Speakers:
HERMES CHAN
Hermes Chan – who was named BioScience Innovator of the Year by The Economist in 2007 – is the inventor of a patented rapid flow-through technology platform, the engine behind advanced rapid tests. These tests help healthcare providers, public health agencies, and individuals prevent and control the spread of infectious diseases like HIV and Hepatitis, two of the top 10 causes of infectious disease deaths worldwide. Unique to Chan’s company, MedMira and their rapid tests, is their ability to simultaneously deliver multiple results on a single test cartridge using a single drop of specimen.
PIERS GOUGH AND MANDY MCMAHAN
The architect Piers Gough and the fashion designer Sir Paul Smith have collaborated to create an unusual cancer centre in Nottingham for the charity Maggie’s. The brief was to create a centre of calm beauty to support those undergoing treatment for cancer. Maggie’s cancer centres have been so successful there are now plans to build them in Hong Kong and Barcelona. Piers and the Centre’s charismatic manager and clinical psychologist Mandy McMahan, will be speaking about the planning that went into the newest and nineth centre.
PROFESSOR EILEEN INGHAM AND ANTONY ODELL
Professor Eileen Ingham, an immunology specialist and member of the winning team of the Queen’s Anniversary Prize, will speak about a revolutionary treatment which has allowed body parts from pigs to be transplanted into humans – without any risk of rejection by the patient’s immune system. The new approach could mean functional tissue replacements that will never wear out. Antony Odell, the Managing Director of Tissue Regenix, will talk about the commercial opportunities associated with its patented dCELL® process.
MARC KOSKA
Marc Koska is the inventor of an auto-disable syringe and founder of the charity SafePoint. Mr Koska has recently persuaded the Tanzanian government to become the first country in the world to move exclusively to using syringes that self-destruct after a single use, thus preventing the transmission of HIV/Aids by multiple-use of the same syringe. The World Health Organisation estimates over 1.3 million die every year as a result of the reuse of syringes.
PROFESSOR ALEXANDER SEIFALIAN
Professor Alexander Seifalian led the team at University College London, which developed the world’s first synthetic windpipe – a medical masterpiece in nanotechnology. He will speak about development of surgical implants using nanocomposite materials and stem cells as well as the extraordinary innovation and the operation on a cancer patient, an Eritrean student, which was conducted by an Italian surgeon at a Swedish hospital
JONATHAN O’HALLORAN AND ELAINE WARBURTON
British company QuantuMDx Group is developing a hand-held sample to result DNA sequencer able to provide the DNA sequence analysis in under 20 minutes. This technology, together with on-board and interactive interpretative aid tools, assist the decision making and patient education processes. The device promises to bring personalised medicine to clinics, GPs’ surgeries and possibly pharmacies. The easy to use device can process most sample types to test for any disease with validated DNA/RNA associated disease biomarkers, including genetic testing, infectious disease diagnosis and resistance status, etc, for as little as £10 per test. Jonathan O’Halloran, Chief Scientific Officer and Elaine Warburton, CEO, will be speaking about this exciting and award winning development.
STEVEN TSUI
Consultant cardiothoracic surgeon Steven Tsui will be speaking about the operation he led on Matthew Green, the first person in the UK to receive a total artificial heart transplant. Mr Tsui led his team through training in Paris before undertaking the groundbreaking surgery.
DAVID DUNAWAY
Consultant craniofacial surgeon David Dunaway led the team that successfully separated conjoined eleven-month-old twins Rital and Ritag Gaboura after four operations at London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital. Mr Dunaway will be speaking about the challenges of this kind of operation, as it is estimated that only one in ten million survive the rare condition of craniopagus.
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR YOAV MEDAN
Imagine having surgery with no knives involved and developing a tool for incisionless surgery via focused ultrasound. Yoav Medan is currently a visiting Associate Professor at the BioMedical Engineering department of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. He has been until recently Vice President and Chief Systems Architect at InSightec Ltd., responsible for developing new platforms for magnetic resonance guided focused ultrasound technology.
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR JOHN QUALTER
Flying in from the USA is John Qualter, Research Assistant Professor of Educational Infomatics at New York University’s Langone Medical Centre. He is the co-founder of BioDigital, a company which specialises in providing biomedical state-of-the-art visualisation systems to improve training, communication and the interpretation of medical information. Using 3D animation, virtual training environments and systems which intuitively store and visualise scientific data, BioDigital is helping to revolutionise the way medical information and concepts are understood.
LUDVIC ZRINZO
Consultant neurosurgeon Ludvic Zrinzo has a subspecialty interest is deep brain stimulation (DBS). In December, Mr Zrinzo and colleagues made national news when they successfully used DBS to treat a patient with severe refractory Tourette syndrome who was losing the will to live, due to uncontrollable tics. Mr Zrinzo will be reporting on innovative work with deep brain stimulation at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London and the UCL Institute of Neurology.
KATHERINE BOMKAMP
Phantom pain, the pain of a non-existent limb caused by the brain continuing to send signals and commands to the limb, affects 80 percent of the world’s 10 million amputees. To tackle this problem. Katherine Bomkamp, a 20 year old student at West Virginia University, USA, has invented an award-winning “Pain Free Socket”.