SABPA Science & Technology Forum VIII: Breakthroughs in Stem Cell Research and Clinical Applications

March 13, 2010 at Institute of Americas, UCSD, San Diego                                                                    

The Burrill Consumer Digital Health Meeting

March 22, 2010 - March 23, 2010 • The San Francisco Airport Marriott •  Burlingame, CA

SABPA Science & Technology Forum VIII: Breakthroughs in Stem Cell Research and Clinical Applications

March 13, 2010 at Institute of Americas, UCSD, San Diego

Stem cell research, after nearly a decade’s progress, has achieved a landmark milestone in January 2009, with the US FDA’s permission of the first human clinical trial of embryonic stem cell therapy. Based on the original studies of Dr. Hans Keirstead’s group at UC Irvine, which has shown to restore limb function in rats with neck spinal cord injuries, this human clinical trial, sponsored by Geron Corp. of Menlo Park, Calif., is the first tested on individuals with thoracic spinal cord injuries. The FDA’s approval of this trial is achieved only after rigorous safety testing and consultation of countless experts, which marks the maturity of stem cell research for the treatment of human diseases in certain fields. In addition, more stem cell therapies are in the pipeline to move to the clinical stage in the near future. Besides the progress in clinical studies, tools and technologies in stem cell research are also gaining momentum in recent years. The power of stem cell research is not only limited to regenerative medicine, but also can be utilized to generate disease models for drug discovery. For instance, through the use of iPS cell technology, skin cells from the disease patients can be converted to any mature cell types that carry all the genetic information for the particular disease. These disease cells provide valuable tools for the discovery of new and novel drugs. This SABPA forum has invited opinion leaders from academic and industry to address the progress, challenge, and future direction of this vibrant field.

The Burrill Consumer Digital Health Meeting

March 22, 2010 - March 23, 2010 • The San Francisco Airport Marriott •  Burlingame, CA 

In the not too distant future, nearly all of healthcare will be digitized. Mindful of the coming changes, Burrill & Company, in association with the University of Illinois, Mayo Clinic, and Pfizer, is for the first time holding The Burrill Consumer Digital Health Meeting to help prepare the life sciences community for this new era.

Learn how PDAs and smartphones will become personal healthcare assistants capable of receiving vital signs and even body fluid samples for analysis and transmittal of results. Wherever patients are in the world, they will be able to connect with their physicians. And their doctors, in turn, will be able to practice medicine virtually anywhere and at anytime, with instant access to the information and systems they need—right at their thumbs.