DRUG DEVELOPMENT AND DIAGNOSTICS MINI-SYMPOSIUM

TRANSLATING MOLECULES TO TREATMENTS I

13.00-13.10 Opening words by Associate Professor Diana Toivola

13.10-14.00 M. Bishr Omary Molecular Pathogenesis of Porphyria and Therapeutic Approaches Using Zebrafish Models

M. Bishr Omary is Professor of Molecular & Integrative Physiology, the H Marvin Pollard Professor of Gastroenterology, Professor of Internal Medicine, and Special Advisor on Research to the Dean at University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, USA. He is also guest professor in Drug Development and Diagnostics at Åbo Akademi University in Turku. Bishr is a world leader in the area of intermediate filamentsand their associated diseases, with special focus on the regulation and function of keratins and lamins in digestive organs. Another active area of research in his laboratory involves studying the mechanism of porphyrin mediated cell damage in the context of the genetic porphyria disorders. He currently utilizes high throughput drug screening approaches to identify compounds with potential therapeutic benefits for intermediate filament associated diseases and for porphyrias.

https://medicine.umich.edu/dept/molecular-integrative-physiology/bishr-omary-md-phd

14:00-14.50 Caroline Heckman Personalizing Patient Care to Overcome Drug Resistance in Hematological Malignancies

Caroline Heckman is a Group leader and Principal Investigator at the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland FIMM, Helsinki Institute of Life Sciences, University of Helsinki in Finland. Caroline’s research is focused on understanding the mechanisms driving disease progression and drug resistance in hematological malignancies. She also applies technologies for better translation of basic research results towards clinical implementation.

https://www.fimm.fi/en/research/groups/heckman

14.50-15.10 Coffee break

15.10-16.00 “The ABCs of a postdoc in the US” with M. Bishr Omary

This interactive session is open to all interested and will cover tips and advice on doing a postdoc in general and especially related to being a postdoc in US.

Register before Friday January 11th at https://survey.abo.fi/lomakkeet/10837/lomake.html

For more information, contact Diana Toivola, e-mail: diana.toivola@abo.fi