Global Forum on Biotechnology - The Evolving Promise of the Life Sciences
Event: ConferenceDate: 12 Nov 2012 08:30
Start date: 12 Nov 2012 08:30
End date: 12 Nov 2012 18:00
** PAST EVENT **
Conference photos on the Genomics Network Flickr Channel >>
Organised by: ESRC Genomics Forum in collaboration with OECD
Venue: OECD Conference Centre
2 rue André Pascal
75775
Cedex 16 Paris
France
The last few decades have seen unprecedented developments in our understanding and application of the life sciences. From breakthroughs in mammalian cloning that led to the birth of Dolly the Sheep to the mapping of the human genome, advances in biological and medical science continue to spawn new and emerging disciplines. Yet recent progress in life sciences has arguably been less than expected. For example, mapping the human genome has not quite achieved the comprehensive understanding of our genetic functioning that was originally anticipated.
Do developments in the life sciences align with the expected promises envisaged 20-30 years ago? And as new biotechnologies continue to be developed and become ever more accessible and affordable, what can we learn about the ways that our expectations of technology shape the products and services that come to market?
These are amongst the issues to be considered at the forthcoming Global Forum on Biotechnology: The Evolving Promise of the Life Sciences, jointly organised by the OECD and the ESRC Genomics Policy and Research Forum.
Further details:
Final Programme
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09.00-09.20 |
Opening Remarks - Steve YEARLEY, ESRC Genomics Forum - Gerardo JIMÉNEZ-SÁNCHEZ, Chairman of OECD Working Party on Biotechnology |
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09.20-09.35 |
The 21st Century - The Age of Biology - Keynote Address: Anne GLOVER – Chief Scientific Advisor to the President of the European Commission |
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09.35-10.35 |
The Role of Expectations in Biotechnology Developments This session will seek to understand the economic and social expectations of biotechnology over the last thirty years and review how these expectations have shaped the policy and research agenda. Speakers will reflect on the extent to which expectations have been met, surpassed or confounded. The session will conclude by considering the future for biotechnology and examine any conflicting expectations. Chair: Steve YEARLEY, Genomics Forum, UK
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10.35-11.35 |
Health and Biomedicine in an Age of Convergence This session will focus on two main sorts of anticipated developments in health and medicine. There is first the healthcare-related promise of innovative technologies such as synthetic biology, which envisage – for example – programmable biological materials and novel means for drug delivery within the body. Second, there are expectations that genomics will converge with bioinformatics to offer new ways of promoting public health. Keynote Address and Chair: Vicki SEYFERT-MARGOLIS, Senior Advisor for Science Innovation and Policy, FDA, USA
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12.00-13.00 |
Biotechnology of the Future: Industrial and Synthetic Biology Late twentieth-century entrepreneurial visions of a biotechnological future emphasised the potential of bio-based materials, but the realisation of the promise has been slower than expected. Developments in the early twenty-first century, however, have changed the situation. Speakers in this session will identify present-day expectations for industrial biotechnology and consider these expectations in a global framework. Chair: James PHILP, OECD
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14.30-15.30 |
Marine Biotechnology: Legal, Scientific and IP Issues The value of marine resources and the special status of the World’s oceans as a form of ‘commons’ have long been recognised, but it is only recently that the biotechnological and genomic potential of the oceans has been appreciated. This session will build on recent OECD work in marine biotechnology, looking in an integrated way at the legal-regulatory, scientific and commercial aspects of the various forms of bio-value in the marine environment. Chair: Steinar BERGSETH, The Research Council of Norway, Norway
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15.30-16.30 |
Emerging Pathogens in the Environment As the socio-economic importance of the bio-sector grows, so will the emergence and significance of pathogens. This session will focus on new plant, animal and human pathogens, including hybridisation between native and exotic pathogens; on the emerging understanding of pathogen interaction in agricultural and forestry habitats; on the links between disease and environmental change; and on the design of regulatory measures and their interactions with trade. Chair: David INGRAM, University of Edinburgh and Lancaster University, UK
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17.00-18.00 |
Closing Debate Chair: Steve YEARLEY, ESRC Genomics Forum, UK
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