action and bacterial defense mechanisms
• Lizbeth Hedstrom, PhD, Professor, Biology, Brandeis University
  The Hedstrom laboratory investigates the biochemistry of proteases and enzymes in the nucleotide biosynthetic pathways
• Barry N. Kreiswirth, PhD, Professor, Director, TB Center, Public Health Research Institute, University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey
• Alexander Ploss, PhD, Assistant Professor, The Rockefeller University
  Dr. Ploss uses humanized mouse technology to study human infectious diseases in vivo
• Peder S. Olofsson, MD, PhD, Institute Scientist, The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research
• Daniel Wozniak, PhD, Professor, Infectious Diseases, Ohio State University
  Polysaccharides and biofilms of pathogenic bacteria

Neurology Track
Track Co-Chairs:
Anthony Caggiano, MD, PhD, Vice President, Preclinical Development, Acorda Therapeutics
Eva Chmielnicki, PhD, Senior Editor, Research Manuscripts, Nature Medicine
Min Cho, PhD, Associate Editor, Nature Neuroscience
Susan Rohrer, PhD, Senior Director, External Affairs, Merck & Co., Inc.
Barbara S. Slusher, PhD, MBA, Chief Scientific Officer, Brain Science Institute, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

Neurodegenerative & Neurobehavioral Disorders
Neurodegenerative disorders affect an estimated 10 million people globally each year, a figure that is expected to grow by approximately 20% over the next decade as human life span and the aging-population continue to increase. Research continues to validate the important biological relationship between neurodegenerative and neurobehavioral disabilities and understanding the critical genetic, molecular and anatomical connections between the two may ultimately allow for more synergistic and effective treatments.

The opening session will explore emerging challenges and opportunities in the fields of neurodegenerative diseases and associated neurobehavioral disorders.  Key Opinion Leaders will provide a broad perspective on the state of the science and its potential to impact the development of new therapies and improved patient care.  While genetic underpinnings of these disorders remain a focal point for ongoing research and therapeutic development, scientists are also exploring the underlying role of environmental influences in precipitating the onset of disease, and the potential to intervene in this progression.  How these dynamics affect the course of therapeutic development for neurological disorders, and which scientific advances represent real opportunities for therapeutic development will be debated. Follow-on sessions will feature academic scientists working in breakthrough areas of neurodegenerative and neurobehavioral disorders.. top

Moderator:

• Anthony Caggiano, MD, PhD, Vice President, Preclinical Development, Acorda Therapeutics

Key Opinion Leaders

• Fritz Henn, PhD, MD, Professor, Neuroscience, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
• Lauren Krupp, MD, Professor of Neurology and Psychology, Director, National Pediatric MS Center, co-director, MS Comprehensive Care Center, Director, Neuropsychology Research, Stony Brook University Medical Center
• Warren J. Strittmatter, MD, Chief, Division of Neurology, Duke Medical Center
• Zhenyu Yue, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Neurology & Neuroscience, Mount Sinai School of Medicine

Translational Research Presenters

• Ottavio Arancio, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Pathology & Cell Biology, Columbia University Medical Center
  Dr. Arancio’s laboratory has focused primarily on events triggered by amyloid protein.
• P. Jeffrey Conn, PhD, Lee E. Limbird Professor of Pharmacology, Director, Vanderbilt Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery
  Research in my lab is focused on the discovery of molecular probes and drug candidates that may provide novel therapeutic approaches for CNS disorders.
• Jian Feng, PhD, Professor, Physiology and Biophysics, State University of New York at Buffalo
  Dr. Feng's research is focused on discoverying novel Parkinson's disease drugs using midbrain dopaminergic neurons derived from patient-specific iPS cells.
• Fritz Henn, PhD, MD, Professor, Neuroscience, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
  Uncovered a new component of the circuit mediating depression, a viable target for Deep Brain stimulation in intractable cases, providing clues for developing more effective medications.
• Gareth John, PhD, Associate Professor, Mount Sinai School of Medicine
• Murali Ramanathan, PhD, Associate Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences, State University of New York at Buffalo
  Dr. Ramanathan's research interests are in multiple sclerosis therapeutics and pharmacogenomic modeling.
• William E. Van Nostrand, PhD, Professor, Medicine, Stony Brook University

Oncology Track
Track Co-Chairs:
Andy Dorner, PhD, Vice President, Millennium Pharmaceuticals
Iwao Ojima, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, Director, Institute for Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery, Stony Brook University
Peter Senter, PhD, Vice President, Chemistry and Distinguished Fellow, Seattle Genetics, Inc.

The Changing Dynamics for Bringing New Therapeutic Candidates to Market
The availability of many novel and meaningful drugs that have been approved over the past fifteen years has created a blockbuster market that has made oncology a major Biopharma focus as evidenced by the large percentage of drugs in the pipeline and the significant number and size of oncology deals. Interestingly, only in oncology do we see significant deals occurring prior to the advent of substantive human clinical data. In areas outside of cancer where unmet needs are often considered less significant, similar high-value deals have traditionally required Proof of Concept data, and more recently, Proof of Relevance (PoR) data has become the emerging standard; that is, targeting a clear unmet need and powering for a convincing benefit over an available standard of care.

For pre-revenue stage companies, the implications of these issues are critical for partnering, for example: how much focus the large players are putting on biomarkers and diagnostics (e.g., Novartis’ acquisition of Genoptix); what is the appetite for cytotoxics and reformulated chemotherapeutics in the face of generics (e.g., Lilly’s recent venture investment in Cerulean); and, are the large players broadening their horizons to more complicated therapeutic modalities with the approval and launch of Provenge (as perhaps exemplified by the Amgen-Biovex deal on OncoVex)? top

Moderator:

• Andrew Dorner, PhD, Vice President, Millennium Pharmaceuticals

Key Opinion Leaders

• Robert L. Comis, MD, Professor & Director, Drexel University Clinical Trials Research Center
• Louis J. DeGennaro, PhD, Chief Mission Officer, Executive Vice President, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
• Eric K. Rowinsky, MD, Adjunct Professor, New York University
• Howard Scher, MD, Chief, Genitourinary Oncology Service, Sidney Kimmel Center for Urologic and Prostate Cancers, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

Translational Research Presenters

• Renier J. Brentjens, MD, PhD, Medical Oncologist, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
  Patient T cells modified ex vivo to express artificial receptors specific to tumor antigens for subsequent infusion back into patients to induce
• Anne R. Bresnick, PhD, Professor, Biochemistry, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
  My laboratory works on engineering of functional human tissues for application in regenerative medicine, study of disease and stem cell research.
• Jian Cao, PhD, Assistant Professor, Medicine & Pathology, Stony Brook University
  The Cao lab is interested in understanding the mechanism of cancer invasion/metastasis and developing inhibitors targeting this disseminated process.
• Gunda Georg, PhD, Professor and Head, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Director, Institute for Therapeutics Discovery & Development, University of Minnesota
  The design, synthesis, and preclinical in vivo antitumor and toxicity evaluation of Minnelide, a highly water-soluble and effective prodrug of triptolide will be discussed.
• Michael Kalos, PhD, Adjunct Associate Professor, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Director, Translational and Correlative Studies Laboratory, University of Pennsylvania
  Focused on the development of novel approaches and methodologies to enhance patient immunity against cancer and evaluating the impact of experimental treatments on patient biology
• Mark Noble, PhD, Professor, Biomedical Genetics, Neurobiology and Anatomy, Neurology, University of Rochester
• Mark R. Philips, MD, Professor of Medicine, Cell Biology & Pharmacology, NYU School of Medicine, Associate Director for Basic Science, NYU Cancer Institute, Director, MST (MD/PhD) Program
  The Philips lab studies the post-translational modification and subcellular trafficking of Ras oncoproteins and is actively involved in developing anti-Ras drugs that block this pathway.
• Hermann Steller, PhD, Strang Professor, Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Strang Laboratory of Apoptosis and Cancer Biology, The Rockefeller University
  Dr. Steller investigates the mechanism by which cells undergo programmed cell death (apoptosis), how this process is regulated by distinct signaling pathways, and how abnormal regulation of apoptosis contributes to a variety of diseases, including cancer.
  

Regenerative Medicine Track
Track Co-Chairs:
Stephen Chang, PhD, Vice President, Research & Development, New York Stem Cell Foundation
Sridevi Dhanaraj PHD, Group Manager, Cell Molecular Biology, Advanced Technologies and Regenerative Medicine, LLC (ATRM), Johnson & Johnson
Brock Reeve, MPhil, MBA, Executive Director, Harvard Stem Cell Institute

Future Challenges in Tissue Engineering, iPS, MSCs, Bioreactors and Organ Printing
The promise of regenerative medicine is the restoration of structure, function and self-healing capacity to damaged or diseased tissues.  The history of regenerative medicine notably includes bone marrow transplantation, living skin equivalents, autologous cartilage repair from cultured cells, and growth factors for spinal fusion.  The future may include treatments for major diseases of the cardiovascular, neurological, hepatic, pulmonary and renal systems.  The basic principles of regeneration are preservation of space, and the provision of cells, nutrients, matrix and signaling molecules.  Successful cell therapies and the engineering of functional human tissues and organs suitable for surgical implantation will require advances in methods for innervation and vascularization to ensure complete integration and long-term viability.  Organ printing and decellularized matrices are two technologies that have the potential to address these issues.  Presentations in this track will discuss recent developments in bioengineering technology and the main challenges for future practical applications in regenerative medicine.top

Moderator:

• Sudha Kadiyala, PhD, Senior Director, Business Development & Strategic Planning, Advanced Technologies & Regenerative Medicine, LLC

Key Opinion Leaders

• Arnold Caplan, PhD, Professor, Biology, Professor, General Medical Sciences (Oncology),  Case Western  University
• Sheng Ding, PhD, Senior Investigator and Professor, Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California San Francisco
• Alan J.  Russell PhD, Founding Director, McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine
• Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic, PhD, Professor, Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University

Translational Research Presenters

• Scott Banta, PhD, Associate Professor, Chemical Engineering, Columbia University
  My research is focused in applied protein and metabolic engineering with applications in gene and drug delivery, protein and peptide conformational behavior, biomolecular recognition, biosensors, bioelectrocatalysis and biomaterials
• Arnold Caplan, PhD, Professor, Biology, Professor, General Medical Sciences (Oncology),  Case Western  University
• Emilia Entcheva, PhD, Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering, Physiology and Biophysics, Stony Brook University
  Dr. Entcheva's lab does pioneering work in the new area of cardiac optogenetics, combining it with state-of-the-art imaging technology
• Daniel A. Grande, PhD, Associate Investigator, Director of Orthopaedic Research, Feinstein Institute for Medical Research
  Orthopaedic surgical devices and regenerative medicine strategies for repair of the musculoskeletal system
• Mark Noble, PhD, Professor, Biomedical Genetics, Neurobiology and Anatomy, Neurology, University of Rochester
• Hans-Willem Snoeck, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Oncological Sciences, Medicine, Infectious Diseases, Mount Sinai School of Medicine
• Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic, PhD, Professor, Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University
  My laboratory works on engineering of functional human tissues for application in regenerative medicine, study of disease and stem cell research.
• Michael Young, PhD, Associate Scientist & de Gunzburg Director, Minda de Gunzburg Research Center for Ocular Regeneration, Schepens Eye Research Institute, Associate Professor, Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School
  My work involves developing novel therapies for blinding diseases through the use of stem cells and tissue engineering