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“UCLA Technology and Aging Conference: Successful Aging in a High-Tech World” on May 9th   --What are the greatest challenges we face as we age? Will our health care and lifestyle improve?—   --This unique conference will explore cutting-edge innovations in the medical, consumer and lifestyle fields that help people live better longer--   For registration and more information, please call (310) 794-2620 or visit http://www.cme.ucla.edu/courses/event-description?event_id=401071     In one of the first conferences of its kind, the UCLA Center on Aging will present a one-day symposium featuring national academic and industry leaders who will discuss the interface between aging and new technology. The event will take place May 9 at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. Breakout sessions and speakers from UCLA and around the country will cover the latest technological developments in a wide range of fields, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, arthritis, nutrition, diabetes, audiology, exercise technology, brain games, joint replacement and ophthalmology.     Key Issues to be discussed at the Conference are:   Leveraging the Power of Technological Innovations During this session, Nicole Spelhaug, chief of product development for MayoClinic.com, will share how the Internet has allowed for entirely new access to and consumption of health care information. Deborah Estrin, director of the UCLA Center for Embedded Networked Sensing, will describe opportunities for innovative health care research and intervention through the leveraging of available mobile devices. Bob Foster, adjunct professor at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, will moderate this discussion.   The Operating Room of the Future This session will focus on current and future technologies to assist surgeons, including robotic surgery, imaging, remote surgery and teleconferencing. Dr. E. Carmack Holmes, executive director of the UCLA Center for Advanced Surgery and Interventional Technology (CASIT) and chairman emeritus of the UCLA Department of Surgery, will moderate the panel. Dr. Peter Schulam, UCLA chief of endourology, associate professor of urology and co-director of CASIT, and Erin Johnson, vice president of research for Zimmer Inc., will cover the latest technological efforts in medical-device research and development.   The Future of Health Care Health care as we know it today has many unique technological interfaces, and this discussion will address future technological platforms that will be available to individuals and the medical community. Dr. Meera Kanhouwa, physician executive of Microsoft's Health Sciences Group; David Whitlinger, president and chairman of Continua Health Alliance; and Dadong Wan, senior researcher at Accenture Technology Labs, will be the featured speakers. Dr. C. Anthony Jones, founder and president of Next Lifesciences, will moderate the panel.   Connectivity and Mobility for the Older Consumer Susan Ayers Walker, founder of Smart Silvers Alliance and a technology reporter for AARP, will moderate a panel discussion that will include Donald Jones, vice president of Qualcomm Inc.; Susan B. Riley, president and chief executive officer of Elite Care Technologies; and Fred Lupton, human factors manager at the Toyota Technical Center. Panelists will discuss the impact of technology on quality of life for the older consumer and will present their newest applications, including wireless and mobile devices that will deliver health care monitoring and coaching, and location-based services. Speakers will also discuss how technology integrates into independent living and assists caregiving and how the automotive industry is stepping up to the challenges of older drivers.      Keynote speakers will include Joseph Coughlin, the founder and director of MIT's AgeLab, and high-tech industry maverick Eric Dishman, director of product research and innovation at Intel Corp. Many other speakers at the conference have been featured in the national media for their work and research on aging issues.   UCLA Chancellor Gene Block, who holds appointments in the department of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences and the department of physiological science, will open the conference by addressing issues related to circadian biology and how it affects the aging population.    Legendary actor and author Kirk Douglas and Dr. Bruce Dobkin, medical director of the UCLA Neurologic Rehabilitation and Research Unit, will address the effects of stroke and discuss rehabilitation options. Their candid lunchtime conversation will touch on the personal and professional impact of stroke disease and the role technology can play in recovery. Following lunch, Douglas will be available to sign his books "My Stroke of Luck" and "Let's Face It." Dr. Gerald S. Levey, vice chancellor for medical sciences and dean of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, will introduce the two luncheon speakers and moderate the talk.   Small, a professor of psychiatry at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA, will present new brain-scanning technologies that can detect early and subtle signs of age-related neurodegeneration and help track the effectiveness of interventions designed to protect a healthy brain from future decline.   In another session, Small will be joined by Dr. P. Murali Doraiswamy, chief of the division of biological psychiatry at Duke University, to demonstrate how activities to keep the brain alert and fit have evolved from working crossword and Sudoku puzzles to playing electronic brain games that help maintain peak mental function.  .   Key speakers, including Dr. Gary Small, Dr. P. Murali Doraiswamy and others, will be available to sign their latest books.   The Friday, May 9, conference will run from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.   Share your Favorite Biotech/Pharma/Medicine/Clinical Trials articles on Your Helix!-Professional Networking Site Designed for Biotech/Pharma Community:

Intergovernmental Meeting on Pandemic Influenza Preparedness

Date: 20-23 November 2007 Place: Geneva, Switzerland A four-day meeting will take place at the WHO headquarters in Geneva from 20 to 23 November 2007. The meeting aims to report on progress achieved in strengthening procedures for the sharing of influenza viruses and to discuss the benefits of virus sharing, which include increased access to vaccines. More information is available at http://www.who.int/gb/pip/ Agenda Includes the Following: ·         Reports by the Director-General-Summary progress reports ·         Patent issues related to influenza viruses and their genes ·         Sharing of influenza viruses and access to vaccines and other benefits: Interdisciplinary Working Group on Pandemic Influenza Preparedness ·         Schedule of regional consultations The Working paper on Patent issues related to influenza viruses and their genes is available in English Mapping of Intellectual Property Related to the Production of Pandemic Influenza Vaccines Avian and pandemic influenza: developments, response and follow-up, and application of the International Health Regulations (2005). A Description of the Process of Seasonal and H5N1 Influenza Vaccine Virus Selection and Development

A Nature Conference   Massachusetts General Hospital, Karolinska Institutet and Nature Medicine are pleased to announce “Days of Molecular Medicine (DMM) 2007- Emerging Technologies and Cancer Biology” May 22-24, 2007, Cambridge, Massachusetts.   Early bird registration closes April 2nd. Register at http://www.nature.com/nm/meetings/dmm2007/index.html   Emerging technologies and Cancer Biology is the topic of DMM 2007, the 7th meeting in the annual series that has established itself as the leading international conference on molecular medicine. Global in both perspective an participation, DMM focuses each year on a topic that highlights converging biological pathways, principles and therapeutic strategies for wide spectrum of complex human diseases.   DMM 2007 will focus on how our understanding of tumor biology has progressed as a result of the advances in cutting-edge technologies such as chemical biology, systems biology, nanotechnology and molecular imaging. These and other emerging approaches and technologies are beginning to have a profound influence on developments within molecular medicine.

WORKSHOP INTRODUCTION This interactive course provides an in-depth introduction to the methodology of design and implementation of controlled clinical trials and general process to develop new drugs.  We will review the regulatory context, standard methodology, ethical and practical issues as well as industry best practice.  This program provides a unique opportunity for the participants who are looking to initiate a career in clinical trials or individuals who have recently started such a position and need a basic training to be more proficient in their function.    Day 1            Overview of the Drug Development Process Phases of a Clinical Trial- Phase I, II, III, IV Good Clinical Practices (GCP) and International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) guidelines The Clinical Research Team Protocol Design, Randomization, Blinding of Trials Selection of Investigators and Sites   Day 2   Institutional Review Board/Protection of Human Subjects Clinical Trial Documents- Case Report Forms, Informed Consent, etc. Project Management and Clinical Trials Investigational Product Adverse Event and Safety Reporting Monitoring Clinical Trials  Instructors Info   Bruno Gagnon, B.Pharm., M.Sc. Bruno Gagnon is a Senior Consultant with the Biologics Consulting Group, Inc.  He creates powerful partnerships that enable his clients to optimize the way they execute their clinical trials.  Until August of 2006, he was a functional leader at Chiron Corporation (now Novartis) in BioPharmaceutical Development.   Bruno has 14 years of experience in Clinical Operations.  He held positions of increasing responsibilities in the Big Pharma, CRO and Biotech sectors.  His teaching experience includes San Francisco State University, Barnett International professional seminars, University of San Diego, UCSD Extension.  He is also frequently invited as a speaker for different pharmaceutical industry conferences.       Neerja Sethi, Ph.D. Neerja Sethi is the Founder and CEO of Astragen LLC, a company focused on Genomics and Bio-IT solutions for Drug Development and Clinical Trials. Neerja Sethi is also the co-founder of a Stem Cells Therapeutics and Pharmacogenomics startup company-Cellastra Inc. She has over 12 years experience in molecular biotechnology research and over 7 years experience in technology development, business development, developing global alliances, consultancy, as a faculty and clinical trials training. She has provided Clinical Trials training for SFSU, CEL program and for IES, Inc.   Neerja Sethi has developed successful research programs in the Departments of Medicine and Stomatology at University of California San Francisco Medical Center and at the Swiss Tropical Institute, Basel, Switzerland.  Her career has been focused on development of therapeutics in the fields of Oncology and Virology and on applying Functional Genomics in different aspects of therapeutic development. She has a number of awards, grants and peer-reviewed publications to her credit.