The Networking Exchange at the Broad Institute

June 3, 2018, 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Description

The Networking Exchange showcased life science technologies developed at universities, research institutions, and hospitals of Massachusetts. The event provided a range of opportunities to engage with Massachusetts technology licensing offices, including Boston Children’s Hospital, Brandeis University, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard University, Massachusetts General Hospital Research Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and University of Massachusetts.

Each technology licensing office had posters showcasing innovative technologies and tables for partnering discussions. These posters and tables were available for viewing throughout the entire program - 10:00am - 4:00pm.

Agenda

10:00 - 11:00am, Networking and light breakfast

Broad Institute Lobby | 415 Main Street

11:00am - 12:00pm, CRISPR tools to target RNA, meet Cas13

Broad Institute Auditorium | 415 Main Street

Panel moderated by: TBD

Scientific Panelists:

Omar Abudayyeh - a MD/PhD student in laboratory of Dr. Feng Zhang at the Broad Institute, working on novel discovery and application of CRISPR enzymes, including CRISPR-Cas13, RNA targeting enzymes. Omar received an S.B. in mechanical engineering and biological engineering at MIT as a Henry Ford II Scholar and a Barry M. Goldwater Scholar.
David Cox - a recent graduate of the Dr. Feng Zhang at the Broad Institute, working on novel discovery and application of CRISPR enzymes, including CRISPR-Cas13, RNA targeting enzymes, and MD student at Harvard Medical School.
Catherine Freije - a PhD student in Harvard University’s Program in Virology in the laboratory of Dr. Pardis Sabeti at Harvard and the Broad Institute, working on projects that span from studying viral diversity to applying RNA-specific CRISPR technologies to target mammalian viruses. Catherine graduated from Brown University with a Sc.B. in Applied Mathematics and Biology.
Jonathan Gootenberg - a PhD student in Systems Biology Program at Harvard University co-advised by Feng Zhang and Aviv Regev. His research combines computational and molecular approaches to discover and characterize new biological tools, with a focus on CRISPR/Cas proteins. He received his B.S. in biological engineering and mathematics from MIT.
Cameron Myhrvold - a postdoctoral fellow in laboratory of Dr. Pardis Sabeti at the Broad Institute, working to understand the dynamics of viral populations using synthetic approaches and high-throughput sequencing. Cameron completed a PhD in Systems Biology at Harvard University, jointly advised by Pamela Silver and Peng Yin. Cameron received an A.B. from Princeton University, majoring in molecular biology with a certificate in quantitative and computational biology.

12:00 - 1:00pm, Round Table Discussion: Topics of Interest in Licensing Academic Technologies

Broad Institute Board Room - Mezzanine Level | 415 Main Street

Olympus Room - Lobby Level | 415 Main Street

1:00 - 2:00pm, Life Sciences Ethics Discussion

Broad Institute Auditorium | 415 Main Street

Hosted by: I. Glenn Cohen, Professor of Law and Faculty Director, Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology & Bioethics at Harvard Law School

Professor Cohen is one of the world's leading experts on the intersection of bioethics (sometimes also called "medical ethics") and the law, as well as health law. He also teaches civil procedure. From Seoul to Krakow to Vancouver, Professor Cohen has spoken at legal, medical, and industry conferences around the world and his work has appeared in or been covered on PBS, NPR, ABC, CNN, MSNBC, Mother Jones, the New York Times, the New Republic, the Boston Globe, and several other media venues.

Drinking from a Firehose: The Explosion of Data in Health Care. The health care data generated by the U.S. system is now measured by yottabytes. Health care data now includes not only the obvious, such as physicians’ notes, but also a broader range of data such as social media posts. Furthermore, health technology based on this explosion of data is rapidly outstripping human understanding, especially in the use of “black-box” machine-learning algorithms and artificial intelligence. As a result, we are struggling to understand how best to regulate these new tools while also fostering an environment that encourages further innovation. This discussion will explore the ethical and legal challenges arising as our health system tries to incorporate tools such as big data and precision medicine.

2:00 - 3:00pm, Round Table Discussion: Topics of Interest in Intellectual Property

Limited space

Broad Institute Board Room - Mezzanine Level | 415 Main Street

Olympus Room - Lobby Level | 415 Main Street

3:00 - 4:00pm, From Startups to Industry: Success Stories from Underrepresented Entrepreneurs

Panel moderated by: Lesley Millar-Nicholson, Director of MIT Technology Licensing Office.

Lesley Millar-Nicholson has been the Director of MIT Technology Licensing Office since July 2016, where she leads a team of professional staff managing the intellectual assets and tech transfer process for MIT inventions. The TLO is responsible for engagement with faculty, staff, and students and for the efficient and effective transfer of IP into the market place to ensure impact in society. Working with MIT startup companies, VCs, and corporate partners, the team manages around 800 inventions a year from the MIT and Lincoln Lab campuses. The TLO is an integral part of the MIT innovation ecosystem working closely with the Deshpande Center, Venture Mentoring Service, Martin Trust Entrepreneurship Center, MIT Innovation Initiative and many other programs and centers established to harness the amazing innovations from MIT faculty, students and staff.

When it comes to the entrepreneurial ecosystem at MIT, we ascribe to the philosophy that diversity fuels innovation. One of MIT President Rafael Reif’s stated goals is to “help the entire MIT community to draw strength and energy from our extraordinary diversity of experiences and backgrounds” (April 2013). While we acknowledge that diversity has immense value for innovation, we also recognize that there are many challenges that entrepreneurs face in seeing their innovations actualized in an industry that has long suffered from bias. In this panel, you’ll hear from highly successful entrepreneurs who have faced these challenges head on and are celebrated in the impact they’ve had on their industries. They’ll share stories about their own entrepreneurial journeys and poignant advice for how industry can harness the power of engaging diverse leadership.

Entrepreneur Panelists:

Professor Fiona Murray, Associate Dean for Innovation at the MIT Sloan School of Management, Co-Director of MIT Innovation Initiative, William Porter (1967) Professor of Entrepreneurship, and Faculty Director Legatum Center

Professor Murray’s research interests focus on entrepreneurship, the commercialization of science, women in entrepreneurship and the economics of innovation. She has done extensive work with entrepreneurs, governments, large corporations and philanthropists designing and evaluating the policies and programs that shape vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystems: prizes competitions, accelerators, patent licensing rules and proof of concept funding programs.Murray received her MA ‘90 from the University of Oxford in Chemistry. She earned a PhD ’96 from Harvard University in Applied Sciences. She serves on the Prime Minister’s Council on Science and Technology in the United Kingdom.

Professor Canan Dagdeviren, Assistant Professor at MIT Media Lab

Professor Dagdeviren is an Assistant Professor at MIT Media Lab where she leads the Conformable Decoders research group. The group aims to convert the patterns of nature and the human body into beneficial signals and energy.

Dagdeviren earned her Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she focused on exploring patterning techniques and creating piezoelectric biomedical systems. Her collective Ph.D. research involved flexible mechanical energy harvesters, multi-functional cardiac vessel stents, wearable blood pressure sensors, and stretchable skin modulus sensing bio-patches.

Mariana Matus, CEO and Cofounder of Biobot Analytics

Mariana Matus CEO and Cofounder of Biobot Analytics a Y Combinator backed startup measuring human health information in sewage to understand population health in cities. Mariana is a PhD candidate in Computational and Systems Biology at MIT. Through her doctoral work in the laboratory of Professor Eric Alm, Mariana has become a world expert in the field of wastewater epidemiology. Prior to MIT, Mariana studied Genomics at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico and Environmental Biotechnology at Wageningen University in the Netherlands.

This event was hosted by the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. For a full list of cosponsors, please visit the website.