Speakers & Events

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Dr. Marvin Caruthers

March 31, 10:00 - 11:00 am

Marvin Caruthers is a Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Colorado and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In the early 1980's, Professor Caruthers laid the foundation for the development of automated gene synthesizers, used by researchers for chromosome mapping, DNA sequencing, and the diagnosis of diseases and genetic disorders. He was most instrumental in the development of technologies that have led to the emergence of such notable companies as Amgen and Applied Biosystems. He holds over twenty U.S. patents and his laboratory continues to develop new chemistries for synthesizing biological molecules and exploring their uses.

Dr. Kelvin Ogilvie

April 1, 10:45 - 11:45

In graduate school, Kelvin Ogilvie became determined to find a way to chemically synthesize RNA. More than 20 years later, he succeeded in synthesizing the RNA molecule that initiates protein synthesis in living cells. Along the way, he developed a new class of anti-virus molecules, produced the critical ingredient in the life-saving drug Ganciclovir and invented an automated DNA synthesizer that made industrial oligonucleotide production practical.

ADDITIONAL SPEAKERS

Dr. Jesper Wengel
March 31, 2:00 - 2:35 pm
Over the past 15 years, Professor Wengel has made many significant contributions to bioorganic chemistry. Particular areas of focus have been the synthesis and properties of modified nucleosides and oligonucleotides, and the use of branched and functionalized oligonucleotides within nanobioscience.

Dr. Troels Koch
March 31, 11:00 - 11:35 am
Troels Koch, Msc, PhD, Vice President Research. Troels Koch is a co-founder of the company and has substantial experience in managing biotech R&D activities, IPR and CMC. He is author of 60 scientific publications and books and inventor of 25 patents. In the past 15 years he has held a variety of top management positions in the biotech industry.

Dr. Pat Limbach
March 31, 2:35 - 3:10 pm
Pat Limbach is a bioanalytical chemist with research interests in mass spectrometry, ribonucleoprotein complexes and microfluidics. After earning an undergraduate degree from Centre College in 1988, he studied under the direction of Dr. Alan G. Marshall at The Ohio State University. While there, his graduate research focused on instrumentation improvements to Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry. He received his PhD from OSU in 1992. He then took a postdoctoral position at the University of Utah working with Dr. James A. McCloskey. While in Utah, he worked in the area of RNA chemistry and nucleic acid mass spectrometry. In 1995, he joined the faculty at Louisiana State University and was promoted to Associate Professor in 1999. In 2001, he moved to his current position in Cincinnati. He has received numerous teaching and research awards including the Young Investigator Research Award from the American Society for Mass Spectrometry and the Sigma Xi Research Investigator Award.

Dr. Masad Damha
March 31, 3:10 - 3:45 pm
Masad José Damha was born in Managua, Nicaragua, where he graduated from "El Instituto Pedagógico de Managua (La Salle)" in 1977. He obtained his B.Sc. ('83) and Ph.D. ('88) degrees at McGill University, the latter working with Kelvin K. Ogilvie. Damha was awarded a NSERC postdoctoral fellowship in 1987, but declined the honor in favor of an Assistant Professorship at the University of Toronto's Erindale College. In 1992, he returned to his Alma Mater, where as James McGill Professor of Chemistry, he is involved in the synthesis and study of nucleic acids.

Dr. Sergei M. Gryaznov
March 31, 3:55 - 4:30 pm
Prior to joining Geron Corp, Dr. Gryaznov was with Lynx Therapeutics Inc, from 1993 till 1997, as a Research Fellow, and from 1990 till 1993 with Prof. Robert L. Letsinger at Northwestern University, as a Post-Doctoral Fellow and as a Visiting Scientist. He received his Ph.D degree in nucleic acid chemistry in 1987 from M.V. Lomonosov Moscow University (under Prof. Zoe Shabarova), and then worked as a Research Scientist with Prof. Eugene Sverdlov at M.M. Shemyakin Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry in Moscow, Russia.

Dr. Andrew Vaillant
March 31, 4:30 - 5:05 pm
Chief Scientific Officer and Director of Operations at Replicor. He is responsible for all technology assessment and research activities at REPLICor. He supervises and directs all internal and outsourced scientific activities and is a co-inventor of REP 9AC. He previously held positions in two biotechnology companies. He holds a Ph.D. in Cell Biology and a B.Sc in Biology (Summa Cum Laude) from the University of Ottawa.

Dr. Fran Wincott
March 31, 5:05 - 5:40 pm
Dr. Fran Wincott is President of Wincott & Associates, LLC, a consulting firm focused on providing assistance in the area of oligonucleotide manufacturing and development. Prior to founding Wincott & Associates, Dr. Wincott was Vice President of Oligonucleotide Manufacturing & Development at Eyetech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. In that capacity, she was primarily responsible for the successful validation of a commercial oligonucleotide manufacturing process, of significant importance in the approval of the Macugen NDA and commercial launch. Prior to joining Eyetech Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Wincott served as Senior Director of Manufacturing Operations at Ribozyme Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (now Sirna Therapeutics a subsidiary of Merck, Inc.).

Mr. David Konys
April 1, 9:35 - 10:10 am
David Konys joined Alnylam in April 2003. He was formerly Vice President of Corporate Development at Ingenium Pharmaceuticals AG, and prior to that, had over 15 years of experience at Biogen, Inc., where he was the 1995 recipient of the Chairman's Award. During his career, Mr. Konys has been responsible for a wide array of activities related to the building and expansion of growing biotech companies, including intellectual property management, facilities expansion, marketing, and licensing.

Dr. Hagen Cramer
March 31, 11:35 - 12:10 pm
Hagen Cramer, Ph.D., has worked in the field of oligonucleotides and 2-5A analogs since 1989 and has published 19 articles and has authored one book. Dr. Cramer received his PhD from the University of Konstanz, Germany in 1995 where he worked in the lab of Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Pfleiderer. After completing his Ph.D., he joined Dr. Paul Torrence's group at the National Institutes of Health for post doctorate work on chemically modified 2-5A analogs. Before joining Girindus in 2005 he served as Director of Chemistry for Ridgeway Biosystems and as Scientific Director for Gemini Technologies.

Dr. Dave Wilson
April 1, 10:10 - 10:45 am
David W. Wilson received a B.S. in chemist and a B.A. in German Language and Literature from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. He then performed thesis work on Mechanistic Organic Photochemistry under Prof. Howard Zimmerman at the University of Wisconsin in Madison for his Ph.D in Physical Organic chemistry. David started his industrial career at Great Lakes Chemicals Company as a process development chemist in their Fine Chemicals & Intermediates Group on late stage intermediates and clinical Phase API's where he gained valuable experience in process development and scale-up during his 7 years of work there. As Great Lakes underwent reorganization, he transferred into the Fluorine Chemicals Group for 1 year before starting at Girindus America in June 2000 in their Chemical Development group. His work at Girindus was focused on process development of laboratory scale processes for scale up to the pilot plant for early phase clinical Small Molecule API's and he was promoted to Section Head in 2002. In June 2005, David was promoted to Production Supervisor for Small Molecules where has supervised both the Chemical Development and Pilot Plant. In his tenure at Girindus, David has been involved on numerous programs in overcoming the many obsticles involved to develop a chemical process from gram quantities for preclinical work to the kilogram amounts needed for cGMP clinical trials. Also, he has worked as a representative of the Production closely with Quality Assurance to assist in the development and implementation of the Girindus cGMP quality systems.