The Sixth Edition of BBMS took place on the 7th of March, 2014. Seven high-profile speakers and three student speakers gave lectures throughout the day. Two networking sessions also took place during the coffee breaks. All of the available places were booked out.
The speakers (to whom we again say a huge Thank You) are listed below –
Professor Françoise Barré-Sinoussi
Winner of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 2008
Head of the Regulation of Retroviral Infections Unit at Institut Pasteur – Paris, France
Professor Barré-Sinoussi is a virologist known for her work in discovering that the human immunodeficiency virus causes AIDS. Today, she continues to study HIV and works on protection against infection.
Professor Dame Athene Donald
Professor of Experimental Physics – University of Cambridge, UK
Director of the Women in Science, Engineering and Technology Initiative at the University of Cambridge
Professor Donald is a distinguished physicist who specialises in soft matter physics. She uses microscopy and other approaches to study synthetic and biological systems, and is particularly interested in protein aggregation, such as that of A-beta in Alzheimer’s Disease. She is an advocate for women in science and engineering.
Professor Molly Stevens
Professor of Biomedical Materials and Regenerative Medicine
Research Director for Biomedical Material Sciences in the Institute of Biomedical Engineering at Imperial College – London, UK
Professor Stevens leads a multidisciplinary research group working on regenerative medicine, tissue engineering, and stem cells. The group also works on peptide-functionalised nanoparticles for enzyme biosensing.
Dr Helen Lee
Director of Research of the Diagnostics Development Unit, Dept of Haematology – University of Cambridge, UK
Founder of Diagnostics for the Real World Ltd
Dr Lee and her unit focus on developing diagnostic technologies for use in resource-poor settings. In the past, she has worked on developing blood-typing reagents, hepatitis B detection, and virus discovery. She has also chaired the World Health Organisation’s Diagnostic Steering Committee.
Professor Chris Abell
Professor of Biological Chemistry – University of Cambridge, UK
Co-founder of Astex Technology Ltd, Akubio, and Sphere Fluidics
Professor Abell’s research group uses fragment-based methods to develop small molecules that modulate protein-protein interactions, among other applications. Professor Abell has also co-founded numerous companies focusing on fragment based drug discovery, microfluidics, and biosensors.
Professor Hugh Montgomery
Chair of Intensive Care Medicine- University College London (UK)
Research Director of the Centre for Altitude, Space and Extreme Environment MedicineFounding member of the UK Climate and Health Council
Professor Montgomery was the first one to discover a gene for fitness. His research views extreme environment exposure as a unique way of investigating (prospectively) human responses to extreme pathophysiological responses in critical care.
Professor Paolo Bianco
Professor and Director of Anatomic Pathology at Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
Editor of Stem Cell Research
Professor Bianco’s research group is focused on studying the crucial role of stem cells in genetic diseases of the skeleton, in particular fibrous dysplasia. The perspective is the development of science-based, rational treatment modalities for skeletal disorders.