Amr Abid, PhD
Dr. Amr Abid is Head of Global Strategic Growth of the Life Science business of GE Healthcare. GE Healthcare Life Sciences is a $3.7 billion world-class business that provides hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, government organizations and academia with a wide range of technologies and services for research, for the manufacture of biopharmaceuticals, and for the diagnostics. Prior to that, he was the General Manager and Global Leader of the Cell Technologies Business part of GE Healthcare Life Sciences. The Cell Technologies business develops and markets innovative cellular imaging tools and cell-based assays that are used in cell biology and drug discovery research. It is also pioneering the development of novel cell processing and cell expansion technologies, which will help enable the rapidly emerging area of regenerative medicine and cell therapy. The business has a number of ground-breaking collaborations with leading research institutes and pharmaceutical companies worldwide. Amr, who joined GE Healthcare in 2011, has over 20 years’ experience in the Life Sciences. From 2000-2011 he held a number of positions with Invitrogen (now Life Technologies), finally as EMEA Leader, Cell Systems. Prior to entering industry, he spent 9 years in academic research in the field of pharmacology at the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Nancy, France. Amr received his BSc in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the University of Constantine, Algeria, in 1989. He graduated with a MSc and PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Nancy, France, in 1995.
Dr. Amr Abid is Head of Global Strategic Growth of the Life Science business of GE Healthcare. GE Healthcare Life Sciences is a $3.7 billion world-class business that provides hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, government organizations and academia with a wide range of technologies and services for research, for the manufacture of biopharmaceuticals, and for the diagnostics. Prior to that, he was the General Manager and Global Leader of the Cell Technologies Business part of GE Healthcare Life Sciences. The Cell Technologies business develops and markets innovative cellular imaging tools and cell-based assays that are used in cell biology and drug discovery research. It is also pioneering the development of novel cell processing and cell expansion technologies, which will help enable the rapidly emerging area of regenerative medicine and cell therapy. The business has a number of ground-breaking collaborations with leading research institutes and pharmaceutical companies worldwide. Amr, who joined GE Healthcare in 2011, has over 20 years’ experience in the Life Sciences. From 2000-2011 he held a number of positions with Invitrogen (now Life Technologies), finally as EMEA Leader, Cell Systems. Prior to entering industry, he spent 9 years in academic research in the field of pharmacology at the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Nancy, France. Amr received his BSc in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the University of Constantine, Algeria, in 1989. He graduated with a MSc and PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Nancy, France, in 1995.
Nicholas J. Albertini, BA
Nicholas J. Albertini is an alumnus of Lawrence University, where he received a BA in Psychology on the clinical track in 2011. Unofficially focusing on Neuropsychology, Nick did his senior thesis on a connectome-focused evolutionary and excitotoxicity based etiology of antisocial disorders (PTSD, BPD, and Hare Model Psychopathy). His thesis posits that the Lateral Amygdala can be excitotoxically destroyed by a possible reversal of information/signaling flow between the Fusiform FFA and Amygdala: disorganizing or destroying “ingroup recognition” in this circuit. Since Graduating from Lawrence, Nick helped to found ARKA Robotics with his good friends Waylon Duff, Nicole Tedesco, and Alex Stickle where he currently works on robots and AI systems. Nick volunteers as the Social Media Manager for CBSA, managing Facebook, and certain outreach activities.
Nicholas J. Albertini is an alumnus of Lawrence University, where he received a BA in Psychology on the clinical track in 2011. Unofficially focusing on Neuropsychology, Nick did his senior thesis on a connectome-focused evolutionary and excitotoxicity based etiology of antisocial disorders (PTSD, BPD, and Hare Model Psychopathy). His thesis posits that the Lateral Amygdala can be excitotoxically destroyed by a possible reversal of information/signaling flow between the Fusiform FFA and Amygdala: disorganizing or destroying “ingroup recognition” in this circuit. Since Graduating from Lawrence, Nick helped to found ARKA Robotics with his good friends Waylon Duff, Nicole Tedesco, and Alex Stickle where he currently works on robots and AI systems. Nick volunteers as the Social Media Manager for CBSA, managing Facebook, and certain outreach activities.
Gioia Altobelli, PhD
A computational biologist with extensive experience in biomedical data analysis, computer simulation and mathematical modeling of complex systems, Dr Altobelli’ s current interests include autoimmune/inflammatory diseases, next-generation sequencing, and translational bioinformatics. She contributed to the understanding of diverse biological systems/processes in a multidisciplinary fashion, covering a) transcriptional regulation by nuclear receptors and basal transcription factors, b) methylome disturbance in cell and animal models; c) computer simulation of protein recognition and stability; and d) neurophysics for brain imaging. Her background education is in physics, with subsequent specialization in biophysics, bioinformatics, and functional genomics. She earned her PhD at the International School for Advanced Studies, University of Turin (complex systems in post-genomics biology, 2007). Dr. Altobelli is a STEM Ambassador engaged in promoting the early study of science and technology as well as continuing education. Born and grown up in Rome, now permanently resident in the UK, she also lived and worked in the USA (NCSA, UIUC IL), Sweden (KI, Stockholm) and France (IGBMC, Strasbourg).
A computational biologist with extensive experience in biomedical data analysis, computer simulation and mathematical modeling of complex systems, Dr Altobelli’ s current interests include autoimmune/inflammatory diseases, next-generation sequencing, and translational bioinformatics. She contributed to the understanding of diverse biological systems/processes in a multidisciplinary fashion, covering a) transcriptional regulation by nuclear receptors and basal transcription factors, b) methylome disturbance in cell and animal models; c) computer simulation of protein recognition and stability; and d) neurophysics for brain imaging. Her background education is in physics, with subsequent specialization in biophysics, bioinformatics, and functional genomics. She earned her PhD at the International School for Advanced Studies, University of Turin (complex systems in post-genomics biology, 2007). Dr. Altobelli is a STEM Ambassador engaged in promoting the early study of science and technology as well as continuing education. Born and grown up in Rome, now permanently resident in the UK, she also lived and worked in the USA (NCSA, UIUC IL), Sweden (KI, Stockholm) and France (IGBMC, Strasbourg).
Diego Anfossi, BSc CIS
Diego Anfossi is an Information Technology professional and graduate of the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina. Mr. Anfossi is the Senior IT Consultant for the CBSA. While his major career objective is developing advanced technologies for electronic trading and capital markets, Mr. Anfossi has extensively collaborated ad-honorem for more than 10 years with several high-profile biological research laboratories. His work in the biomedical sciences involves design and development of software tools for device control and management, data analysis, and algorithm optimization. From 2001 to 2005, Mr. Anfossi collaborated with the Insect Physiology Laboratory at the University of Buenos Aires to develop unique methods to better understand the behavior of the triatomine bug, the insect vector that transmits Chagas disease. It is estimated that more than 20 million people in Latin America are infected with this endemic pathologic condition. Mr. Anfossi has also designed software tools for the Learning and Memory Neurobiology Laboratory at the University of Buenos Aires and the Bioinformatics Department of the Leloir Institute in Argentina. With more than 20 years of advanced IT expertise, Mr. Anfossi provides a unique set of problem solving skills for research laboratories that affords scientists unencumbered focus on their work.
Diego Anfossi is an Information Technology professional and graduate of the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina. Mr. Anfossi is the Senior IT Consultant for the CBSA. While his major career objective is developing advanced technologies for electronic trading and capital markets, Mr. Anfossi has extensively collaborated ad-honorem for more than 10 years with several high-profile biological research laboratories. His work in the biomedical sciences involves design and development of software tools for device control and management, data analysis, and algorithm optimization. From 2001 to 2005, Mr. Anfossi collaborated with the Insect Physiology Laboratory at the University of Buenos Aires to develop unique methods to better understand the behavior of the triatomine bug, the insect vector that transmits Chagas disease. It is estimated that more than 20 million people in Latin America are infected with this endemic pathologic condition. Mr. Anfossi has also designed software tools for the Learning and Memory Neurobiology Laboratory at the University of Buenos Aires and the Bioinformatics Department of the Leloir Institute in Argentina. With more than 20 years of advanced IT expertise, Mr. Anfossi provides a unique set of problem solving skills for research laboratories that affords scientists unencumbered focus on their work.
Hugo Arias-Pulido, PhD
Dr. Hugo Arias-Pulido, PhD, is a Research Associate in the Department of Radiology in Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College in Lebanon, NH, USA. He received a PhD in Biology in 1990 at the Russian Academy of Science Institute of Biophysics in Pushino, Russia. He did his postdoctoral work in molecular biology at the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm from 1990 to 1992, and in translational cancer research in cervical cancer with Dr. VVV Murty at Columbia University, New York in 2000. During this postdoctoral period his research was directed towards identifying prognostic biomarkers of patient outcome as well as to identify the role played by the human papillomavirus in cervical cancer. This later activity was performed in the Laboratory of Professor Cossette Wheeler in the Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, the University of New Mexico School of Medicine. His present research interests involve the possible association of viruses with breast cancer, and the development of Patient-Derived Xenografts models in breast cancer. The ultimate goal of these studies is the validation of small inhibitor molecules, oxygen- and antibody-based therapies as well as to identify novel gene signatures that will predict response or resistance to neoadjuvant chemotherapies. These signatures may generate lead biomolecules that will be characterized as predictive and prognostic biomarkers and potential novel therapeutic targets. Dr. Arias-Pulido is also a reviewer for the Gynecology Oncology, (Top Reviewer 2010-2011), Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, Cancer Research, British Journal of Cancer, International Journal of Cancer, International Journal of Gynecological Cancer, BMC Cancer, BMC Molecular Cancer, and Bioinformatics.
Dr. Hugo Arias-Pulido, PhD, is a Research Associate in the Department of Radiology in Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College in Lebanon, NH, USA. He received a PhD in Biology in 1990 at the Russian Academy of Science Institute of Biophysics in Pushino, Russia. He did his postdoctoral work in molecular biology at the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm from 1990 to 1992, and in translational cancer research in cervical cancer with Dr. VVV Murty at Columbia University, New York in 2000. During this postdoctoral period his research was directed towards identifying prognostic biomarkers of patient outcome as well as to identify the role played by the human papillomavirus in cervical cancer. This later activity was performed in the Laboratory of Professor Cossette Wheeler in the Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, the University of New Mexico School of Medicine. His present research interests involve the possible association of viruses with breast cancer, and the development of Patient-Derived Xenografts models in breast cancer. The ultimate goal of these studies is the validation of small inhibitor molecules, oxygen- and antibody-based therapies as well as to identify novel gene signatures that will predict response or resistance to neoadjuvant chemotherapies. These signatures may generate lead biomolecules that will be characterized as predictive and prognostic biomarkers and potential novel therapeutic targets. Dr. Arias-Pulido is also a reviewer for the Gynecology Oncology, (Top Reviewer 2010-2011), Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, Cancer Research, British Journal of Cancer, International Journal of Cancer, International Journal of Gynecological Cancer, BMC Cancer, BMC Molecular Cancer, and Bioinformatics.
Shannon T. Bailey, MS, MPhil, PhD
Dr. Shannon T. Bailey is a Principle Investigator at the CBSA. Dr. Bailey works as a Cancer Geneticist at WuXiNextCODE Genomics. Prior to this position, he completed his postdoctoral fellowship and served as an Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute where he performed research examining the molecular mechanisms of estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer. His work has identified mechanisms underlying ER-mediated breast cancer cell survival involving transcription factor and microRNA regulation. He completed his graduate education at Yale University where he earned the degrees of M.S., M.Phil., and Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Physiology in the laboratory of Dr. Sankar Ghosh where he studied mechanisms of constitutive nuclear factor kappa B activation in ER-negative breast cancer. Prior to his graduate studies, Dr. Bailey discovered the hormone resistin at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School in the laboratory of Dr. Mitchell Lazar, which was published in a study totaling over 2,400 citations to date. This study has led to intense research examining the link between this protein and diabetes and obesity. Dr. Bailey is also a recipient of numerous awards including the prestigious Ford Foundation predoctoral fellowship, the Leadership Alliance/Schering-Plough dissertation fellowship, and a postdoctoral fellowship from the Terri Broduer Research Foundation. He was also named a Minority Scholar in Cancer Research in 2010.
Dr. Shannon T. Bailey is a Principle Investigator at the CBSA. Dr. Bailey works as a Cancer Geneticist at WuXiNextCODE Genomics. Prior to this position, he completed his postdoctoral fellowship and served as an Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute where he performed research examining the molecular mechanisms of estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer. His work has identified mechanisms underlying ER-mediated breast cancer cell survival involving transcription factor and microRNA regulation. He completed his graduate education at Yale University where he earned the degrees of M.S., M.Phil., and Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Physiology in the laboratory of Dr. Sankar Ghosh where he studied mechanisms of constitutive nuclear factor kappa B activation in ER-negative breast cancer. Prior to his graduate studies, Dr. Bailey discovered the hormone resistin at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School in the laboratory of Dr. Mitchell Lazar, which was published in a study totaling over 2,400 citations to date. This study has led to intense research examining the link between this protein and diabetes and obesity. Dr. Bailey is also a recipient of numerous awards including the prestigious Ford Foundation predoctoral fellowship, the Leadership Alliance/Schering-Plough dissertation fellowship, and a postdoctoral fellowship from the Terri Broduer Research Foundation. He was also named a Minority Scholar in Cancer Research in 2010.
Sweta Bajaj, MS
Sweta Bajaj is a Machine Learning Engineer in the Advanced Artificial Intelligence Laboratory of Dr. Chittenden at Genuity Science. She is working on implementing a digital pathology solution to study the genotype-phenotype relations between histopathological whole slide images and genetic data. Under the guidance of Dr. Chittenden, she endeavors to develop an ensemble of Deep Learning, Image Segmentation and Object Detection algorithms for disease identification and pattern recognition. Sweta has earned her Master’s degree in Information Systems from Northeastern University and has extensive experience analyzing high-throughput genomic data. Additionally, she is fluent in various numerical, scientific and parallel computing libraries/tools. She works collaboratively with experts in Bioinformatics and Computational Statistics to understand biology and to deliver cutting-edge algorithms.
Sweta Bajaj is a Machine Learning Engineer in the Advanced Artificial Intelligence Laboratory of Dr. Chittenden at Genuity Science. She is working on implementing a digital pathology solution to study the genotype-phenotype relations between histopathological whole slide images and genetic data. Under the guidance of Dr. Chittenden, she endeavors to develop an ensemble of Deep Learning, Image Segmentation and Object Detection algorithms for disease identification and pattern recognition. Sweta has earned her Master’s degree in Information Systems from Northeastern University and has extensive experience analyzing high-throughput genomic data. Additionally, she is fluent in various numerical, scientific and parallel computing libraries/tools. She works collaboratively with experts in Bioinformatics and Computational Statistics to understand biology and to deliver cutting-edge algorithms.
Curt Balch, PhD
Dr. Curt Balch is a Ronin Institute Scholar. He received his PhD and postdoctoral training from the University of Cincinnati, prior to eight years of service as a research faculty member at the Indiana University School of Medicine. There, he performed extensive research in cancer epigenomics and subsequently, in mid-2013, founded a biomedical consulting company, Bioscience Advising. With regard to translational research, he coauthored two reports of a phase I/II clinical study of a DNA methylation inhibitor, combined with conventional chemotherapies, in advanced stage, drug-resistant ovarian and bladder cancer patients. In more basic research, Curt utilized systems biology/bioinformatics approaches to integrate the epigenomic, transcriptomic, and genomic anomalies that govern specific phenotypes (e.g., the “epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition,” etc.), allowing the identification of specific “regulatory networks” that control tumor progression. Overall, Curt hypothesizes that the now accepted, differentiation state “reprogramming” of even highly aggressive cancer phenotypes is largely regulated by chromatin remodeling that in turn, is influenced by the tumor microenvironment. Consequently, elucidation of the distinct epigenomes that drive such aberrant tumor differentiation processes (possibly initiated by “cancer stem cells”) may allow for epigenetic (or stem cell) therapy-based reversal of pathological chromatin remodeling and the restoration of cellular phenotypes associated with normal differentiated tissues.
Dr. Curt Balch is a Ronin Institute Scholar. He received his PhD and postdoctoral training from the University of Cincinnati, prior to eight years of service as a research faculty member at the Indiana University School of Medicine. There, he performed extensive research in cancer epigenomics and subsequently, in mid-2013, founded a biomedical consulting company, Bioscience Advising. With regard to translational research, he coauthored two reports of a phase I/II clinical study of a DNA methylation inhibitor, combined with conventional chemotherapies, in advanced stage, drug-resistant ovarian and bladder cancer patients. In more basic research, Curt utilized systems biology/bioinformatics approaches to integrate the epigenomic, transcriptomic, and genomic anomalies that govern specific phenotypes (e.g., the “epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition,” etc.), allowing the identification of specific “regulatory networks” that control tumor progression. Overall, Curt hypothesizes that the now accepted, differentiation state “reprogramming” of even highly aggressive cancer phenotypes is largely regulated by chromatin remodeling that in turn, is influenced by the tumor microenvironment. Consequently, elucidation of the distinct epigenomes that drive such aberrant tumor differentiation processes (possibly initiated by “cancer stem cells”) may allow for epigenetic (or stem cell) therapy-based reversal of pathological chromatin remodeling and the restoration of cellular phenotypes associated with normal differentiated tissues.
Soumya Banerjee, PhD
Soumya Banerjee has a PhD in Computer Science from the University of New Mexico, USA. He worked in Los Alamos National Laboratories while he was in graduate school. Prior to graduate school, he was a software engineer working in the financial services sector for Fortune 500 clients. His work is at the intersection of computer science and biological systems – he uses tools from computer science to study biological systems and takes inspiration from biological systems to design more efficient human-engineered systems. He uses machine learning techniques to infer biologically meaningful information from noisy experimental data collected under different experimental conditions. His work also involves taking inspiration from the immune system and suggests architectures for human-engineered distributed systems with faster search and response characteristics. The tools of his trade are mathematical models using spatially explicit agent-based models and computationally tractable differential equation models. He works closely with scientists from other domains, especially experimentalists. His work has been recognized with a University of New Mexico Student Award for Innovation in Informatics in 2010. He takes pride in writing industrial-strength software, which he attributes to years of working in industry and skills honed in academia. As of December 2012, he was ranked worldwide within the top 500 on MATLAB Central (an online repository for Matlab code contributed by users all over the world). He is on the editorial board for the Journal of Communications Engineering and Networks and on the programme committee of the International Conference on Artificial Immune Systems.
Soumya Banerjee has a PhD in Computer Science from the University of New Mexico, USA. He worked in Los Alamos National Laboratories while he was in graduate school. Prior to graduate school, he was a software engineer working in the financial services sector for Fortune 500 clients. His work is at the intersection of computer science and biological systems – he uses tools from computer science to study biological systems and takes inspiration from biological systems to design more efficient human-engineered systems. He uses machine learning techniques to infer biologically meaningful information from noisy experimental data collected under different experimental conditions. His work also involves taking inspiration from the immune system and suggests architectures for human-engineered distributed systems with faster search and response characteristics. The tools of his trade are mathematical models using spatially explicit agent-based models and computationally tractable differential equation models. He works closely with scientists from other domains, especially experimentalists. His work has been recognized with a University of New Mexico Student Award for Innovation in Informatics in 2010. He takes pride in writing industrial-strength software, which he attributes to years of working in industry and skills honed in academia. As of December 2012, he was ranked worldwide within the top 500 on MATLAB Central (an online repository for Matlab code contributed by users all over the world). He is on the editorial board for the Journal of Communications Engineering and Networks and on the programme committee of the International Conference on Artificial Immune Systems.
Richard W. Barker, DPhil
Dr. Barker is a strategic advisor, speaker and author on healthcare and life sciences. Richard holds a tenured Professorship in the Radcliffe Department of Medicine at the University of Oxford, and he serves as a Senior Advisor for Biomedical Innovation for the CBSA. Richard is Director of the Centre for the Advancement of Sustainable Medical Innovation (CASMI), a major European initiative aimed at transforming the R&D and regulatory processes in life sciences to bring advances more rapidly and affordably to patients. He is also chairman of the South London Academic Health Science Network, accelerating innovation in this region of the NHS, and Chairman of Stem Cells for Safer Medicines, a public-private partnership developing stem cell technology for predicting the safety profile of new medicines. He is a board member of Celgene, a major US-based bio-therapeutics company and of iCo Therapeutics, a Canadian bioscience company. His 25-year business career in healthcare has spanned biopharmaceuticals, diagnostics and medical informatics – both in the USA and Europe. Most recently he was Director General of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, member of the Executive Committee of EFPIA (the European industry association) and Council member of IFPMA (the international equivalent). As a co-founder of Life Sciences UK, member of the NHS Stakeholder Forum, vice-chair of the UK Clinical Trials Collaboration and in many other roles, he has advised successive UK governments on healthcare issues, especially those relating to developing, valuing and using new healthcare technologies. His past leadership roles include head of McKinsey’s European healthcare practice, General Manager of Healthcare Solutions for IBM and Chief Executive of Chiron Diagnostics. He was also Chairman and Chief Executive of Molecular Staging, a US bioscience company, now part of Qiagen. He therefore has experience in leading and advising a wide range of high-technology companies. His book on the future of healthcare ‘2030 - The Future of Medicine: Avoiding a Medical Meltdown’ is published by Oxford University Press. He speaks frequently on the future of life sciences and the restructuring of healthcare systems that new technology can enable. Richard lives in London, but maintains an active business network in North America and worldwide.
Dr. Barker is a strategic advisor, speaker and author on healthcare and life sciences. Richard holds a tenured Professorship in the Radcliffe Department of Medicine at the University of Oxford, and he serves as a Senior Advisor for Biomedical Innovation for the CBSA. Richard is Director of the Centre for the Advancement of Sustainable Medical Innovation (CASMI), a major European initiative aimed at transforming the R&D and regulatory processes in life sciences to bring advances more rapidly and affordably to patients. He is also chairman of the South London Academic Health Science Network, accelerating innovation in this region of the NHS, and Chairman of Stem Cells for Safer Medicines, a public-private partnership developing stem cell technology for predicting the safety profile of new medicines. He is a board member of Celgene, a major US-based bio-therapeutics company and of iCo Therapeutics, a Canadian bioscience company. His 25-year business career in healthcare has spanned biopharmaceuticals, diagnostics and medical informatics – both in the USA and Europe. Most recently he was Director General of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, member of the Executive Committee of EFPIA (the European industry association) and Council member of IFPMA (the international equivalent). As a co-founder of Life Sciences UK, member of the NHS Stakeholder Forum, vice-chair of the UK Clinical Trials Collaboration and in many other roles, he has advised successive UK governments on healthcare issues, especially those relating to developing, valuing and using new healthcare technologies. His past leadership roles include head of McKinsey’s European healthcare practice, General Manager of Healthcare Solutions for IBM and Chief Executive of Chiron Diagnostics. He was also Chairman and Chief Executive of Molecular Staging, a US bioscience company, now part of Qiagen. He therefore has experience in leading and advising a wide range of high-technology companies. His book on the future of healthcare ‘2030 - The Future of Medicine: Avoiding a Medical Meltdown’ is published by Oxford University Press. He speaks frequently on the future of life sciences and the restructuring of healthcare systems that new technology can enable. Richard lives in London, but maintains an active business network in North America and worldwide.
David Becker, PhD, MB (ASCP)
Dr. Becker is the Chief Scientific Officer at Pathway Genomics Corporation, a clinical laboratory for genetic testing accredited by the College of American Pathologists, located in San Diego, California. He received a Doctorate in Biology from San Diego State University in 1991. Dr. Becker has extensive experience in the genetics of Drosophila, mice and humans. He has worked in the biotechnology industry for more than 14 years, where he led teams of scientists in molecular and genetic approaches to the discovery of factors that contribute to type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease. Some of these molecules were novel targets for the development of therapeutic strategies. Dr. Becker was the founding scientist at Pathway Genomics in 2008. He has been the scientific leader at the company, while developing translational genetic testing services for medical use.
Dr. Becker is the Chief Scientific Officer at Pathway Genomics Corporation, a clinical laboratory for genetic testing accredited by the College of American Pathologists, located in San Diego, California. He received a Doctorate in Biology from San Diego State University in 1991. Dr. Becker has extensive experience in the genetics of Drosophila, mice and humans. He has worked in the biotechnology industry for more than 14 years, where he led teams of scientists in molecular and genetic approaches to the discovery of factors that contribute to type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease. Some of these molecules were novel targets for the development of therapeutic strategies. Dr. Becker was the founding scientist at Pathway Genomics in 2008. He has been the scientific leader at the company, while developing translational genetic testing services for medical use.
Mohamed Belhocine, PhD Candidate
Mohamed Belhocine is currently a PhD Candidate at the TAGC (Technological Advances for Genomics and Clinics - Inserm U1090) in collaboration with the Necker institute (Paris). Mohamed holds an MSc in Microbiology from the University of Blida (Algeria), a Bachelor’s Degree in Cell and Molecular Biology and an MSc in Bioinformatics, Genomics and Structural Biochemistry from Luminy University (France). His research focuses on the application of large-scale genomic approaches to understand epigenetic mechanisms associated with development of normal and leukemic lymphoid cells. Through his experience in laboratories at the Center of Immunology Marseille Luminy (CIML) and the Technological Advances for Genomics and Clinics Laboratory (TAGC), Mohamed has acquired extensive knowledge in Experimental and Computational Biology, specifically in transcriptome analysis and chromatin immuno-precipitation coupled with deep sequencing (CHIP-Seq) and RNA-sequencing analysis. He is proficient in R, Python and Bash. Mohamed is currently a Bioinformatician at the TAGC, where he analyzes normal and pathological lymphoid differentiation. Additionally, Mohamed develops and oversees research training programs for a number of Algerian Universities.
Mohamed Belhocine is currently a PhD Candidate at the TAGC (Technological Advances for Genomics and Clinics - Inserm U1090) in collaboration with the Necker institute (Paris). Mohamed holds an MSc in Microbiology from the University of Blida (Algeria), a Bachelor’s Degree in Cell and Molecular Biology and an MSc in Bioinformatics, Genomics and Structural Biochemistry from Luminy University (France). His research focuses on the application of large-scale genomic approaches to understand epigenetic mechanisms associated with development of normal and leukemic lymphoid cells. Through his experience in laboratories at the Center of Immunology Marseille Luminy (CIML) and the Technological Advances for Genomics and Clinics Laboratory (TAGC), Mohamed has acquired extensive knowledge in Experimental and Computational Biology, specifically in transcriptome analysis and chromatin immuno-precipitation coupled with deep sequencing (CHIP-Seq) and RNA-sequencing analysis. He is proficient in R, Python and Bash. Mohamed is currently a Bioinformatician at the TAGC, where he analyzes normal and pathological lymphoid differentiation. Additionally, Mohamed develops and oversees research training programs for a number of Algerian Universities.
Landon T. Bennett, BS
Landon is a Ronin Research Scholar. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Empire State College (SUNY), where he graduated with perfect grades. Landon has experience as a graduate student and teaching assistant from the PhD program in Math at Washington State University, where he contributed his expertise in the Center for Geometric Analysis & Data (CGAD). In addition, Landon has over 3-years of experience tutoring upper-level undergraduates in mathematics and other sciences. His core research is in Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) with emphasis on the perceived technological singularity and later transhumanist era. A major list of subtopics Landon studies involving AGI include: material science, molecular nanotechnology, organic chemistry, biology, cosmology/astronomy, warp-drive science, ethics, politics, theoretical computer engineering, computer programming, quantum physics, and economics. In his early stages, he hopes to develop enough understanding of a broad range of fields so that he can help niche researchers gain insight and direct some of their work to problems with a high probability for success with clear explanations. Often times, the solutions people seek come from places not yet looked at. In addition to his research, Landon is an active member of European H+ and many similar groups. In EH+, Mr. Bennett consults with professionals all across Europe and in parts of the United States to actively solve problems of immediate importance and create plans for the long-term. Part of his work in EH+ is to read on the latest trends in bleeding-edge technology and offer solutions to specialists and the mainstream. Landon has bravely dedicated himself to solving the grand challenges humanity faces. Although he is just one person, his involvement will help others to value the vast importance of changes taking place now and in the future. In the Zeitgeist, there is no such term as “too driven” or “over-achiever”. On July 23, 2012, a massive solar storm missed planet Earth by only a small fraction of a distance which would have effectively put humanity back in the Stone Age. Likewise, throughout tens of thousands of years the human species has been on the verge of becoming extinct numerous times due to the harsh nature of Earth and the surrounding Universe. It will be important for the elite groups of the human population to put as much energy as possible into informing the public and working toward finding creative and applicable solutions to radical life altering scenarios. Numerous major crises are here now and they demand our attention.
Landon is a Ronin Research Scholar. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Empire State College (SUNY), where he graduated with perfect grades. Landon has experience as a graduate student and teaching assistant from the PhD program in Math at Washington State University, where he contributed his expertise in the Center for Geometric Analysis & Data (CGAD). In addition, Landon has over 3-years of experience tutoring upper-level undergraduates in mathematics and other sciences. His core research is in Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) with emphasis on the perceived technological singularity and later transhumanist era. A major list of subtopics Landon studies involving AGI include: material science, molecular nanotechnology, organic chemistry, biology, cosmology/astronomy, warp-drive science, ethics, politics, theoretical computer engineering, computer programming, quantum physics, and economics. In his early stages, he hopes to develop enough understanding of a broad range of fields so that he can help niche researchers gain insight and direct some of their work to problems with a high probability for success with clear explanations. Often times, the solutions people seek come from places not yet looked at. In addition to his research, Landon is an active member of European H+ and many similar groups. In EH+, Mr. Bennett consults with professionals all across Europe and in parts of the United States to actively solve problems of immediate importance and create plans for the long-term. Part of his work in EH+ is to read on the latest trends in bleeding-edge technology and offer solutions to specialists and the mainstream. Landon has bravely dedicated himself to solving the grand challenges humanity faces. Although he is just one person, his involvement will help others to value the vast importance of changes taking place now and in the future. In the Zeitgeist, there is no such term as “too driven” or “over-achiever”. On July 23, 2012, a massive solar storm missed planet Earth by only a small fraction of a distance which would have effectively put humanity back in the Stone Age. Likewise, throughout tens of thousands of years the human species has been on the verge of becoming extinct numerous times due to the harsh nature of Earth and the surrounding Universe. It will be important for the elite groups of the human population to put as much energy as possible into informing the public and working toward finding creative and applicable solutions to radical life altering scenarios. Numerous major crises are here now and they demand our attention.
Anamaria Berea, PhD
Anamaria has a dual PhD in economics (2010) and computational social science (2012) and her research is focused on the emergence of communication in biological and social networks, by applying theories and methods from economics, complex systems and information science to reinterpret historical, anthropological,biological and artistic evidence regarding fundamental aspects of communication. In her research on emergence of communication, she revisits Shannon's theory of information and shows how we can model and quantify subjectivity and meaning in communication by using principles from the economics of information. She is using the findings from the emergence of language and social behavior in biological systems as well as the methodology of forecasting through Bayesian modeling in order to develop better natural language processing techniques. She has a strong background in analytical work and quantitative problem solving, working at the intersection of economics and computational systems for the past 12 years. Her past projects include development and testing of agent-based models of company growth, information crowdsourcing, prediction markets, Bayesian networks, auto-trading algorithms, social network analysis, large scale ("big data") analysis, text and sentiment analysis, diffusion of fashions and fads, social media impact on crowd-funding success, recommender systems for students applying to college, mass media sales forecasting, simulation of conflicts in Afghanistan-Pakistan area and framing qualitative into quantitative modeling. Anamaria is a Teradata University Network Faculty Award Winner (2014),and was a Data Ambassador for the European Court of Human Rights at the Teradata Care Initiative(2014). She has taught both graduate and undergraduate classes at George Mason University, University of Maryland and George Washington University. Her work has been published in Journal of Washington Academy of Science, Decision Analytics, AAAI Proceedings, Quantitative Finance, Handbook of Human Computation and Journal of Strategic Security. Her research has been supported by grants from ONR, IARPA, DARPA and the National Academies of Sciences. She is a member of the Washington Academy of Sciences, Eastern Economics Association and American Association for The Advancement of Science.
Anamaria has a dual PhD in economics (2010) and computational social science (2012) and her research is focused on the emergence of communication in biological and social networks, by applying theories and methods from economics, complex systems and information science to reinterpret historical, anthropological,biological and artistic evidence regarding fundamental aspects of communication. In her research on emergence of communication, she revisits Shannon's theory of information and shows how we can model and quantify subjectivity and meaning in communication by using principles from the economics of information. She is using the findings from the emergence of language and social behavior in biological systems as well as the methodology of forecasting through Bayesian modeling in order to develop better natural language processing techniques. She has a strong background in analytical work and quantitative problem solving, working at the intersection of economics and computational systems for the past 12 years. Her past projects include development and testing of agent-based models of company growth, information crowdsourcing, prediction markets, Bayesian networks, auto-trading algorithms, social network analysis, large scale ("big data") analysis, text and sentiment analysis, diffusion of fashions and fads, social media impact on crowd-funding success, recommender systems for students applying to college, mass media sales forecasting, simulation of conflicts in Afghanistan-Pakistan area and framing qualitative into quantitative modeling. Anamaria is a Teradata University Network Faculty Award Winner (2014),and was a Data Ambassador for the European Court of Human Rights at the Teradata Care Initiative(2014). She has taught both graduate and undergraduate classes at George Mason University, University of Maryland and George Washington University. Her work has been published in Journal of Washington Academy of Science, Decision Analytics, AAAI Proceedings, Quantitative Finance, Handbook of Human Computation and Journal of Strategic Security. Her research has been supported by grants from ONR, IARPA, DARPA and the National Academies of Sciences. She is a member of the Washington Academy of Sciences, Eastern Economics Association and American Association for The Advancement of Science.
Razi Bidhendi, MSc
Razi Bidhendi has a Masters degree in Biostatistics from university of social welfare and rehabilitation sciences(USWR)Tehran, Iran. Recently, she has had a greater focus on statistical modeling of biological networks, statistical genetics and High dimensional data analysis. Her main interests are application of Bayesian statistical tools and also Markov Models in modeling of infectious diseases as well as pattern recognition and gene networks. She is a lecturer at USWR and also planning to pursue her interests in a PhD programe.
Razi Bidhendi has a Masters degree in Biostatistics from university of social welfare and rehabilitation sciences(USWR)Tehran, Iran. Recently, she has had a greater focus on statistical modeling of biological networks, statistical genetics and High dimensional data analysis. Her main interests are application of Bayesian statistical tools and also Markov Models in modeling of infectious diseases as well as pattern recognition and gene networks. She is a lecturer at USWR and also planning to pursue her interests in a PhD programe.
Barrie P. Bode, PhD
Irene Blat, PhD
Dr. Irene Blat is a Principal Investigator with the CBSA. Irene has more than 10 years of experience in cancer biology. She completed her undergraduate studies in Biology at Duke University where she focused on cancer biology and pharmacology. While at Duke, Irene worked in the laboratory of Dr. Anthony Means, where she studied the role of the kinase, MLK3, in lung adenocarcinoma cells. Upon graduation, she relocated to Cambridge, MA to join the Cancer Genomics group at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard where she contributed to the development of a pathway analysis tool, the Connectivity Map, to identify the intersection between small molecules, genes, and disease states. During her time at the Broad, she developed an interest in cancer genetics and went on to pursue her doctoral degree in genetics at the Koch Institute of Integrative Cancer Research under the direction of Dr. Tyler Jacks. For her dissertation work, Irene focused on developing metastatic mouse models of non-small cell and small cell cancer by manipulating levels of expression of small non-coding RNAs, microRNAs. Her research involved performing global analysis of microRNA expression levels and translating these changes to identify targeted mRNAs by RNA-sequencing analysis. Over the past ten years, Irene has developed expertise in cancer genetics using both in vivo and in vitro models in pursuit of developing a better understanding of this complex disease. Irene is at present the Scientific Director of Training and Special Projects at WuXi NextCODE.
Dr. Irene Blat is a Principal Investigator with the CBSA. Irene has more than 10 years of experience in cancer biology. She completed her undergraduate studies in Biology at Duke University where she focused on cancer biology and pharmacology. While at Duke, Irene worked in the laboratory of Dr. Anthony Means, where she studied the role of the kinase, MLK3, in lung adenocarcinoma cells. Upon graduation, she relocated to Cambridge, MA to join the Cancer Genomics group at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard where she contributed to the development of a pathway analysis tool, the Connectivity Map, to identify the intersection between small molecules, genes, and disease states. During her time at the Broad, she developed an interest in cancer genetics and went on to pursue her doctoral degree in genetics at the Koch Institute of Integrative Cancer Research under the direction of Dr. Tyler Jacks. For her dissertation work, Irene focused on developing metastatic mouse models of non-small cell and small cell cancer by manipulating levels of expression of small non-coding RNAs, microRNAs. Her research involved performing global analysis of microRNA expression levels and translating these changes to identify targeted mRNAs by RNA-sequencing analysis. Over the past ten years, Irene has developed expertise in cancer genetics using both in vivo and in vitro models in pursuit of developing a better understanding of this complex disease. Irene is at present the Scientific Director of Training and Special Projects at WuXi NextCODE.
Björn L.D.M. Brücher, MD, PhD, FRCS, FACS
Björn L.D.M. Brücher, Professor of general & cancer surgery, MD, PhD, FRCS (Engl) and FACS is a global leader in general and surgical oncology including Upper GI, multivisceral resections including cytoreductive surgery plus hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC), colorectal surgery including HOLM-procedure and Peritoneal Surface Malignancies. Dr.Brücher is a member of all distinguished oncological and surgical societies worldwide, he is also a fellow of the American College of Surgeons (FACS) and a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (FRCS Engl). In 2012 he received honorary membership in the Israeli Society of Surgical Oncology (ISSO). Professor Brücher was educated at Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz as well as in Bradford, Edinburgh and Oxford. His further education took place at the Technical University of Munich, Germany where he made his Ph.D. together with the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, USA. In addition to these accomplishments and discoveries, Dr. Brücher has served in multiple leadership and research administrative capacities during the past two decades as well as holding a Distinguished Fellowship and Professorship of Ethical Leadership of the New Westminster College in Vancouver, Canada. Additionally Dr. Brücher was elected in 2014 Leading Physician of the World - Top Surgical Oncologist, Cancer Patient Care & Research Specialist" by 'The International Association of Oncologists' and serves as the Ambassador of the European Association of Cancer Research (EACR). Dr. Brücher is the Founder and Director of the Theodor-Billroth-Academy and co-founder of its International Consortium of Research Excellence (INCORE). He is currently a Medical Director of the Peritoneal Surface Malignancy Program and Chief of Cancer Research at a leading Cancer institute in the USA. His cancer research studies have led to a pioneering new cancer hypothesis as well as a new anticancer strategy. Both have added an entirely unanticipated level of complexity to our understanding of carcinogenesis and cancer.
Björn L.D.M. Brücher, Professor of general & cancer surgery, MD, PhD, FRCS (Engl) and FACS is a global leader in general and surgical oncology including Upper GI, multivisceral resections including cytoreductive surgery plus hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC), colorectal surgery including HOLM-procedure and Peritoneal Surface Malignancies. Dr.Brücher is a member of all distinguished oncological and surgical societies worldwide, he is also a fellow of the American College of Surgeons (FACS) and a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (FRCS Engl). In 2012 he received honorary membership in the Israeli Society of Surgical Oncology (ISSO). Professor Brücher was educated at Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz as well as in Bradford, Edinburgh and Oxford. His further education took place at the Technical University of Munich, Germany where he made his Ph.D. together with the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, USA. In addition to these accomplishments and discoveries, Dr. Brücher has served in multiple leadership and research administrative capacities during the past two decades as well as holding a Distinguished Fellowship and Professorship of Ethical Leadership of the New Westminster College in Vancouver, Canada. Additionally Dr. Brücher was elected in 2014 Leading Physician of the World - Top Surgical Oncologist, Cancer Patient Care & Research Specialist" by 'The International Association of Oncologists' and serves as the Ambassador of the European Association of Cancer Research (EACR). Dr. Brücher is the Founder and Director of the Theodor-Billroth-Academy and co-founder of its International Consortium of Research Excellence (INCORE). He is currently a Medical Director of the Peritoneal Surface Malignancy Program and Chief of Cancer Research at a leading Cancer institute in the USA. His cancer research studies have led to a pioneering new cancer hypothesis as well as a new anticancer strategy. Both have added an entirely unanticipated level of complexity to our understanding of carcinogenesis and cancer.
Moumita Chaki, PhD
Dr. Chaki is an Instructor at the Neuroscience Department of UT Southwestern Medical Center. Her present research is focused on the role of Ascl1 in the development of glioblastoma, the most common and most aggressive malignant primary brain tumor in humans that involve glial cells. Dr. Chaki’s previous postdoctoral research at the Pediatric Nephrology Division of the University of Michigan involved the identification and characterization of novel genes implicated in Nephronophthisis-related ciliopathies. She did a short postdoc at the Internal Medicine Division of the UT Southwestern Medical Center where her research involved deciphering the role of Dgke in glomerular microangiopathy that may clinically resemble membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN) and identifying the mechanism of cystic kidney diseases of ciliopathies using mouse models. In 2008, Dr. Chaki obtained her PhD degree in Life Sciences from the Indian Institute of Chemical Biology (IICB-CSIR); CSIR being the premier industrial R&D organization in India. Her doctoral thesis was on ‘Molecular Genetic Studies on Oculocutaneous Albinism (OCA) with Special Reference to Tyrosinase-the Causal Gene for OCA type 1’. The broad area of her research is molecular biology, Mendelian disorders, human genetics and diseased-based studies. Dr. Chaki also holds a Masters and a Bachelors degree in Botany from University of Calcutta, India.
Dr. Chaki is an Instructor at the Neuroscience Department of UT Southwestern Medical Center. Her present research is focused on the role of Ascl1 in the development of glioblastoma, the most common and most aggressive malignant primary brain tumor in humans that involve glial cells. Dr. Chaki’s previous postdoctoral research at the Pediatric Nephrology Division of the University of Michigan involved the identification and characterization of novel genes implicated in Nephronophthisis-related ciliopathies. She did a short postdoc at the Internal Medicine Division of the UT Southwestern Medical Center where her research involved deciphering the role of Dgke in glomerular microangiopathy that may clinically resemble membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN) and identifying the mechanism of cystic kidney diseases of ciliopathies using mouse models. In 2008, Dr. Chaki obtained her PhD degree in Life Sciences from the Indian Institute of Chemical Biology (IICB-CSIR); CSIR being the premier industrial R&D organization in India. Her doctoral thesis was on ‘Molecular Genetic Studies on Oculocutaneous Albinism (OCA) with Special Reference to Tyrosinase-the Causal Gene for OCA type 1’. The broad area of her research is molecular biology, Mendelian disorders, human genetics and diseased-based studies. Dr. Chaki also holds a Masters and a Bachelors degree in Botany from University of Calcutta, India.
Ananta Chakravartula, MS
Ananta Chakravartula received his Masters in Computer Science from University of Massachusetts, Boston. He currently works in the systems group of Harvard Medical School Research Computing. He has background in programming and designing High Performance Computing clusters.
Ananta Chakravartula received his Masters in Computer Science from University of Massachusetts, Boston. He currently works in the systems group of Harvard Medical School Research Computing. He has background in programming and designing High Performance Computing clusters.
Shilpa Chakravartula, PhD
Dr. Chakravartula is a postdoctoral research fellow working in the Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine and Biotechnology at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School. Presently, she is working on developing systems biology level integration of genetics, epigenetics and genomics information to identify key disease driving molecules. She devises algorithms for systems level integration of cancer omics data and clinical information. She received a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Massachusetts, Boston. Her dissertation, Complex Networks: Structure and Dynamics, involved understanding interactions among multiple components and their interplay with their assemblies. The problems tackled in her thesis included structure of evolving networks that dealt with the structural aspects of complex networks; emergence of fairness on complex networks which is understanding dynamics of the system on a given network; and modular synchronization investigating evolution of network structure based on dynamics of the system.
Dr. Chakravartula is a postdoctoral research fellow working in the Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine and Biotechnology at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School. Presently, she is working on developing systems biology level integration of genetics, epigenetics and genomics information to identify key disease driving molecules. She devises algorithms for systems level integration of cancer omics data and clinical information. She received a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Massachusetts, Boston. Her dissertation, Complex Networks: Structure and Dynamics, involved understanding interactions among multiple components and their interplay with their assemblies. The problems tackled in her thesis included structure of evolving networks that dealt with the structural aspects of complex networks; emergence of fairness on complex networks which is understanding dynamics of the system on a given network; and modular synchronization investigating evolution of network structure based on dynamics of the system.
Chen-Hao Chen, MD, PhD
Dr. Chen is a senior computational statistician of the Genuity Science Advanced Artificial Intelligence Research Laboratory. He is developing AI/ML applications in the biomedical field. Dr. Chen holds a MD from National Taiwan University and a PhD from the Harvard University. His multidisciplinary research includes cancer epigenetics, mathematical modeling of transcription regulation, and genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 screening design and analysis.
Dr. Chen is a senior computational statistician of the Genuity Science Advanced Artificial Intelligence Research Laboratory. He is developing AI/ML applications in the biomedical field. Dr. Chen holds a MD from National Taiwan University and a PhD from the Harvard University. His multidisciplinary research includes cancer epigenetics, mathematical modeling of transcription regulation, and genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 screening design and analysis.
Thomas J. Chittenden, BS, PE
Mr. Chittenden is the CBSA Webmaster. He holds a Baccalaureate in Chemical Engineering from the University of Kansas. He is a registered Professional Chemical Engineer with over 40 years designing, managing, and operating chemical process plants. His experience includes the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the Jacobs Engineering Group, the Bechtel Corporation, and the Procter & Gamble Manufacturing Co.
Mr. Chittenden is the CBSA Webmaster. He holds a Baccalaureate in Chemical Engineering from the University of Kansas. He is a registered Professional Chemical Engineer with over 40 years designing, managing, and operating chemical process plants. His experience includes the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the Jacobs Engineering Group, the Bechtel Corporation, and the Procter & Gamble Manufacturing Co.
Hon. Prof. Thomas W. Chittenden, PhD, DPhil, PStat
A GIGA Society Fellow with over 25 years of experimental and theoretical research experience, Dr. Tom Chittenden is an Honorary Professor of AI in Biomedicine for the Digital Environment Research Institute at Queen Mary University of London. Professor Chittenden is the Chairman, Founding President, and Chief Scientist for the CBSA. His expertise in causal AI/SciML in the biomedical sciences is globally acknowledged. As Chief Scientific Officer and President of R&D for BioAI Health, Professor Chittenden leads scientific research operations and ongoing development and implementation of the PREDICT-X Digital Pathology platform in oncology. This platform, a harmonious blend of statistical machine learning and data management, is designed for both on-premise and cloud operations, ensuring unparalleled data security and high-performance computing. Professor Chittenden’s academic journey includes roles as a Lecturer on Pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital and the Harvard Medical School, and a Visiting Lecturer in Biological Engineering at MIT. His research, featured in high-profile scientific journals like Nature and Science, delves deep into quantum machine learning, systems biology, and the intricacies of cellular behavior to reshape drug discovery and development. His overall objective is to untangle the molecular and biochemical complexities of cellular behavior to better understand human disease initiation and progression and the evolution of eukaryotic signal transduction. Professor Chittenden has been recognized as an AI Excellence Award Winner by the Business Intelligence Group and named among the top 100 Pioneers in Drug Discovery by Deep Knowledge Analytics and Forbes Magazine. Past roles include President and CTO for Genuity Science, where he led groundbreaking AI initiatives that have had significant impacts on the pharmaceutical industry. Since 2012, Professor Chittenden has been at the helm of the CBSA, which is pushing the boundaries of our understanding of the evolution of biological complexity. Now, at QMUL, Professor Chittenden is part of an international Healthcare Initiative, aiming to harness over 3 million clinical patient samples to advance drug discovery and development. His large network of academic and industry contacts uniquely positions his team to foster collaborations that drive revolutionary advances in biomedicine, shaping the future of the global healthcare ecosystem. Professor Chittenden is an Accredited Professional Statistician™ with the American Statistical Association, and he holds a PhD in Molecular Cell Biology and Biotechnology from Virginia Tech and a DPhil in Computational Statistics from the University of Oxford. His multidisciplinary postdoctoral training includes experimental investigations in molecular and cellular cardiology from the Dartmouth Medical School; biostatistics and computational biology from the Dana‐Farber Cancer Institute and the Harvard School of Public Health; and computational statistics and statistical machine learning from the University of Oxford.
A GIGA Society Fellow with over 25 years of experimental and theoretical research experience, Dr. Tom Chittenden is an Honorary Professor of AI in Biomedicine for the Digital Environment Research Institute at Queen Mary University of London. Professor Chittenden is the Chairman, Founding President, and Chief Scientist for the CBSA. His expertise in causal AI/SciML in the biomedical sciences is globally acknowledged. As Chief Scientific Officer and President of R&D for BioAI Health, Professor Chittenden leads scientific research operations and ongoing development and implementation of the PREDICT-X Digital Pathology platform in oncology. This platform, a harmonious blend of statistical machine learning and data management, is designed for both on-premise and cloud operations, ensuring unparalleled data security and high-performance computing. Professor Chittenden’s academic journey includes roles as a Lecturer on Pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital and the Harvard Medical School, and a Visiting Lecturer in Biological Engineering at MIT. His research, featured in high-profile scientific journals like Nature and Science, delves deep into quantum machine learning, systems biology, and the intricacies of cellular behavior to reshape drug discovery and development. His overall objective is to untangle the molecular and biochemical complexities of cellular behavior to better understand human disease initiation and progression and the evolution of eukaryotic signal transduction. Professor Chittenden has been recognized as an AI Excellence Award Winner by the Business Intelligence Group and named among the top 100 Pioneers in Drug Discovery by Deep Knowledge Analytics and Forbes Magazine. Past roles include President and CTO for Genuity Science, where he led groundbreaking AI initiatives that have had significant impacts on the pharmaceutical industry. Since 2012, Professor Chittenden has been at the helm of the CBSA, which is pushing the boundaries of our understanding of the evolution of biological complexity. Now, at QMUL, Professor Chittenden is part of an international Healthcare Initiative, aiming to harness over 3 million clinical patient samples to advance drug discovery and development. His large network of academic and industry contacts uniquely positions his team to foster collaborations that drive revolutionary advances in biomedicine, shaping the future of the global healthcare ecosystem. Professor Chittenden is an Accredited Professional Statistician™ with the American Statistical Association, and he holds a PhD in Molecular Cell Biology and Biotechnology from Virginia Tech and a DPhil in Computational Statistics from the University of Oxford. His multidisciplinary postdoctoral training includes experimental investigations in molecular and cellular cardiology from the Dartmouth Medical School; biostatistics and computational biology from the Dana‐Farber Cancer Institute and the Harvard School of Public Health; and computational statistics and statistical machine learning from the University of Oxford.
Kevin B. Clark, PhD
Dr. Clark earned his Ph.D. from the Program for the Biopsychology of Learning and Memory at Southern Illinois University in 1999. He has held basic and/or clinical research appointments at Oregon State University, Southern Illinois University, and the Max-Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics. Among other professional activities, Dr. Clark has served as member of many professional societies, editor for professional journals and technical books, and long-time consultant and collaborator to the Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System. He also has (co)authored over 50 peer-review scientific journal articles and book chapters, helped generate millions of US dollars in research funding, and licensed several patents. Dr. Clark has spent much of his research career using his training in disciplines of engineering, psychology, biochemistry/biophysics, physiology, neuroscience, and microbiology to study the evolution and biological basis of learning, memory, and intelligence. Dr. Clark’s award-winning research and patented inventions improving learning, memory, and recovery from traumatic brain injury through peripheral neuromodulation gained recognition from MacArthur fellow Dr. James McGaugh and other members of the National Academy of Sciences, USA. Later comparative primate studies conducted with systems neuroscientist Dr. Nikos Logothetis focused on Dr. Clark’s interests in the neural basis of cognition across animal phylogeny, particularly cross-taxa models of perceptual and conceptual priming. Some of this research provided impetus for Dr. Clark’s current work on classical and quantum Hebbian learning in modeled cognitive processing, nonrelativistic and relativistic information processing in spatial cognition, and entropic uncertainty in language disambiguation. His broader interests in the evolution of intelligent behavior largely began in graduate school while working with molecular and cellular evolutionist Dr. Sidney Fox, student and colleague of Nobelists Thomas Hunt Morgan and Linus Pauling, on protocell models of learning and memory and continue today with studies involving microbial sociality. By creating paradigms comparing microbial goal-directed behavior with animal decision making, Dr. Clark has shown microbes learn to behave as soft-matter quantum computers. These computational abilities, conforming to attributes of quantum Hebbian networks, putatively stem from cellular response regulation mediated by phylogenetically ubiquitous receptor-dependent fire-diffuse-fire Ca2+ reactions and quantum/classical molecular logic systems. The major implications of Dr. Clark’s ground-breaking findings regarding microbial behavior and physiology have been acknowledged by noted experts worldwide. His work extends to many topics, including host-parasite and pathogen-pathogen interactions, cellular decision making, natural computing, pharmaceutical and epidemiological control of infectious diseases, neural and aneural plasticity, adaptation to extreme environments, emergence of evolutionary and developmental transitions, and next-generation smart medical, industrial, and national defense biotechnologies.
Dr. Clark earned his Ph.D. from the Program for the Biopsychology of Learning and Memory at Southern Illinois University in 1999. He has held basic and/or clinical research appointments at Oregon State University, Southern Illinois University, and the Max-Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics. Among other professional activities, Dr. Clark has served as member of many professional societies, editor for professional journals and technical books, and long-time consultant and collaborator to the Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System. He also has (co)authored over 50 peer-review scientific journal articles and book chapters, helped generate millions of US dollars in research funding, and licensed several patents. Dr. Clark has spent much of his research career using his training in disciplines of engineering, psychology, biochemistry/biophysics, physiology, neuroscience, and microbiology to study the evolution and biological basis of learning, memory, and intelligence. Dr. Clark’s award-winning research and patented inventions improving learning, memory, and recovery from traumatic brain injury through peripheral neuromodulation gained recognition from MacArthur fellow Dr. James McGaugh and other members of the National Academy of Sciences, USA. Later comparative primate studies conducted with systems neuroscientist Dr. Nikos Logothetis focused on Dr. Clark’s interests in the neural basis of cognition across animal phylogeny, particularly cross-taxa models of perceptual and conceptual priming. Some of this research provided impetus for Dr. Clark’s current work on classical and quantum Hebbian learning in modeled cognitive processing, nonrelativistic and relativistic information processing in spatial cognition, and entropic uncertainty in language disambiguation. His broader interests in the evolution of intelligent behavior largely began in graduate school while working with molecular and cellular evolutionist Dr. Sidney Fox, student and colleague of Nobelists Thomas Hunt Morgan and Linus Pauling, on protocell models of learning and memory and continue today with studies involving microbial sociality. By creating paradigms comparing microbial goal-directed behavior with animal decision making, Dr. Clark has shown microbes learn to behave as soft-matter quantum computers. These computational abilities, conforming to attributes of quantum Hebbian networks, putatively stem from cellular response regulation mediated by phylogenetically ubiquitous receptor-dependent fire-diffuse-fire Ca2+ reactions and quantum/classical molecular logic systems. The major implications of Dr. Clark’s ground-breaking findings regarding microbial behavior and physiology have been acknowledged by noted experts worldwide. His work extends to many topics, including host-parasite and pathogen-pathogen interactions, cellular decision making, natural computing, pharmaceutical and epidemiological control of infectious diseases, neural and aneural plasticity, adaptation to extreme environments, emergence of evolutionary and developmental transitions, and next-generation smart medical, industrial, and national defense biotechnologies.
Radu Cojocaru, PhD
Dr. Cojocaru graduated with a BS and MS in Physics and after that with a BS in Computer Science from University of Timisoara in Timisoara, Romania. He received a Ph.D. in Physics from Michigan State University. The title of his thesis was Complex Network Problems in Physics, Computer Science, and Biology. As a graduate student, Radu developed methods for solving approximately various NP problems (KSAT, Coloring) and implemented novel geometrical algorithms for pathway and network reconstruction. After a one year stint as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Radu followed his advisor to the NIH as a bioinformatics fellow. At the NIH Dr. Cojocaru’s work focused on Next Generation Sequencing (RNA-seq, Exome-seq, ChIP-seq) and microarrays, developing pipelines and workflows that led to more than 10 publications in peer-reviewed journals such as Nature Genetics, American Journal of Human Genetics and Neurobiology of Aging. After the NIH experience, Radu moved to Elsevier as a Bioinformatics Scientist, where he continued working on various NGS and algorithm development projects and 6 months later (May 2013) he was promoted to a more senior level. In his current position as a Senior Bioinformatics Scientist, among other hands-on scientific duties, Radu defines the overall Bioinformatics and NGS business strategy including products, services, and business development.
Dr. Cojocaru graduated with a BS and MS in Physics and after that with a BS in Computer Science from University of Timisoara in Timisoara, Romania. He received a Ph.D. in Physics from Michigan State University. The title of his thesis was Complex Network Problems in Physics, Computer Science, and Biology. As a graduate student, Radu developed methods for solving approximately various NP problems (KSAT, Coloring) and implemented novel geometrical algorithms for pathway and network reconstruction. After a one year stint as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Radu followed his advisor to the NIH as a bioinformatics fellow. At the NIH Dr. Cojocaru’s work focused on Next Generation Sequencing (RNA-seq, Exome-seq, ChIP-seq) and microarrays, developing pipelines and workflows that led to more than 10 publications in peer-reviewed journals such as Nature Genetics, American Journal of Human Genetics and Neurobiology of Aging. After the NIH experience, Radu moved to Elsevier as a Bioinformatics Scientist, where he continued working on various NGS and algorithm development projects and 6 months later (May 2013) he was promoted to a more senior level. In his current position as a Senior Bioinformatics Scientist, among other hands-on scientific duties, Radu defines the overall Bioinformatics and NGS business strategy including products, services, and business development.
Elizabeth H. Corder, PhD
Dr. Corder is the cofounder of Matrix Genomics, Inc. whose mission is to better define the genetic backgrounds for common health conditions. She was recruited to the University of Chicago (BA, biology) and received a Doctorate in Epidemiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1993. While a graduate student in epidemiology she completed the Biostatistics curriculum and passed the week long qualifying examination required for a DrPH in biostatistics. As a post-doctoral fellow within the Neurology Department at Duke University Medical Center she was part of the team that described the gene dose effect of the APOE type 4 allele on the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, and the protective effect of the type 2 allele. As an Associate Research Professor of Demography at Duke University she developed a form of fuzzy latent classification (GoM) as a tool for genetic epidemiology. This work was the basis for Matrix Genomics, Inc. Genetic signatures are identified for high risk and for low risk. Individuals have graded membership in these profiles defining the level of inherited risk.
Dr. Corder is the cofounder of Matrix Genomics, Inc. whose mission is to better define the genetic backgrounds for common health conditions. She was recruited to the University of Chicago (BA, biology) and received a Doctorate in Epidemiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1993. While a graduate student in epidemiology she completed the Biostatistics curriculum and passed the week long qualifying examination required for a DrPH in biostatistics. As a post-doctoral fellow within the Neurology Department at Duke University Medical Center she was part of the team that described the gene dose effect of the APOE type 4 allele on the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, and the protective effect of the type 2 allele. As an Associate Research Professor of Demography at Duke University she developed a form of fuzzy latent classification (GoM) as a tool for genetic epidemiology. This work was the basis for Matrix Genomics, Inc. Genetic signatures are identified for high risk and for low risk. Individuals have graded membership in these profiles defining the level of inherited risk.
Federico Corti, PhD
Dr. Corti earned his Master in Medicinal Chemistry and PhD in Biotechnology from University of Siena (Italy). Dr. Corti has a multidisciplinary training and has contributed to publications in organic synthesis, pharmacology and cell biology. Currently he is a postdoctoral fellow at the Yale Cardiovascular Research Center where he studies the role of the Syndecans, a proteoglycan family, in angiogenesis, vascular biology and cancer. Dr. Corti’s has worked in multiple US institutions including Stanford University and Cornell University where he has carried out research on Coronary Artery Disease and Ischemic Heart Disease. His research has received funding from the Italian Society of Pharmacology, Fondazione Istituto Toscani Tumori and American-Italian Cancer Foundation.
Dr. Corti earned his Master in Medicinal Chemistry and PhD in Biotechnology from University of Siena (Italy). Dr. Corti has a multidisciplinary training and has contributed to publications in organic synthesis, pharmacology and cell biology. Currently he is a postdoctoral fellow at the Yale Cardiovascular Research Center where he studies the role of the Syndecans, a proteoglycan family, in angiogenesis, vascular biology and cancer. Dr. Corti’s has worked in multiple US institutions including Stanford University and Cornell University where he has carried out research on Coronary Artery Disease and Ischemic Heart Disease. His research has received funding from the Italian Society of Pharmacology, Fondazione Istituto Toscani Tumori and American-Italian Cancer Foundation.
Sean Cory, MSc
Sean is a Research Assistant at McGill University's Goodman Cancer Research Centre. He has a Masters Degree from McGill in Bioinformatics as well as B.Sc's in Biology and Computer Science. Sean's primary area of research is the investigation of how information gained from expression studies in mouse models of breast cancer translates into human tumors.
Sean is a Research Assistant at McGill University's Goodman Cancer Research Centre. He has a Masters Degree from McGill in Bioinformatics as well as B.Sc's in Biology and Computer Science. Sean's primary area of research is the investigation of how information gained from expression studies in mouse models of breast cancer translates into human tumors.
Jike Cui, PhD
Dr. Jike Cui is a Principle Investigator at the CBSA. Dr. Cui is also a Principal Computational Statistician at WuXi NextCODE. He has over fifteen years of experience in the field of bioinformatics and statistics, especially comparative genomics and high-throughput data analyses. His current research focuses on developing and implementing computationally intensive machine learning and statistical classification algorithms and resampling methods, applying to whole exome and whole genome datasets. Previously Jike worked at Millennium The Takeda Oncology Company and Genzyme Sanofi Corporation, exploring the biology of cancer and rare disease and drug treatment effect using array, NGS, proteomics, clinical and assay data. At Millennium, Jike played critical role in a team of three members which developed a statistical method to predict cancer cell drug response and ranked top in world-wide DREAM challenge. At Genzyme, Jike led the data analysis of a high-profile, multi-year and multi-panel project involving nearly 2,000 patients. Jike obtained his Ph.D in bioinformatics from Boston University under the supervision of Drs John Samuleson and Temple Smith, the coauthor of Smith-Waterman algorithm, and finished postdoc training at Harvard Medical School with Dr. Dennis Wall. Jike authored and co-authored 20 publications, including three in PNAS. In addition, Jike was heavily involved in the development of the open-source transMART platform, designed the functions in the powerful R-interface and helped to develop the Program Explorer, a very useful feature not seen in similar platforms. Jike has been serving as the Chief Associate Editor for the Journal of Evolutionary Bioinformatics Since 2011.
Dr. Jike Cui is a Principle Investigator at the CBSA. Dr. Cui is also a Principal Computational Statistician at WuXi NextCODE. He has over fifteen years of experience in the field of bioinformatics and statistics, especially comparative genomics and high-throughput data analyses. His current research focuses on developing and implementing computationally intensive machine learning and statistical classification algorithms and resampling methods, applying to whole exome and whole genome datasets. Previously Jike worked at Millennium The Takeda Oncology Company and Genzyme Sanofi Corporation, exploring the biology of cancer and rare disease and drug treatment effect using array, NGS, proteomics, clinical and assay data. At Millennium, Jike played critical role in a team of three members which developed a statistical method to predict cancer cell drug response and ranked top in world-wide DREAM challenge. At Genzyme, Jike led the data analysis of a high-profile, multi-year and multi-panel project involving nearly 2,000 patients. Jike obtained his Ph.D in bioinformatics from Boston University under the supervision of Drs John Samuleson and Temple Smith, the coauthor of Smith-Waterman algorithm, and finished postdoc training at Harvard Medical School with Dr. Dennis Wall. Jike authored and co-authored 20 publications, including three in PNAS. In addition, Jike was heavily involved in the development of the open-source transMART platform, designed the functions in the powerful R-interface and helped to develop the Program Explorer, a very useful feature not seen in similar platforms. Jike has been serving as the Chief Associate Editor for the Journal of Evolutionary Bioinformatics Since 2011.
Roumen Dimitrov, PhD
Dr. Roumen Dimitrov earned his Doctorate in Computational Biology working on self-consistent field approach to protein structure and stability-protein folding, nucleus formation, transition state structural properties and phi-value prediction from the Wageningen University and Research Center during 1997-2000. His multidisciplinary research experience include works on: electrostatic interactions in proteins (Tanford approximation) from Institute of Organic Chemistry, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (1985-1990), physical basis of the hierarchical organization of protein structure from the Institute of Protein Researches, Pushino, Russia (1990-1994) and DNA and RNA partition function calculation based on recursion equations from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (2000 – 2004). His present research is focused on: kinetics and thermodynamics of non-coding RNAs interactions with their targets; single and multiplex hybridization probe design; molecular - taxonomy-DNA barcoding, phylogenetics, evolution, function, quantitative genetics and diagnostics. Current project of Dr. Dimitrov is focused on development of a general method for structurally related, but diverged sequences for simultaneous optimization of alignment and folding - the so-called Sankoff's program for simultaneous prediction of secondary structure and alignment between nucleotide sequences (the method can be easily extended to include proteins). A simple reason behind the simultaneous optimization of alignment and folding is that strong structural consensus among related, but diverged sequences are a good indicator for preserved functional role. Up to now there is no a general solution for this long standing problem. Long term goal of Dr. Dimitrov’s research is to understand the relationship between the molecular evolution and molecular recognition mechanisms which underlines the dynamical transformation, folding and self-assembly of biological macromolecules in order to understand the principles through which the individual components of cells combine in an orderly self-association way to produce their form, their function, and their dynamic behavior.
Dr. Roumen Dimitrov earned his Doctorate in Computational Biology working on self-consistent field approach to protein structure and stability-protein folding, nucleus formation, transition state structural properties and phi-value prediction from the Wageningen University and Research Center during 1997-2000. His multidisciplinary research experience include works on: electrostatic interactions in proteins (Tanford approximation) from Institute of Organic Chemistry, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (1985-1990), physical basis of the hierarchical organization of protein structure from the Institute of Protein Researches, Pushino, Russia (1990-1994) and DNA and RNA partition function calculation based on recursion equations from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (2000 – 2004). His present research is focused on: kinetics and thermodynamics of non-coding RNAs interactions with their targets; single and multiplex hybridization probe design; molecular - taxonomy-DNA barcoding, phylogenetics, evolution, function, quantitative genetics and diagnostics. Current project of Dr. Dimitrov is focused on development of a general method for structurally related, but diverged sequences for simultaneous optimization of alignment and folding - the so-called Sankoff's program for simultaneous prediction of secondary structure and alignment between nucleotide sequences (the method can be easily extended to include proteins). A simple reason behind the simultaneous optimization of alignment and folding is that strong structural consensus among related, but diverged sequences are a good indicator for preserved functional role. Up to now there is no a general solution for this long standing problem. Long term goal of Dr. Dimitrov’s research is to understand the relationship between the molecular evolution and molecular recognition mechanisms which underlines the dynamical transformation, folding and self-assembly of biological macromolecules in order to understand the principles through which the individual components of cells combine in an orderly self-association way to produce their form, their function, and their dynamic behavior.
Lingsheng Dong, MD, MS
Dr. Lingsheng Dong is a Senior Research Computing Consultant at the Harvard Medical School. He is an Information Technology professional and graduate of Northeastern University. He has a background in medicine, biology, bioinformatics and IT. His career goal is to collaborate with researchers to design and develop advanced solutions for biomedical questions.
Dr. Lingsheng Dong is a Senior Research Computing Consultant at the Harvard Medical School. He is an Information Technology professional and graduate of Northeastern University. He has a background in medicine, biology, bioinformatics and IT. His career goal is to collaborate with researchers to design and develop advanced solutions for biomedical questions.
David C. Fritzinger, PhD
Dr. Fritzinger is a seasoned molecular biologist and protein chemist with over 25 years experience in both academia and biotech companies, as well as over 10 years experience working on the early-stage development of protein therapeutics. He received his BS in Chemistry from Purdue University and his Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where he studied conformational changes in tRNA caused by changes in solution conditions or aminoacylation. Dr. Fritzinger performed his post-doctoral research at the University of Bristol, working in the lab of Nigel Brown on the sequence of the Mercury-resistance transposon, Tn501. Following his post-doc, Dr. Fritzinger held several positions in academia and at biotechnology companies. His last position was as an Associate Professor at the University of Hawaii Cancer Center, where he performed structure/function studies on human complement C3. While at the UH Cancer Center, Dr. Fritzinger was the co-founder of a startup biotech company, InCode Biopharmaceutics, Inc., that was based on the Intellectual Property from his laboratory. Dr. Fritzinger was the Chief Scientific Officer at InCode, where he directed all discovery research for the company and managed the work of both CROs and CMOs in producing large quantities of the company’s lead protein, both in insect and mammalian cells. Previous to his work at UH and InCode, Dr. Fritzinger was the director of the DNA sequencing and genotyping core at Myriad Genetics, Inc. Dr. Fritzinger has started a consulting company, Fritzinger Biopharma Consulting, LLC, where he provides consulting services in molecular biology, protein chemistry, and biologics development.
Dr. Fritzinger is a seasoned molecular biologist and protein chemist with over 25 years experience in both academia and biotech companies, as well as over 10 years experience working on the early-stage development of protein therapeutics. He received his BS in Chemistry from Purdue University and his Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where he studied conformational changes in tRNA caused by changes in solution conditions or aminoacylation. Dr. Fritzinger performed his post-doctoral research at the University of Bristol, working in the lab of Nigel Brown on the sequence of the Mercury-resistance transposon, Tn501. Following his post-doc, Dr. Fritzinger held several positions in academia and at biotechnology companies. His last position was as an Associate Professor at the University of Hawaii Cancer Center, where he performed structure/function studies on human complement C3. While at the UH Cancer Center, Dr. Fritzinger was the co-founder of a startup biotech company, InCode Biopharmaceutics, Inc., that was based on the Intellectual Property from his laboratory. Dr. Fritzinger was the Chief Scientific Officer at InCode, where he directed all discovery research for the company and managed the work of both CROs and CMOs in producing large quantities of the company’s lead protein, both in insect and mammalian cells. Previous to his work at UH and InCode, Dr. Fritzinger was the director of the DNA sequencing and genotyping core at Myriad Genetics, Inc. Dr. Fritzinger has started a consulting company, Fritzinger Biopharma Consulting, LLC, where he provides consulting services in molecular biology, protein chemistry, and biologics development.
Jeff Galligan, PhD
Dr. Galligan received his PhD in biology with a focus in cellular and molecular regulation from Saint Louis University in 2010. He recently completed his postdoctoral work (2014) at Harvard Medical School in virology and cancer cell biology studying the human papillomavirus. His focus has been on the molecular mechanisms governing viral-host protein-protein interactions and cancer formation. His recent work has combined proteomics with various bioinformatic platforms to interrogate previously unidentified cellular protein-protein interactions and the consequences to cellular pathway regulation. His primary research interests are in the fields of cellular biology and biochemistry towards understanding the dynamics of cancer cell formation and identifying potential avenues for cancer therapy and treatment.
Dr. Galligan received his PhD in biology with a focus in cellular and molecular regulation from Saint Louis University in 2010. He recently completed his postdoctoral work (2014) at Harvard Medical School in virology and cancer cell biology studying the human papillomavirus. His focus has been on the molecular mechanisms governing viral-host protein-protein interactions and cancer formation. His recent work has combined proteomics with various bioinformatic platforms to interrogate previously unidentified cellular protein-protein interactions and the consequences to cellular pathway regulation. His primary research interests are in the fields of cellular biology and biochemistry towards understanding the dynamics of cancer cell formation and identifying potential avenues for cancer therapy and treatment.
Dhanjoo N. Ghista, PhD
With an international standing as academician, educator, and research innovator, Professor Dhanjoo Ghista has been considerably involved in institutional developments, in planning and modeling universities. He has had senior academic and administrative appointments at universities (in US, Canada, India, United Arab Emirates and Singapore), where he has set up colleges, departments and programs. His academic background and activities span engineering science and technology, medical and health sciences, biomedical engineering and physics, healthcare engineering and hospital administration, governance and economy, sustainable communities. He has supervised many doctoral students (many of whom who became professors, department heads and deans) and post-doctoral fellows, published 450+ papers and 28 books. His special forte is his multi-disciplinary background, which he has successfully brought to bear in institutional developments. Dr. Ghista started his professional career at NASA (Ames Research Center), after getting his PhD at Stanford University in 1964. He has played a major role in the development of biomedical engineering as a professional discipline. Among his academic, research and educational programs developments, Prof Ghista has pioneered and developed the field of Biomedical Engineering (BME), developed a new STEM model of Translational Medicine in medical education and patient care, and formulated a new system of Cost-effective Hospital Management. His research involvements and 450+ publications have been in engineering science, biomedical engineering, medical sciences, social sciences, sports science and engineering, and university education. Likewise, his 28 books have been in biomedical engineering and physics, cardiac engineering and physics, orthopedic and spinal biomechanics, life science, and social sciences (on socio-economic democracy and sustainable development). In projecting a visionary perspective on the role of the university in society, Prof Ghista states: "A university is verily a laboratory for the development of a progressive society, by delineation of its ideals in all fields of human thought and endeavor, and by the development of education and research programs for imparting these ideals. A university hence needs to have a pulse of the problems challenging society and a clear delineation of its role in cultivating the requisite solutions for its progress."
With an international standing as academician, educator, and research innovator, Professor Dhanjoo Ghista has been considerably involved in institutional developments, in planning and modeling universities. He has had senior academic and administrative appointments at universities (in US, Canada, India, United Arab Emirates and Singapore), where he has set up colleges, departments and programs. His academic background and activities span engineering science and technology, medical and health sciences, biomedical engineering and physics, healthcare engineering and hospital administration, governance and economy, sustainable communities. He has supervised many doctoral students (many of whom who became professors, department heads and deans) and post-doctoral fellows, published 450+ papers and 28 books. His special forte is his multi-disciplinary background, which he has successfully brought to bear in institutional developments. Dr. Ghista started his professional career at NASA (Ames Research Center), after getting his PhD at Stanford University in 1964. He has played a major role in the development of biomedical engineering as a professional discipline. Among his academic, research and educational programs developments, Prof Ghista has pioneered and developed the field of Biomedical Engineering (BME), developed a new STEM model of Translational Medicine in medical education and patient care, and formulated a new system of Cost-effective Hospital Management. His research involvements and 450+ publications have been in engineering science, biomedical engineering, medical sciences, social sciences, sports science and engineering, and university education. Likewise, his 28 books have been in biomedical engineering and physics, cardiac engineering and physics, orthopedic and spinal biomechanics, life science, and social sciences (on socio-economic democracy and sustainable development). In projecting a visionary perspective on the role of the university in society, Prof Ghista states: "A university is verily a laboratory for the development of a progressive society, by delineation of its ideals in all fields of human thought and endeavor, and by the development of education and research programs for imparting these ideals. A university hence needs to have a pulse of the problems challenging society and a clear delineation of its role in cultivating the requisite solutions for its progress."
Antonio Giordano, MD, PhD
Dr. Giordano is the Director of the Sbarro Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine and Center for Biotechnology at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA. He is also the Founder, President and Chairman of the Board of the Sbarro Health Research Organzation, Inc., a non-profit research organization that trains international scientists and conducts research to diagnose, treat and cure cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and other chronic illnesses. In 1988, while a postdoctoral fellow at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York, Giordano discovered the protein p60/cyclin A, a substance that regulates growth in the cell cycle. In 1993, he discovered Rb2/p130, a tumor suppressor gene active in lung, endometrial, brain, breast, liver and ovarian cancers. He is responsible for discovering the cyclin-dependent kinases Cdk9 and Cdk10, genetic substances that must be activated to guarantee proper progression through the cell cycle. Research has revealed that Cdk9 also plays a critical role in cell differentiation, particularly in muscles, HIV transcription, and the inception of tumors. In 2004, he was appointed ‘chiara fama’ Professor of Pathology at the University of Siena, Italy. In 2007, he led his research group to discover a new family of structural proteins called NSPs. Throughout his career, Giordano has received numerous international awards for his work in cancer research. In addition, he is Founder and Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Human Health Foundation in Spoleto, Italy. He is author of over 400 scientific publications and member of the editorial board of over 35 international scientific peer-review journals. In 2010 he was named Knight Commander by the Republic of Italy.
Dr. Giordano is the Director of the Sbarro Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine and Center for Biotechnology at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA. He is also the Founder, President and Chairman of the Board of the Sbarro Health Research Organzation, Inc., a non-profit research organization that trains international scientists and conducts research to diagnose, treat and cure cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and other chronic illnesses. In 1988, while a postdoctoral fellow at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York, Giordano discovered the protein p60/cyclin A, a substance that regulates growth in the cell cycle. In 1993, he discovered Rb2/p130, a tumor suppressor gene active in lung, endometrial, brain, breast, liver and ovarian cancers. He is responsible for discovering the cyclin-dependent kinases Cdk9 and Cdk10, genetic substances that must be activated to guarantee proper progression through the cell cycle. Research has revealed that Cdk9 also plays a critical role in cell differentiation, particularly in muscles, HIV transcription, and the inception of tumors. In 2004, he was appointed ‘chiara fama’ Professor of Pathology at the University of Siena, Italy. In 2007, he led his research group to discover a new family of structural proteins called NSPs. Throughout his career, Giordano has received numerous international awards for his work in cancer research. In addition, he is Founder and Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Human Health Foundation in Spoleto, Italy. He is author of over 400 scientific publications and member of the editorial board of over 35 international scientific peer-review journals. In 2010 he was named Knight Commander by the Republic of Italy.
Rajan Gogna,
PhD
Rajan Gogna is a young career scientist at University of Bern, Switzerland. He received his PhD from Jawaharlal Nehru University, India and conducted his independent post-doctoral research at Ohio State University Medical Center, University of Auckland and University of Bern. He is working with a novel and unique strategy to identify universal codes for development and progression of multiple disease models including cancer and CVD in human body. His immediate goal is use of molecular biology tools, transcriptomics and functional genetics to achieve immediate translational healthy benefits. With his research work Dr. Gogna’s team has shown that perspective patients take 2 to 6 years to develop a clinically relevant tumor mass or develop 90% and >90% arterial blockage along with myocardial infarction. He proposes that during this quiescent phase no symptoms appear and there exists the development of a pre-cancerous or a pre-infarct field in the patients. These pre-infarct and pre-cancerous fields are extremely difficult to be tracked in human body and they eventually result in development of an aggressive and metastatic form of cancer or an infarction related heart failure. He has intelligently divided his research in two phases where equal weightage is given to both “disease-initiation” phase and the “disease-development” phase. It is the disease-development phase during which the symptoms appear, disease attains its aggressive form and the interaction between the patient and the clinician takes place. Dr. Gogna’s research work presents strong data in support of a novel phenomenon termed “cell competition” as critical regulator of disease initiation phase. Whereas on basis of thorough analysis in high impact publications his research team has shown that differential regulation of cellular functions under influence of molecular oxygen is critical for disease development phase in humans. In other words he has shown a novel side of oxygen and its effect on transcriptomics termed as “oxygenomics” in human disease models. Recently he published the role of mere molecular oxygen as a potential therapeutic agent for fast and non-toxic breast cancer suppression and regeneration of infarct myocardium. In addition Dr. Gogna is now fast approaching important discoveries in the disease initiation phase by discovery of novel cell competition genes like FLOWER, AZOT and RAKSHAK in human cancer and cardiovascular disease models. He hypothesizes that understanding the basic biology concepts behind disease-initiation will result in identification of molecular biology and biochemistry dependent screening process and unique bio-markers in healthy individuals 2-6 years before the symptoms of the disease actually appears. And oxy-genomics and oxygen-therapy is the high efficiency and cost-controlled way for disease treatment in future.
Rajan Gogna is a young career scientist at University of Bern, Switzerland. He received his PhD from Jawaharlal Nehru University, India and conducted his independent post-doctoral research at Ohio State University Medical Center, University of Auckland and University of Bern. He is working with a novel and unique strategy to identify universal codes for development and progression of multiple disease models including cancer and CVD in human body. His immediate goal is use of molecular biology tools, transcriptomics and functional genetics to achieve immediate translational healthy benefits. With his research work Dr. Gogna’s team has shown that perspective patients take 2 to 6 years to develop a clinically relevant tumor mass or develop 90% and >90% arterial blockage along with myocardial infarction. He proposes that during this quiescent phase no symptoms appear and there exists the development of a pre-cancerous or a pre-infarct field in the patients. These pre-infarct and pre-cancerous fields are extremely difficult to be tracked in human body and they eventually result in development of an aggressive and metastatic form of cancer or an infarction related heart failure. He has intelligently divided his research in two phases where equal weightage is given to both “disease-initiation” phase and the “disease-development” phase. It is the disease-development phase during which the symptoms appear, disease attains its aggressive form and the interaction between the patient and the clinician takes place. Dr. Gogna’s research work presents strong data in support of a novel phenomenon termed “cell competition” as critical regulator of disease initiation phase. Whereas on basis of thorough analysis in high impact publications his research team has shown that differential regulation of cellular functions under influence of molecular oxygen is critical for disease development phase in humans. In other words he has shown a novel side of oxygen and its effect on transcriptomics termed as “oxygenomics” in human disease models. Recently he published the role of mere molecular oxygen as a potential therapeutic agent for fast and non-toxic breast cancer suppression and regeneration of infarct myocardium. In addition Dr. Gogna is now fast approaching important discoveries in the disease initiation phase by discovery of novel cell competition genes like FLOWER, AZOT and RAKSHAK in human cancer and cardiovascular disease models. He hypothesizes that understanding the basic biology concepts behind disease-initiation will result in identification of molecular biology and biochemistry dependent screening process and unique bio-markers in healthy individuals 2-6 years before the symptoms of the disease actually appears. And oxy-genomics and oxygen-therapy is the high efficiency and cost-controlled way for disease treatment in future.
Thirupugal Govindarajan,
PhD
Dr. Thirupugal Govindarajan received his Masters in Microbial Gene Technology (Distinction) from the Madurai Kamaraj University (2005), and his PhD in Molecular Biology & Biochemistry from Humboldt University of Berlin (2013). He is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Cardiovascular Medicine and Metabolic Research division at Max Delbruck Centre for Molecular Medicine (MDC). His overall research interests involve biomechanical and biochemical analyses of titin signaling and their relation to cardiovascular and metabolic disease progression and therapeutic response.
Dr. Thirupugal Govindarajan received his Masters in Microbial Gene Technology (Distinction) from the Madurai Kamaraj University (2005), and his PhD in Molecular Biology & Biochemistry from Humboldt University of Berlin (2013). He is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Cardiovascular Medicine and Metabolic Research division at Max Delbruck Centre for Molecular Medicine (MDC). His overall research interests involve biomechanical and biochemical analyses of titin signaling and their relation to cardiovascular and metabolic disease progression and therapeutic response.
Sivakumar Gowder,
PhD
Dr Sivakumar Gowder got his academic training and carried out his research in institutions of high academic ranking in India and US. He earned his PhD from the University of Madras, India and continued his research at AIIMS, India. He then moved to US to continue his research at the UT Southwestern Medical Center, LSU Medical Center, and University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Currently, he is working as an Associate Professor/College of Applied Medical Sciences at the Qassim University, KSA. Sivakumar received several prizes/awards during his academic career. He has developed his own methods/techniques relevant to his research projects. He has edited basic/health sciences books (Cholera; Cell Interaction; and Toxicity and Drug Testing/European publications). Currently, he serves as an author/editor for books; an editor in chief for an international journal; an editorial member; and a reviewer for many journals and is a fellow and advisory board member of various international organizations. He has been nominated as an external examiner of doctoral (PhD) thesis work for many international universities. Sivakumar has served as an invited speaker and a chairperson for international conferences. His research activities include- Signaling pathway; Alcohol/drug metabolism; Phosphate metabolism/transport; Vitamin transport; Molecular evaluation of toxicity and diseases; Xenobiotic biotransformation; Nutritional biochemistry; Food toxicology; Free radical biology -oxidative stress and cellular injury; Cellular transport and pharmacological binding; Cell culture studies and cellular assays; Surgery – uninephrectomy, cellular growth and hypertrophy; Pathological/clinical diagnosis; General toxicological/carcinogenic evaluation; Anti cancer drugs – activity/ toxicity; Development of methods and techniques.
Dr Sivakumar Gowder got his academic training and carried out his research in institutions of high academic ranking in India and US. He earned his PhD from the University of Madras, India and continued his research at AIIMS, India. He then moved to US to continue his research at the UT Southwestern Medical Center, LSU Medical Center, and University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Currently, he is working as an Associate Professor/College of Applied Medical Sciences at the Qassim University, KSA. Sivakumar received several prizes/awards during his academic career. He has developed his own methods/techniques relevant to his research projects. He has edited basic/health sciences books (Cholera; Cell Interaction; and Toxicity and Drug Testing/European publications). Currently, he serves as an author/editor for books; an editor in chief for an international journal; an editorial member; and a reviewer for many journals and is a fellow and advisory board member of various international organizations. He has been nominated as an external examiner of doctoral (PhD) thesis work for many international universities. Sivakumar has served as an invited speaker and a chairperson for international conferences. His research activities include- Signaling pathway; Alcohol/drug metabolism; Phosphate metabolism/transport; Vitamin transport; Molecular evaluation of toxicity and diseases; Xenobiotic biotransformation; Nutritional biochemistry; Food toxicology; Free radical biology -oxidative stress and cellular injury; Cellular transport and pharmacological binding; Cell culture studies and cellular assays; Surgery – uninephrectomy, cellular growth and hypertrophy; Pathological/clinical diagnosis; General toxicological/carcinogenic evaluation; Anti cancer drugs – activity/ toxicity; Development of methods and techniques.
Sharvari Gujja,
MS
Sharvari Gujja is Director of Bioinformatics in the Advanced Artificial Intelligence Research Laboratory of Dr. Chittenden at WuXi NextCODE Genomics. She received her Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Osmania University in India and Master of Science in Bioinformatics from University of Texas in Dallas. After her graduation she worked as a Bioinformatics Analyst at Broad Institute in Cambridge where she was responsible for applying high throughput computational analyses in the annotation of Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic genomes, modeling, prototyping, and automating annotation pipelines. At Sanofi she worked on developing quality control pipelines for NGS applications, evaluating bioinformatics tools and designing strategies for integration into existing pipelines. As a Senior Bioinformatician at UMASS Medical School, she analyzed and developed custom workflows for RNA-Seq, ChIP-Seq, WES, smallRNA-Seq, Proteomics, Microarray, and HiC data analysis. In her current role at WuXi NextCODE she works on implementing and streamlining bioinformatics workflows to analyze and integrate different omics data types and platforms. She has over 10 years of experience working in life sciences analyzing high throughput NGS data. She has extensively used bioinformatics tools and has strong technical expertise in Python, R for interpreting and analyzing large volumes of data.
Sharvari Gujja is Director of Bioinformatics in the Advanced Artificial Intelligence Research Laboratory of Dr. Chittenden at WuXi NextCODE Genomics. She received her Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Osmania University in India and Master of Science in Bioinformatics from University of Texas in Dallas. After her graduation she worked as a Bioinformatics Analyst at Broad Institute in Cambridge where she was responsible for applying high throughput computational analyses in the annotation of Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic genomes, modeling, prototyping, and automating annotation pipelines. At Sanofi she worked on developing quality control pipelines for NGS applications, evaluating bioinformatics tools and designing strategies for integration into existing pipelines. As a Senior Bioinformatician at UMASS Medical School, she analyzed and developed custom workflows for RNA-Seq, ChIP-Seq, WES, smallRNA-Seq, Proteomics, Microarray, and HiC data analysis. In her current role at WuXi NextCODE she works on implementing and streamlining bioinformatics workflows to analyze and integrate different omics data types and platforms. She has over 10 years of experience working in life sciences analyzing high throughput NGS data. She has extensively used bioinformatics tools and has strong technical expertise in Python, R for interpreting and analyzing large volumes of data.
Julianne Halley, PhD
Dr. Halley is an early career researcher with a unique multidisciplinary skill-set. She completed a PhD on the emergence of collective intelligence in ant colonies and during this time described a novel type of non-equilibrium dynamics that she coined ‘rapid self-organized criticality’, distinct from regular self-organized criticality, which requires slow driving or a clear separation of time scales. She completed her first postdoctoral fellowship at CSIRO Australia and published her theory of self-organized stem cell decision-making as well as several reviews that discuss central concepts in complexity science. In 2009, she was awarded one of six Victoria Fellowships, which enabled her to travel to America, Canada and the UK to speak with leading stem cell biologists about her theory. She was given the opportunity to continue her work under the guidance of world renowned stem cell expert Professor Austin Smith, Director of the Stem Cell Institute at the University of Cambridge. She successfully applied her theoretical framework to increase understanding of human and mouse embryonic stem cell regulatory systems, and is currently trying to secure research funding to build a model that she developed during this time with Professor Smith. Julianne’s deep understanding of self-organization and complexity is precisely antithetical to the reductionist thinking prevalent in molecular biology.
Dr. Halley is an early career researcher with a unique multidisciplinary skill-set. She completed a PhD on the emergence of collective intelligence in ant colonies and during this time described a novel type of non-equilibrium dynamics that she coined ‘rapid self-organized criticality’, distinct from regular self-organized criticality, which requires slow driving or a clear separation of time scales. She completed her first postdoctoral fellowship at CSIRO Australia and published her theory of self-organized stem cell decision-making as well as several reviews that discuss central concepts in complexity science. In 2009, she was awarded one of six Victoria Fellowships, which enabled her to travel to America, Canada and the UK to speak with leading stem cell biologists about her theory. She was given the opportunity to continue her work under the guidance of world renowned stem cell expert Professor Austin Smith, Director of the Stem Cell Institute at the University of Cambridge. She successfully applied her theoretical framework to increase understanding of human and mouse embryonic stem cell regulatory systems, and is currently trying to secure research funding to build a model that she developed during this time with Professor Smith. Julianne’s deep understanding of self-organization and complexity is precisely antithetical to the reductionist thinking prevalent in molecular biology.
Christina Harrison
Christina (Tia) Harrison is currently attending the University of Massachusetts, Boston. She’s a biology major with a minor certificate in computer science, expected to be attained in the spring of 2016. She was involved with the Square Evolution Project under the guidance of Brian White, PhD, Biology from the summer of 2013 to the Spring of 2014. They developed a computer simulation that allowed them to explore the role of the genetic code in the evolution of model proteins. Since the summer of 2013, she has been working in the lab and under the guidance of Rick Kesseli, PhD, Genetics and Biology Department Chair. Rick Kesseli’s lab is part of a larger genetic research group, The Compositae Genome Project. She works directly with PhD student Trudi Gulick in focusing on evolutionary analyses, specifically studying the epigenetic effects of DNA methylation within invasive and domesticated plants. Her current project focuses on the effects of preservation of plant tissue on maintenance of DNA methylation status. During the Summer of 2014, she has been working as a research intern at MIT in the lab of Dr. Lauffenburger, Bioengineering, Department Chair. She works under the direct guidance of PhD student Jen Wilson on a project that works in conjunction with Dr. Hemann and Dr. Fraenkel. Her current project is investigating Dasatinib treatment resistance in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia through the use of systems biology and shRNAs. She has also joined a project at Tufts under the direct guidance of Dr. Levin working in regenerative and developmental biology using bioengineering techniques.
Christina (Tia) Harrison is currently attending the University of Massachusetts, Boston. She’s a biology major with a minor certificate in computer science, expected to be attained in the spring of 2016. She was involved with the Square Evolution Project under the guidance of Brian White, PhD, Biology from the summer of 2013 to the Spring of 2014. They developed a computer simulation that allowed them to explore the role of the genetic code in the evolution of model proteins. Since the summer of 2013, she has been working in the lab and under the guidance of Rick Kesseli, PhD, Genetics and Biology Department Chair. Rick Kesseli’s lab is part of a larger genetic research group, The Compositae Genome Project. She works directly with PhD student Trudi Gulick in focusing on evolutionary analyses, specifically studying the epigenetic effects of DNA methylation within invasive and domesticated plants. Her current project focuses on the effects of preservation of plant tissue on maintenance of DNA methylation status. During the Summer of 2014, she has been working as a research intern at MIT in the lab of Dr. Lauffenburger, Bioengineering, Department Chair. She works under the direct guidance of PhD student Jen Wilson on a project that works in conjunction with Dr. Hemann and Dr. Fraenkel. Her current project is investigating Dasatinib treatment resistance in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia through the use of systems biology and shRNAs. She has also joined a project at Tufts under the direct guidance of Dr. Levin working in regenerative and developmental biology using bioengineering techniques.
Brian Hawkins, PhD
Dr. Hawkins is an Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine. He received his doctorate in Cell and Molecular Biology from Virginia Tech and postdoctoral training at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Hawkins is currently housed in the Mitochondria and Metabolism Center, a cutting-edge research institute that serves as an anchor to bring together and foster interactions between multi-disciplinary investigators across the University of Washington and its affiliated institutions. The focus of the Hawkins laboratory is to delineate the mechanisms through which mitochondria integrate and transmit metabolic cues to the nucleus to influence cellular gene expression.
Dr. Hawkins is an Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine. He received his doctorate in Cell and Molecular Biology from Virginia Tech and postdoctoral training at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Hawkins is currently housed in the Mitochondria and Metabolism Center, a cutting-edge research institute that serves as an anchor to bring together and foster interactions between multi-disciplinary investigators across the University of Washington and its affiliated institutions. The focus of the Hawkins laboratory is to delineate the mechanisms through which mitochondria integrate and transmit metabolic cues to the nucleus to influence cellular gene expression.
Tamra Heberling, PhD Candidate
Tamra Heberling is currently a PhD candidate in Mathematics at Montana State University. Her expertise is in mathematical modeling and analysis, with an emphasis on Stochastic Processes and Numerical Analysis. Currently, her research focuses on mathematically modeling the elongation of multiple polymerases along a DNA strand during the transcription process. This investigation has two different approaches. One approach is to model how the torsional force exerted on a polymerase, by the neighboring elongating polymerase, can effect the velocity of the transcription. The second approach is to mathematically model the elongation of several polymerases using both a stochastic model and a system of differential equations. Tamra has a background in Finite Element Method and has extensive knowledge of computer simulations for mathematical models using Python and MATLAB.
Tamra Heberling is currently a PhD candidate in Mathematics at Montana State University. Her expertise is in mathematical modeling and analysis, with an emphasis on Stochastic Processes and Numerical Analysis. Currently, her research focuses on mathematically modeling the elongation of multiple polymerases along a DNA strand during the transcription process. This investigation has two different approaches. One approach is to model how the torsional force exerted on a polymerase, by the neighboring elongating polymerase, can effect the velocity of the transcription. The second approach is to mathematically model the elongation of several polymerases using both a stochastic model and a system of differential equations. Tamra has a background in Finite Element Method and has extensive knowledge of computer simulations for mathematical models using Python and MATLAB.
Kristina M. Holton
Kristina M. Holton is pursuing a graduate degree in bioinformatics through Boston University and Boston University School of Medicine. She is working with CBSA's Dr. Thomas Chittenden at Harvard Medical School and does research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center to this end. An MIT alum with an SB in biology, Kristina did her undergraduate work on sequencing the mouse Y chromosome with Dr David Page at Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research. At Dana-Farber Cancer Institute she combined laboratory techniques with computational analysis in the Functional Genomics group. She served as a consultant with the Center for Cancer Computational Biology on projects with DFCI, Brigham and Women's Hospital and the Federal Aviation Administration. At University of Pennsylvania she studied the smoking gene battery in relation to lung cancer. Kristina likes to employ and refine cutting-edge statistics techniques to complex problems, then relate the results back to their biological implications. Throughout she demonstrates a commitment to mentoring and training others and is a proponent of open source.
Kristina M. Holton is pursuing a graduate degree in bioinformatics through Boston University and Boston University School of Medicine. She is working with CBSA's Dr. Thomas Chittenden at Harvard Medical School and does research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center to this end. An MIT alum with an SB in biology, Kristina did her undergraduate work on sequencing the mouse Y chromosome with Dr David Page at Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research. At Dana-Farber Cancer Institute she combined laboratory techniques with computational analysis in the Functional Genomics group. She served as a consultant with the Center for Cancer Computational Biology on projects with DFCI, Brigham and Women's Hospital and the Federal Aviation Administration. At University of Pennsylvania she studied the smoking gene battery in relation to lung cancer. Kristina likes to employ and refine cutting-edge statistics techniques to complex problems, then relate the results back to their biological implications. Throughout she demonstrates a commitment to mentoring and training others and is a proponent of open source.
Md. Tofazzal Hossain, PhD
Dr. Tofazzal Hossain earned his Doctorate in Engineering from the Graduate School of Information, Production and Systems at Waseda University in Japan in 2013. His research experience includes development of Mathematical Models for automated and optimal solutions in complex problems using Genetic and Evolutionary Computation (EC) methods. It is relevant to mention that the corner stone of EC is the Darwin’s principle “Survival of the fittest”. This principle is used as a starting point in introducing Evolutionary Computation. Evolved biological life (biota) demonstrates optimized complex behaviors at each level: the cell, organ, individual and population. EC abstracts these evolutionary principles with machine learning algorithms. The evolutionary concept can be applied to problems, where heuristic solutions are not available or lead to unsatisfactory results. In his research, Dr. Tofazzal utilized complex genetic and evolutionary functions, such as Selection, Crossover, Mutation, and Elite Preservation in each generation of the evolution, and used co-evolution between the individuals of the populations to find the competitive fitness results. He used the upper level evolutionary method, Masbiole (Multiagent Systems with Symbiotic Learning and Evolution) to introduce “Symbiosis”, a biological relationship between two species in the ecosystem in which they live in close proximity to each other and interact regularly in such a way as to benefit both species, sometimes one species benefits at the other’s expense, and in other cases nether species benefits. Masbiole finds 6 kinds of symbiotic relations possible between 2 species in the echo system, such as Mutualism, Predation, Altruism, Harm, Self-Improvement, and Self-Deterioration. Dr. Tofazzal utilized these relations to realize the Multi-objective optimization of the problem, because Masbiole considers a Multi-objective ranking method in evolution. Dr. Tofazzal has 9 years of industry experience in software development and systems engineering in Japan. He, therefore, possess a great deal of experience with computer based experimentation and simulation. Dr. Tofazzal is actively looking for an advanced research position at a recognized University or Research Institute. His research interests are to realize the complex biological phenomena utilizing genetic and evolutionary computation. He has basic understanding in modern molecular biology.
Dr. Tofazzal Hossain earned his Doctorate in Engineering from the Graduate School of Information, Production and Systems at Waseda University in Japan in 2013. His research experience includes development of Mathematical Models for automated and optimal solutions in complex problems using Genetic and Evolutionary Computation (EC) methods. It is relevant to mention that the corner stone of EC is the Darwin’s principle “Survival of the fittest”. This principle is used as a starting point in introducing Evolutionary Computation. Evolved biological life (biota) demonstrates optimized complex behaviors at each level: the cell, organ, individual and population. EC abstracts these evolutionary principles with machine learning algorithms. The evolutionary concept can be applied to problems, where heuristic solutions are not available or lead to unsatisfactory results. In his research, Dr. Tofazzal utilized complex genetic and evolutionary functions, such as Selection, Crossover, Mutation, and Elite Preservation in each generation of the evolution, and used co-evolution between the individuals of the populations to find the competitive fitness results. He used the upper level evolutionary method, Masbiole (Multiagent Systems with Symbiotic Learning and Evolution) to introduce “Symbiosis”, a biological relationship between two species in the ecosystem in which they live in close proximity to each other and interact regularly in such a way as to benefit both species, sometimes one species benefits at the other’s expense, and in other cases nether species benefits. Masbiole finds 6 kinds of symbiotic relations possible between 2 species in the echo system, such as Mutualism, Predation, Altruism, Harm, Self-Improvement, and Self-Deterioration. Dr. Tofazzal utilized these relations to realize the Multi-objective optimization of the problem, because Masbiole considers a Multi-objective ranking method in evolution. Dr. Tofazzal has 9 years of industry experience in software development and systems engineering in Japan. He, therefore, possess a great deal of experience with computer based experimentation and simulation. Dr. Tofazzal is actively looking for an advanced research position at a recognized University or Research Institute. His research interests are to realize the complex biological phenomena utilizing genetic and evolutionary computation. He has basic understanding in modern molecular biology.
Yiduo Hu, PhD
Dr. Yiduo Hu is currently an instructor at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School. He received his PhD from Case Western Reserve University. Dr. Hu’s primary research interest is to understand the genetic and molecular mechanisms of DNA damage response and genome integrity control. His recent research has been focused on studying the functions of BRCA1 and PARP1 in a novel regulatory pathway that controls BRCA1 activity in DNA repair, and the associations between defects in this mechanism and breast/ovarian cancer development and sensitivity of these tumors to PARP inhibitors.
Dr. Yiduo Hu is currently an instructor at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School. He received his PhD from Case Western Reserve University. Dr. Hu’s primary research interest is to understand the genetic and molecular mechanisms of DNA damage response and genome integrity control. His recent research has been focused on studying the functions of BRCA1 and PARP1 in a novel regulatory pathway that controls BRCA1 activity in DNA repair, and the associations between defects in this mechanism and breast/ovarian cancer development and sensitivity of these tumors to PARP inhibitors.
Suwan Jayasinghe, PhD
Dr. Jayasinghe received his PhD in 2003 from Queen Mary University of London. Since starting his own group he has made several platform discoveries for the direct reconstruction of fully functional three-dimensional tissues.These pioneering investigations have seen the direct creation of functional tissues in the form of cell laden sheets and vessels. These reconstructs have been transferred into mouse/rat models are and currently undergoing investigation in larger animal models. The end point of which is hoped to be in the development of tissues for repairing, replacing and rejuvenating damaged and/or ageing tissues/organs in a clinical setting. An interesting twist in these platform technologies is that their versatility allows them to be explored for targeted and controlled drug delivery systems to the development of models in a dish which is hoped to unearth a humane approach to carrying out research within a laboratory environment.
Dr. Jayasinghe received his PhD in 2003 from Queen Mary University of London. Since starting his own group he has made several platform discoveries for the direct reconstruction of fully functional three-dimensional tissues.These pioneering investigations have seen the direct creation of functional tissues in the form of cell laden sheets and vessels. These reconstructs have been transferred into mouse/rat models are and currently undergoing investigation in larger animal models. The end point of which is hoped to be in the development of tissues for repairing, replacing and rejuvenating damaged and/or ageing tissues/organs in a clinical setting. An interesting twist in these platform technologies is that their versatility allows them to be explored for targeted and controlled drug delivery systems to the development of models in a dish which is hoped to unearth a humane approach to carrying out research within a laboratory environment.
Gunjan Joshi, PhD
Dr. Gunjan Joshi is a neuroscientist who has been actively involved in deciphering the molecular mechanisms underlying some of the neurodegenerative diseases, and understanding the clinical aspects of neurodegeneration. She did her Doctorate in Philosophy from the Department of Medical genetics, SGPGIMS, Lucknow, India. Her PhD work focused on understanding the role of serotonin transporter, vascular and hormonal genes in migraine susceptibility. She started her first postdoctoral job in the Centre for Molecular neurobiology (ZMNH), Hamburg, Germany, where her work focused on studying the trafficking routes of the fragments of cell adhesion molecules, NCAM (Neural Cell Adhesion Molecule) and L1 to the nucleus, which help in activating various cellular responses implicated in neurodegeneration, tumorigenesis, and possibly synaptic plasticity in the mature nervous system. She then joined the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor for her second postdoctorate to understand the molecular mechanism behind Golgi fragmentation in Alzheimer’s disease, and finding novel tools to rescue the Golgi structure thereby reducing Aβ production. She also did a short-term project with the national Brain Research Centre (NBRC), India to investigate the plasticity of brain after spinal cord injury using whole brain mapping of macaque as animal model. Currently she is actively involved in scientific writing including book chapters and manuscripts. She is also an Associate faculty member of Faculty of 1000.
Dr. Gunjan Joshi is a neuroscientist who has been actively involved in deciphering the molecular mechanisms underlying some of the neurodegenerative diseases, and understanding the clinical aspects of neurodegeneration. She did her Doctorate in Philosophy from the Department of Medical genetics, SGPGIMS, Lucknow, India. Her PhD work focused on understanding the role of serotonin transporter, vascular and hormonal genes in migraine susceptibility. She started her first postdoctoral job in the Centre for Molecular neurobiology (ZMNH), Hamburg, Germany, where her work focused on studying the trafficking routes of the fragments of cell adhesion molecules, NCAM (Neural Cell Adhesion Molecule) and L1 to the nucleus, which help in activating various cellular responses implicated in neurodegeneration, tumorigenesis, and possibly synaptic plasticity in the mature nervous system. She then joined the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor for her second postdoctorate to understand the molecular mechanism behind Golgi fragmentation in Alzheimer’s disease, and finding novel tools to rescue the Golgi structure thereby reducing Aβ production. She also did a short-term project with the national Brain Research Centre (NBRC), India to investigate the plasticity of brain after spinal cord injury using whole brain mapping of macaque as animal model. Currently she is actively involved in scientific writing including book chapters and manuscripts. She is also an Associate faculty member of Faculty of 1000.
Evangelos G. Katsioulis, MD, PhD
Dr. Katsioulis is a Greek psychiatrist best known for his high intelligence test scores. He has a reported IQ 205 on the Stanford-Binet scale with sd16, which is equivalent to an IQ 198.4 on the Wechsler scale. Assuming a normal, Gaussian distribution of IQ scores in the general population, Dr. Katsioulis' performance is expected by only 1 person out of 38,000,000,000 of the unselected population. He holds an MSc in Medical Research and Technology and an MA in Philosophy from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Dr. Katsioulis received his medical degree and PhD in Psychopharmacology from the Medical biology and Genetics Department at the School of Medicine of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He is the Founder of the World Intelligence Network (WIN), an international organization of high IQ societies and the organization AAAA.GR, a pioneer voluntary team for the detection and support of gifted individuals in Greece. Dr. Katsioulis has practiced as a general practitioner (2000-2004), a senior house officer in radiation oncology (2001-2003), a senior house officer in Neurology (2011-2012) in the Theageneio Anti-cancer hospital of Thessaloniki and a senior house officer in psychiatry for the Charing Cross Scheme in Psychiatry in London (2005-2007). Through his work in psychopharmacology, Dr. Katsioulis has contributed to the cytogenetic research of genotoxicity of Benzodiazepines and of antipsychotic medication. Dr. Katsioulis lives and works in Thessaloniki, Greece.
Dr. Katsioulis is a Greek psychiatrist best known for his high intelligence test scores. He has a reported IQ 205 on the Stanford-Binet scale with sd16, which is equivalent to an IQ 198.4 on the Wechsler scale. Assuming a normal, Gaussian distribution of IQ scores in the general population, Dr. Katsioulis' performance is expected by only 1 person out of 38,000,000,000 of the unselected population. He holds an MSc in Medical Research and Technology and an MA in Philosophy from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Dr. Katsioulis received his medical degree and PhD in Psychopharmacology from the Medical biology and Genetics Department at the School of Medicine of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He is the Founder of the World Intelligence Network (WIN), an international organization of high IQ societies and the organization AAAA.GR, a pioneer voluntary team for the detection and support of gifted individuals in Greece. Dr. Katsioulis has practiced as a general practitioner (2000-2004), a senior house officer in radiation oncology (2001-2003), a senior house officer in Neurology (2011-2012) in the Theageneio Anti-cancer hospital of Thessaloniki and a senior house officer in psychiatry for the Charing Cross Scheme in Psychiatry in London (2005-2007). Through his work in psychopharmacology, Dr. Katsioulis has contributed to the cytogenetic research of genotoxicity of Benzodiazepines and of antipsychotic medication. Dr. Katsioulis lives and works in Thessaloniki, Greece.
Ali Reza Khanteymoori, PhD
Dr. Ali Reza Khanteymoori received his PhD in Artificial Intelligence from the Computer Engineering Department at Amirkabir University of Technology in Tehran, Iran. He is an Assistant Professor of the faculty of the Engineering Department at the University of Zanjan. His research interests include bioinformatic, machine learning, bio-inspired algorithms and Bayesian networks.
Dr. Ali Reza Khanteymoori received his PhD in Artificial Intelligence from the Computer Engineering Department at Amirkabir University of Technology in Tehran, Iran. He is an Assistant Professor of the faculty of the Engineering Department at the University of Zanjan. His research interests include bioinformatic, machine learning, bio-inspired algorithms and Bayesian networks.
Y.H. Bryan Kim
Y. H. Bryan Kim is the Senior Global Strategy Advisor and a Member of the CBSA Steering Committee. Mr. Kim is the Executive Director of the United Sigma Intelligence Association (USIA). He is the Chief Coordinating Officer (CCO) at the World Academy of Medical Sciences. He is the Senior Advisor at the World Memory Championships of Hong Kong, and Korea Memory Sports Association. He is the Vice-President for Asia at the Gifted High IQ Network and the Genius High IQ Network. He is an Advisory Board Member of the Lifeboat Foundation, working with Ray Kurzweil, Dr. Damiss Hassabis, Dr. Stephen Wolfram, Dr. Daniel Dennett, and Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahneman. He is an Honorary Member of the International Longevity Alliance. Mr. Kim is a Global Strategy Officer at the IQ Olympiad (Foundation), which was founded by Ronald K. Hoeflin, the founder of Mega Society and Prometheus Society. He is the Vice-President at the Olympiq Society. He is an Officer at the Esoteriq Society. Mr. Kim is a Full Member of the Mega Society, Olympiq Society, Omega Society, Esoteriq Society, United Giga Society, Triple Nine Society, and Mensa.
Y. H. Bryan Kim is the Senior Global Strategy Advisor and a Member of the CBSA Steering Committee. Mr. Kim is the Executive Director of the United Sigma Intelligence Association (USIA). He is the Chief Coordinating Officer (CCO) at the World Academy of Medical Sciences. He is the Senior Advisor at the World Memory Championships of Hong Kong, and Korea Memory Sports Association. He is the Vice-President for Asia at the Gifted High IQ Network and the Genius High IQ Network. He is an Advisory Board Member of the Lifeboat Foundation, working with Ray Kurzweil, Dr. Damiss Hassabis, Dr. Stephen Wolfram, Dr. Daniel Dennett, and Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahneman. He is an Honorary Member of the International Longevity Alliance. Mr. Kim is a Global Strategy Officer at the IQ Olympiad (Foundation), which was founded by Ronald K. Hoeflin, the founder of Mega Society and Prometheus Society. He is the Vice-President at the Olympiq Society. He is an Officer at the Esoteriq Society. Mr. Kim is a Full Member of the Mega Society, Olympiq Society, Omega Society, Esoteriq Society, United Giga Society, Triple Nine Society, and Mensa.
Marios Kyriazis, MD
Dr. Marios Kyriazis has been working in the field of human aging for over 30 years. He has a medical degree from the University of Rome (Italy) and postgraduate qualifications from King’s College London, and the Royal College of Physicians of London. He wrote extensively on all age-related subjects and he has a portfolio of over 1000 papers, articles and lectures, for the general public, clinicians and academics. He wrote papers about biological complexity in aging, including practical methods of enhancing any age-related decline in such a complexity. His current interest is the study of fundamental principles involving aging as an evolutionary process, moving away from existing approaches involving low-impact interventions such as rejuvenation biotechnologies or naive pharmacological concepts. In this respect, he set up the ELPIs Foundation for Indefinite Lifespans which aims to study concepts based on cybernetics, systems biology, complexity science, network theory and more, as applied to human aging. Kyriazis is the co-organiser of the cutting-edge, yearly ‘Cyprus Symposium on Pathways to Indefinite Lifespans’, aiming to study ways to eliminate age-related degeneration and disease. He is a Member of the Board of Trustees at the Mediterranean Graduate School of Applied Social Cognition, a Ronin Institute Research Scholar, and an affiliated researcher at the Evolution, Complexity, and Cognition Group at the University of Brussels.
Dr. Marios Kyriazis has been working in the field of human aging for over 30 years. He has a medical degree from the University of Rome (Italy) and postgraduate qualifications from King’s College London, and the Royal College of Physicians of London. He wrote extensively on all age-related subjects and he has a portfolio of over 1000 papers, articles and lectures, for the general public, clinicians and academics. He wrote papers about biological complexity in aging, including practical methods of enhancing any age-related decline in such a complexity. His current interest is the study of fundamental principles involving aging as an evolutionary process, moving away from existing approaches involving low-impact interventions such as rejuvenation biotechnologies or naive pharmacological concepts. In this respect, he set up the ELPIs Foundation for Indefinite Lifespans which aims to study concepts based on cybernetics, systems biology, complexity science, network theory and more, as applied to human aging. Kyriazis is the co-organiser of the cutting-edge, yearly ‘Cyprus Symposium on Pathways to Indefinite Lifespans’, aiming to study ways to eliminate age-related degeneration and disease. He is a Member of the Board of Trustees at the Mediterranean Graduate School of Applied Social Cognition, a Ronin Institute Research Scholar, and an affiliated researcher at the Evolution, Complexity, and Cognition Group at the University of Brussels.