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Innovation in healthcare and biotechnology is accelerating through the use of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and big data, alongside technological advances in regenerative medicine and gene delivery. The 2024 MIT Tokyo Life Science Symposium, co-hosted with LINK-J, will feature MIT faculty and MIT-connected startups speaking on the latest healthcare technologies that will enable new treatments for cancers, metabolic disorders, genetic diseases, and more.
Topics will include advances in DNA nanotechnology and synthetic biology, alongside the implications for pharmaceutical and synthetic biology applications. The role of sophisticated AI tools for identifying new drug candidates will be explored, as well as cutting-edge Machine Learning models that couple drug efficacy with synthesis and manufacturing considerations. A key focus will include biomanufacturing breakthroughs, from advanced reactor systems to the design of pilot-scale continuous manufacturing approaches for mRNA therapeutics.
Attendees can take advantage of this opportunity to explore collaboration potential and network with academic leaders, healthcare providers, and global industry partners.
Steve Palmer is a Senior Director within MIT’s Office of Corporate Relations. Steven comes to OCR with many years of experience building relationships, advancing diplomacy, and seeking new business initiatives in both the public and private sectors. He has spent his career highlighting and translating technological issues for policy makers, engineers, analysts, and business leaders. Steven has worked in government, industry, and academia in the U.S. and abroad. He is also an Executive Coach at MIT Sloan and Harvard Business School. Steven earned his Bachelor of Science at Northeastern University, and his M.B.A. at MIT Sloan where he was in the Fellows Program for Innovation and Global Leadership.
President and COO, Life Science Innovation Network Japan (LINK-J) Scientific Advisor and Fellow, The Office of Innovation Industry-Academia Collaboration, Kyoto University
Shunichi Takahashi joined Mitsui Pharmaceuticals in 1993 as a scientist and, after two corporate mergers, became a senior scientist at Bayer in 2007. From 2001 to 2007, he was seconded to the company’s research institute in the USA, where he was engaged in cardiovascular and immunology research. He was also involved in regenerative medicine and iPS cell research at Bayer’s Kobe Research Center. Later, he served as Manager of Cardiovascular in Drug Development and Head of Medical Affairs Primary Care Department at Bayer Yakuhin. In 2013, he led the establishment of the company’s first Open Innovation Center in Japan and was appointed Head of the Center upon its opening in 2014. He led a partnership with Kyoto University which is the first comprehensive partnership between Kyoto University and a multinational pharmaceutical company. He also established CoLaborator Kobe in Japan, the company’s third startup incubator in the world. As a member of the Bayer Open Innovation Global Leadership Team, he led a wide range of open innovations in Japan.
In 2022, he joined Life Science Innovation Network Japan (LINK-J) as President and COO. He is also a Scientific Advisor and Fellow of the Office of Innovation Industry-Academia Collaboration at Kyoto University.
Class of 1957 Career Development Professor and Assistant Professor, MIT Chemical Engineering and MIT Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Connor W. Coley is the Class of 1957 Career Development Professor and an Assistant Professor at MIT in the Department of Chemical Engineering and the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. He received his B.S. and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Caltech and MIT, respectively, and did his postdoctoral training at the Broad Institute. His research group at MIT works at the interface of chemistry and data science to develop models that understand how molecules behave, interact, and react and use that knowledge to engineer new ones, with an emphasis on therapeutic discovery. Connor is a recipient of C&EN’s “Talented Twelve” award, Forbes Magazine’s “30 Under 30” for Healthcare, Technology Review’s 35 Innovators Under 35, the NSF CAREER award, the ACS COMP OpenEye Outstanding Junior Faculty Award, the Bayer Early Excellence in Science Award, the 3M NTFA, and was named a Schmidt AI2050 Early Career Fellow and a 2023 Samsung AI Researcher of the Year.
Artificial intelligence and machine learning have become important components of the computational toolbox that can be used to advance chemical research and discovery. In this talk, I will discuss our group’s work advancing AI/ML as it applies to the broad subfields of medicinal chemistry and synthetic organic chemistry. I will describe several approaches to facilitate decision-making when planning iterative design-make-test-analyze cycles, including the use of formal optimization techniques for selecting molecules from virtual libraries or proposed by generative AI and the use of computer-aided synthesis planning algorithms to define synthetically-accessible chemical spaces. A pervasive theme of our research is the formulation of problems in molecular design and synthesis in a manner amenable to computational approaches.
Founder, Biomixing
Ines Herrero is a mathematician with a Ph.D. in Business Management, combining quantitative expertise with strategic insight. With a strong background in fostering relationships between academia and industry, she offers a unique perspective on interdisciplinary collaborations. Having spearheaded the inception of three successful startups, her entrepreneurial spirit continues to fuel innovation at Biomixing, driving advancements in this cutting-edge field. Ines epitomizes the integration of academic knowledge and practical application, bridging the gap between theory and real-world outcomes.
Co-Founder and CEO, Kano Therapeutics
Floris is the Co-Founder and CEO of Kano Therapeutics, a biotech startup enabling cell and gene therapies based in Cambridge, MA. She holds a PhD in Biophysics from the Technical University of Munich, focusing on DNA nanotechnology. She started the company based on her postdoctoral research work in Mark Bathe’s BatheBioNano lab at MIT. Floris was awarded MIT’s 2020 Innovative Woman in Entrepreneurship Award, the Activate Global fellowship, Pillar VCs Founder to Watch in Biotech Award 2021, The Wave Summit 21 Emerging Woman Founders Award, and most recently, the Termeer Fellowship for first-time CEOs.
CEO, Quantiscope
Kevin Christopher, JD/MBA, is the dynamic CEO of Quantiscope, known as a pioneering force in AI-driven solutions for drug discovery and biomanufacturing. With a distinguished background in law, business, and technology, Kevin brings a multifaceted perspective to his role. Operating from Salt Lake City's prestigious Altitude Lab, Kevin fosters an environment of excellence and collaboration, inspiring teams to push boundaries and achieve unprecedented breakthroughs.
Founder and CEO, Tiba Biotech
Karl Ruping is CEO and co-founder (with Jasdave Chahal and Christian Mandl) of Tiba Biotech, an MIT and Whitehead Institute venture focused on mRNA vaccines and therapeutics. He began his career as a patent attorney, specializing in international patent litigation and intellectual property licensing for both emerging ventures and global clients. Karl’s technical expertise includes bioinformatics, molecular modelling and large-scale computing.
Karl studied economics at Colby College, computer science at Temple University, and was a Research Fellow at MIT’s School of Engineering. He holds a juris doctorate from Boston University, after which he was a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of Tokyo’s Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology. Today he is a member of the International Advisory Committee of Harvard’s Asia Center, and is an advisor to a number of MIT-related startups and student-led programs.
Dr. Richard D. Braatz is the Edwin R. Gilliland Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT, where he conducts research into advanced biomanufacturing systems. He is the Director of the Center on Continuous mRNA Manufacturing and leads process data analytics, mechanistic modeling, and control systems for projects on vaccine, monoclonal antibody, and gene therapy manufacturing. Dr. Braatz received an M.S. and Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology and was the Millennium Chair and Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Visiting Scholar at Harvard University before moving to MIT. Dr. Braatz has collaborated with more than 20 companies, including Novartis, Pfizer, Merck, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Biogen, Amgen, Takeda, and Abbott Labs. He has published over 300 papers and three books. Dr. Braatz is a Fellow of IEEE, IFAC, AIChE, and AAAS and a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering.
This presentation describes a digital twin that is being developed for end-to-end continuous manufacturing of mRNA biotherapeutics. Mechanistic models are being constructed for all unit operations. These dynamic models are integrated with models for constraints, uncertainties, and disturbances to form a digital twin for automated, integrated continuous manufacturing. The digital twin is suitable for (1) evaluation and validation of mechanistic hypotheses to gain mechanistic understanding, (2) comparison of multiple process flowsheet options, (3) optimization of individual unit operations and their control systems, (4) the design of end-to-end operations, and (5) the real-time operation alongside plant operations. Experimentally validated results are presented for multiple unit operations.
Rebekah Miller joined the Office of Corporate Relations team as a Program Director in March 2022. Rebekah brings to the OCR expertise in the life sciences and chemical industries as well as in applications including sensors, consumer electronics, semiconductors and renewable energy.
Prior to joining the OCR, Rebekah worked for over a decade at Merck KGaA, most recently as a Global Key Account Manager in the Semiconductor division. Rebekah also served as Head of Business and Technology Development for the Semiconductor Specialty Accounts, during which time she led strategic planning and technology roadmapping.
While at Merck KGaA, Miller established a strong track record in industry-university partnerships, corporate entrepreneurship, and innovation management, with experience in roles spanning Technology Scouting, Alliance Management, and New Business Development. Early in her career, she led early phase R&D projects as a member of the Boston Concept Lab, which focused on technology transfer from academia.
Miller earned her B.A. in Chemistry and Biology from Swarthmore College and her Ph.D. in Chemistry, with a Designated Emphasis in Nanoscale Science and Engineering, from the University of California, Berkeley. She first joined MIT as a postdoctoral associate in the Bioengineering and Material Science Departments.
Miki Kato joined the MIT Industrial Liaison Program as a Program Director in October 2021. Mr. Kato has over 20 years of experience in new business development, including various activities with MIT.
Prior to joining the ILP, Kato worked at FUJIFILM Corporation for 40 years in various new business development sectors. He was President of FUJIFILM Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc., conducting the clinical trials of FUJIFILM pipeline drugs and leading the joint research project in drug delivery with MIT’s Koch Institute. During his tenure, he also collaborated with the Department of Electrical Engineering at MIT for digital camera’s CMOS image sensors and the Department of Materials Sciences and Engineering for high-speed photodetectors.
Kato has presented at several conferences at the Cambridge Innovation Center, including the 2018 Japan Innovation Forum with the Consulate General of Japan and the 60th-anniversary Kyoto-Boston sister city celebration Life Science Forum (2019) with the City of Boston, the Japan Society of Boston, and the Consulate General of Japan.
He holds an M.E. in Polymer Chemistry from Kyoto University and an M.S. in Management of Technology from MIT.
Chief Scientific Officer, Alivexis
Yoh joined Alivexis in January 2018 from Astellas Pharma, where he worked for the past 18+ years in various disease biology R&D and management capacities. He most recently served as Director at Astellas Innovation Management, the innovation scouting and operations group of Astellas’ R&D department in Cambridge, MA. Prior to this, he worked at Mitobridge in Cambridge, MA where he served as the chief liaison to Astellas and established and launched their portfolio of discovery programs as Visiting Scientist, culminating in the successful closing of their recent $450M acquisition by Astellas. Throughout his career, Yoh has proposed and led over 25 discovery programs and delivered multiple IND compounds. Yoh holds a Ph.D. from Tokyo Medical and Dental University and a B.S. from the University of Tokyo.
Director, Alliance Management, Neuroscience Therapeutic Area Unit, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited
Hideyuki serves as a Director of Takeda's Alliance Management group in the Neuroscience Therapeutic Unit at Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd., where he plays a crucial role in fostering successful collaborations with Takeda’s alliance partners. He has a solid background in alliance management and experience working in the US, specifically in Boston, as well as in Japan. Hideyuki leads alliance management activities with global biotech partners across various therapeutic areas, including neuroscience and oncology. He holds a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Science from Tohoku University.