Dr. Thomas E. Serena MD FACS FACHM MAPWCA, Founder and Medical Director of The SerenaGroup®, a family of wound, hyperbaric and research companies, is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of The College of William and Mary and Penn State Medical School. He completed his residency in Surgery at The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center with additional year of training in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Southern Illinois University. To date he has opened and operates wound care centers across the United Sates and globally. Dr. Serena has been the lead or Principal investigator in over 100 clinical trials, including gene therapy for critical limb ischemia, antimicrobial dressings, growth factors, topical and parenteral antibiotics and CTP therapy. He founded the first wound healing cooperative research group that produced more than 12 manuscripts in 2016 alone. In 2011 he developed a diagnostic technique that now bears his name (The Serena Technique©). He holds numerous patents on wound care devices and dressings. He is recognized internationally as an expert in the field of wound healing: He has more than 200 published papers and has given more than 1000 invited lectures throughout the world. He has published three medical textbooks and authored numerous book chapters. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Wound Healing Society and served two terms on the board of the Association for the Advancement of Wound Care (AAWC) and is now the President. He has also been Vice-President of the American College of Hyperbaric Medicine and President of the American Professional Wound Care Association. Dr. Serena has done extensive medical relief work with Health Volunteers Overseas and served as chairman of the AAWC Global Volunteers/HVO Steering Committee until 2016. In 2016 in partnership with HEAL Foundation he opened a wound clinic in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. Outside of wound healing, he consulted for the government of Rwanda on AIDS prevention research.

wound and hyperbaric research

Dr Ryan Moseley graduated from Swansea University with a BSc (Honours) Degree in Biochemistry. Later, he obtained his PhD from the School of Dentistry, University of Wales College of Medicine, examining the role of oxidative stress in periodontal disease. Dr Moseley continues his research at Cardiff University, where he is currently a Reader in Tissue Repair and Director of the CITER MSc Programme in Tissue Engineering. Dr. Moseley’s research focusses on the mechanisms underlying dermal and oral wound healing during health and disease; and the development of stem cell-, biomaterial- and pharmaceutical-based strategies to address impaired healing in these tissues.

Dermal, oral wound healing, stem cell-, biomaterial

After receiving his college education in Biology Major from Xinjiang University, People’s Republic of China, Dr. Li came to the US in 1985. He received MS degree in 1988 and PhD degree in 1991 from the Department of Developmental Biology and Cancer at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York City. Following a two-year post-doctoral/instructor fellowship with Dr. Joseph Schlessinger (Professor and Chairman, currently at Yale University Medical Center), he joined the faculty of the Ben May Institute for Cancer Research at the University of Chicago in the fall of 1993 as an Assistant Professor. He was recruited to University of Southern California (USC) Keck School of Medicine in 1999 and rose to full professor in 2006. He is currently a Professor and Director of the GMCB Graduate Program at USC Keck School of Medicine. His research interest focuses wound healing and cancer cell invasion. His laboratory is the first to identify the important role for the SECRETED form of heat shock protein-90 (Hsp90) in skin wound healing. He is the principle author of more than 80 peer-reviews publications in first-rate biomedical journals.

wound healing and cancer cell invasion

Jöns Hilborn is since 2001 the head of the Polymer Chemistry program at the Department of Materials Chemistry, Uppsala University in Sweden. He has extensive management experience from life science industry and co-ordination of European projects. His research interests are in the design, synthesis and preparation of polymers and specifically materials for tissue scaffolds and as delivery vehicles. Current focus is on injectable in-vivo gel forming matrices that acts on endogenous cells to regenerate and the development of RNAi to allow translation to therapies. Chemistry, biology, engineering is combined with medicine to bring basic research findings from the lab bench to the clinic and commercial applications. He served as president of “Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society” (TERMIS), which he was a part of creating. He currently serves as ERC panel chair, board member of the UK medical research council in regenerative medicine, associate editor, international advisor and the editorial board for a number of journals. He received his PhD from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, which was followed by seven years in industry before he joined the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Switzerland for eight years. He is a frequently invited speaker at international events and has published 200 scientific papers (h=46), 26 patent applications and has started 7 companies.

Design, synthesis and preparation of polymers and specifically materials for tissue scaffolds and as delivery vehicles

Dr Vickie R. Driver is a Fellow at the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons, licensed in Ma and RI and is board certified in foot surgery by the American Board of Podiatric Surgery. She has recently been nominated as Fellow, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons-Glasgow, PM. Her career has a special emphasis on wound healing and limb preservation and she is an outspoken ambassador for progressive change in this field. Dr. Driver is a Professor of Surgery in the Department of Orthopedics at Brown University (Clinical). She has recently completed her tenure as president for the Advancement of Wound Care Association (AAWC), and has served for 9 years on the Board of Directors. She also proudly serves as a member of the Wound Healing Society (WHS) Board of Directors- member at large and chair-Industry relations and as member Board of Directors for the Critical Limb Ischemia (CLI) Global Society and chair wound healing committee. She has successfully chaired an initiative to expand the wound healing clinical endpoints considered by FDA. She proposed a combined effort between the WHS and AAWC to develop the Wound-care Experts/FDA-Clinical Endpoints Project [WEF-CEP] to strategically identify clinically meaningful, evidence-based and patient-centered wound care endpoints that are relevant for clinical research and trials. The goal is to collaboratively work with the FDA to expand the list of acceptable primary endpoints, recognizing that new and innovative treatments, devices and drugs may not have complete healing as the focus. Furthermore, validated endpoints other than complete healing will promote improved clinical trial design and will reduce the time for discoveries to reach our patients. Over the past three years, through ongoing interaction with the FDA InterCenter Wound Healing Work Group [ICWHWG], the WEF-CEP team has conducted a wide reaching Clinician Survey with 628 participating wound care experts, completed an extensive literature review for 28 wound care endpoints using the FDA criteria for a validated endpoint, published the clinical survey results in WRR, is in process to publish the research phase results and is currently conducting a Patient Survey to augment the findings of the Clinician Survey. Formal collaboration with the FDA established to execute on the WEF CEP work is on-going. As principle investigator, she has served on and initiated more than 70 important multi-center randomized clinical trials, as well as developed and supervised multiple research fellowship training programs. She has co-authored over 100 publications and abstracts. Dr. Driver is Director, Translational Medicine Wound Healing at Novartis Institute for BioMedical Research. She is dedicated to making a scientific contribution to both the understanding of the natural history of disease and the discovery of new therapies and diagnostics to advance the treatment of patients who suffer with wounds and are at risk of limb loss. .

wound healing and limb preservation

Ms. Kirkland-Walsh received her NP degree as a Family/Geriatric Nurse Practitioner from the University of California, Davis, her BSN and MSN degrees from Cal State, Sacramento, and a WOCN certification from the University of Washington, Seattle. She has served as Nurse Manager in the Medical Surgical Unit / Geriatrics and as Diabetes Educator and Clinical Trials Nurse in Waterford, Ireland, as a Palliative Care Nurse at Kaiser, and as Cardiology Nurse Practitioner at UCDMC. She Completed her PhD in Nursing at the University of California San Francisco. Since 2004, Ms. Kirkland-Walsh has been a board member for the Sacramento Community Clinics Consortium. She presently serves as an Urgent Care Nurse Practitioner at Kaiser, as Assistant Medical Director at The Effort Indigent Health Clinic, and as Wound Care Nurse Practitioner at University of California, Davis Health System in Sacramento, CA. In the latter role, she leads a multidisciplinary team that focuses on the prevention and treatment of chronic wounds. In addition to these various positions, Ms. Kirkland-Walsh has worked with geriatric patients in Ireland, Great Britain, and, most recently, in Haiti where she did disaster relief work as a volunteer for Medishare and served as Chief Medical Officer at the Bernard Mevs Hospital, the only acute care hospital in Haiti. She also comes with prior teaching experience, serving as clinical faculty for Nurse Practitioner programs at University of California, Davis, University of California, San Francisco, Sonoma State, University of Phoenix, and Samuel Merritt. Her proposed area of research focuses on perfusion related pressure ulcers and the comparison on hospital acquired pressure ulcers to community acquired pressure ulcers.

Ulcers, Wound Care,Skin

Naiem Moiemen, MB BS, MSc, FRCS (Plast) is an Honorary Professor at the University of Birmingham and a consultant plastic and burns surgeon at University Hospital Birmingham. He is Director of the Scar Free Foundation Centre for Burn Research in Birmingham He is the Clinical Lead of the Midland Burns Care Network, serving a population of 10 million. Naiem is Immediate Past President of European Burn Association Executive, President-Elect of the International Association of Burn Injury (ISBI) and past Chairman of the British Burn Association (BBA). He is supervising 3 PhD students and current chief investigator of 4 current multi-centre burns clinical trials: NIHR-HTA pressure garment pilot efficacy multi-centre trial, and the SIFTI trial investigating the acute response to burn injury and HESTIA trial investigating gut translocation following thermal injury. He is also PI on the Wellcome-NIHR HICF to develop an anti-scarring wound dressing, and recently £4.5m Libor Grant fund to establish a scar and wound healing research centre in Birmingham. He has published more than 90 papers in peer review journals and book chapters. He is a senior editor of BURNS journal and deputy editor of Journal of Burn and Trauma.

Scars, Wound Healing, Burns, Burn Injury

Dr. Bishara Atiyeh is a clinical professor of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, at the American University of Beirut Medical Center, Lebanon. He graduated from the American University of Beirut and completed his plastic surgery training at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. He then completed a fellowship in Head and Neck Surgical Oncology at Roswell Park Memorial Institute in Buffalo, New York. He is the current President of the Euro-Mediterranean Council for Burns and Fire Disasters, the Association od Plastic Surgeons of Lebanese Descent, and the Lebanese Society of Reconstructive Microsurgery. He is also Past-President of the Lebanese Society of Plastic, Reconstructive, and Aesthetic Surgery and the Pan-Arab Association for Burns and Plastic Surgery. Dr. Atiyeh is the Executive Editor of Annals of Burns and Fire Disasters; he is also member of the Editorial Boards of several scientific publications. Dr. Atiyeh has organized many local, regional and international congresses and instructional courses and has been invited as a guest speaker to numerous conferences; he is the author of more than 150 scientific publications and chapters in reference books and has edited 2 books the first about post bariatric body contouring and the second about oncoplastic breast surgery and breast reconstruction.

Burns,plastic surgery,oncoplastic breast surgery and breast reconstruction

Valentina Dini received her medical degree (2000) and her residency (2005) in Dermatology at the University of Pisa, where she doctorated in Immunology and Technology of Transplantation in 2009, also completing a fellowship in wound healing (2006) at the University of Miami. For 3 years she was post-doctoral fellow at the Division of Dermatology of the University of Pisa. Currently, she is a researcher at the University of Pisa pursuing her research work mainly at the Division of Dermatology . Her research interests are tissue repair of chronic wounds and psoriasis. She has designed and conducted clinical trials to evaluate novel therapies for psoriasis. The major part of her activities was focused on setting up her laboratory of non-invasive diagnostic techniques for skin assessment. She has ongoing collaborations with the dept. of rheumatology and the dept. of chemistry in a variety of preclinical and clinical studies. Efforts of her laboratory continue to be focused on all aspects of translational research in wound healing and psoriasis. Dr. Dini’s scientific accomplishments resulted in numerous publications in prominent scientific journals. She continues to dedicate her efforts to research, education through supervising clinical care of our residents and providing clinical and dermatopathology teaching cases as well as frequently participating in research projects and teaching in national and international conferences. Dr. Dini recently joined as a co-investigator an international research group which was the recipient of an European Union 7th FrameWork Programme grant. She is a member of a Tuscan committee for the guidelines development of psoriatic patients management. She is president of the International School of Tissue Repair (SIRTES) since 2010. She is the author of several papers, lectures to international conferences and chapters in international books. She is in the editorial board of Acta Vulnologica and Chronic wound care and Research journals

Tissue Repair of Chronic Wounds and Psoriasis

Marco Romanelli is board certfied in dermatology and venereology from the University of Pisa. He is Associate Professor and Chairman of the Department of Dermatology at the University of Pisa. Coordinator of the Task Force in Wound Healing inside the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV). President of the World Union of Wound Healing Societies (WUWHS). He is in the editorial board of the journals: Wound Repair and Regeneration, WOUNDS, Journal of Tissue Viability, Journal of Wound Care, International Journal of Lower Extremities Wounds, Wounds Medicine. Main interests in research are: non invasive diagnostic techniques in wound management and dermatology, biomedical sensors, tissue engineering, atypical wounds biomarkers. Coordinator of phase II and III clinical trials. Director of a Master Course in Wound Management at the University of Pisa and Scientific Director of the International Tissue Repair School (SIRTES). He is active member f European Tissue Repair Society, European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel, American Academy of Dermatology.

Non invasive diagnostic techniques in wound management and dermatology, biomedical sensors, tissue engineering, atypical wounds biomarkers.

Jasmina Begic finished postgraduate study on the Sarajevo University Medical School of Medicine. She is Medical Consultant for BIOPTRON, Zepter Internastional for Bosnia and Herzegovina , Founder of Association for Wound management in B&H, Founder and author of Euro-Asian Forum, one of founder of www.BALWMA.org. She is member of EWMA Cooperating Organisations Board.completed her PhD n the field of Tissue Regeneration and Wound Healing from Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. Her research focus comprises the understanding of cellular homeostasis during tissue regeneration

Chronic Wounds, Leg ulcers different etiology, Disorders of sebacious glands(Acne vulgaris, Rosacea), Anti-Aging Treatments (Non-Invasive Treatments)

Denis Barritault graduated in Physics, completed his PhD in biochemistry in Paris University. Post doctoral in molecular immunology at Pasteur Institute and NYU as NIH Fogarty Fellow he joined INSERM unit in Paris as developmental biologist. He made the first description and patents of FGF extracted from retina in 1979 and 82 as skin and cornea healing agent, became full professor at Paris-Est University in 1985, founded and directed a CNRS Laboratory on cell and tissue regeneration until 2003. He is now President of OTR3, Emeritus professor, honorary director CRRET CNRS unit and author in over 200 publications and 30 patents. He succeeded in transforming his research in basic science into product to treat patients, one to treat skin wound the other for corneal ulcer. Several other products are now in development for new indicatiions in regenerative medicine

Tissue Regeneration, Molecular Immunology

Ferdinando Mannello received his Biological Science degree (1982) and his specialization (1999) in Clinical Biochemistry at the University “Carlo Bo” of Urbino, where he trained in Laboratory Technology, and completing fellowships as Visiting Professor in USA (2005-9) and UK (2010). For several years he was Assistant Professor of Cell Biology at the Faculty of Biological Sciences of the University of Urbino. Since 2015, he is Associate Professor of Clinical Biochemistry at the University of Urbino, and Director of the Section of Clinical Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics at the Dept of Biomolecular Sciences of the University of Urbino. He holds the chair of Clinical Biochemistry and Clinical Molecular Biology at the School of Biotechnology of the University of Urbino. Currently, he is pursuing and supervising the research work at the Section of Clinical Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, mainly focusing the interests in the biochemical aspects of the chronic wound microenvironments. He has designed and conducted clinical studies to evaluate novel therapies for venous leg ulcers, especially with glycosaminoglycans-based therapy. The main research activities were focused on setting up his biochemical laboratories to diagnostic and prognostic biomolecular techniques for wound assessment and identification of clinically useful biomarkers in wound fluids. He has ongoing collaborations with the Dept of Surgery and the Dept of Angiology in a variety of preclinical and clinical studies, with collaborative works with USA and UK Universities. Efforts of his laboratories continue to be focused on all aspects of translational research in wound healing. Prof. Mannello’s scientific accomplishments resulted in numerous publications in prominent peer-reviewed and impacted scientific journals

Clinical Biochemistry of Wound Microenvironment Biomarkers of Wound Healing Bio-molecular characteristics of Venous leg Ulcers Pharmacological treatments of Leg Ulcers

Dr. Barbul joins our surgical faculty as Professor in the Division of General Surgery after serving as Professor of Surgery at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD and Medical Director of Operating Rooms/Vice Chairman, Department of Surgery, Medstar Washington Hospital Center, Washington, DC.His clinical areas of interest include surgical procedures involving the GI tract, hernia repair, complex wounds, surgical nutrition and a broad range of other general surgical procedures. Dr. Barbul is currently expanding a specialty treatment program for patients with gastroparesis, a growing population of chronically ill patients who have unique gastric/digestive conditions due to diabetes, and other health issues. Dr. Barbul is certified by the American Board of Surgery and is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. For his contributions to wound healing, he has been presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Wound Healing Society of America.

Surgical nutrition, amino acid metabolism and research pertaining to the treatment of wound healing.

Shaik O. Rahaman, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food science at the University of Maryland, USA. His laboratory is interested in elucidating the molecular signaling events underlying the pathogenesis of various inflammatory diseases, specifically, atherosclerosis and fibrosis. Dr. Rahaman earned his PhD in Molecular Biology at Jadavpur University, and a BS in Human Physiology (Honors), and an MS in Biophysics and Molecular Biology from University of Calcutta. From 2000-2014, Dr. Rahaman worked at Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, USA, as a Postdoctoral Fellow, eventually as a Project Scientist studying signal transduction in Cell Biology and Oncology. He has received many awards and honors. Dr. Rahaman was honored with Elsa Albrecht Award by Cleveland Clinic, which is awarded for outstanding publication. During 2011-2014, Dr. Rahaman also served as an Assistant Professor at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, USA. In 2013, he was the recipient of the American Heart Association Scientist Development Grant. Dr. Rahaman is the author or co-author of 20 research papers on neurobiology, oncology, atherosclerosis, or fibrosis in high impact international peer-reviewed journals of repute including Cell Metabolism and Journal of Clinical Investigation. Dr. Rahaman has given numerous invited talks nationally and internationally, and is a reviewer/editorial board member in numerous scientific journals. Dr. Rahaman also served as a reviewer for National Institute of Health (USA).

Cell Metabolism, Inflammatory diseases,Atherosclerosis and Fibrosis

Dr. Thomas E. Serena MD FACS, Founder and Medical Director of SerenaGroup™, a family of wound, hyperbaric and research companies. Dr. Serena completed his residency in Surgery at the Hershey Medical Center. To date he has opened and operates wound care centers across the United Sates and globally. He has been the lead or Principal investigator in over 100 clinical trials and is recognized internationally as an expert in the field of wound healing: He has more than 100 published papers and has given more than 1000 invited lectures throughout the world. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Wound Healing Society and served two terms on the board of the Association for the Advancement of Wound Care (AAWC) and is now the President-Elect. He has also been Vice-President of the American College of Hyperbaric Medicine and President of the American Professional Wound Care Association.

• Hyperbaric Oxygen therapy in the treatment of any of the 14 approved indications • Amputation prevention • the business of wound care • Research in wound healing • Diagnostics in wound healing • Indocyanine Green Fluorescent Angiography in wound healing • Advanced wound care

Jasmina Begic finished postgraduate study on the Sarajevo University Medical School of Medicine. She is Medical Consultant for BIOPTRON, Zepter Internastional for Bosnia and Herzegovina , Founder of Association for Wound management in B&H, Founder and author of Euro-Asian Forum, one of founder of www.BALWMA.org. She is member of EWMA Cooperating Organisations Board.

Wound Management, Wound Healing, Advance wound treatments

Michael Cioroiou is a board-certified general surgeon with more than 35 years of experience. He specializes in wound care as well as breast diseases. He have a caring and understanding nature and aim to answer all patient’s questions and concerns in order to make office visits as pleasant and professional as possible. He have been named as one of Castle Connolly’s Top Doctors in the New York Metro Area every year since 2002, and in 2011, he received a Patients Choice Award from users of the medical provider review Website Vitals.

Healthcare Management, Surgery, Clinical research, Patient safety.

Denis Barritault graduated in Math and Physics, completed his Ph.D. in biochemistry in Paris University. Post doctoral in molecular immunology at Pasteur Institute and NYU as NIH Fogarty Fellow he joined INSERM unit in Paris as developmental biologist. He made the first description and patents of FGF extracted from retina in 1979 and 82 as skin and cornea healing agent, became full professor at Paris East University in 1985, founded and directed a CNRS Laboratory on cell and tissue regeneration until 2003. He is now President of OTR3, Emeritus Professor and author in over 200 publications and 29 patents.

Tissue regeneration, Molecular immunology.

Joel E Michalek completed his PhD from Wayne State University. He has a broad background in biostatistics pertaining to theory and methods, preclinical and clinical trials, and epidemiology. He has written protocols and grants, analyzed data, and co-authored manuscripts arising from clinical studies in surgery, emergency medicine, cancer, and pediatrics and was formerly Principal Investigator of the Air Force Health Study, a 20-year prospective epidemiological study of veterans who sprayed Agent Orange and other herbicides in Vietnam. He has authored 180 journal articles and two book chapters.

Cancer Therapy, Signal Processing in Clinical Medicine and Genomics.

Dr. Efraim Jaul is a specialist in Family Medicine and Geriatric Medicine. He is the Head of the Geriatric Skilled Nursing Department at the Sarah Herzog Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel. It is affiliated with the Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem. He is a Clinical Senior Lecturer in the Hebrew Medical School Faculty. He teaches medical students as well as nursing students at the Academic Nursing schools of Hadassah Hospital (Jerusalem), Kaplan Hospital (Rechovot), Ichilov Hospital (Tel Aviv), and Jerusalem College of Technology (Jerusalem). He supervises clinical practice and mentors students. He developed and established a pioneering inpatient unit at the Herzog Hospital specifically for the treatment of pressure ulcers concerning the need for a special unit and the resulting benefits for the immobile elderly patients. This unit has elicited interest in serving as a model for geriatric treatment facilities around the world and has set the standard for developing specialized pressure ulcer units. He published 44 scientific papers in national and international journals and five books on aging.

Pressure Ulcers, Wound healing, Advanced dementia.

Sandeep Shrivastava is from India Born in 1968, he took over as DEAN at the age of 42 years. He did his graduation and post-graduation from G. R Medical College, Gwalior, India. He is an Orthopedic Surgeon, with expertise in Limb deformity correction and reconstruction. He have published 2 books, 55 papers, 62 International papers and 6 copyrights/patents on ranging interests from Education to Bio- Informatics. His innovations include a Safety App-Pre-Yell; a research tool - H_COIN; a learning methodology- “Self Assertive Learning”, and an education quality management program-“Academic Appraisal Program”. He is a developer for “STARS therapy” for wound healing. He has travelled extensively through all the continents and delivered talk on various aspects of this research project .This is an attempt to find an ideal solution for millions who continue to suffer from complex wounds.

Wound Healing, Regenerative Medicine, Wound Management.

Dr. Thomas E. Serena MD FACS, Founder and Medical Director of SerenaGroup™, a family of wound, hyperbaric and research companies. Dr. Serena completed his residency in Surgery at the Hershey Medical Center. To date he has opened and operates wound care centers across the United Sates and globally. He has been the lead or Principal investigator in over 100 clinical trials and is recognized internationally as an expert in the field of wound healing: He has more than 100 published papers and has given more than 1000 invited lectures throughout the world. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Wound Healing Society and served two terms on the board of the Association for the Advancement of Wound Care (AAWC) and is now the President-Elect. He has also been Vice-President of the American College of Hyperbaric Medicine and President of the American Professional Wound Care Association

• Hyperbaric Oxygen therapy in the treatment of any of the 14 approved indications • Amputation prevention • The business of wound care • Research in wound healing • Diagnostics in wound healing • Indocyanine Green Fluorescent Angiography in wound healing • Advanced wound care

Dr. Gerlach was recruited to the University of Pittsburgh after the Washington-based non-profit World Technology Evaluation Center (WTEC) report, “Tissue Engineering and Research 2002", identified him as one of the experts worldwide addressing 3-D perfusion high-density culture design for medical devices. Dr. Gerlach holds an MD and two PhDs with a background in surgery, experimental surgery, and bioengineering. With his dual appointment, he directs the interdisciplinary Bioreactor Group at the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine within the University of Pittsburgh and contributes to the Schools of Medicine and Engineering. Most of his projects focus on cell biology methodology and bioengineering technology developments are designed to contribute to knowledge on controlling cell behavior for anticipated patient treatments. His working hypotheses, consequently, relates mostly to the behavior and function of progenitor cells in an in vitro environments that he developed. Dr. Gerlach´s general interest is in technologies for the clinical translation of stem cell biology research, and he concentrates on the development of innovative cell-based therapies. In the area of skin he developing active wound dressings and cell spray grafting technologies. His “Skin Gun” development was broadcasted on National Geographic TV and is posted on YouTube under the key word “skin gun”.

Dr.Gerlach's research focus is on improving the understanding of how to control the expansion and differentiation of stem cells on a clinical translation scale. Organs and cells of interest have been skin, liver, bone marrow and hematopoietic, neuronal, adipose tissue, and cancer cells. He works with adult progenitors, fetal tissue derived progenitors, and embryonal stem cell lines. He specializes in advancing 2-D in vitro culture models to 3-D perfusion high-density cell-co-culture systems for stem cells, development of bioreactors for organ support, and systems for the production of cells for regenerative medicine cell transplantation. General topics include maintenance and differentiation of cells in vitro for extracorporeal, temporary clinical use as a hybrid organ, in vitro models for studies on stem cell niche interactions, and production of cells in cell-based therapy.

Brian Peskin, BSEE-MIT (1979), is a theoretical research scientist specializing in lipids‐based pharmacognosy, and CEO of Peskin Pharmaceuticals. His research focuses specifically on physiologically targeted essential fatty acids (EFAs) and their eicosanoid metabolites. Being a translational science expert with a long-term interest in diabetes and its underlying pathophysiology, extensive work in oncology and cardiology preceeded his applications into diabetic foot ulcers. His work is focused on pathways maximizing oxygen delivery and blood flow to the human cell and maximizing tissue functionality. Focus is on supporting and optimizing the patient's natural physiologic processes—not blocking or impeding metabolic pathways.

His research focuses specifically on physiologically targeted essential fatty acids (EFAs) and their eicosanoid metabolites. Being a translational science expert with a long-term interest in diabetes and its underlying pathophysiology, extensive work in oncology and cardiology preceeded his applications into diabetic foot ulcers/wounds.

Dr. Chaur-Dong Hsu received his medical degree from Kaohsiung Medical School in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, in 1982, and his master of public health degree from The John Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health in Baltimore, MD., in 1991. Currently, he is Chairman and Frank P. Iacobell Endowed Professor of Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wayne State University School of Medicine; Program Director and Principal Investigator of Women’s Reproductive Health Research Career Development, National Institutes of Health (NIH); Specialist-in-Chief, OB/GYN, Hutzel Women's Hospital/Detroit Medical Center and Chief of OB/GYN at Barbara Ann Karmano Cancer Institute.

Obstetrics and Gynecology, Surgical site Infection control, Maternal-Fetal Medicine,Hygiene and Public Health

Born in Los Angeles, Ronald Sherman earned his BS in Entomology at UC Riverside, his MD at UCLA, and his Masters degree in Clinical Tropical Medicine at the University of London, School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He completed his Internship at Mt. Zion Hospital & Medical Center (one of the UC San Francisco training hospitals) in 1984, his Internal Medicine Residency at UC Davis in 1987 and his Infectious Diseases Fellowship at UC Irvine in 1991. Dr. Sherman started studying myiasis and maggot therapy during medical school, published his first paper on the topic in 1983, and started the first prospective studies in 1990. Twenty years ago, Dr. Sherman published his laboratory methods, so that maggot laboratories could develop throughout the world and supply local populations with medicinal maggots. There are now approximately 22 independent laboratories around the world producing medicinal maggots. After 4 years working for the Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Long Beach, CA) as an infectious diseases and geriatrics specialist, Dr. Sherman joined the faculty of the University of California in 1995, where he continued his research in myiasis and maggot therapy. Requests for Dr. Sherman’s medical grade maggots increased world-wide, and in 2004, after review of Dr. Sherman’s clinical studies, the FDA granted full marketing clearance for his Medical Maggots. In order to comply with the high manufacturing standards of the FDA, the laboratory (now known as Monarch Labs) separated from the University in 2005, and Dr. Sherman left the University himself in 2008 to oversee that laboratory, and to continue directing the BioTherapeutics, Education & Research (BTER) Foundation, a non-profit, member-supported organization dedicated to advancing health care through education and research in the therapeutic use of living animals. To minimize conflicts of interest, Dr. Sherman does not accept salary for his work for Monarch Labs nor the BTER Foundation, and he donates all speaking honoraria to the Foundation. To support his family, Dr. Sherman works 1 - 2 days/week as an HIV / AIDS Specialist for the Orange County health department.

Maggot therapy, Leech therapy, and the many other Biotherapeutic modalities

Dr. Efraim Jaul is a specialist in Family Medicine and Geriatric Medicine. He is the Head of the Geriatric Skilled Nursing Department at the Sarah Herzog Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel. It is affiliated with the Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem. He is a Clinical Senior Lecturer in the Hebrew Medical School Faculty. He teaches medical students as well as nursing students at the Academic Nursing schools of Hadassah Hospital (Jerusalem), Kaplan Hospital (Rechovot), Ichilov Hospital (Tel Aviv), and Jerusalem College of Technology (Jerusalem). He supervises clinical practice and mentors students. He developed and established a pioneering inpatient unit at the Herzog Hospital specifically for the treatment of pressure ulcers concerning the need for a special unit and the resulting benefits for the immobile elderly patients. This unit has elicited interest in serving as a model for geriatric treatment facilities around the world and has set the standard for developing specialized pressure ulcer units.

The primary concept behind the pressure ulcers is the idea that pressure ulcers do not occur alone, and are an integral part of the clinical assessment and preventive treatment of the geriatric patient became a guiding principle in all of his work. It is important to attend not only to the pressure ulcers but also the general needs of the patient. This approach was summarized by Dr. Jaul in an article entitled "Non-Healing Wounds The Geriatric Approach" and a review article about " Assessment and Management of Pressure Ulcers in the Elderly Patients Current Strategy ". This leading essay highlights multi-factorial risks and treatment involved in Multidisciplinary and Comprehensive Approaches to Optimal Management of Pressure Ulcers in the Elderly. Dr. Jaul coined a new terminology in the field of pressure ulcers "atypical pressure ulcers", based on location and etiology classified medical devices, bone deformation and severe spasticity. He was a stream planner for the scientific program of Pressure Ulcers in the 4th Congress of World Union Wound Healing Societies (WUWHS 2012) in Yokohama, Japan. Currently, he is investigating comorbidities focusing on advanced dementia and other comorbidity on pressure ulcers to understand the underlying pathogenesis

Dr. Angela Peghetti is the A.I.S.LE.C. President. She performs coordinative and organisational tasks within different fields: scientific committees, administrative office organizations, institutions and media. In collaboration with the relevant bodies, she draws up projects, deals with paperwork, budget and balance sheets for the same Society. She is Professor and lecturer in the Tor Vergata University of Roma and Bicocca University of Milano. She works in Solatrix hospital in Rovereto (Italy) and focuses on developing Education, Research, Data Collection, alongside organising the research and updating of practice recommendations in the field of wound care.

wound care, biofilms in clinical practice

Dr nidal Younes has completed his MD from Jordan University and postdoctoral studies at the University of Chicago School of Medicine. He is the director of foot clinic at the national center for diabetes, endocrine and genetics, an endocrine surgeon at the JUH.

Diabetic Foot Ulcers, Endocrinology and Genetics

Dr Hamilton completed his PhD in Cellular Engineering at the University of Glasgow in 2000. He worked as a Research Scientist with Advanced Medical Solutions PLC., in England, followed by Postdoctoral studies at the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh and at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. He established his independent laboratory at the University of Western Ontario in 2007, which is focused on biomaterials and connective tissue repair. He has published 39 original research articles, and serves as an editorial board member for the Journal of Cell Communication & Signaling and The Journal of Cytology & Histology

Non-healing skin wounds, Wound Therapy and Wound Management

Onnen Grauhan is professor of cardiovascular surgery at the Charite`, Humboldt University Berlin and consultant surgeon at the Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery at Deutsches Herzzentrum Berlin, Germany.

Cardiovascular surgery, Wound mannagement, Nagative pressire therapy

Michele (Shelly) Burdette-Taylor has completed her PhD at the University of San Diego in California. She is an assistant professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in community health, foot care, and wound care for the college of health, school of nursing and physician assistant program. She has published numerous skin, wound, pressure ulcer, and foot care articles. Her most recent publication was a chapter for the new Wound Ostomy Continence Nurses Core Curriculum for Wound Care for entitled Foot and Nail Care.

Lower extremity wounds

Mieczyslawa Franczyk has completed her master's degree in PT and post graduated study for PhD from University of Physical Education in Poland. She graduated from University of Illinois Public School of Health. She is a member of American Physical Therapy Association. She is author or co-author 8 papers, 7 in arena of subatmospheric pressure wound therapy

Subatmospheric pressure wound therapy , Fistulae management, Wound Mangement and Therapy

Jasmina Begic finished postgraduate study on the Sarajevo University Medical School of Medicine. She is Medical Consultant for BIOPTRON, Zepter Internastional for Bosnia and Herzegovina , Founder of Association for Wound management in B&H, Founder and author of Euro-Asian Forum, one of founder of www.BALWMA.org. She is member of EWMA Cooperating Organisations Board.

Wound Management, Wound Healing, Advance wound treatments

Prolotherapy has been around for almost 80 years, yet is not well known in most musculoskeletal circles. Most orthopedic surgeons and neurosurgeons either have not ever heard of prolotherapy or think it doesn’t work based on never having studied it in residency training programs, their personal bias or their general lack of knowledge about it. The author will explain his discovery of prolotherapy after some 30 years of suffering from pain and his experience and will introduce this fine medical art to the participants. Prolotherapy was the first procedure invented in Regenerative Medicine, followed by PRP-Platelet Rich Plasma injections and then Stem Cell Injections from the bone marrow and/or Adipose Tissue.

prolotherapy

Dr. Schuetze is a biologist and expert in non-contact cell handling and label-free cell analysis using innovative photonic technologies. She did her PhD work at the Institute for Applied Physical Chemistry in Heidelberg and her postdoc research at the University of California in Berkeley where she assembled her first Optical Trap. In 1993 she and her husband founded the PALM company, which was successfully sold to Zeiss. In 2008, they both founded their second company, the CellTool GmbH, where they develop Raman microscope systems for biomedical applications, providing physicians and biologists with a label- free and non-invasive tool for cell analysis.

Optical Trap

Aijun Wang is the Co-Director of the Surgical Bioengineering Laboratory and an Assistant Professor at the University of California Davis School of Medicine. His research interests center on Engineering Stem Cells and Biomaterials to develop novel regenerative medical therapies, especially surgical treatments for congenital anomalies. His lab has successfully combined Tissue-Engineering technologies with the most advanced fetal intervention, and developed novel biomaterial and stem cell-based treatments (including nanofibrous materials, fetal membrane, decellularized extracellular matrix, iPSC-derived stem cells, placenta-derived stem cells) for devastating birth defects, such as spina bifida. Currently, his team are performing IND-enabling studies to move novel stem cell based therapies to clinical applications.

Engineering Stem Cells and Biomaterials

M Zavos received his BS in Biology-Chemistry in 1970, his MS in Biology-Physiology in 1972 and Education Specialist in Science (EdS) in 1976 from Emporia State University in Emporia, Kansas. He earned his Ph.D in Reproductive Physiology, Biochemistry and Statistics in 1978 from the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities, Minnesota. He received the distinguished Alumnus Award and the Graduate Teaching Award from Emporia State University and the Student Leadership Award from the University of Minnesota. He has numerous scientific collaborations nationally and internationally and his publications have appeared in eight languages. He is a Member of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), the American Society of Andrology (ASA), and the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE), the Middle East Fertility Society (MEFS), the Japanese Fertility Society, the International Society of Cryobiology Sigma XI, Gamma Sigma Delta and a number of other Scientific and Professional Societies. He has served on a large number of committees for the International Society of Cryobiology, ASRM, MEFS, ESHRE and others.

Academia and research

Heiko Zimmermann is the Director and Head of Fraunhofer IBMT and Chair in Molecular and Cellular Biotechnology at the Saarland University and has been working as Physicist since 1997 in the field of cell biophysics. He coordinated the EU-project HYPERLAB in FP7 and was WP leader in several other EU-projects. Within EBiSC, he is Leader of WP 3 and is additionally coordinating the translational project DropTech® in FP7. He received the first permission for working with hESCs within the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft. He is the author of more than 70 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters. His research expertise covers cryobiology, cryotechnology and biopolymers for clinical scaffolds. He is inventor of more than 50 granted patent families from which more than 20 have been commercially licensed.

cryobiology, cryotechnology and biopolymers

Robin C Muise-Helmericks is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Regenerative Medicine and Cell Biology, Member of the Hollings Cancer Center and Adjunct Associate Professor in the Departments of Oral Health at the Medical University of South Carolina

Regenerative Medicine

Anand Ramamurthi, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Biomedical engineering at the Cleveland Clinic with adjunct appointments at Case Western Reserve University, and Clemson University, where he was earlier a tenured faculty. He received a doctorate from Oklahoma State University and was an AHA postdoctoral fellow at the Cleveland Clinic. He directs a well-funded research program focused on biomimetic regenerative repair of ECM/elastic matrix, in vitro, and at sites of proteolytic disease. Anand is a member of several vascular disease-related professional societies and their committees, and an editorial-board member of repute in the JTSE. He is a peer-reviewer for several funding agencies and 20+ journals, and has 38 peer-reviewed publications

biomimetic regenerative repair, elastic matrix, vascular disease, Biomedical engineering

Dr. James Holmes joined the faculty at Wake Forest School of Medicine in 2006 as an Assistant Professor of Surgery and is currently the Medical Director of the Burn Center. He received a cross-appointment to the Wake Forest Institute of Regenerative Medicine in January 2008. Dr. Holmes has published multiple peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on all aspects of burn care. Dr. Holmes is currently active in burn surge capacity and burn disaster management in the State of North Carolina.

His current research interests range from all aspects of burn care to patient safety improvements and surgical quality of care initiatives.

She hold a bachelor’s degree in Veterinary Medicine and since my master and PhD thesis I have been working on preantral follicles. Initially, I focused on domestic animals, developing projects to safeguard native breeds from Brazil and Italy through the establishment of cryopreservation procedures for isolated follicles and ovarian tissue. Since 2007 I have been working with human preantral follicles. My major research interests have focused on human follicle isolation, cryopreservation, in-vitro culture and xenotransplantation. Additionally, I have been working with ovarian tissue engineering, biomaterials and nanobiotechnology.

Transplantation, biomaterials, tissue engineering, (bio) artificial organs, artificial ovary, cryobiology, fertility preservation, preantral follicles in vitro culture, polymers, cryopreservation of ovarian tissue.

Dr.Noshadi is a visiting Assistant Professor at Rowan University. His background is in polymer and specialty material synthesis for chemical and biomedical applications. He received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Connecticut in 2015 with a focus on the synthesis of heterogeneous materials for catalytic applications. He led scientific teams to engineer, design and commercialize biochemical processes in the award-winning collaborative works with several start-up companies. He joined Harvard University in 2015 as a postdoctoral fellow and his area of research features design and synthesis of novel polymers and biomaterials for tissue engineering applications and biomedical devices.

novel polymers

Ivana Haunerova is a Quality Assessor for biotech and advanced therapy medicinal products in the State Institute for Drug Control in the Czech Republic. She has completed her graduation in Biochemistry at the Institute of Chemical Technology, Prague. Since 2009, she is a Member of the Committee for Advanced Therapies at EMA

Drug controll

Dr. Ayman El-Attar is the President of the American Aesthetic Association. He founded Derma Laser Centers of New Jersey established in October 2002. He graduated from Alexandria Medical School with honors in 1987. He completed residencies in both General Surgery and Family Medicine, and obtained a Masters Degree of surgery in 1992. He was an assistant lecturer of Surgery at Alexandria University, and a visiting instructor of Surgery at the Medical College of Ohio. He then finalized his Ph.D. thesis in 1998.

Dr. Bozena B. Michniak-Kohn is a tenured Professor of Pharmaceutics at the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, and Founder /Director of the Center for Dermal Research CDR at Rutgers-The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ. She is also the Director of the Laboratory for Drug Delivery of the New Jersey Center for Biomaterials (NJCBM). Her main focus is topical, transdermal and buccal drug delivery. Dr. Michniak-Kohn has over 35 years experience in design & optimization of topically applied formulations and transdermal patches. She holds patents for novel drug carrier approaches for dermatologicals. She is a member of graduate programs at Rutgers in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Biomedical Engineering, Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Chemistry and Chemical Biology as well as the RWJ Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. Dr. Michniak-Kohn received her B. Sc. (Honors) in Pharmacy and Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the U.K. Dr. Michniak-Kohn has directed over 50 Ph.D. and Masters students and the work resulted in over 120 peer-reviewed manuscripts, over 420 abstracts, 2 books, and 35 book chapters. She is a member of 10 journal editorial boards, several scientific advisory boards, and is a reviewer for about 42 pharmaceutical and drug delivery journals. For this work she was awarded Fellow status of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) in 2008.

Treatment & therapeutics for dermatological diseases such as atopic dermatitis, melanoma and psoriasis.

Throughout her career, Dr. Baum has built a reputation as a cosmetic dermatologist by providing leading-edge treatments, dedicated and personalized patient care, and excellent aesthetic results. Dr. Baum is often asked to share her expertise to the English and Spanish-speaking media about the latest advancements in skin care technologies. She has collaborated in several publications, in world re-known dermatological journals and books with her research. Dr. Baum remains committed to the highest standards of patient care and is actively involved in several professional organizations. Dr. Baum is proud to treat patients of all ages and skin types, and has experience in cosmetic, general, surgical and pediatric dermatology. Dr. Baum is a proud alumna of the University of Miami with a Bachelor of Science in neuroscience Summa Cum Laude, received her medical degree from the Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine. Upon graduation, Dr. Baum completed an internship in Westchester Hospital, as well as a residency in dermatology at the NSU COM Larkin Community Hospital, where she was chief resident during her last year. She is married with 2 children, and enjoys spending time with her family.

cosmetic, general, surgical and pediatric dermatology

Dr. Barry Lycka is one of the most respected and accomplished cosmetic dermatologists in the world. Having practiced for over 25 years, he has done over 10\\\'s of thousands of liposuction, Mohs surgery, injections, fat transfer and other elaborate procedures. Practicing in Edmonton since 1989, he has written 17 books, over 30 academic papers and is host of the number one internet radio show on cosmetic surgery - Inside Cosmetic Surgery Today. He also is founder of YourCosmeticDoctor.tv - the number one internet television show on cosmetic surgery. He continues to lead and speak at national and international conferences, recently having presented 4 papers at the World Congress of Dermatology in Vancouver, Canada.

cosmetic dermatologists

Dr. Drazen M. Jukic M.D., Ph.D. is a private practice Dermatopathologist in Savannah GA. He maintains active digital Dermatopathology consultation service, and serves as a Telepathology Consultant for VISN 8 and James A. Haley VA Hospital, Tampa, Florida, and is a member of advisory board of Castle Biosciences, Inc. Dr. Jukic also maintains a consultation service via his company Advanced Digital Anatomic Pathology Technologies (ADAPT), and as a Medical Officer in Digipath, Inc. In the past, he served as a Director of dermatopathology fellowship, University of Pittsburgh (for 10 years), Medical Advisory Board at Digipath, and was a founding member of a clinical team at Omnyx, LLC. Dr Jukic is a Visiting Associate Professor, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Croatia. Dr. Jukic’s area of expertise includes immunohistochemistry, cutaneous lymphomas, and molecular pathology as it pertains to dermatopathology, as is evident from his many publications and research experience.

Immunohistochemistry, cutaneous lymphomas, and molecular pathology

Ghohestani completed his internship in surgery at Penn and derm residency at Thomas Jefferson University. He received his Master’s in Cutaneous Biology & Pharmacology, and PhD. in Skin Immunobiology from Claude Bernard University , Lyon. Dr. Ghohestani served as the principal investigator and team leader for many years at various Academic Institutes. He is a former Editor of Eur J Derm and Chief of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Dr. Ghohestani’s outstanding work and dedication to excellence have earned him numerous honors and peer recognitions including the American Skin Assoc. & Derm Found Awards.

Dr. Ghohestani specializes in skin, hair and nail diseases as well as in Cosmetic Dermatology and Derm Surgery. He is among the few dermatologists in the San Antonio and Boerne area that has spent over a decade as a principle investigator in basic and clinical dermatology research.

Philip W. Wertz is a Professor in the Dows Institute, which is part of the University of Iowa College of Dentistry. He has more than 150 publications in refereed journals and numerous book chapters. He serves on several editorial boards.

Umit Tursen was born in Turkey. He graduated from Gazi University Faculty of Medicine as Medical Doctor. He completed the residency period of Dermatology in Ankara University, Faculty of Medicine, and Department of Dermatology between 1995-1999. He has been working in Mersin University, School of Medicine, and Department of Dermatology since 2000. He is the Professor of Mersin University, School of Medicine, and Dermatology Department. He has published more than 80 papers in reputed journals, also books and serving as an editorial board member of repute. He won Behcet’s disease research award of “The scientific and technical research council of Turkey (TUBITAK)” in 1999.

Professor/Chief Consultant Surgeon, FWACS, FICS, University of Calabar/University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, (UCTH),Calabar, Nigeria. Served as the Head of Department of Surgery, University of Calabar, Dean, Faculty of Medicine, and Dentistry and currently Provost College of Medical Sciences. His major research interest is dermatological oncology. Head of the Oncology unit of UCTH, Calabar, Nigeria. Attended several International and Local conferences, presented several papers on dermatological oncology and member of Dermatology-2014/ 2015-Organising Committee. He pioneered research resulting in over 80 publications.

Gaurang Joshi, B.A.M.S. (Gold Medalist, Gujarat Ayurved University),M.D.(Med.Alt.) is an international Ayurveda consultant, expert Ayurveda skin specialist, Ayurveda Oncology expert and the Director of the Atharva Multispeciality Ayurveda Hospital, Panchakarma And Skin Care Hospital, Rajkot. He is President of the International Psoriasis Foundation and has been in practice for the last 19 years. Gaurang Joshi has published more than 16 papers in national and international conferences on Dermatology and Oncology research. He was guest speaker at an International Symposium in September 2011 care of the University Of Indonesia, Dept. Of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Gaurang Joshi was invited by National Ayurvedic Medical Association (NAMA),USA as a presenter in 10th Annual Conference of NAMA 2013. He has traveled to the USA, Germany, Israel and more than 8 other countries as a speaker, academician and consultant. Gaurang Joshi was felicitated by the Mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey, with various awards for his contribution in Ayurveda Research. Specifically, he has done extensive research on the management of side effects of radiotherapy and chemotherapy with Ayurveda (Herbal) Medicine. He has also extensively researched Psoriasis and Vitiligo with the renowned Dermatology Research Institute (USA). He provides online consultation to patients globally.

Ayurveda skin specialist

Guy H Fontaine MD PhD HDR has made 15 original contributions in the design and the use of the first cardiac pace makers in the early 60s. He has serendipitously identified ARVD during antiarrhythmic surgery in the early 70s. He has developed the technique of Fulguration to replace surgery in the early 80s. He has been one of the 216 individuals who have made a significant contribution to the study of cardiovascular disease since the 14th century and one of the 500 greatest geniuses of the 21st Century (USA Books), one of the 100 life time of achievement (UK Book). He has > 900 publications including 201 book chapters. He is a reviewer of 17 scientific journals both in basic and clinical science. He has given 11 master lectures of 90 minutes each in inland China in 2014. He is now developing new techniques for brain protection in OHCA, stroke and spinal cord injury by hypothermia.

Cardiomyopathies, Right Ventricular Dysfunction, cardiac imaging, myocarditis.

Jean Caron, PhD, studies the mental health of populations, focusing primarily on:the epidemiology of mental disorders and suicide the assessment of mental health services the validation of psychometric instruments His initial collaboration with the Douglas Mental Health University Institute was in 1993 when he was a professor in the Department of Human and Social Developmentat the Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue. He joined the Psychosocial Research Division in 1998 and subsequently became an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at McGill University. He currently leads the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Team in Social and Psychiatric Epidemiology. He is also an associate researcher at the Institut de Santé publique of the Université de Montréal and the Instituto de Saude Colletiva of the Federal University of Bahia in Brazil.His recent studies have identified determinants of psychological distress and quality of life among different populations: the general population, low-income populations and populations with mental health problems. He has focused particularly on social support as a protective factor in mental health.Jean Caron’s research has received national and international recognition. He was a visiting scientist at the Mental Health Institute of the Andalusian Ministry of Health and avisiting professor in the Department of Social Psychology at the University of Seville, in Spain. He is a consultant in social and psychiatric epidemiology to the Public Health Agency of Canada, Statistics Canada, the Quebec Department of Public Health, and the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

Epidemiology

David J Galton is Emeritus Professor at London University. He gained doctorates in Medicine (M.D. for work done in the USA) and in Science (D.Sc.). He has published 8 books, and more than 250 research papers on genetics of common metabolic disorders; nine students from his laboratory have become Professors. He served as consultant physician to St. Bartholomew’s Hospital and Moorfield’s Eye Hospital, London. David J Galton has served in various senior positions as the former Chairman of Clinical Science U.K, Chairman of HEART UK and Secretary to the European Atherosclerosis Society. He is an elected Fellow of 2 Royal Colleges, the Physicians (FRCP) and Ophthalmologists (FRCOphth).

Metabolic regulation, SNP analysis, genetics of lipid disorders, atherosclerosis.

Young graduated from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health as Master and Doctor of Public Health, with specialization in Epidemiology and Social Medicine. He also took a Master’s degree in Sociology from Pennsylvania State University where he studied demography, biostatistics and quantitative research methods as a doctoral candidate. His research focuses on the distribution of air toxic exposure, neighborhood health effects, and vulnerability to chronic disease and health care disparities. He holds positions as Executive Vice President for Health Policy at Cooper University Health Care and Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine of Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, where he is Director of the Center for Injury Epidemiology and Social Medicine.

Epidemiology,Medicine

Wolfgang Seger was a doctor of medicine at the Freie Universität Berlin in 1977 and received his license as a physician in 1978. Afterwards, he was initially a research assistant at the Institute of Clinical Radiology at Hanover Medical University. After working at various clinics, he opened his main practice in internal medicine / gastroenterology in Bad Pyrmont in 1985 and was a consultant for the operative therapy of two clinics. From 1989 to 1991, Seger was a senior physician at the Lorch Social Medicine Clinic, and until 1994 he was the senior physician of the Social Medicine Department of the LVA Oldenburg-Bremen. In 1994 Seger became a senior physician of the medical service of the health insurance of Lower Saxony (MDKN) and in 1997 his deputy managing director. In 1998 the University of Bremen was appointed honorary professor for rehabilitation medicine.

Rehabilitation and Social Medicine

Sophia Salenius is Managing Director of RegPoint Ltd, a health services company supplying wireless technology to the global healthcare community. She is a leading expert in the international IT healthcare field and a sought after guest speaker at professional conferences around the world. Ms. Salenius is well known as the inventor behind the unique mHealth solution for public health threat detection and management called RegPoint. Her invention is also used in a wireless early warning and advice solution for natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis and hurricanes, as well as to combat public health threats including chronic diseases and epidemics such as SARS and the Avian A flu.

Epidemic

In 2001 Cristina Stasi graduated in Medicine and Surgery at the Catholic University of “Sacro Cuore”, Rome. In 2006 she specialized in Gastroenterology at the University of Pisa. From 2006 to 2009 she took part in clinical research projects at the University Hospital “Careggi”, Florence. At the same time she improved her knowledge in Study Design, Management of Clinical Research Project, Statistics, Epidemiology. In 2013 she received her PhD in Experimental and Clinical Medicine from the University of Florence. She published more than 40 papers in reputed international journals and she has been serving as an editorial board member of some international journals.

Epidemiology

Ahmad M. Khalil received Ph.D. from the Ohio State University in 1987. Currently is a Professor at Yarmouk University, Irbid, JORDAN. Earned the professorship in 2000. Director of the Department of Biological Sciences at Yarmouk 2001-2003. Founded the Biotechnology M. Sc. Program at Yarmouk in 2003. In Arabic, authored a book in Radiation Biology, a unit in Molecular Biology, a chapter in Genetics and 35 articles of general interest. Published 40 research papers most of them in International Journals. Developed expertise in investigating the biology of prostate cancer in collaboration with King Abduallah Hospital at Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST).

Epidemiology, Public Health

Dr. Roberto Antonio Flores has been Graduated from National University of Tucuman, Argentina as Medical Doctor, with the specialties including Internal Medicine, Social and Community Medicine and Diploma in Cardiology from the National University of Tucuman and Medical Clinic National Academy of Medicine Argentina. Later on he obtained his post-graduation from National University of Cuyo with subjects Pharmacology & Biology and then started working at The Nurses School, Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Health, National University of Santiago del Estero, Argentina where he has continued his research. Presently he has been working at the at the Regional Hospital Dr. Ramon Carrillo, Santiago del Estero City. He has got eminent memberships in many Scientific Societies including Internal Medicine and Cardiology at the Society of Santiago del Estero, Argentina, Membership of Argentina Federation of Cardiology, Membership of Hypertension Committee of Argentina Federation of Cardiology, Membership of Inter American Society of Cardiology and Board of Epidemiology of Inter American Society of Cardiology

Epidemiology

Amir Baigi has 28 years experiences in health surveys, evaluation and expertise in improving the health and wellbeing.His scientific network extend from Gothenburg University in west to Lund University in south of Sweden.

Epidemiology

Syamantak Mani Tripathi is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry, Chhattisharh Kamdhenu Vishwavidalya, Durg-491001 (Chhattisgarh) India. He has over six years experience with hand-on applications including teams of researchers and technicians in the Pharmacology & Toxicology and Biotechnology division. His training and experience also includes applied animal investigation skills as a research scholar in the field of pesticide induced immunotoxicology and safety pharmacology studies. He has worked in multiple successful research projects funded by Indian Council of Agricultural Research and Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, supporting clinical development and leading to strong regulatory submissions for pesticides uses in agriculture. His research program is focused on the study of immune response to pesticide and xenobiotics in avian model. He received his Bachelor’s in Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry from Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Jabalpur (MP), India; Master’s of Veterinary Pharmacology from Anand Agricultural University, Anand (Gujarat), India and his Ph.D. in Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology from the Nanaji Deshmukh Veterinary Science University at Jabalpur (MP), India. His academic work was focused on “Immuno-genotoxicity of organophosphorous insecticide ‘acephate’ in white leghorn birds”. His work contributes towards understanding the molecular mechanism of acephate toxicity in avian model; studying interleukin gene(s) associated with immunity and development of test series to study immunotoxicity. Memberships he has include the Indian Society of Toxicology, Indian Society of Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology.

Epidemiology,Toxicology

W.Mohl has graduated at the age of 24 years from the Vienna University, Medical school and received his PhD from the natural science chapter of the University of Vienna during his clinical training. With 34 he received the Board of Surgery and the academic license to teach surgery at 36. At the age of 40 he became Professor of Surgery at the University of Vienna. He has published more than 90 papers in reputed journals, book chapters and has been serving as an editorial board member of several journals and id founder in a start up company Miracor.

Coronary hemodynamics, cardiac regeneration and cardioprotection

Denis Barritault graduated in Math and Physics, completed his Ph.D. in biochemistry in Paris University. Post doctoral in molecular immunology at Pasteur Institute and NYU as NIH Fogarty Fellow he joined INSERM unit in Paris as developmental biologist. He made the first description and patents of FGF extracted from retina in 1979 and 82 as skin and cornea healing agent, became full professor at Paris East University in 1985, founded and directed a CNRS Laboratory on cell and tissue regeneration until 2003. He is now President of OTR3, Emeritus Professor and author in over 200 publications and 29 patents.

tissue regeneration, molecular immunology

Kristin Comella has over 15 years’ experience in corporate entities with expertise in regenerative medicine. She was recently named number 24 according to Terrapin’s list of the Top 50 Global Stem Cell Influencers. Ms. Comella has pioneered a variety of stem cell therapies including cord blood derived cells, bone marrow cells, muscle cells and adipose cells for use in many different applications. She has developed a wide range of regenerative products and techniques that have been successfully implemented into the clinic. She also led the team that gained the first ever FDA approval for clinical trials using a combined cell and gene therapy product. Ms. Comella has been a member of the Bioheart Inc. senior management team since 2004 and is currently serving as the Chief Scientific Officer and board member. Bioheart is a publically traded company focusing on the discovery, development and commercialization of autologous cell therapies for the treatment of degenerative diseases. Since joining Bioheart, she has played a major role in managing the product development, manufacturing and quality systems of cellular products. In addition, Ms. Comella is currently and actively serving on multiple boards in the stem cell arena. She was co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Stemlogix, LLC for veterinary medicine. Ms. Comella has years of cell culturing experience including building and managing the stem cell laboratory at Tulane University's Center for Gene Therapy. Previously, she worked as a research engineer for Osiris Therapeutics developing stem cell therapies for osteoarthritis. Ms. Comella holds an M.S. in Chemical Engineering from The Ohio State University and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of South Florida.

Adipose derived stem cells

The research of Scott L. Nyberg, M.D., Ph.D., is focused on the development of a multidisciplinary bioartificial liver program to improve the treatment of patients with liver failure and support the Mayo Clinic clinical liver transplant program. His lab is also involved with regenerative medicine of liver disease as it pertains to treating patients in liver failure with extracorporeal bioartificial livers or implantable tissue-engineered livers, or treating patients with metabolic liver disease with hepatocyte transplantation.

regenerative medicine of liver disease

Jane Lebkowski has been actively involved in the development of cell and gene therapies since 1986 and is currently Chief Scientific Officer and President of R&D at Asterias Biotherapeutics Inc, where she is responsible for all preclinical and product development of Asterias’ products. From 1998 to 2012, Dr. Lebkowski was Senior Vice President of Regenerative Medicine and Chief Scientific Officer at Geron Corporation. Dr. Lebkowski led Geron’s human embryonic stem cell program, being responsible for all research, preclinical development, product development, manufacturing, and clinical development activities. Prior to Geron, Dr. Lebkowski was Vice President of R&D at Applied Immune Sciences. Following acquisition of Applied Immune Sciences by Rhone Poulenc Rorer (currently Sanofi), Dr. Lebkowski served as Vice President of Discovery Research. Dr. Lebkowski received her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Princeton University in 1982, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Department of Genetics, Stanford University in 1986. Dr. Lebkowski has published over 70 peer reviewed papers and has 13 issued U.S. patents. Dr. Lebkowski is on the Board of Directors of the American Society for Gene and Cell Therapy. Dr Lebkowski also served as an industry representative to FDA’s Office of Cell, Tissue and Gene Therapy Advisory Board.

Preclinical development, product development, manufacturing, and clinical development activities

Esmaiel Jabbari completed his PhD at Purdue University and postdoctoral studies at Monsanto, Rice University, and Mayo Clinic. He is Full Professor of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering and Director of Biomimetic Materials and Tissue Engineering Laboratory at University of South Carolina. He is internationally known for his work on synthesis and processing of cell-responsive polymers and hydrogels for applications in regenerative medicine and growth factor delivery. He received the Berton Rahn Award from the AO Foundation in 2012 and the Stephen Milam Award from the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Foundation in 2008. He was elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) in 2013. He has published >200 books, book chapters, peer-reviewed journal articles, and conference proceedings, and presented >250 seminars at national and international conferences on biomaterials, tissue engineering, and drug delivery. He has mentored >100 visiting scholars, post-doctoral researchers, doctoral students, and undergraduate students. He is a member of numerous scientific organizations including BMES, SFB, TERMIS, MRS, EMBS, ACS, AIChE, and AACR.

Skeletal tissue engineering, Stem cell encapsulation and delivery, Self-assembled nanogels for growth factor delivery, Bioinspired materials, Multi‐scale composite materials, Drug targeting to cancer stem cells, Model gels to control cell microenvironment

Bertha Chen completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley and Doctorate of Medicine from Stanford University School of Medicine. She is Professor of Ob/Gyn and Urology (by courtesy) at Stanford University School of Medicine and co-Chief of the Division of Urogynecology and Pelvic Reconstructive Surgery. Her research focus is in stem cell pluripotency and mesenchymal differentiation, and stem cell based therapy for urinary incontinence. She has published more than 55 papers in reputed journals.

stem cell pluripotency and mesenchymal differentiation, and stem cell based therapy for urinary incontinence

Dennis Lox practices Sports and Regenerative Medicine in the Tampa Bay, Florida and the Washington D.C. metro areas in the United States. Dr. Lox has treated numerous patients with AVN. As well as patients from all levels of sports competition including the professional ranks. Dr.Lox frequently presents his findings at national and International Conferences on Regenerative Medicine and Tissue Engineering.

Regenerative Medicine, sports medicine, musculoskeletal regeneration

He is a founder and director of the Lower Silesian Centre of Cellular Transplantation, Wroclaw (Poland) which participates in the National Marrow Donor Program (Minneapolis, USA) as an international transplant centre since 2002 (No. TC 484). He started marrow transplantation in 1987 and the institution activity cover auto- and allogeneic transplantations of hematopoietic cells in sibling and alternative donor settings. He is an author and co-author of more than 200 scientific papers published in peer-review journals (immunology and immunogenetics of transplantation, pioneering transplantation in immunodeficiency and marrow processing ). He served as a research coordinator of FP5 StemNet project and his institution has EBMT, EFI and NMDP accreditations.

Immunogenetics, Cellular immunology, Autoimmune diseases, Bone marrow transplantation, Regenerative medicine

Giacomo Cao is currently working as a Professor of Chemical Engineering, is currently the Coordinator of the Ph.D. Program in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Cagliari, Italy and the Head of the Bioengineering Group at CRS4, Italy. The main research interests in the field of biomedical engineering are the design of rotating bioreactors for engineered cartilage growth, the experimental analysis and modeling of in vitro proliferation of mesenchymal stem cells, the use of human mesenchymal stem cells for acute toxicity tests as well as the development of novel processes for tissues decellularization and recellularization.

Bioengineering, mesenchymal stem cells, tissues decellularization, recellularization

Vasiliki E. Kalodimou is Director of the Flow Cytometry-Research and Regenerative Medicine Department at IASO Maternity-Pediatric and Research Hospital in Athens, Greece. Before her current appointment, Kalodimou served as a haematology associate at General University Hospital of Heraklion, Crete, and as an instructor at both the General University Hospital of Heraklion and the Ipokratios Medical- Technical Institute of Athens. Kalodimou received her bachelor’s degree in Human Physiology and her master’s degree in Human Molecular Genetics from the Imperial College at the University of Medicine in London, UK. She completed her PhD at the University of Medicine in Athens, Greece, with an emphasis on stem cells and factors affecting their viability and absolute numbers.

Since 2006, Dr. Kalodimou has studied and working with stem cells from placenta, umbilical cord and adipose tissue, in every day practice and their applications in regenerative medicine and Flow Cytometry. Also is working in the area of human genetics & population genetics. In collaboration with the Hellenic Flow Cytometry Society, Kalodimou has developed quality control schemes for stem cell marker enumeration. The goal of this work is to find helpful new applications for flow cytometry, evaluate the risk factors for stem cell infusion, and improve the clarity and accessibility of measurements by flow cytometry. Her work quantifies and ranks all risks of flow cytometry enumeration to prevent and minimize the false-positive results from different cytometer uses. She is also working to establish combinations of monoclonal antibodies for mesenchymal and adipose tissue stem cell enumeration. In addition to collaboration with state universities and pharmaceutical companies on research projects, Kalodimou frequently publishes her findings. The Greek edition of the book was published in 2010 and has been well-received while in 2013 the English edition of the book was puplished by AABB Press USA. She is a member of two subsections of the AABB Cellular Therapies Section and also an AABB assessor.

Giorgio Calori Maria has completed his education of Medicine and Surgery University of Milan in 1982; 1987 Specialization School in Orthopaedics and Traumatology University of Milan; 1990 Specialization School in Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, University of Milan; 1994 Specialization School in Hand Surgery University of Florence. At present working as Chairman of Complex Operative Unit of Orthopaedic Reparative Surgery and Risk Management, G.Pini Orthopaedic Institute, piazza Cardinal Ferrari 1, University of Milan. Also as Professor at the University of Milan at the Graduate School of Orthopaedics and Traumatology and tutor of the course on "Biological processes in the repair of fractures and in nonunions" since 2004. Professor at the University of Milan in the course in Medicine and Surgery of the course on "Human Anatomy” since 2003 and of the course on "Orthopaedics and Traumatology" since 2013. His relation with scientific sociteis as President of the European Society of Tissue Regeneration in Orthopaedics and Trauma (ESTROT.) President overseeing the super-specialist Society for osteosynthesis CIO (Italian Osteosynthesis Club) of the Italian Society of Orthopaedics and Traumatology (SIOT). President overseeing the Lombardy Section SLOTO of Italian Hospital Orthopaedics and Traumatologists. Former President of the Tissue Regeneration Commission of the Italian Society of Orthopaedics and Traumatology (SIOT). Member of the international Advisory Board on biotechnologies and regenerative medicine. President of the National Board for regenerative medicine

Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Medicine and Surgery, regenerative medicine

Dr. Zuba-Surma is a group leader in Department of Cell Biology at the Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnlogy and Head of Laboratory of Stem Cell Biotechnology in Malopolska Centre for Biotechnology at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland. She completed her PhD in molecular biology and immunology in 2004 from Jagiellonian University. In 2005, she moved to USA for her 4-year postdoctoral fellowships in Institute of Molecular Cardiology and Stem Cell Biology Institute at the University of Louisville, KY. She published more than 90 papers in reputed journals in stem cell and cardiology fields and is co-author of patent and several patent applications. She was awarded by several national and international prices and stipends for scientific achievements and she has been actively founded by several grant agencies for her work in stem cell field (NIH, NCN, NCBiR, FNP).

Stem and progenitor cells in the treatment of acute and chronic myocardial injury

Dr. Y. James Kang currently is a China National One-Thousand-Talents Professor and Director of the Regenerative Medicine Research Center at Sichuan University West China Medical College, the President and CEO of Sichuan 3D Bio-printing Institute; the Director of Sichuan Regenerative Medicine Research and Technology Center; the Editor-in-Chief of the journals Cardiovascular Toxicology and Regenerative Medicine Research; and the Editor of the book series of Methods in Pharmacology and Toxicology. His research interests are in regenerative medicine, focusing on 3D bio-printing and cardiovascular regeneration, as well as dietary manipulation of cardiovascular disease, liver fibrosis and cirrhosis, oxidative stress and antioxidant mechanisms, and non-human primate models for human diseases.

regenerative medicine, focusing on 3D bio-printing and cardiovascular regeneration, as well as dietary manipulation of cardiovascular disease, liver fibrosis and cirrhosis, oxidative stress and antioxidant mechanisms, and non-human primate models for human diseases.

Dr. Yang received his medical training from Luoyang Medical College, followed by a M.S. Pathophysiology from the Institute of Basic Medical Sciences in Beijing, China. He obtained his Ph.D. degree in Microbiology/Immunology from RFUMS/The Chicago Medical School and postdoctoral training at Northwestern University. Prior to his arrival at the North Carolina Research Campus, he was an Associate Professor of Pathology at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. Dr. Yang was a recipient of the Career Development Award from the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program. He is also an American Cancer Society Research Scholar.

Dr. Yang's research is focused on molecular and cellular cancer biology. His work has explored E2F-1 mediated oncogenicity; the roles of granyzme and caspases in breast carcinogenesis and therapeutic resistance; communication between p53 and p73 proteins in breast cancer cells; crosstalk between ER and erbB-2 pathways, and phytoestrogen modulated breast cancer prevention. Dr. Yang's current research is on breast cancer etiology and prevention with emphases on the modulation of hormone-growth factor crosstalk, apoptosis and mammary stem cell reprogramming by various genetic and environmental factors.

Roberta Di Pietro got the degree in Medicine cum Laude in 1985 and the PhD in Sports Medicine cum Laude in 1988, University of Chieti, Italy. She worked as a visiting scientist in UK at the Biochemistry Department, AFRC, Cambridge; in USA at the Pathology Department, USUHS, Bethesda, and at the Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland, Baltimore. She currently works at the G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti, Italy, as a Full Professor of Histology. She joined the Editorial Board of Current Pharmaceutical Design as an Executive Guest Editor and since 2010 she was recognized as a Registered Referee for Archives of Ophthalmological Reviews and Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology. She is now author of 168 scientific publications plus international e-bookchapters and Italian textbooks.

Sports Medicine, Histology

Dr. Murugan Ramalingam is Associate Professor at the Centre for Stem Cell Research (a unit of Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine-Bengaluru), Christian Medical College and Hospital Campus, India. Concurrently he is Adjunct Associate Professor at the Tohoku University, Japan. Prior to joining the CSCR, he was Associate Professor of Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering at the Institut National de la Santé et de la RechercheMédicale, Faculté de ChirurgieDentaire, Université de Strasbourg, France. He has worked at the WPI Advanced Institute for Materials Research, Japan, as an Assistant Professor. He has also worked at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), under the U.S. National Academies Associateship program. He received his Ph.D. in Biomaterials from the University of Madras. He has also undergone training in Ethical and Policy issues on Stem Cells from Harvard University, USA, and in Operations Management from the University of Illinois-Chicago. His current research interests are focused on the development of multiphase biomedical materials, through conventional to nanotechnology to biomimetic approaches, microfabrication, cell patterning, stem cell differentiation, tissue engineering and drug delivery.He is the author of over 160 publications, including peer-reviewed journal papers, conference proceedings, book chapters, authored books, edited books, and patents relevant to biomaterials, stem cells, and tissue engineering. His current h-index is 20. He has organized several international conferences and chaired Biomaterials, Nanobiotechnology, Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering sessions. He also serves as a board member of several international scientific and research committees in various public and private bodies and grant reviewer of various international funding agencies. He serves on the editorial boards of multiple biomaterials and tissue engineering-related journals, including as the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering, the Journal of Bionanoscience and the American Journal of Stem Cell Research. He is a recipient of several prestigious fellowships and awards, including CSIR Fellowship (India), SMF Fellowship (Singapore), NRC National Academies Fellowship (USA), NationaleProfesseur des Universités (France) and Fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry (UK).

Stem cell differentiation, Cell patterning, Interface tissue engineering, Biomaterials, Biomolecular delivery.

Dr Chong has completed his PhD from Southern Illinois Univesty School of Medicine. and postdoctoral studies from Oregan Primate Research Center. He is an Associate Professor at Chang Gung University, Taoyuan City, Taiwan. He has published more than 40 papers in reputed journals.

Stem cell therapy, Regenerative medicine, multidrug-resistant cancer cells

Ryang Hwa Lee is an Assistant Professor of Molecular and Cellular Medicine at the Institute for Regenerative Medicine located in Temple, Texas. Dr. Lee received her B.S. in Microbiology in 1997 and Master’s degree in Medicine from Pusan National University School of Natural Science in 1999. She earned her Ph.D. in Physiology from Pusan National University Medical School in 2003 working with Dr. Jin Sup Jung on the characterization of human adipose & bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells. In 2003, she joined the Center for Gene Therapy at Tulane University Health Sciences Center, as a post-doctoral fellow working with Dr. Darwin Prockop on mesenchymal stem cells from human bone marrow. She came to the Institute for Regenerative Medicine with the Texas A&M Health Science Center in 2008 as a Research Scientist. Dr. Lee joined the faculty of Texas A&M University System Health Science Center in 2009.

Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have attracted attention in efforts to develop cell therapies, because they are readily obtained from patients, expanded in culture and exhibit stem-like properties to differentiate into multiple cellular phenotypes. Currently, MSCs are employed in a large series of clinical trials in heart disease, Crohn’s disease, cartilage repair, stroke, spinal cord injury and several other diseases. However, clinical trials will require additional information about the most effective cells to employ, the optimal route of administration and -most importantly- the mechanisms whereby the cells repair injured tissues. This group specializes in determining the cellular and molecular mechanisms of beneficial effects of MSCs in diseases that include heart disease, diabetes, and peritonitis. The goal is to develop a cellular therapy for human diseases either (a) with adult stem/progenitor cells (MSCs), or (b) with therapeutic factors that MSCs produce in response to signals from injured tissues.

Dr. Pedro G Morouco is a PhD specialized in Biomechanics and the Head of R&D Biofabrication Group at the Centre for Rapid and Sustainable Product Development – Polytechnic Institute of Leiria, Portugal. His research activity focuses mostly on products and processes engineering, bringing the gap between the lab and in vivo applications. He has Co-edited 2 books, authored and co-authored more than 100 papers published in books (n=15), international journals (n=40) and international conferences (n=55). He is the Member of the Editorial Board in several international peer-review journals and was distinguished with the New Investigator Award 2014 from ISBS. He coordinates granted national and international research projects and is the Chairman of the CDRsp Advanced Courses on Regenerative Medicine and Workshops on Direct Digital Manufacturing for Medicine.

Biomechanics, Biofabrication