Seminars

Translational and Personalized Medicine

Friday, 19 February

Translational research transforms scientific discoveries from the laboratory bench into practical clinical applications at the patient's bedside. This seminar focuses on the challenges and opportunities in translating the burgeoning science and technology of genomics into a greater understanding of human diseases and personalized treatment.

Evaluating and Funding Translational Research

Organized in cooperation with the journal Science Translational Medicine

During the last 10 years a new breed of scientist, the clinician-researcher, evolved to take on translational medicine challenges, and a novel set of review criteria for interdisciplinary projects were developed by funding agencies to stimulate translational research. This session addresses the criteria for evaluating translational research and the effectiveness of the NIH Roadmap and the FDA Critical Path Initiatives. It will also cover new paradigms for drug development with an emphasis on biomarker and imaging endpoints. Finally, the speakers will attempt to glance at the future, predicting where translational medicine might be in 2020.

Organized by: Maria T. Vassileva, Foundation for the National Institutes of Health; Juli Staiano, AAAS Development; Katrina Kelner, Science Translational Medicine

Speakers

Eric J. Topol, The Scripps Institute
Outcomes of the NIH Roadmap: Impact on Translational Medicine

Gail Cassell, Eli Lilly and Company
The FDA Critical Path Initiative: A Perspective of the First Four Years

Ellen V. Sigal, Friends of Cancer Research
Novel Funding Models for Translational Research

Discussant

Gary Firestein, UCSD School of Medicine

Genome Analyses and Sequencing To Advance Drug Discovery and Treatment

This session will address the rapidly moving scientific and technological field of genomics and its utility in elucidating the biological basis of human diseases and developing molecular diagnostics that can be used to individualize drug therapy of human diseases. Topics will cover whole-genome sequencing using "next generation" technologies, genome wide SNP analyses, and candidate gene strategies as well as the computational, ethical, and privacy issues surrounding the generation of whole genome data for individual patients. This field of science and technology will touch every area of health care in the coming decade.

Organized by: William Evans, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Speakers

Richard Wilson, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis
Discovery of Poly-Genetic Determinants of Diseases Through Whole Genome Sequencing

Mary Relling, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Genetics of Racial Differences in Drug Response, Disease Risk, and Health Disparities

Dan Roden, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
Challenges and Opportunities in the Assembly of Population Pharmacogenomics

Discussants

Scott Weiss, Harvard Medical School

William Evans, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

The Road to Personalized Medicine

The goal of personalized medicine is to deliver the right drug to the right person at the right dose in an effort to reduce the cost of high quality health care and minimize human suffering due to adverse events. For example, hospitalization due to adverse drug reactions in Britain alone is estimated to cost $847 million annually. New tools are required to improve decision-making during drug development and in the clinic. This session will provide insight into technological advancements spurring the discovery of new biomarkers such as genes, proteins, and metabolites. Translational approaches to biomarker identification and qualification for use will be presented. Experiences with human clinical trials that implement pharmacogenetic biomarkers of safety and efficacy will be described.

Organized by: Donna L. Mendrick, U.S. Food and Drug Administration; Vishal S. Vaidya, Harvard Medical School

Speakers

Ivan Rusyn, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Modeling Toxicity in the Population Using Experimental Models

Vishal S. Vaidya, Harvard Medical School
Bench to Bedside Detection of Kidney Toxicity

Maryellen de Mars, Critical Path Institute
Using Genetic Information To Predict and Prevent Drug Toxicity

Discussant

Donna L. Mendrick, U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Marine Sciences and Society

Saturday, 20 February

The oceans provide us with many economic and aesthetic benefits as well as vital ecosystem services. These include seafood, pharmaceuticals, minerals, recreation, and much of the oxygen we breathe. Evaluating available science and unique aspects of marine systems is critical to successful ocean stewardship.

Does Size Matter? Rationales for Large Marine Reserves

Research has demonstrated the value of the world's great terrestrial parks, from Yellowstone to the Serengeti, in preserving ecosystems, protecting wide-ranging species, and supporting non-extractive industries. Do large ocean reserves offer similar benefits? This session will examine the successes of large terrestrial parks, compare marine and terrestrial reserves of similar scale, and explore conservation benefits of large marine reserves, including increased resilience to climate change. Speakers will discuss what is being learned from existing large, no-take marine reserves and consider ongoing and potential efforts to establish additional large protected areas.

Organized by: Emily Frost and Angela T. Bednarek, The Pew Charitable Trusts; Terry Hughes, James Cook University, Australia

Moderator

Jane Lubchenco, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Speakers

Stuart L. Pimm, Duke University
Large Terrestrial Protected Areas and Lessons for the Marine Environment

Stephen R. Palumbi, Stanford University
Spreading the Wealth: Design and Function of Highly Protected Reserve Networks

Terry Hughes, James Cook University, Australia
Proving the Benefits of Very Large Marine Reserves

Discussant

Jay Nelson, The Pew Charitable Trusts

Marine Spatial Planning: A New Approach for Balancing Ocean Uses and Ecosystem Health

Human activities have led to significant degradation of ocean ecosystems. This failure is largely due to a traditionally balkanized approach to ocean management. Each activity—such as fishing, shipping, oil and gas development, and renewable energy production—is governed by a different set of laws and administered by a different agency. President Obama has directed all federal agencies with jurisdiction over activities that affect the oceans to develop a "framework for effective coastal and marine spatial planning" that "addresses conservation, economic activity, user conflict, and sustainable use of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources." This symposium explores the latest developments in the science, policy, and practice of marine spatial planning.

Organized by: Morgan Gopnik, Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions; Mary Turnipseed, Duke University

Speakers

Larry Crowder, Duke University
The Science and Management of Coupled Social-Ecological Systems in the Ocean

Kevin St. Martin, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Mapping Communities: Linking People to Ocean Spaces

Andrew Rosenberg, University of New Hampshire
Advancing Ocean Planning in Massachusetts: The Role of a Unique Stakeholder Coalition

Mary Turnipseed, Duke University
Re-imagining the Public Trust Doctrine to Inform U.S. Marine Spatial Planning

Jo Foden, University of East Anglia, United Kingdom
Evaluating Marine Plans: Lessons Learned from Aquatic Environmental Assessments

Fanny Douvere, UNESCO, Paris
Marine Spatial Planning: A Step-by-Step Approach Toward Ecosystem-Based Management

Arctic Sea-Ice Loss: What This Means for the Conservation of Arctic Marine Ecosystems

Sea-ice, a distinguishing feature of polar oceans, has a significant influence on the life history, diet, and general ecology of polar, marine organisms. Present-day sea-ice loss is fundamentally altering the structure and function of the various components of marine ecosystems in the Arctic, from primary producers to top predators. The observed and projected reduction in perennial sea-ice coverage also will leave room for increased human activity such as transportation, commercial fishing, and oil and gas exploration. To be effective, appropriate management and conservation of the Arctic Ocean must include the potential future response of Arctic ecosystems to sea-ice melt due to climate forcing. This session will explore sea-ice variability in a melting Arctic, offer background on the linkages between sea-ice and Arctic marine ecosystems, examine how they may be responding to reduced ice coverage, and discuss the data and steps that are needed for an effective arctic conservation plan.

Organized by: Tara Connelly and Gabriela Chavarria, Natural Resources Defense Council

Speakers

John Walsh, University of Alaska, Fairbanks
Climate Change in the Arctic: What Are the Signs and What Is Predicted?

Jacqueline Grebmeier, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
The Potential Effect of Sea-Ice Loss on Arctic Marine Ecosystems

Frances Beinecke, Natural Resources Defense Council
Role of the Aspen Institute's Commission on Arctic Climate Change in the Arctic

Discussant

Charles Clusen, Natural Resources Defense Council

History and Future of Laser Technology

Sunday, 21 February

A prominent example of the impact that pure scientific research can have on society is the story of the laser. The 50th anniversary of the first working laser takes place in 2010. From DVD players to eye surgery, the laser is one of the greatest inventions of the 20th century and has revolutionized daily life.

Celebrating the Birth of the Laser: A Look Back After 50 Years

In 1960, the laser was an embryonic research tool with no clear applications beyond the laboratory—"a solution in search of a problem." Since then, the laser has acquired immense commercial, industrial, and scientific importance. Its impact on how we live, from health care to entertainment to national security, has been enormous. This session tells the story of how the laser came to be, and provides a first-hand account of the birth and early growth of this ubiquitous scientific device.

Organized by: Alan Chodos, American Physical Society, College Park, MD; Anthony J. Campillo, Optical Society of America, Washington, DC

Speakers

Anthony Siegman, Stanford University
How the Laser Came To Be

William B. Bridges, California Institute of Technology
Gas Lasers: The Early Years

Jeff Hecht, Laser Focus World
Looking Back at How the Laser Evolved

Next Generation of Extreme Optical Tools and Applications

The "Century of the Photon" began in 1960 with the invention of a unique light source, the laser. With advancements in higher power, narrower color, shorter wavelength, or higher quality, the usefulness of light as a probe has increased. Each of the laser-based tools covered in this session extends the utility of the photon as a probe of the fundamental properties of the universe and represents the current state-of-the-art in developing the next generation of measurement tools and techniques. Topics include the generation light at the extremes of intensity, photon energy, pulse duration, brightness, and power as well as new applications. Finally, new tools may lead to optical probing of the weakest of the forces, gravity.

Organized by: Christopher Ebbers, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Speakers

Robert L. Byer, Stanford University
Quantum Noise Limited Lasers and the Search for Gravitational Waves

Margaret Murnane, University of Colorado, Boulder
Attosecond Light and Science at the Time-Scale of Electron Motion

Christopher Barty, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Revolutionizing Isotope Science and Applications with Laser-Like Gamma-Rays

Keith Hodgson, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Next Generation X-Ray Lasers and Applications

Toshiki Tajima, Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics, Germany
Relativistic Optics and Applications with Ultra-Intense Lasers

Wim Leemans, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Laser-Based Particle Acceleration and the Path to TeV Physics

Ultra-Cold, Ultra-Fast, and Ultra-Hot Uses of Lasers

Lasers at the extreme dominate this session. Lasers are involved with the cooling and trapping of atoms, generating "ultra-cold" states of matter on Earth—less than a billionth of a degree above Absolute Zero—that allow the testing of assemblies of atoms governed by quantum mechanical principles. Fiber-optic-based data communication—laser beams transmitted through glass wires—now dominate the movement of information, transmitting much of the world's conversations and commerce at "ultra-fast" data rates. The National Ignition Facility is now fully operational and ready to conduct experiments at the extremes of pressure and temperature. The experimental campaign to create "ultra-hot" matter in a laboratory, previously occurring only deep within the center of stars, is upon us.

Organized by: Thomas M. Baer, Stanford Photonics Research Institute

Speakers

William D. Phillips, National Institute of Standards and Technology
Laser Cooling and Trapping: Making the Coldest Stuff in the Universe

David N. Payne, University of Southampton, United Kingdom
How Lasers and Glass Fibers Changed Our World

Edward Moses, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
National Ignition Facility: Creating Star Power in the Laboratory