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To register for this free morning workshop, geared toward investigators who have been funded for work in this area, and others in the Boston biomedical community who might help inform approaches to identify a cure, click here. For the workshop schedule and sessions, click here.
Program includes the following guest speakers:
Chad Cowan, PhD (Harvard, Dept of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology)
Andrew Emili, Ph.D. (University of Toronto, Molecular Genetics)
David Liu, PhD (Harvard, Chemistry, HHMI)
Jennifer Phillips, PhD (U Oregon)
Philip Reilly, MD (Author, Orphan: The Quest to Save Children with Rare Genetic Disorders)
Derrick Rossi, PhD (Harvard, Dept of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology)
Elliott H. Sohn, M.D. (University of Iowa, Stephen A. Wynn Institute for Vision Research) Monte Westerfield, PhD (U Oregon)
Brief bios
Monte Westerfield, Ph.D. : Dr. Westerfield received an A.B. from Princeton University in 1973, a Ph.D. in Physiology and Pharmacology from Duke University in 1977, and completed his postdoctoral studies in biophysics at the Max Planck Institute in Munich, Germany, from 1977 to 1978, and in neurobiology at Harvard Medical School from 1979 to 1980. He is currently Professor, Institute of Neuroscience and Department of Biology at the University of Oregon. His research focuses on understanding the mechanisms that regulate the differentiation of neurons, which he accomplishes using zebrafish and a combination of anatomical, physiological, molecular, and genetic techniques.
Jennifer Phillips, PhD.: Dr. Phillips is a research associate at the University of Oregon Institute of Neuroscience. She received her B.S. degree in Biology from Indiana University, and her PhD from the University of Oregon Institute of Molecular Biology. Since joining Monte Westerfield's Laboratory at the U of O in 2004, she has studied the molecular genetics of Usher syndrome in zebrafish, and is part of the global community of researchers investigating better diagnostic and treatment options for the USH community.
Alex Hewitt: Dr. Hewitt completed his undergraduate medical degree at the University of Tasmania and his PhD investigating the molecular and phenotypic associations for open angle glaucoma from Flinders University of South Australia in 2009. He completed formal Ophthalmology training at the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital in Melbourne in 2011, and the following year he was the Novartis Research Fellow at the Lions Eye Institute and was awarded a WA Tall Poppy Award from the Australian Institute of Policy & Science. Alex is currently supported by a Peter Doherty NHMRC Council Biomedical Early Career Fellowship and is a Principal Investigator at the Centre for Eye Research Australia, as well as at the Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania School of Medicine.
Andrew Emili, Ph.D.: Dr. Emili, PhD is Professor, and founding member, Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Bimolecular Research and the Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto. He holds the Ontario Research Chair in Biomarkers of Disease Management. Dr. Emili's laboratory develops and applies systematic proteomic approaches to characterize native multiprotein complexes in diverse cell systems. The resulting protein interaction maps provide fundamental insights into (human) cell biology, protein function and the modular physical architecture underlying evolutionarily conserved processes. Andrew is a friend and has taken it upon himself, working with Vincent Tropepe at the University of Toronto, to pursue the problem of PCDH15 RNA splice variants.
Derrick Rossi, Ph.D. : Dr. Rossi received a Ph.D. from the University of Helsinki, Finland in 2003 and did his post-doctoral work in the lab of Dr. Irving Weissman at Stanford University. He joined Harvard’s Immune Disease Institute in 2007 and currently holds an appointment as Associate Professor in the Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology at Harvard and a member of the faculty at Boston Children’s Hospital. He is also a principal faculty member of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute. His lab focuses on understanding the mechanisms enabling self-renewal and multi-potency in HSCs. He is a co-founder of Momenta and has great expertise in modified RNA as a tool for gene therapy.
David R. Liu, Ph.D.: Dr. Liu received his B.A in chemistry from Harvard University in 1994 and a Ph.D. from UC Berkeley in 1999. He joined the faculty at Harvard University in 1999 and in 2005 became a Full Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology. He also became a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator in 2005 and joined the JASONs academic advisors to the U.S. government on science and technology in 2009. Professor Liu’s research applies evolutionary principles to the study and manipulation of biological and synthetic molecules. He is a co-founder of Editas and has developed a variety of new genetically engineered CRISPR/Cas9 variants to limit off target effects. I believe these new versions are not part of the Editas portfolio.
Chad Cowan, Ph.D.: Dr. Cowan received a B.A. and B.S. from the University of Kansas and Ph.D. from the University of Texas Southwestern at Dallas. He subsequently completed a Damon Runyon fellowship with Douglas Melton at Harvard University. He was named a Stowers Medical Investigator in 2006 and joined the faculty of Harvard University in 2008 and is now an Associate Professor in the Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology at Harvard. He is also an associate member of the Broad Institute and a principal faculty member of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute. He is a co-founder of CRISPR Therapeutics and has significant expertise in genome editing of iPS cells.
Philip Reilly, M.D., J.D.: Dr. Reilly received his B.A. from Cornell University, an M.D. from Yale University, and a J.D. from Columbia University. He is a member of the Massachusetts Bar and is board certified in internal medicine and clinical genetics. Following an academic career in clinical genetics, he joined Third Rock Ventures in 2008 to launch and build companies pursuing breakthrough treatments for rare genetic diseases. Dr. Reilly is the author of Orphan: The Quest to Save Children with Rare Genetic Disorders.
Elliott H. Sohn, M.D.: Dr. Sohn is an Associate Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the University of Iowa and a member of the The Stephen A. Wynn Institute for Vision Research. Dr. Sohn engages in translational and clinical research related to inherited macular dystrophies and retinal degenerations including gene and stem cell therapies in pigs and humans, as well as phenotype-genotype correlations. His focus is to optimize induced pluripotent stem cells, gene replacement, and optogenetic therapies for transplantation into animal models and to assess their immunologic tolerance and efficacy.