The Herald-Dispatch
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The matter of using the study of life to improve the economic life of West Virginia will be the focus of a conference in Huntington next week.
The sixth annual West Virginia Bioscience Summit will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 26, in the Brad D. Smith Foundation Hall on Marshall University’s Huntington campus.
Michelle Dixon, general manager of Alcon’s Huntington facility, which employs nearly 800 people, will deliver the keynote address at 12:45 p.m.
The event is conducted by the West Virginia Bioscience Association.
The West Virginia Bioscience Summit will highlight the role and impact of the bioscience industry in West Virginia and the region, showcase research and commercialization efforts taking place at West Virginia universities and private companies, and discuss policies and programs to help nurture the industry.
“A successful life science industry begins with research, which then leads to discoveries,” said John Maher, chairman of the Bioscience Association of West Virginia and vice president for research at Marshall University. “Those discoveries provide the basis for company development and economic growth for the state. West Virginia is having success, but there is much more that can be done to help grow this industry within our borders.”
The summit also will include a Life Science Research Showcase & Reception at 4:45 p.m. at the Arthur Weisberg Family Applied Engineering Complex.
The event is being sponsored by Marshall University, BIO, Mylan, VWR International, TechConnectWV, Novartis, Alcon, Sanofi, PhRMA and Amgen.
For additional information or to register, contact Bryan Brown at (304) 546-5500, or visit the website at: www.biowv.org.
Sixth Annual West Virginia Bioscience Summit
Tuesday, April 26
Brad D. Smith Foundation Hall, Marshall University
Conference speakers:
Dr. Jerome Gilbert, president, Marshall University
Michelle Dixon, general manager, Alcon
Dr. Jan Taylor, director of the Division of Science and Research, WV HEPC
Marissa Watkins, director, State Advocacy, PhRMA
Dr. Jagan Valluri, COO, Cordgenics
Dr. Frank Binder, vice president, Microbiological Consultants
Dr. Hongwei Yu, CSO, Progenesis Technologies
Richard Giersch, CEO, CereDx
Steve Turner, CEO, Protea Biosciences
Dr. John Maher, vice president for research, Marshall University
Richard Giersch, director Health Sciences Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Commercialization, WVU
Andrew Nowak, VWR International
