Drug Discovery Automation: High-content Screening & Cell Based Assays Keynote Speakers

Anthony Mitchell Davies Director, Trinity College Dublin Dr Davies’s research has been focused on the development of advanced in vitro c ell based models for almost 2 decades. During his early research work, Dr Davies was primarily involved in the development of specialized bioreactor cell based models utilising primary adult cardiomyocytes which were specifically designed for use in the study of the molecular events that occur during the acute and chronic phases of heart disease. Latterly Dr Davies has been active in rapidly growing field of high content screening and analysis (HCS/A) where he has been responsible for the setting up and running of one of the first purpose built academic screening centres in Europe (INCHSA) which is based in the prestigious department of Clinical Medicine Trinity College Dublin. Since its opening INCHSA has gained recognition internationally as a centre of excellence for both advanced technology development and training in the area of cell based screening. As part of these activities Dr Davies was key in the setting up and running of the first academic course specifically focused on the use of HCS/A technologies in Biomedical Research. Most recently Dr Davies has developed and commercialized a suite of novel micro-plate Bio-reactor technologies and liquid 3D cellular scaffolds specifically designed for use in automated Drug discovery.
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.