Boston and New YorkBoston and NY

Biological Engineering: A Conversation on the Future of Medicine

When

Location

Event type

Upcoming
July

Recent advances in stem cell research have made it possible to generate specific cell types and organs outside of the body, enabling groundbreaking new treatments for a variety of conditions.  Pancreatic cells generated from stem cells are being infused into patients with diabetes, and mini-brains are being built to study neurological disorders.

Join Swissnex and the University of Basel for a hybrid panel discussion on how these and other breakthroughs are providing new opportunities to study development and treat disease. Professor Alex Schier, Director of University of Basel’s Biozentrum, a globally leading life sciences institute, will moderate the discussion. He will be joined by leading voices in the field on both sides of the Atlantic: Doug Melton of Harvard University and Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Kara McKinley of Harvard, Barbara Treutlein of ETH Zurich, Ivan Martin of University of Basel, and Hans Clevers of Roche and Hubrecht University. Together, they will explore how cell and organ engineering is catalyzing a new era of life sciences innovation.

Registration approval required.

Program

  • 5:00pm – Doors open
  • 5:30pm – Opening remarks
  • 5:35pm – Discussion
  • 6:35pm – Q&A
  • 7:00pm – Apéro & networking
  • 7:30pm – End
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Event start time

  • Boston

    5:00PM

Panelists

  •

    Bio

    Doug Melton

    Harvard University, Vertex Pharmaceuticals

    Doug Melton is a Professor at Harvard University and Head of Cell and Developmental Biology at Vertex Pharmaceuticals. A pioneer in stem cell research, his work focuses on generating insulin-producing beta cells from pluripotent stem cells to develop cell-based therapies for diabetes. His group has advanced protocols for large-scale production of functional beta cells, paving the way for clinical trials in type 1 diabetes.

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    Bio

    Kara McKinley

    Harvard University

    Kara McKinley is an Assistant Professor of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology at Harvard University. Her lab investigates how stem and progenitor cells drive regeneration in the uterus. McKinley’s research combines in vivo and in vitro models to understand tissue repair and resilience.

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    Bio

    Barbara Treutlein

    ETH Zurich

    Barbara Treutlein is a Professor at ETH Zurich, where she leads the Quantitative Developmental Biology lab. She uses single-cell genomics and computational modeling to reconstruct developmental trajectories as cells self-organize into tissues. Treutlein’s work aims to guide the engineering of organoids and synthetic tissues by decoding the molecular programs underlying human organ formation.

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    Bio

    Ivan Martin

    University of Basel

    Ivan Martin is a Professor at the University of Basel and Head of the Department of Biomedicine. His research focuses on combining cells and biomaterials to create functional cartilage and bone grafts for regenerative surgery. Martin’s team integrates bioreactor technology and clinical translation to bring engineered tissues into human trials for tissue repair.

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    Bio

    Hans Clevers

    Roche, Hubrecht University

    Hans Clevers is Head of Pharma Research and Early Development at Roche and a Professor at Hubrecht University. He is internationally known for developing organoid models from adult stem cells to study cancer, genetic diseases, and regenerative therapies. Clevers’ research has enabled patient-derived organoids to serve as platforms for drug discovery and precision medicine.

Moderator

  •

    Bio

    Alex Schier

    Biozentrum, University of Basel

    Alex Schier is a Professor of Cell Biology and Director of the Biozentrum at the University of Basel. His research explores the molecular and cellular mechanisms that guide early vertebrate development and organ formation. Schier’s work combines genetics, imaging, and genomics approaches to understand how complex tissues and organs arise from single cells.

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