Yearly Symposium
As part of our mission to provide a platform for knowledge exchange and collaboration, the TGP holds an annual symposium showcasing some of the most novel research and developments in Therapeutics. From Harvard faculty, to industry experts, and our own TGP students, the TGP Symposium highlights the talents within our program and in the field.
2024
Utilizing Computation, Bioinformatics, and AI in Therapeutics Development
Oct 17th, 12:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Faculty Expert: Carlos Ponce, Ph.D.
Carlos R. Ponce is an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School’s Department of Neurobiology. He studies the visual cortex in macaque monkeys using electrophysiology, generative networks, and deep learning models to advance our understanding of neural mechanisms. His work bridges computational neuroscience and biological research, revealing how single neurons contribute to vision and to our perception of the world.
Industry Expert: Xin Cindy Yan, Ph.D.
Xin (Cindy) is currently a research scientist in Computational Chemistry group at MOMA Therapeutics. She obtained her Ph.D. at Yale University under the supervision of Prof. William Jorgensen. She has a solid background in physical chemistry and computer science, and enjoys solving highly interdisciplinary problems in computer-aided drug discovery.
Faculty Expert: Shamil Sunyaev, Ph.D.
Shamil Sunyaev is a computational genomicist and geneticist. Research in his lab encompasses many aspects of population genetic variation including the origin of mutations, the effect of allelic variants on molecular function, population and evolutionary genetics, and genetics of human complex and Mendelian traits. He developed several computational and statistical methods widely adopted by the community. Sunyaev obtained a PhD in molecular biophysics from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and completed his postdoctoral training in bioinformatics at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL). He is an Institute Member at Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. He also co-organizes the Boston Evolutionary Genomics Supergroup.
Industry Expert: Lizeth Tamayo, Ph.D.
Dr. Tamayo is a highly cross-trained genetic epidemiologist with expertise in bioinformatics, computational biology, and cancer research. Specialized in uncovering the underlying biological mechanisms driving cancer development and progression. Experienced in analyzing complex omics datasets and translating findings into actionable insights. Demonstrated success in utilizing real-world evidence to drive research outcomes. Committed to improving patient outcomes and advancing medical product development through innovative approaches in oncology, genomics, and pharmacogenomics.
Academia/Industry Experts: Omar Abudayyeh, Ph.D. & Jonathan Gootenberg, Ph.D.
Omar Abudayyeh and Jonathan Gootenberg are McGovern Institute Fellows at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The AbuGoot lab combines natural biological discovery and molecular engineering to develop a suite of new tools for manipulation of DNA, RNA, and cellular states – the cellular engineering toolbox. These tools have the ability to push our understanding of complex systems, provide novel diagnostic insights, and enable new platforms of therapeutics. We are enthusiastic about applying these tools to multiple areas, including cellular fate, aging, and genetic disease.
Keynote: Peter Clardy, M.D.
Dr. Clardy is currently the Senior Clinical Specialist at Google. He graduated from Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1996 and was previously was a physician at Mount Auburn Hospital and other affiliated Harvard hospitals before transitioning to tech, exploring how AI impacts the clinical and patient experience.
Main Atrium:
-Merck Research Laboratories
33 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA 02115
- Walking distance from Longwood Campus, and opposite NRB.
Panel Moderator: Robert Gentleman, Ph.D.
Dr. Gentleman is the former executive director of Harvard Medical School’s Center for Computational Biomedicine. An accomplished statistician and bioinformatician, Dr. Gentleman is one of the creators of the R programming language and a founder of the Bioconductor project, an open-source collaborative software tool to promote statistical analysis of biological data. He has served as vice president of 23andMe, where he helped launch their therapeutic division, and as senior director for bioinformatics and computational biology at Genentech. He was head of computational biology at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and held academic positions at Harvard University, University of Auckland and the University of Waterloo. Dr. Gentleman’s research interests are related to genomics, machine learning, data visualization, and the application of statistical and computational methods to study human disease.
Panel Speaker: Titi Ala'ilima, MSE
Titi is a data science and engineering leader in digital therapeutics, where he led his former team at Akili as the Vice President of applied data and software operations. He received his Masters in Electrical Engineering from University of Pennsylvania before starting his journey in technology consulting and data engineering.
Panel Speaker: Rob Meijers, Ph.D.
Rob Meijers is a structural biologist with a focus on cell surface receptors involved in neuronal development and immune recognition. He obtained a Ph.D. from the University of Amsterdam in protein X-ray crystallography studying enzyme mechanisms at atomic resolution. He did postdoctoral research at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute with Jia-huai Wang and Ellis Reinherz, working on structural aspects of immune recognition. Currently, he is leading the Antibody Platform at IPI, to produce synthetic human IgG1 antibodies for cell surface receptors and their ligands.
Panel Speaker: Stanley Gill, Ph.D.
Stanley is a recent graduate of the Therapeutics Graduate Program and the Biological and Biomedical Sciences Program. He is a translational biologist with over 10 years of academic and industry wet lab experience. His interests lie in building and assessing in vitro biological models for technology development and/or pre-clinical therapeutic development purposes.
TGP Student Speaker: Ruitong Li
Ruitong is a G4 in the Bioinformatics & Integrative Genomics Program at Harvard University, researching in the lab of Gad Getz of the Broad Institute.
TGP Student Speaker: Yingxiao "TK" Shi
TK is a G6 in the Biological & Biomedical Sciences Program at Harvard University, researching in the labs of David Liu (in Harvard's Cambridge campus) and Peter Sorger (at the Harvard Medical School).
TGP Student Speaker: Yaska Ektafaie
Yasha is a G5 in the Bioinformatics & Integrative Genomics Program at Harvard University, researching in the labs of Maha Farhat and Marinka Zitnik at Harvard Medical School.
Frank Addae, G3 in the BPH Program (Duraisingh Lab)
Amerria Causey, G3 in the VIRO Program (Knipe Lab)
Jessica Chen, G4 in the VIRO Program (Wesemann Lab)
Winiffer Conce Alberto, G4 in the IMMUNO Program (Dougan Lab)
Francisco Fernandez, G6 in the BBS Program (Gusella/Walker Labs)
Allison Flores, G5 in the CHEMBIO Program (Church Lab)
Joseph Hurley, G5 in the BBS Program (Kruse Lab)
Heer Joisher, G6 in the MCO Program (Cepko Lab)
Olivia Lavidor, G2 in the CHEMBIO Program (Liau Lab)
Nikola Mizgier, G4 in the BBS Program (Adleman Lab)
Timothy O'Meara, G3 in the CHEMBIO Program (Cole Lab)
Nancy Pohl, G4 in the BPH Program (Kanarek Lab)
Fabrian Suri-Payer, G3 in the MCO Program (Greka Lab)