Advances in Genomics, Informatics and Bioanalysis Keynote Speakers

Rainer Cramer Professor, University of Reading :( Prof Cramer is a truly interdisciplinary researcher, who started his academic career as an experimental physicist and later moved on to cancer research and other research fields in the life sciences. He has a strong background in proteomics, biological mass spectrometry and analytical chemistry. In general, his research interests are focused on the application of his physical science expertise to the analytical challenges posed by modern biosciences. He also has a strong interest in the fundamentals of mass spectrometry, particularly MALDI MS.
Hakim Djaballah CEO, Institute Pasteur - Korea Dr. Djaballah has several years of industrial experience in early drug discovery gained over the years in pharma and biotech companies. He has extensive experiences in the areas of fluorescence technology, assay development, automation/robotics, HTS, compound & screening data management, software development & novel technologies. Dr Djaballah has been involved in developing and screening several targets in various therapeutic areas, including antibacterials, antivirals, antifungals, diabetes, CNS, cardiovascular, oncology & inflammation. He is currently the director of the high throughput drug screening core facility at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre in New York. He obtained his BSc (Hons.) in biochemistry and biotechnology from the University of Birmingham, and his PhD in biochemistry from the University of Leicester, both in England.
Peter Horvatovich Assistant Professor, University of Groningen Peter Horvatovich is a well-established researcher in the interdisciplinary field of analytical chemistry, proteomics and proteomics related bioinformatics. He obtained PhD degree in food analytical chemistry by developing trace analysis methods for detection of irradiated food in 2001 in France at the University of Strasbourg. He gains industrial experience at Sanofi-Aventis in Hungary supporting drug discovery with chemometrics methods and molecular modeling. During the last 9 years his research focused mainly on quantitative aspects of LC-MS data with application in biomarker discovery. His research covers the various topics of quantitative data processing of LC-MS such as development of novel time alignment strategies and quality control for complex LC-MS data, comparison and assessment of LC-MS data processing workflows and statistical methods for selection of discriminatory compounds panel, assessment of LC-MS profiling platforms and contributed in several biomarker discovery and sample stability studies such as influence of clotting time on serum stability, identification of biomarkers to detect probiotic property of Lactobacillus plantarum, studied the stability of cerebrospinal fluid under various conditions and identified protein markers in rat modeling the development of neurodegenerative diseases.
Ravi Sirdeshmukh Distinguished Scientist & Associate Director , Institute of Bioinformatics Dr. Ravi Sirdeshmukh obtained his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad - a premier national laboratory where he later joined as a Senior Scientist. He also worked as a Visiting Associate at the Washington University Medical School in St Louis, Missouri, USA and as a Visiting Scientist at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, USA. At the CCMB, he was holding the position of Director-Grade Scientist and heading the Proteomics Laboratory before joining the Institute of Bioinformatics as Distinguished Scientist. His research interests span the areas of protein and nucleic acid biochemistry and his earlier work included RNA processing, mRNA stability, structure- function relationship of proteins and their regulation. His more recent interests have been in the areas of proteomics of gliomas - a major class of brain tumors, proteomics of Aspergillosis and stem cell proteomics. At the CCMB, he was the nodal scientist in CSIR network programs in proteomics and also served as the Consortium Manager in CSIR Proteomics Network for International Collaborations. He is also associated with some of the international research initiatives in proteomics such as Membrane Proteomics Initiative. He is an expert reviewer for several international proteomics journals, a member of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Proteomics and Bioinformatics and serves on the research advisory panels of some of the national Institutes in India and that of US Pharmacopea for protein therapeutics. He is an elected member of the Council of Asian Oceanean Human Proteome Organization (AOHUPO). Ravi Sirdeshmukh has played an important role in educational activities in proteomics in India and has delivered a large number of invited lectures at the University Centres, Research Institutes, coordinated training workshops, organized international Proteomics Conferences and discussions. He is the Founder President of the Proteomics Society, India which is strongly dedicated to proteomics education. He has trained and mentored a number of young associates, Ph.D. students and Postdoctoral fellows. At IOB, he plans to pursue cancer proteomics and promote translational research programs.