January Conference Celebrates Opening of Medical School's New Campus

University of Hawaiʻi
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Posted: Dec 3, 2004

HONOLULU, Oʻahu — Two Nobel laureates will speak at the Hawaii Bioscience Conference in January to celebrate the grand opening of the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine‘s new campus in Kakaʻako.

Nobel Prize winners J. Michael Bishop, MD, chancellor of the University of California, San Francisco, and David Baltimore, PhD, president of California Institute of Technology, will lead concurrent sessions and panel discussions about the latest discoveries in science and medicine with 15 of the most distinguished researchers in the world. Topics include infectious disease, systems biology, genomics — preventing disease through DNA
analysis — and bioinformatics. An estimated 300 to 500 physician scientists and venture capitalists are expected to attend the two-day meeting January 13 and 14, 2005 at the Hawaii Convention Center.

Five eminent researchers from the John A. Burns School of Medicine also will present their latest findings. Richard Yanigahara, MD, MPH, who guides many infectious disease studies, and Marla Berry, PhD, a new addition to the faculty from Harvard University, will join Duane Gubler, ScD, a renowned specialist on Dengue Fever and West Nile virus who recently left the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to direct the Asia-Pacific Institute for Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases at UH. Ken Ward, MD, internationally recognized in the field of medical genetics and recently awarded a $10.9 million grant for his work, will also speak, along with Ryuzo Yanagimachi, PhD, of cloned mice fame.

In the medical school‘s ongoing effort to link academic medicine to private business, Leroy Hood, MD, PhD, will talk about how he created a successful Seattle-based systems biology company dedicated to predicting and preventing disease. Other highlights include the medical school‘s role in the evolution of Kakaʻako. Luxury condominiums are under construction. Plans for new shops and restaurants in the area are blossoming. Maryland-based Townsend Capital, LLC has drafted plans to construct a 200,000 square foot research facility in Kakaʻako. According to chairman Dennis Townsend, several parties are interested in leasing the incubator space, which will supplement the medical school‘s research building, slated for completion in July 2005.

"This conference will showcase our new medical school, which has already acted as a catalyst for the biotech industry for the state," said Ed Cadman, dean of the John A. Burns School of Medicine. "New companies have emerged, and the outlook is bright for several more to get started here in the near future. Attendees will have the opportunity to see the business potential here in Hawaii, and interact with scientists whose research led to the advent of the biotech industry. In addition to these leading experts, Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will talk about the latest developments in stopping the spread of diseases such as SARS, Dengue Fever and West Nile virus, as well as health protection under the threat of bioterror."

Theodore Liu, Director of the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, agreed: "Developing the Life Sciences industry is one of the state‘s top priorities. This seminal conference will both showcase Hawaii‘s world-class talent in this area and draw to the Islands other global leaders. This conference is another important step in establishing Hawaii as a leader in the Life Sciences field."

In addition to the two Nobel laureates, conference speakers include the Director of the Human Genome Center at the University of Tokyo, the executive director of the Human Genome Institute of Singapore, and respected researchers from Stanford, Yale, Harvard, MIT, University of Utah, and the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health.

Sponsors include HMSA, The Queen‘s Health Systems, Architects Hawaii, Townsend Capital, LLC, Kamehameha Schools, Pacific In Vitro Fertilization Institute, a consortium of pharmaceutical companies, DBEDT, Kajima/Hawaiian Dredging, Enterprise Honolulu, the Hawaii Convention Center and the Hawaii Tourism Authority. Preferred hotels are the Outrigger Reef on the Beach and the Outrigger Waikiki (www.outrigger.com) and the Ala Moana Hotel (www.alamoanahotel.com).

Conference Information

Register on the Web: www.mcahawaii.com/uhbiocon

OR Fax registration form to MC & A at (808) 589-5501, attention Michele Lee.
For conference registration inquiries call (808) 922-0011 or (808) 521-3611, x12.

Cost: $425 includes two-day meeting, breakfasts, lunches, and Gala Reception and Tour.
Those not attending the entire conference may purchase tickets separately to attend a lunch
or the Gala Reception and Tour at Kakaʻako.

Thursday lunch: 12:30-1:45 p.m. Keynote speaker J. Michael Bishop, MD, Nobel laureate
and Chancellor, University of California, San Francisco: "Modeling Human Cancer in the
Mouse" Lunch only: $45 per person.

Friday lunch: 12:30-1:45 p.m. Keynote speaker David Baltimore, PhD, Nobel laureate and President, California Institute of Technology: "Bringing Science to Medicine: The Interface Problem"
Lunch only: $45 per person.

Gala Reception and Tour of the Medical School, Friday January 14, 2005, 6 p.m. to
9 p.m. Catered by Indigo. Valet parking available. Reception and tour only: $160 per person.