Posted: January 14, 2009

NanoKTN and The Wellcome Trust announce world leading experts as key speakers at Nano4Life

(Nanowerk News) The Nanotechnology Knowledge Transfer Network (NanoKTN), one of the UK’s primary knowledge-based networks for Micro and Nanotechnologies, has announced the keynote speakers for Nano4Life 2009. Dr Thomas Keller of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) will address drug delivery aspirations, developments and challenges and Dr Rachel McKendry from the London Centre for Nanotechnology will look at examples of nanotechnology offering positive effects in this area.
This one-day conference and exhibition, taking place in London on February 11th, will explore the key areas within the life sciences, where nanotechnology offers the most opportunity to advance healthcare provision, improve product discovery and development and keep the UK a leading force in this exciting technology area.
Dr Thomas Keller of GSK will be looking at drug delivery aspirations, developments and challenges, from the perspective of a global pharmaceutical company. Keller will look at how GSK sees nanotechnology and how the developments are helping to improve and produce new life-saving products and will also cover GSK’s strategic view of its adoption. In addition, Dr Clive Washington of AstraZeneca will discuss the use of nanotechnology in drug formulation, which is allowing less toxic and better targeted drugs to reach patients.
Dr Rachel McKendry from the London Centre for Nanotechnology will be looking at and discussing a specific example of how nanotechnology has helped elucidate key mechanisms in antibiotic resistance for the first time and how it can be applied to drug discovery and development. McKendry will discuss the ultra-sensitive probes that have recently been designed to measure how well a drug binds to bacteria and its ability to target and destroy the bug.
Professor Jon Cooper from the University of Glasgow will focus on research towards “Lab-on-a-Pill” technologies and new micro and nanotechnology tools in healthcare diagnostics, and Professor Molly Stevens from Imperial College will discuss the use of nanotechnology to produce smart materials for use in tissue engineering.
“Nanotechnology holds the promise to provide a significant number of healthcare advances and Nano4Life is the flagship event for the NanoKTN’s bionano and nanomedicine initiative,” explains Dr Mike Fisher, Theme Manager at the NanoKTN.
Fisher continues, “Nano4Life aims to bring together clinicians, academic scientists and industry professionals to drive forward the development of these advances. The NanoKTN is excited about being part of such an important initiative for the UK.”
Other keynote speakers include Professor Ljeoma F. Uchegbu, Chair in Pharmaceutical Nanoscience in the School of Pharmacy at the University of London and Stuart Hendry, CEO at Sphere Medical Ltd. A full list of speakers and presentation titles is available at www.nanoktn.com
Nano4Life is be organised in partnership with The Wellcome Trust, the largest charity in the UK which spends over £600 million each year to support and promote research to improve the health of humans and animals.
The Trust funds research into all aspects of biology and medicine: from molecules and cells vital to life, through the spread of diseases or the vectors of disease across the globe, to clinical and public health research that can improve the quality of healthcare delivered to people. The Trust is interested in the development of hypothesis driven research, which realises an unmet need in biomedical sciences and healthcare. Nano4Life aims to provide an opportunity to showcase nanotechnology to the basic science community and provides an environment to catalyse new collaborations.
All sectors of the supply chain are encouraged to register for the Nano4Life conference including research-based pharma, biotech and medical device companies, academics, research policy makers and anyone who is interested in learning about what nanotechnology has to offer the life sciences.
There are a number of sponsorship opportunities available and an exhibition showcase will take place throughout the day, so if you are interested please contact: [email protected]
Nano4Life will be supported by Bio Nano Consulting and the Health Technologies KTN.
Established by the Technology Strategy Board, the NanoKTN is managed by Centre for Process Innovation Ltd, a leading technology development and consulting company.
Source: nanoKTN