Chuanbin Mao is an Edith Kinney Gaylord Presidential Professor of the University of Oklahoma. He received his PhD from Northeastern University in China and extensive postdoctoral training in biomaterials and bionanotechnology from Tsinghua University in Beijing and the University of Texas at Austin. He received CAREER award from the National Science Foundation New Scientist award from the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology and Distinguished Junior Faculty award from the Chinese American Chemistry Chemical Biology Association. He is serving as a senior associate editor for the journal Microscopy Research Technique. He is a reviewer of about 20 international journals and serves as proposal review panelists for National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health.

His research focuses on Biomaterials and Biomimetic Materials, Self-assembly of Biomolecules, Biologically directed Nano-Synthesis and Assembly, Nanotechnology and Nanobiotechnology, Nanomedicine, Cancer Treatment and Bone Regeneration.

Dr. Rao is internationally renowned for his research involving human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and other somatic stem cells. He has worked in the stem cell field for more than 20 years, with stints in academia, government and regulatory affairs and industry. He received his M.D. from Bombay University in India and his Ph.D. in developmental neurobiology from the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena. Following postdoctoral training at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, he established his research laboratory in neural development at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City. He next joined the National Institute on Aging as chief of the Neurosciences Section, where he studied neural progenitor cells and continued to explore his longstanding interest in their clinical potential. Most recently, he spent six years as the vice president of Regenerative Medicine at Life Technologies, Carlsbad, Calif. He co-founded Q Therapeutics, a neural stem cell company based in Salt Lake City. He also served internationally on advisory boards for companies involved in stem cell processing and therapy, on committees including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Cellular Tissue and Gene Therapies Advisory Committee chair, and as the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine and International Society for Stem Cell Research liaison to the International Society for Cellular Therapy.

Cheng Wang, M.D., Ph.D. is a Senior Scientist in the National Center of Toxicological Research (NCTR)/US. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Adjunct Faculty Appointment: Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Graduate Faculty Status: The UAMS Graduate School; The Interdisciplinary Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program He has an excellent educational background, including M.D. and Ph.D. degrees in neurobiology from Geneva University (1996), Switzerland. He is currently P.I. of 4 grants supported by the NCTR/FDA, National Toxicology Program and NICHD. He is currently responsible for leading a research team that provides unique and highly specialized skills in toxicology, pharmacology and systems biology research. His research efforts have resulted in about 50 peer-reviewed research articles in prestigious journals and 8 book chapters; as well as editing a book as Editor in Chief. He is serving as an editorial board of 3 reputed journals and reviewer of 10 journals.

Application of Systems Biology in Neurotoxicological Studies during Development, Activity-induced Synaptic Plasticity and Neural Cell Adhesion Molecule, Potential Pediatric Anesthetic-induced Neural Cell Death and the Potential Role of Neurotransmission (Mechanistic Studies), Mitochondrial DNA Damage and Expression Levels of DNA Repair Enzymes.

Dr. Plotkin is an Assistant Professor, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Indiana University School of Medicine. She obtained her degree in Immunology at Universidad Nacional de Buenos Aires, Argentina, and performed postdoctoral training at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Dr. Plotkin�s research focuses on connexin43 role in intracellular signaling activated by pharmacotherapeutic, hormonal and mechanical stimuli in bone. She published 46 manuscripts, and is member of the editorial board of Bone, Actualizaciones en Osteolog�a, Cell Biology: Research & Therapy, and Endocrinology and Metabolism. Her research is supported by local grants, the National Osteoporosis Foundation and the NIH.

The goal of my research is to understand the molecular mechanisms that are involved in the regulation of intracellular signaling in bone cells. In particular, my research focuses on the role of connexin43 as a regulator of intracellular signaling activated by pharmacotherapeutic, hormonal and mechanical stimuli in cultured cells and in animal models.

Tony Jun Huang is an Associate Professor in the Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics at The Pennsylvania State University (USA). He received his Ph.D. degree in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 2005, and his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Energy and Power Engineering from Xi�an Jiaotong University, Xi�an, China, in 1996 and 1999, respectively. His research interests are acoustofluidics, optofluidics, and micro/nano systems for biomedical applications. He has authored/co-authored over 90 peer-reviewed journal publications and over 80 peer-review conference papers in these fields. He serves as Vice Chair of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Nanoengineering Council and Chair of the ASME Society-Wide Micro/Nano Technology Forum. His research findings have been recognized with awards and honors such as the 2006 Rustum and Della Roy Innovation in Materials Research Award, a 2010 National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director�s New Innovator Award, a 2011 Penn State Engineering Alumni Society Outstanding Research Award, a 2011 JALA Top Ten Breakthroughs of the Year Award, and a 2012 Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award from Society for Manufacturing Engineering.

MEMS, NEMS, Bionanotechnology, Nanomaterials, BioMEMS/BioNEMS, Microfluidics

Dr. Y. Peng Loh is the head of the Section on Cellular Neurobiology, Program on Developmental Neuroscience, NICHD. She and her group study the cell biology of endocrine and neuroendocrine cells, focusing on the mechanisms of biosynthesis and intracellular trafficking of peptide hormones and neuropeptides and their processing enzymes, the regulation of dense-core secretory granule biogenesis, and the physiological roles of the prohormone processing enzyme carboxypeptidase E, and peptides derived from the neuroendocrine protein , chromogranin A. Her studies have elucidated molecular mechanisms governing protein trafficking to the regulated secretory pathway and identified players and mechanisms that control secretory granule biogenesis and transport in endocrine and neuroendocrine cells and neurons. Her research has also provided a better understanding of diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and neurodegeneration. Recently, she and her team discovered a splice isoform of the enzyme, carboxypeptidase E (CPE-_N) that is highly expressed in different types of metastatic tumor cells and is an inducer of tumor growth and metastasis. Clinical studies so far have shown that CPE-∆N is a very promising, powerful biomarker for predicting future metastasis, and a potential therapeutic target for different malignant cancers. Dr. Loh received her B.Sc. (Hons.) in Biochemistry from University College Dublin, Ireland, and her Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of Pennsylvania. She did her postdoctoral work with Dr. Harold Gainer at NIH and at the Max Planck Institute in Germany. During her career at NIH, Dr. Loh has received numerous honors and awards including the Public Health Superior Service Award, the NIH Director’s Award, the NIH Director’s Award for Mentoring, the FASEB Award for Excellence in Science, and the Women in Endocrinology Mentor Award. She is a member of the Endocrine Society, American Society for Cell Biology, Society for Neuroscience, and has served on many editorial boards. She has authored more than 160 scientific articles published in journals such as Cell, Nature Medicine, Journal of Clinical Investigations, JAMA, and Neuron, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, as well as publishing numerous review articles.

We study the cell biology of endocrine and neuroendocrine cells. Our focus is three-fold: (i) investigate the mechanisms of biosynthesis and intracellular trafficking of peptide hormones and neuropeptides and their processing enzymes; (ii) uncover mechanisms involved in the regulation of dense-core secretory granule biogenesis, transport, and exocytosis; and (iii) determine the physiological and pathological roles of the prohormone-processing enzyme carboxypeptidase E (CPE). Our work has led to the discovery of novel molecular mechanisms of protein trafficking to the regulated secretory pathway and identified players and mechanisms that control secretory granule biogenesis and transport in endocrine and neuroendocrine cells as well as uncovered new roles of carboxypeptidase E gene in neuroprotection, dendritic pruning, and cancer. Using cell lines, primary cell cultures, and mouse models, such studies have provided a better understanding of diseases related to defects in hormone and neuropeptide targeting, synaptic transmission, neurodegeneration, memory, learning, diabetes, obesity, and metastatic disease.

Kurt S Zänker was started in 1967 at the Free University Berlin, Berlin by studying human and veterinary medicine. These studies were finished in the late 70\'s at the University of Munich with doctorates (Ph.D. thesis) in both disciplines. During the postgraduate education, several terms for research were spent at Cambridge (England), Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (New York) and the M.D. Anderson Hospital and Cancer Center (Houston) from 1973 to 1975, and was awarded for a Max Planck Fellowship for 3 years to continue the eduction in Biochemistry at the Max-Planck-Institute of Biochemistry, Martinsried/Munich. From 1976 to 1982, he was a senior scientist at the Institute of Experimental Surgery, Technical University Munich.From 1982 to 1986, he worked as a senior physician at the tumor out-patient´s department of the surgical clinic, Technical University Munich. In 1986, he was appointed as Professor for the Chair of Immunology and Oncology at the University Witten/Herdecke, which is the only private university in Germany. Most of the funding of the institute is done by writing research proposals. The quality of the research has allowed him to continue this funding now for almost 24 years.

Basic and translational research concerning cell-cell communication/interaction, signal transduction and gene activation/silencing with special reference to lymphocyte tumor cell interactions and, from the molecular point of view, to the migration machinery of these cells as well as of fusion of premalignant tumor cells with soma/immunocompetent cells/stem cells

Dr. Zhixiang Wang, got his PhD at Simon Fraser University, Canada in 1993. He is now a full professor at the Department of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta. He has published more than 50 papers in reputed journals and has been serving as reviewer or board/panel members for various journal and funding agencies.

Cell Signalling, Receptor Endocytosis, and Human Cancer Epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor (EGFR) and other receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) lie at the head of a complex signal transduction cascade that modulates cell proliferation, survival, adhesion, migration and differentiation. While EGFR signalling is essential for many normal cell functions, the aberrant activity of EGFR has been shown to play a key role in the development of cancers. EGFR receptor is overexpressed in many cancers especially in breast cancer, ovarian cancer, small cell lung cancer and skin cancer. EGFR overexpression correlates to poor prognosis, drug resistance, cancer metastasis and lower survival rate. All these make EGFR the top choice as a target for developing cancer therapies. To date, monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and synthetic inhibitors of tyrosine kinase have taken central stage. The central theme of my research is to understand how the activation of EGFR regulate cell signalling, how the signalling is terminated through EGFR endocytosis, trafficking and degradation, how the breakdown of this regulation contributes to cancer development, and how an intervention can be provided. Following research projects are currently ongoing in the lab: 1. Regulation of EGF receptor endocytosis during mitosis and the implication in cancer drug delivery 2. EGF Receptor-mediated cell signaling during mitosis and the implication in cancer development 3. ErbB receptor expression and drug resistance in breast cancer 4. Phosphorylation of Rac1T108: A novel mechanism to regulate Rac1 activity and cancer cell invasion

Dr Shirwan is Dr Michael and Joan Hamilton Endowed Chair in Autoimmune Disease, Professor of Microbiology and Immunology and the Director of the Molecular Immunomodulation Program at the Institute for Cellular Therapeutics. He conducted his graduate studies at the University of California in Santa Barbara CA and postdoctoral studies at California Institute of Technology in Pasadena CA. He joined the University of Louisville in 1998 after holding academic appointments at various institutions in the United States. Dr Shirwans research focuses on the modulation of immune system for the treatment of immune-based diseases with particular focus on type 1 diabetes transplantation and development of vaccines against infections and cancer. Dr Shirwan is widely lectured at various national/international conferences, served on various federal and nonprofit funding agencies and is on the Editorial Board of nine scientific journals. He is a member of several national and international societies and recipient of various awards.

Transplantation Tolerance, Transplantation Immunology, Type 1 Diabetes, Prophylactic Vaccines, Therapeutic Vaccines, Cancer Immunology

Dr. Esma S. Yolcu is Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, Director of Imaging Facility at the Institute for Cellular Therapeutics, and member of James Brown Cancer Center, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY. After receiving her Ph.D. from University of Ankara, Turkey, she joined the Institute for Cellular Therapeutics at the University of Louisville to pursue her postdoctoral training followed by promotion to a faculty position in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. Dr. Yolcu’s research focuses on the modulation of the immune system for the treatment of autoimmunity and graft rejection. Her work has been funded by various federal and nonfederal funding agencies, including NIH, American Heart Association, and American Diabetes Association. Dr. Yolcu is the recipient of several awards, member of various national and international societies, serves on Editorial Board of two scientific journals, and published over 67 peer-reviewed papers, abstracts, and review articles in high ranking journals, such as Immunity, Circulation, and Journal of Immunology.

Transplantation tolerance, bone marrow transplantation, type 1 diabetes, apoptosis graft versus host diseases, islet transplantation and heart transplantation.

Professor Gjumrakch Aliev, MD&PhD has completed his Ph.D at the age of 29 years from Moscow State University and Institute of Human Morphology, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, and postdoctoral studies from University College of London, United Kingdom. He is the President and CEO of “GALLY” International Biomedical Research Consulting LLC, San Antonio, TX, USA a premier Biomedical Research service organization. He also serves as a Professor of Cardiovascular Neuropathology, Geriatrics and Health Sciences and Healthcare Administration at the University of Atlanta, GA, USA. He has published more than 190 papers in reputed journals and serving as an Editors in Chief and Editorial Board Member of repute.

Dr. Andrew Law received his bachelor degree in pharmacology from The University of Toronto. He then went to The University of Cambridge to read cardiovascular physiology, and pursued his medical education in St. Louis, USA. He then received his doctoral degree in neuroscience from McGill University. He was a recipient of the Doctoral Research Award from The Alzheimer Society of Canada. He returned to The University of Toronto for training in psychiatry. He is a specialist in psychiatry, focusing on geriatric neuropsychiatry. He is also the Director of the Neurodysfunction Research Laboratory at The University of Hong Kong.

Cellular mechanisms of neurodegenerative disorders.

Kenneth Maiese is Professor of Neurology and Neurophysiology of the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey. He serves as an editor-in-cheif, associate editor and editorial board member of 40 reputed journals.

Cancer metabolic disorders, Cerebrovascular ischemia and related diseases, central nervous system degenerative diseases

Samir A Farghaly is a Physician/Scientist,  and faculty member of the Medical College of Cornell University and The New York Presbyterian Hospital/Cornell University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA. He received his M.D. degree from University College London University (1985), and his PhD degree in molecular biology from London university (1993). He received several clinical and research awards. He has been an invited speaker in several national and international conferences on cancer. He is a member of several national and international societies, organizations and foundations of cancer and women health . He is an editor, member of editorial boards and reviewer of several medical journals of Oncology, Gynecology and Gynecological Cancers. He has published 74 articles. He is an editor of a book on Ovarian Cancer.

Biomarkers profile, and screening for ovarian cancer. Mutant BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes profiles in ovarian cancer. Proteomic profiling of metastatic genes of ovarian cancer. Targeted molecular therapy for advanced epithelial ovarian cancer. Minimally invasive surgery for gynecological cancer

Dr. Vickas Patel completed his M.D. and Ph.D in 1995 at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, and performed his post-graduate medical and postdoctoral training at the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University. He is an Assistant Professor and the director of Molecular Arrhythmia Research at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Patel has published over 40 papers in high-impact journals, served as an editorial board member for several journals and reviewed research proposal for nationally competitive awards.

Dr. Patel’s research is focused on elucidating the molecular mechanisms of conduction system disease and atrial arrhythmias. In this regard we are studying the contribution of a novel melanocyte-like cell population to atrial arrhythmia triggers and their modulation by autonomic tone and free radicals. We are also investigating the contribution of epigenetic modifications to the development of atrial fibrosis as a substrate for atrial arrhythmias. New research directions in the lab are focused on improving the efficiency of fibroblast to cardiomyocyte transdifferentiation using a novel transcriptome transfer technique to determine the transcripts and their abundances that best reprogram fibroblasts to a mature cardiomyocyte phenotype.

Sihong Song received his Ph.D in 1996 and completed postdoctoral training in 1999 from University of Florida. He is an associate professor in the Department of Pharmaceutics at University of Florida College of Pharmacy. He has published more than 40 peer-reviewed papers in gene and stem cell therapy and has been serving as an editorial board member of 2 scientific Journals.

Molecular and Cell Biology
Gene expression and gene regulation
Liver and muscle gene delivery
Gene therapy for type 1 diabetes and alpha 1 antitrypsin deficiency
Adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector biology: DNA persistence, integration and interaction with cellular factors; host immune responses to transgene products.

Jing-Gung Chung is a Professor and Chairman, Department of Biological Science and Technology, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan (2002-2005) and Associate Professor, Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan (1993-2002).

To Screen the Anticancer activity of compounds from Chinese Herbal Medicine and Natural Plants in Taiwan

Professor Diana Anderson currently holds the Established Chair of the Division of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Bradford, UK. She obtained her first degree in the University of Wales and second degrees in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Manchester. After tutoring at the University of Sydney, Australia, she became a research worker in the Department of Cancer Studies at the University of Leeds and at the Paterson Laboratories, Christie Hospital, Manchester. In 1974, she was appointed as Head of Mutagenesis Studies at ICI�s Central Toxicology Laboratory. Professor Anderson joined BIBRA International in 1981 as Head of Genetic and Reproductive Toxicology and became Assistant Director and Group Forum Co-ordinator in 1987. In 1992, she became Senior Associate and Co-ordinator of External Affairs at BIBRA. She has attended various management courses. She has served on the editorial board of 8 international journals, has over 345 publications, has edited/authored 8 books and guest-edited 9 special issues of 4 international journals. She is Series Editor of books in Current Toxicology for John Wiley and Sons and Issues in Toxicology for the Royal Society of Chemistry. She is an active Committee member and has been Vice-President of the Institute of Biology. She has successfully supervised 16 PhD, 2 MPhil and 2 MSc students and is currently supervising another 4 PhDs. She has been external examiner for 29 PhDs and was External Examiner for the Dept. of Genetics, University of Wales, Swansea. She has been invited to speak at many international meetings and chair many symposia.

Samy L Habib is an Assistant Professor of the Department of Medicine, The University of Texas, Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX, USA and has strong background in molecular carcinogenesis, with specific training and expertise in several research areas. He was a Co-Investigator on several previous and current projects funded by ADA, NKF, AHA, VA and NIH. Attesting to his national visibility,he has been selected to serve as a regular reviewer for the Medical Research Program of the Department of Defense and Editorial Board Member of 2 Journals.

Carcinogenesis in diabetes, Mutations in DNA repair gene in diabetes and cancer

Chi-Yu Gregory Lee is a Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of British Columbia, Columbia, Canada.

Research and Development of Antibody-Based Anti-Cancer Drugs. RP215 monoclonal antibody was shown to recognize specifically a carbohydrate-associated epitope located on the variable regions of cancer cell expressed immunoglobulins, designated in general as CA215.Structural elucidation of carbohydrate-associated epitope in CA215 which is recognized by RP215 monoclonal antibody (Mab). Humanizations of RP215 Mab for preclinical studies. Generations of Rat anti-idiotype Mabs as candidates for the development of anti-cancer vaccines in humans. Establishment of an Anti-GnRH receptor Mab, GHR106, as a substitute of short-acting GnRH analogs for antibody-based anti-cancer drugs, as well as preclinical studies. Elucidation of mechanisms of action for RP215 and GHR106 as antibody-based anti-cancer drugs. Elucidation of a carbohydrate-associated epitope recognized by RP215 monoclonal antibodies.

Dr. Yong-Jie Lu has completed his medical training at Henan Medical University, and then further M.D and Ph.D degrees at Harbin Medical University and Peking Union Medical College, China respectively. He has performed postdoctoral studies at Institute of Cancer Research, UK and established his research team at Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, where he is currently hold a permanent position as Reader in Medical Oncology. He has published more than 70 papers in reputed journals, such as PNAS, Lancet and Nat Genet, and serving as an editorial board member of three international journals.

Wen-Jun Gao is currently associate professor in the Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy at the Drexel University College of Medicine where he is studying the synaptic signaling and regulation of prefrontal neuronal circuitry. Dr. Gao received his Ph.D. from the Shanghai Brain Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1997. He had his first postdoctoral training with Dr. Sarah L. Pallas at Georgia State University. From 1999 to 2004, he worked with Dr. Patricia S. Goldman-Rakic at Yale University School of Medicine. While at Yale, he studied the actions of dopamine on microcircuits within the prefrontal cortex. During that time he mastered the use of very sophisticated multiple whole-cell recordings in cortical slices and made significant discovery about the selectivity of dopamine actions on specific cell types within the prefrontal cortex. In 2005, he joined Drexel University College of Medicine as a tenure-track assistant professor. In the past several years, Dr. Gao has shown great initiative, motivation and skills by carrying the whole-cell patch clamp in his laboratory and at the same time adding new techniques to his experimental repertoire, including histology, protein and gene analysis. This comprehensive approach added a biochemical and molecular dimension to his neurophysiological studies examining the effect of dopamine and other neurotransmitters on prefrontal functions in vitro and in vivo. Dr. Gao’s research has been supported by multiple sources, including NARSAD young investigator award, NIH R21 and R01 grant. He has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals, including PNAS and Journal of Neuroscience.

Synaptic signaling in the prefrontal cortex: Impact on cognition Specifically, we are interested in the following research areas: • Functional plasticity in the juvenile and adolescent prefrontal cortex and cognitive functions associated with this cortical region • Cellular and synaptic mechanisms of neuronal network activity in the prefrontal cortex • Molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying synaptic transmission and monoaminergic regulation of prefrontal cortex • Neurobiology of psychiatric disorders associated with prefrontal cortex and limbic systems, such as schizophrenia, autism, and ADHD

Dr. Goel is currently an Assistant Professor in the Free Radical and Radiation Biology Program within the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Iowa, USA. One of the focuses of research in Goel lab is on understanding and circumventing resistance to frontline chemotherapeutic drugs in multiple myeloma. Dr. Goel has published over 30 papers in reputed journals, and authored review articles and book chapters. She is actively serving as grant reviewer and scientific reviewer for several agencies and journals.

Dr. Fang Liu is a scientist in the Division of Neurotoxicology, National Center for Toxicological Research (NCTR)/United States Food & Drug Administration. She received her PhD in biomedical science from the University of Montreal, Canada and completed her postdoctoral training in 2010. Dr. Liu has been involved in biomedical research for more than ten years and has been an author and a co-author for more than 30 peer-reviewed scientific articles and book chapters in the areas of pharmacology, toxicology and molecular biology. Currently, she focuses her research on developmental neurotoxicity. She is a full member of the Society of Toxicology, Society for Neuroscience and the Arkansas Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience.

Dr. Zhang is currently an associate professor of the Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences and a member of Institute of Genomics and Multiscale Biology. Dr. Zhang’s extensive experience in electrical engineering, computer science and computational biology empowers him to build up highly predictive models for very complex data from handwritten document images to large-scale cancer genomic data. Over the past few years, Dr. Zhang has developed and significantly contributed a series of influential gene network inference algorithms which have been extensively used for identification of novel pathways and gene targets, as well as development of drugs for a variety of human diseases such as cancer, atherosclerosis, Alzheimer\\\\\\\'s, obesity and diabetes. His latest research that sheds a new light on targeted therapies against breast cancer was featured by the Second AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Basic Cancer Research (San Francisco, September 14-18, 2011). His recent work on predicting genetic interactions was identified by Nature Biotechnology as one of the breakthroughs in the field of computational biology in 2010. The discovery of a gene cluster that is causally linked to obesity and diabetes was highlighted in Nature in 2008. His early research on image pattern recognition significantly contributed to several large-scale pattern recognition systems including U.S. Handwritten Address Identification System which has been adopted by US Postal Office. Dr. Zhang was a recipient of the Best Paper Award of ICDAR 2003 ─ the Seventh International Conference on Document Analysis and Recognition. As a prolific researcher, Dr. Zhang has published a number of high profile papers in Nature, Nature Genetics and PNAS. As of December 2011, his publications have been cited 2750 times, according to Google Scholar. Furthermore, he has been a leader of more than a dozen projects to identify novel drug targets for several pharmaceutical companies.

Stavros Taraviras is Associate Professor at the Department of Physiology at the Medical School, University of Patras, Greece. He holds a Ph.D from the University of Heidelberg, Germany and help postdoctoral research appointments at the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg and the MRC/National Institute for Medical Research in London, UK. He is a reviewer for national and international funding agencies and scientific journals. He has published more than 33 papers in high profile journals. He serves as an editorial board member for the European Journal of Molecular Biology, Frontiers in Biosciences, International Journal of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences and Stem Cell Discovery.

Dr. Hu's research interests include the development of MR spectroscopy and its utilization in studying metabolic changes that take place in diseases tissue. He is currently studying: West Nile disease, Breast Cancer and Neuromuscular Disorders.

- Metabolism and cancer - MicroRNA and cancer - Cancer metastasis - Therapeutic resistance - Targeted cancer therapy

Chandra Somasundaram has completed her Ph.D in biochemistry from Madurai Kamaraj University, and postdoctoral studies in cell and molecular biology from INSERM, Paris and University College of London. Further, Dr. Somasundaram continued her research at University of Washington,Seattle and Duke University Medical Center. At present, she is a scientist at Texas Nerve & Paralysis institute, and an adjunct faculty in the department of biology, University of Houston-Victoria. She has published extensively in reputed journals, and lectured at several national/international conferences. She has received the Young Scientist Research Award from the Department of Science and Technology, India, and research awards from British Heart Foundation, and The Wellcome Trust Foundation

Hiroshi Kobayashi has completed his Ph.D (1974) in biochemistry from Tokyo University in Japan. After his postdoctoral training at Colorado University Medical Center in USA, he started to study adaptation strategies of living cells to acidic environments at Chiba University in 1978. His research is now focused on immune cell functions under acidic conditions from 1996 at Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chiba University. He retired in March 2012 and continues his research as a Professor Emeritus at Chiba University. He has published more than 20 papers in reputed journals in the recent 10 years.

Adaptation strategies of living cells to acidic environments

Research interests include neuroimaging of traumatic brain injury, signal processing (MR pulse sequence design), biomedical image processing, and neuroscience, to clinical neuropsychology.

Dr. Khillan is Associate Professor of research at University of Pittsburgh at Pennsylvania. His research is focused on the mechanisms of self-renewal of stem cells including embryonic stem (ES) cells, induced pluripotent stem (iPS) and CSCs. His laboratory is also investigating the mechanisms of metastasis and tumorigenesis by breast cancer stem cells. He has published more than 60 papers in reputed journals and several book chapters. He is also a recipient of five US patents in gene manipulation to create genetically engineered mouse models.

Jian-Guo Geng received his M.D., Ph.D. degree from Shanghai Medical University, and did his postdoctoral training at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences. He then became a research scientist in Pharmacia & Upjohn, a principal investigator in Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, an assistant and an associate professor at the University of Minnesota School of Medicine. He is currently an associate professor at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry.

Aging; Biochemistry: Proteins; Cell Biology; Communicable Diseases; Developmental Neurobiology; Genetics; Hearing; Neuroscience.

Rajendra Sharma was a Research fellow, Rajasthan University, Jaipur, India (1975-1979). Synthesized 3,4:6,7-dibenzomorphans, the compounds related to 6,7- benzomorphans (potent analgesics). Evaluated pharmacological efficacy of substituted 3,4:6,7-dibenzomorphans Research Associate, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi (1980-1981) Investigated the energetics of radiation induced DNA damage and its repair mechanisms in normal and cancer cells. Identified relationship between DNA repair and the rate of cellular energy supply. Post-doctoral fellow (1989-1991) Purified and characterized a novel membrane transport protein DNP-SG ATPase from human erythrocytes. Established involvement of DNP-SG ATPase in the transport of glutathione conjugates of electrophilic compounds in humantissues. Showed the expression of DNP-SG ATPase in different human tissues. Purified and characterized glutathione S-transferases from mammalian tissues. Suptdg. Chemist at KDMIPE, Dehradun, India ( April 1991- March 2000)Analyzed pollutants from the surrounding areas of oilfields of Indian sedimentary basins.Investigated the toxic impact of petroleum hydrocarbons on human tissues.Visiting Scientist at UTMB, Galveston, TX (April 2000-Sept. 2003) Stably transfected cultured cells (HLE B-3) with human glutathione S-transferase A4 gene and demonstrated role of 4-hydroxynonenal in cell cycle and apoptotic signaling.Purified and characterized recombinant human RLIP76 a non-ABC transport protein and demonstrated a major role of RLIP76 in the ATP-dependent transport of glutathione-conjugates and chemotherapeutic agents in human erythrocytes and cultured cells.Suptdg, Chemist at KDMIPE, Dehradun, India (Oct 2003- Aug.2005): Team leader- Project entitled “DNA finger printing technique in oil exploration”.

1. To investigate the detoxification mechanisms of xeno- and endo-biotics by glutathione linked phase II enzymes particularly GSTs as well as their role in protection against oxidative stress.2. Role of 4-HNE in cellular signaling related to apoptosis, cell proliferation and transformation and modulation of its intracellular concentration by coordinated action of GSTs and RLIP76.3. Chemoprevention of Cancer by natural products: These studies are focused on the role of lipid peroxidation in the mechanisms of cancer prevention and cell killing by sulforaphane, curcumin and Withaferin A.

Oleksandr L. Kukharchuk, M.D., Research Director of EmProCell Clinical Research Pvt. Ltd., visit-professor MGM University of Health Sciences, Mumbai, Professor of Medicine. Dr. Oleksandr L. Kukharchuk was specialized as “medical practioner” at Chernivtsi Government Medical Institute (Ukraine, Chernivtsi). CMSc. (Candidate of Medical Science) defended on 1989 in the session of specialized academy council at Kaunaski Medical Institute (Lithuania). D.M.Sc (Doctor of Medical Science) defended 1996 in the session of specialized academic council at Odessa Governmental Medical University (Ukraine). Associate Professor obtained on 1996, Professor obtained on 2001. 1982-1991: Assistant, Department of Pathophysiology Chernivtsi Government Medical Institute (Ukraine, Chernivtsi). 1991-1994: Senior Tutor, Normal Physiology with course of Pathophysiology at Chernivtsi Government Medical Institute (Ukraine, Chernivtsi). Head of the Central Research Laboratory and Senior Tutor of the Pathophysiology Department at Chernivtsi Government Medical Institute (Ukraine, Chernivtsi). 1994-1995: Head of Central Research Laboratory, Associate Professor of the Normal Physiology Department at Bucovinian Government Medical Academy (Ukraine, Chernivtsi). 1995-1997: Director of the Centre for Scientific-Medical Investigation at Bucovinian Government Medical Academy (Ukraine, Chernivtsi). 1997-2002: Head of the Normal Physiology Department at Bucovinian Government Medical University (Ukraine, Chernivtsi). 2002-2005: Research Director of the Centre for Embryonic Cells “EmCell”(Ukraine, Kiev). 2005-2006: Research Director of the Coordination Centre for Transplantation of Organs, Tissues and Cells of the Ukraine Health Ministry (Ukraine, Kiev). 2006-2010: Director of Coordination Centre for Transplantation of Organs, Tissues and Cells of the Ukraine Health Ministry; Chief Specialist of the Ukraine Health Ministry by specialization “Transplantology”; Research Director of Institute of Cell Therapy (Ukraine, Kiev); Director EmProCell Clinical Research Pvt. Ltd. (India, Mumbai). Dr. Oleksandr L. Kukharchuk is editor of the Journal “Transplantology”. He is also well known for his work in the study field of immunological aspects of stem cell transplantion and aging theory-depletion of stem space. He is author of 14 patents, 238 scientific publications. Dr. Olexander L. Kukharchuk guided clinical trials for evaluation of fetal progenitor cells transplantation efficacy in diabetes mellitus, chronic lower limb ischemia, myocardiodystrophy, liver cirrhosis, male infertility, aging, pancreonecrosis, glomerulonephritis, rhemutoid arthritis, lupus erythematosus. He is author of the book “Stem cells: Experiment, Theory, Clinic. Embryonic, mesenchymal, neural, hematopoetic stem cells”. Dr. Oleksandr L. Kukharchuk guide for fundamental and applied scientific research of Health Ministry Ukraine: “Study the growth factors interrelating central and peripheral regulatory mechanism of immunological reactivity and hemocoagulatory potential in the normal, endo- and exogenous intoxication”, “Determine the criteria of efficacy and safety of transplanting organs, tissues, cells and develop its standards”, “In experiments and clinicals, to determine effectiveness of transplantation of stem cells, tissues of embryo and exofetal material and tissue therapy by Filatov in immune and oncopathological process, pancreo- and colonogenic peritonitis, aging and dysfunction of reproductive system”.

She is an Assistant Professor for the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Member of Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, Member of Center for Cardiovascular Biology, University of Washington. She has received her MD/PhD degree from University of Minnesota, 1996-2003. She has completed her B.S. in biology and chemistry from the University of Puerto Rico, 1996. She is serving as an editorial board member of reputed journals and reviewer of 3 journals. She has been nominated and awarded for the Princeton Global Networks and the Madison Who·s Who Member-Executives and Professionals. She received the Junior Faculty Awards: Perkins Coie Award and the Marian E. Smith award.

Adult stem cells Skeletal muscle and heart regeneration Stem cell therapy for muscular dystrophy Stem cell homing and migration Tissue regeneration/ Bioengineering/ artificial organs Mesenchymal stem cells Dental Pulp Stem Cells Vascular Biology Hemostasis/ thrombosis/ Coagulation Angiogenesis.

Dr. Candace Kerr is a member of the University Of Maryland,Center for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine and holds the academic appointment of assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Dr. Kerr received a Master’s of Science from the University of Maine, PhD degree in Genetics and Biochemistry from Pennsylvania State University and completed her postdoctoral training in reproductive biology and stem cell research at Johns Hopkins University.

Dr. Kerr studies pluripotent stem cells as a model for identifying factors regulating pluripotency and early human development. For this purpose, Dr. Kerr’s laboratory studies three well-established types of pluripotent stem cells: embryonic stem cells derived from blastocyst-staged embryos, embryonic germ cells derived from progenitors of the germ line, and embryonal carcinoma cells isolated from adult testicular tumors called teratocarcinomas. Her laboratory investigates pathways expressed byprimordial germ cells and stem cellsto examine how they regulate pluripotency. Primordial germ cells are the stem cells of the sperm and egg. Dr. Kerr’slaboratory identified stem cell marker expression in the early human fetal gonad and characterized key pathways in the development of human primordial germ cells into human embryonic germ cells.

Jimmy Thomas Efird completed his Doctorate in Epidemiology (Biostatistics Concentration) at Stanford University School of Medicine.  Currently he is working as an Associate Professor at the Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University (ECU) and has a joint appointment as Epidemiologist/Chief Statistician in the Center for Health Disparities Research.  Prior to joining ECU, Dr. Efird was Director of the Biostatistics Facility at the John A. Burns School of Medicine (Honolulu, Hawaii) and an Associate Member of the Cancer Research Center of Hawaii. 

Genetic epidemiology, cancer informatics, brain tumours, soft-tissue sarcomas, and HPV-related cancers

Dr. Ruma Mukerjee is an Assistant Professor in Fels Institute at Temple University. She received her PhD from KG Medical College, India and completed her postdoctoral training in University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Mukerjee has been involved in biomedical research for several years and published 33 papers in reputed journals. Currently, her research involves studying the role of microRNA in neuronal dysfunction.

DDr. Alan Prem Kumar earned his Ph.D. from University of North Texas, USA. From his Ph.D. work, he discovered a novel regulatory protein, PyrR for the pyrimidine biosynthetic pathway in Pseudomonas. Because pyrimidine biosynthesis is an essential step in the progression of secondary Pseudomonas infections, PyrR presents an attractive anti-pseudomonal drug target. Dr. Kumar then pursued Postdoctoral training in Cancer Research at Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, California, USA. He was awarded a Postdoctoral Fellowship for his work on the role of nuclear receptors in the transcriptional regulation of human myeloperoxidase, a leukocyte enzyme implicated as causative agent in atherosclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Kumar relocated back to Singapore to join the Faculty of Medicine, National University of Singapore as an independent Principal Investigator to continue on his expertise on nuclear receptor signaling in cancer biology. His current research focus in the areas of signaling by nuclear receptors and oncogenes in breast tumor cells as well as the development of molecular therapeutics and biomarkers of drug action in breast cancer. Dr. Kumar\'s group also focuses on developing new drugs for the treatment of breast cancer. Over the years, Dr. Kumar and his group have forged relationships with scientists and oncologists in cancer research and with cancer advocacy groups in Singapore.

My primary research focuses in the areas of signaling by nuclear receptors and oncogenes as well as the development of molecular therapeutics and biomarkers of drug action in human breast cancer. We recently identified a novel oncogene that regulates a key pathway controlling cell proliferation, migration and drug resistance in breast, prostate, gastric, and colon cancers. Current research also focuses on developing therapeutic strategies to target this marker with the ultimate aim of conducting translational studies in patients.

Cizhong Jiang obtained his Ph.D. in 2004 from Iowa State University, started his postdoctoral training at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and finished it at the Pennsylvania State University. Currently, Dr. Jiang is a professor in the School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China. He has worked in the fields of genomics, gene regulation, and epigenetics for more than 10 years, and published more than 25 papers in reputed journals.

Cellular and molecular biology; classical genetics and functional genomics; signal transduction; drug screening for cancer therapeutics and cancer stem cells.

Dr. Amir Hamdi was born and raised in Iran. He received his M.D. degree from Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. He was a research scientist in Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation Research Center in Tehran and participated in several research projects. He is currently a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Dr. Hamdi’s research interests include therapy of leukemias and lymphomas as well as development of investigational approach for the treatment of hematologic and neurologic disorders. He has published several papers related to neurology, hematology, oncology and stem cell transplantation and serves as reviewer for various journals.

Dr. Avinash P. Ingle, currently working as Scientist at Department of Biotechnology, SGB Amravati University, Amravati, Maharashtra (India). His area of research is molecular mycology, mycotoxicology and bionanotechnology. He has published more than 25 research papers and reviews in the journals of international repute with high impact factor. He has been participated and presented research paper in international conferences held at Malaysia, China and Spain. He is currently working on development nano-based products.

Major area research interest includes molecular mycology, mycotoxicology, bionanotechnology and nanoinformatics.