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Keynote Speaker | Shizuo Akira, MD, PhD
Professor of Department of Host Defense, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases and Director of the WPI Immunology Frontier Research Center (WPI-IFReC), Osaka University
Dr. Akira is a distinguished and highly cited professor at the Department of Host Defense, Osaka University, Japan. He has made ground-breaking discoveries in the field of immunology, especially in the area of innate host defense mechanisms. Besides being one of the world’s most-cited scientists, in 2006 and 2007, Dr. Akira was recognized as the scientist who had published the greatest number of “Hot Papers” over the preceding two years. He is the recipient of several international awards, including the Robert Koch Prize and the William B. Coley Award. Among his greatest discoveries is the demonstration, through the ablation of toll-like receptor (TLR) genes, that TLRs recognize a discrete collection of molecules of microbial origin, and later the RNA helicases, RIG-I (retinoic-acid-inducible protein I) and MDA5 (melanoma differentiation-associated protein 5). All molecules belong to the pattern recognition receptors, which detect intruding pathogens and initiate anti-microbial responses in the host.
View Dr. Akira's CV |
Plenary Speakers | Kevin Brindle, PhD Professor in the Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge and Senior Group Leader in the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Research Institute.
Dr. Brindle obtained his BA (Biochemistry) and PhD degrees from the University of Oxford and has spent his entire research career working in the field of magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy. Prof. Brindle’s research group are developing novel imaging agents that could be used in the clinic to detect early indications of tumor response to therapy and which could be used to guide subsequent treatment. Recently this has included techniques that utilize hyperpolarized 13C-labeled cell substrates. Hyperpolarization can give a 104x gain in sensitivity and allows imaging of the distribution of a labeled molecule and, more importantly, its metabolic conversion into other metabolites. This technique could offer new insights into tissue metabolism in vivo.
|  | Robert J. Gropler, MD
Chief, Cardiovascular Imaging Center
Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology
Dr. Gropler obtained his BS degree from Allegheny College and his MD degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. He completed residency training in Internal Medicine at Northwestern University Medical Center and fellowship training in Cardiovascular Disease from the Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine. Subsequently, he completed a post-doctoral fellowship in the Division of Nuclear Medicine at Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology at the Washington University School of Medicine. He is currently a Professor of Radiology, Medicine, and Biomedical Engineering at the University. He is also Lab Chief of the Cardiovascular Imaging Laboratory at the Institute. His primary research interest is in the study of myocardial metabolic remodeling using various imaging techniques such as PET, SPECT, and MRS.
|  | Gregory Lanza, MD, PhD
Professor of Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Diseases
Washington University School of Medicine
Prior to his medical career, Dr. Lanza spent eight years at Monsanto Company as the Product Biology, Preclinical Research Manager for PosilacR, a unique, recombinant DNA-based biotechnology product used extensively in the dairy industry. Dr. Lanza holds an MD from Northwestern University, a PhD and MS in Genetics from University of Georgia, and a BA in Biology from Colby College. His primary research interests are focused upon noninvasive molecular imaging and drug delivery research, i.e, tissue-specific imaging and therapy. Current areas of molecular imaging and targeted drug delivery research include: 1) thrombosis and vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques; 2) arterial restenosis following angioplasty; 3) angiogenesis for solid tumor, atherosclerosis and wound healing; and 4) early detection of atherosclerosis, organ rejection and other inflammatory diseases.
|  | Herman P. Spaink, PhD
Professor of Molecular Cell Biology
Leiden University
Dr. Spaink obtained his PhD in 1989, presenting his dissertation on “The Rhizobium-plant symbiosis: bacterial gene regulation and host-specificity.” As a professor of mathematics and natural sciences at Leiden University, his research interest is focused on understanding how biological signal transduction functions at a molecular level. A central theme is the investigation of intercellular communication, particularly the communication of cells of one organism with another. To understand the mechanisms underlying principles of conserved recognition processes, especially concerning the recognition of glycans and glycolipids is one Dr. Spaink’s specific research topics. | | Jun Takahashi, MD, PhD
Associate Professor, Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (iCeMS)
Kyoto University, Japan
Dr. Takahashi gained his MD from Kyoto University in 1986 and his PhD in 1993--also from Kyoto University. Dr. Takahashi and his colleagues in the Differentiation Induction Department of iCeMS are developing a cell replacement therapy for the neurological disorders by using stem cells, especially embryonic stem cells (ES cells). The main target is Parkinson's disease, and their research focuses on induction of dopaminergic neurons from ES cells and transplantation of the cells into the brain to improve neurological symptoms. In 2005, Dr. Takahashi received the Cell Replacement Therapy for Parkinson's Disease Award by The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. |
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