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The Southern California Biomedical Council (SoCalBio)
has announced that Leroy Hood, Ph.D., of the Seattle-based Institute for
Systems Biology, and George Bekey, Ph.D., of USC, will keynote the 9th
SoCalBio Investor Conference. This annual event -- which showcases
emerging L.A. region life-science technologies and companies -- will be
held June 7, 2007 at the Wilshire Grand Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.
Dr. Hood will deliver the luncheon
keynote speech focusing on new directions in medicine based on systems
approaches to biology. Dr. Bekey will keynote the CEO/Investor dinner
and discuss future applications of robotics in medicine
About Dr. Hood:
Dr. Hood is regarded as one of the world’s
leading molecular biologists. His professional career began at Caltech,
where he was part of the team that conceived the DNA sequencer, an
instrument that has revolutionized the field of genomics.
In 1992, Dr. Hood moved to the University
of Washington to create the cross-disciplinary Department of Molecular
Biotechnology. In his role as the William Gates, III Professor of
Biomedical Science, he applied his laboratory expertise in DNA
sequencing to the analysis of cancer, autoimmunity, and hematopoietic
stem cell development.
In 2000, Dr. Hood co-founded the
Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle to apply systems approaches to
the study of biology and medicine.
About Dr. Bekey:
 Dr. Bekey
(photo right) came to USC in 1962 as an
assistant professor of Electrical Engineering. He ascended quickly to
become an associate professor in 1964, and full professor in 1969.
He
served as chair of the Electrical Engineering Department from 1978-82,
and went on to chair the Computer Science Department (1984-90). He then
served for four years as associate dean of research for the School of
Engineering.
Dr. Bekey is credited with founding the School’s robotics
research and teaching program, as well as its Biomedical
Engineering Department.
His interest in robotics evolved from
earlier work in human-machine systems, models of biological systems,
signal processing, system identification, analog and hybrid computation,
simulation and electrical motor design.
Although he is now retired after 40 years
of service at USC, Dr. Bekey continues to be active as a teacher, writer
and entrepreneur. He currently teaches at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and
recently published a book titled Autonomous Robots (MIT
Press). Another book on biomedical engineering is on the way.
Outside the university setting, he works
with two start-up companies: Patient Patents, Inc. in San Luis Obispo
and RoboDynamics in Los Angeles.
What Else to Expect at
the Investor Conference:
In addition to provocative keynote
presentations, the SoCalBio Investor Conference will showcase 20
pre-screened biotech and medical device companies from the Greater Los
Angeles region seeking capital and partnerships (see adjacent agenda for
a list of companies selected to date).
The conference will also offer forums
targeting investors, technologists and corporate executives. Topics will
include new investment opportunities in fields such as nanbio and
bio-aesthetics, fundable life-science ventures, and strategies for
accelerating VC funding of university spin-offs.
For a detailed agenda, please visit the
Southern California Biomedical Council’s web site at www.socalbio.org.
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Dr.
Hood has played a key role in founding numerous biotech companies,
including Amgen, Applied Biosystems, Systemix, Darwin, Rosetta,
and MacroGenics. |
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9th
SoCalBio Investor Conference
Agenda @
a Glance
June 7,
2007 -- Wilshire Grand Hotel
7:00 am -
8:30 pm
Click
here to register
7:00 Registration
7:45 Breakfast & Opening
Remarks
8:00 Keynote
Presentation
Investing in Innovation: What Is
Required to Increase the Flow Of Early-Stage Funding
9:00 Company Presentations (Five
Presenters)
- CoreValve (Non-invasive heart valve
replacement technology)
- Maven Biotechnologies (Label-free
diagnostics platform)
- Novadigm (Drugs for hard-to-treat
infections)
- Replivir (A novel biological product
for the treatment of cancer)
- .... More to be announced
10:00 Company Presentations (Five
Presenters)
- EquinOX (Therapeutics for macular
degeneration)
- SIDMAP (A platform technology for
metabolic profiling)
- Caldera Medical (Implantable devices
for incontinence)
- .... More to be announced
11:15 Concurrent Breakout
Sessions:
- Investment Opportunities in Nanobio Applications: Beyond Imaging & Drug Delivery
-
How and Why Venture Capitalists Are Funding University & Research Spin-offs
12:30 Networking Luncheon &
Keynote Presentation
"Future Directions of
Biotechnology Research and Commercialization," by Leroy Hood,
Ph.D., Institute for Systems Biology
1:45 Company
Presentations (Five Presenters)
- Symphony Medical (Treatments for
cardiac disorders)
- ProteomeTech (New
anti-angiogenic
drugs)
- Novelix (IL-24 -based drugs for
cancer)
- .... More to be announced
2:45 Company Presentations (Five
Presenters)
- AmProtein (Protein therapeutics)
- ORFID (Organic electronics for
medical and other applications)
- 3D Vision Systems (Digital
microsurgical workstations)
- .... More to be announced
4:00
Concurrent Breakout Sessions:
- Investment Opportunities in Bio-Aesthetics
-
Deals Shaping The Life-Science Landscape
-
Valuation: Increasing and Protecting Shareholders’ Assets
5:15
Reception and Poster Show
6:15 CEO/Investor
Dinner & Keynote Presentation
"On the Application of Robotics
in Medicine," by George Bekey, Ph.D., USC
8:30 Conference
Adjourns
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