Stem Cells in Drug Discovery 2016 Agenda

Tuesday, 5 April 2016

08:00

Registration


Day One Morning Session
Session Chair: Oliver Stegle, Research Group Leader, EMBL-European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), United Kingdom

09:30

Keynote Presentation

What Can In Vitro Models Really Tell Us?
Brock Reeve, Executive Director, Harvard Stem Cell Institute

There is a lot of attention currently on three dimensional in vitro models, organs on chips, etc. but there is much that can still be learned from models based on single cells. This presentation will use several recent examples from work within different HSCI labs in different disease areas and organ systems to see what new understandings of complex diseases have been (and can be) generated as a result of careful development and interrogation of human single cell based in vitro models.

10:15

Rising to the Challenges of Human iPSC-derived Cells For Tox & Drug Screening
Paul Bello, Director of Operations, Axol Bioscience

We will present 'in the field' data on our portfolio of human iPSC and primary cells demonstrating their proven ease of use, reliability and consistency as meaningful drug discovery tools. Here, we overcome the challenges of cell line variability and address the needs for cell scale-up in assay campaigns.

10:45

Coffee & Networking in Exhibition Hall

11:15

Stem Cell Derived Cardiomyocytes in Drug Safety Evaluations: Lessons Learned from the Comprehensive in Vitro Proarrhythmia Assay (CiPA) Initiative.
Gary Gintant, Senior Research Fellow, Abbvie

This presentation will describe the critical role of human stem cell derived cardiomyocytes in the CiPA initiative, lessons learned as the project moves towards completion, along with their future role in preclinical cardiac safety testing.

11:45

Utilizing hiPSC-Derived Neurons and Cardiomyocytes For Drug Screening
Anne Bang, Director, Sanford Burnham Medical Research Institute

Patient-specific primary cells and human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) complement traditional cell-based drug discovery assays and could aid in the development of clinically useful compounds. We will discuss our high content screening results and development of patient specific hiPSC based models for drug discovery.

12:15

Lonza BioscienceUsing Pluripotent Stem Cells in the Age of Genome Editing
Herbert Mueller-Hartmann, Head of Global Technology Development, Lonza Bioscience

The advantages of different cellular models for cell-based assays will be discussed. Among other developments, the use of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) has opened up new possibilities, including new types of disease modeling.

12:45

Lunch & Networking in Exhibition Hall

13:30

Poster Viewing Session

14:15

Technology Spotlight:
Disease-modelling using Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Derived Cells
Dominic Hussey, Senior Account Manager
This presentation will detail recent advances in using cells differentiated from HiPSCs for innate, induced and infectious disease modelling. Data will be presented to show how Neuronal, Hepatic and Cardiac Lineages are used in these experiments.

14:30

Using Stem Cells Models To Understand Effects Of Gene And Environment On Disease
Zameel Cader, Director and Principal Scientist, IMI StemBANCC, University of Oxford

In this presentation, I will discuss the use of human induced pluripotent stem cells to understand pathogenic mechanisms in neurological disorders and explore the effects of gene mutations and environmental signals on disease models.

15:00

Keynote Presentation

Multidisciplinary Academia-Industry Collaboration For Production Of Human Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Functional Cells In Industrial Application
Norio Nakatsuji, Professor Emeritus, Kyoto University and Chief Advisor, Kyoto Stem Cell Innovation

We are developing a large-scale cell production system using human ES/iPS cells by collaboration of academia and industrial partners. We have succeeded in novel 3D sphere culture and oriented differentiation by small chemical compounds.

15:45

Coffee & Networking in Exhibition Hall

16:15

Organotypic 3-dimensional Spheroid Cultures: Pre-clinical Testing Paradigms
Wendy Purcell, Chair, National Council for Healthcare Science in Higher Education

The development of 3D organotypic cell cultures, spheroids, will be described together with characterisation and functionality assessment data. Their potential as models for pre-clinical science and biomedicine will be outlined.

16:45

3D Human Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Heart-In-A-Jar: Insights For Driven Maturation, Drug Discovery, Cardiotoxicity Screening And Disease Modelling
Ronald Li, Professor, Director, Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine Consortium (SCRMC), Hong Kong University

17:15

Drinks Reception in the Exhibition Hall

18:45

End of Day One

Wednesday, 6 April 2016


Day Two Morning Session
Session Chair: Gianluca Ciardelli, Professor, Polytechnic University of Turin, Italy

09:00

Bringing Biologically Relevant Cells to Life - iPSC Technology in Lead Discovery and Safety Assessment
Alexander Kvist, Associate Principle Scientist, AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca present data, showing large scale generation of functional pancreatic beta-cells, at a scale commensurate with drug-discovery activities. Furthermore, data is presented demonstrating the power of combining precise genome editing with iPSC technology in target validation.

09:30

Decomposing the Sources of Molecular Variation in Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
Oliver Stegle, Research Group Leader, EMBL-European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI)

10:00

Novel Strategies for the Robust and Reproducible Production of Diverse Cell Types from Pluripotent Stem Cells for Drug Discovery
Michael West, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, BioTime Inc

10:30

Coffee & Networking in Exhibition Hall

11:15

Deciphering The Immunogenicity Of Human Pluripotent Stem Cells
Kathy Lui, Assistant Professor, Chinese University of Hong Kong

11:45

NanionIdentification of the Cellular Effects of Sofosbuvir and Amiodarone using hiPSC-Derived Cardiomyocytes
Sonja Stoelzle-Feix, Director Scientific Affairs, Nanion

Combined administration of sofosbuvir and amiodarone may lead to bradycardia in the clinic. We investigated their interaction on the cellular level using human stem cell derived cardiomyocytes. Our results indicate compromised excitation-contraction coupling mediated by impaired calcium handling.

12:15

Lunch & Networking in Exhibition Hall

13:30

Poster Viewing Session


Day Two Afternoon Session
Session Chair: Alexander Kvist, Associate Principle Scientist, AstraZeneca, Sweden

14:00

Biomaterials as Stem Cell Regulators in the Development of in vitro Tissue Models
Gianluca Ciardelli, Professor, Polytechnic University of Turin

An overview on the versatility of polyurethane chemistry and their role as stem cell regulators in the design of scaffolds for regenerative medicine or pharmaceutical, diagnostic investigation to test new therapeutic strategies/drugs or elucidate aspects of cell functionality.

14:30

Modelling A Chronic Pain Condition In A Dish
Anja Nitzsche, Senior Scientist, Pfizer, Neuroscience and Pain Research Unit

15:00

High Content Analysis Of Human Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Endothelial Cells
Gabor Foldes, Research Associate, Imperial College London

The goal of our project is to better identify and grow the optimal endothelial populations following their generation from human pluripotent stem cell cultures. The production of adequate cells is critical for the success of cell-based drug discovery in ischemic disease.

15:30

Coffee Break & Close of Conference