MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge Presents: "Promise of Tissue Engineering: Making Regenerative Medicine a Reality"

Keynote by Regenerative Medicine Expert Dr. Joseph P. Vacanti

Panel Will Discuss Progress in and the Future of Tissue Engineering


CAMBRIDGE, MA--(Marketwire - May 4, 2009) - On May 14, the MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge will feature a panel discussion on the advancement and future of tissue engineering, also known as regenerative medicine. With recent advances in the fields of biochemistry, cell and molecular biology, and genetics, tissue engineering has progressed rapidly and has the potential to deliver dramatic improvements in medical care for hundreds of thousands of patients.

Dr. Joseph P. Vacanti, a John Homans professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School and chief of the Department of Pediatric Surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), will give the keynote address. Following Vacanti's presentation, a team of panelists will discuss the potential of tissue engineering, highlighting its unique challenges and successes and probing the issues behind translating the science successfully into business.

Keynote speaker:

Outside his work with the Harvard Medical School and the Department of Pediatric Surgery at MGH, Dr. Joseph P. Vacanti is also surgeon-in-chief at the MassGeneral Hospital for Children, co-director of the Center for Regenerative Medicine, director of the Laboratory for Tissue Engineering and Organ Fabrication, and chief of Pediatric Transplantation at MGH. Vacanti received a B.S. from Creighton University, an M.D. from the University of Nebraska's College of Medicine and an M.S. from Harvard Medical School. He has been working in the field of tissue engineering since its beginnings in the early 1980s.

Panelists:

Damien Bates is chief medical officer at Organogenesis, Inc., a leading regenerative medicine company. Prior to joining Organogenesis, Bates served as global medical director for Baxter BioSurgery. He holds an M.D. from the University of Sydney and a Ph.D. in developmental biology from the University of Melbourne.

Sudha Kadiyala is the senior director for business development and strategic planning at Advanced Technologies and Regenerative Medicine LLC, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. Kadiyala has served in multiple roles at other Johnson & Johnson subsidiaries, including director of cartilage and soft tissue technologies and director of bone and spinal biologics. Kadiyala has a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, a Master's degree from the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College and a Bachelor's degree from the Indian Institute of Technology.

Michael J. Lysaght is the director of the Center for Biological Engineering at Brown University. Before joining Brown in 1994, Lysaght held positions at Amicon Corp., the Max Planck Institute for Biophysics in Frankfurt, Germany, University Hospital of Munich, Baxter International and CytoTherapeutics. Lysaght received an A.B. from Georgetown University, a B.S. and M.S. in Chemical Engineering from MIT, and a Ph.D. in Biochemical Engineering from the University of New South Wales.

Gary Arlen Smith, Esquire, is vice president and general counsel at Tengion, a clinical-stage biotechnology company. Prior to joining Tengion, Smith served as VP and general counsel for Enzon Pharmaceuticals, and earlier was in private law practice, specializing in the life sciences industry. He is a member of the Health and Science Desk Advisory Committee of public broadcasting station WHYY. Smith earned a B.A. in chemistry from Franklin and Marshall College and a law degree from Temple University Beasley School of Law.

When: Thursday, May 14, 2009
      5:30pm: Networking
      6:15-8:00pm: Program
      8:00-9:00pm: Networking Reception

Where: Stata Center (Bldg. 32), Kirsch Auditorium, 32 Vassar St.,
Cambridge, MA

Program organizers: Richard Smith, Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP,
John L. Brooks III, Healthcare Capital Consulting, Pearl Freier,
Cambridge BioPartners, Adriana Jenkins, William Whelan, Mintz Levin

Registration and information: http://www.mitforumcambridge.org/may.html

Pricing: Forum members: $20, Non-members: $30, MIT Staff with ID: $20.
Students from all universities are free with college ID. Pre-registration
is encouraged.

Contact Information: MIT ENTERPRISE FORUM OF CAMBRIDGE CONTACT: Regina Smith MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge 617-253-3937 PRESS CONTACT: Brad Baker (for MIT Enterprise Forum) CHEN PR, Inc. 781-672-3118