Monday, March 23, 2009        11:00 am - 7:00 pm 

Special Event        11:00 am - 12:30 pm

Northeast Stem Cell Consortium (by invitation only)

Registration Opens        11:30 am

Connecticut Stem Cell Update        1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

Get an up-to-the-minute report on the achievements of Connecticut’s research institutions and the State of Connecticut’s Stem Cell Research Fund.

• Commissioner J. Robert Galvin, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., CT Department of Public Health
• Laura Grabel, Ph.D., Wesleyan University
• Diane Krause, M.D. Ph.D., Yale University School of Medicine
• Marc Lalande, Ph.D., University of Connecticut Health Center
• Session Chair: Milton Wallack, D.D.S., Co-Chairman, Connecticut Stem Cell Coalition

Translation to Clinic Workshop        2:30 pm - 4:15 pm

Explore the challenges facing the stem cell and business communities as we work to translate stem cell R&D into clinical therapies and the marketplace. The panel will also addresses the financial and commercial issues affecting stem cell research commercialization.

• Haifan Lin, Ph.D., Yale University School of Medicine
• John D. McNeish, Ph.D., Pfizer
• Linda Powers, Toucan Capital
• Michael Werner, Holland & Knight
• Michael Whitaker, Ph.D., North East England Stem Cell Institute
• Lorraine Young, Ph.D., University of Nottingham
• Session Chair: Paul Pescatello, J.D. , Ph.D., President and CEO, CURE (Connecticut United for Research Excellence)

Emerging Ethical Issues in Stem Cell Research        2:30 pm - 4:00 pm

Consider the bioethical issues as stem cell research moves from the laboratory and into the clinic with the co-chair of the Committee on Guidelines for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research and a key bioethics advisor to the Obama transition.

• Jonathan Moreno, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania
• Session Chair: Lori Gruen, Ph.D., Wesleyan University

mRNA-Seq Whole Transcriptome Analysis of a Single Cell        3:00 pm - 4:15 pm

This session for working scientists demonstrates the power of SOLiD™ Next Generation Sequencing technology in discovering new biomarkers and understanding transcriptome complexity when material available is limited, such as during early embryonic development or within stem cells.

• Kai Lao, Ph.D., Applied Biosystems (part of Life Technologies)

This program has been developed and organized by Applied Biosystems (part of Life Technologies)

UK and US Research Collaborations        4:30 pm - 5:45 pm

This workshop will be in two parts. First there is be a discussion of UK and US research collaborations using as an example a case study of a collaboration involving both Imperial College of London and Yale University. This will be followed by a scientific presentation by Dr. Wei Cui who will speak on Regulating human Embryonic Stem Cell Differentiation to Neural and Hepatic Lineages.

• Wei Cui, Ph.D., Imperial College London
• Michael Snyder, Ph.D., Yale University
• Michael Whitaker, Ph.D., North East England Stem Cell Institute
• Lorraine Young, Ph.D., University of Nottingham
• Session Chair: Jacqueline Ashmore, Science & Innovation Team, British Consulate General/Boston

This program has been developed and organized by UK Trade & Investment – Life Sciences

StemCONN 09 Networking Reception and British Beer Tasting        5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

UConn Stem Cell Core Advisory Committee Meeting  (by invitation only)        5:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Speaker Dinner (by invitation only)        6:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Tuesday, March 24, 2009        8:30 am - 5:30 pm

Registration Opens        7:30 am
Note: Trade Show Tables Open During Breaks and Lunch

StemCONN Scientific Symposium Part 1        8:30 am - 12:20 pm

Introductions
Robert J. Alpern, M.D.              Cato Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D.
Yale School of Medicine            University of Connecticut School of Medicine

Reprogramming of Adult Cells into Embryonic Stem Cells
Konrad Hochedlinger, Ph.D., Harvard University

Human Embryonic Stem Cells and Growth Factor Requirements
Ren-He Xu, Ph.D., University of Connecticut School of Medicine

Young at Heart - How the Nervous System Preserves Stem Cell Potency
Sally Temple, Ph.D., New York Neural Stem Cell Institute

The Adult Mouse and Human Pancreas Contain Rare Multipotent Stem Cells That Express Insulin
Derek van der Kooy, Ph.D., University of Toronto
(Supported by the Government of Ontario, Canada)

Special Lunchtime Events        12:20 pm - 2:20 pm

StemCONN Scientific Program Poster Session
Bringing Stem Cell Research into Connecticut High Schools (by invitation only)

StemCONN Scientific Symposium Part 2        2:30 pm - 5:30 pm

Hypoxia, HIFs, and Stem Cells
M. Celeste Simon, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania

Molecular Regulation of Quiescence and Activation in Adult Muscle Stem Cells
Thomas Rando, M.D., Ph.D., Stanford University

Characterization and Targeting of Cancer Stem Cells
Craig Jordan, Ph.D., University of Rochester

Omics Approach to Stem Cell Biology
Michael Snyder, Ph.D., Yale University