Pharmaceutical companies are undergoing a digital transformation. By experimenting with new initiatives, they are positioned to play a role in the revolution of healthcare. This transformation is driven by data from internal and external sources, including
both -omic data and that from digital devices. Bio-IT World WEST, part of Molecular Medicine Tri-Conference, brings together all the stakeholders involved in this transformation. Your registration includes the option to
track-hop to the other programs at the Molecular Med TRI-CON as well as the Hackathon, plenary keynote, exhibit/poster hall, and more!
As the adoption of AI is flourishing in the life sciences, researcher are left wondering what specific applications can augment human intelligence in the most useful way in the next decade. Taking a holistic view of both commercial and academic progress
allows for an honest assessment of the tools available today. Join us at Emerging Technologies for Life Sciences as we showcase cutting edge research that helps to improve contextual data, real time analysis, and more to promote
the digital transformation of this field.
Final Agenda
Monday, March 2
10:30 Conference Program Registration Open
(please see Keynotes page for details)
11:45 Organizer’s Opening Remarks
Cindy Crowninshield, RDN, LDN, HHC, Executive Event Director, Cambridge Healthtech Institute
11:50 Chairperson’s Remarks
Allison Proffitt, Editorial Director, Bio-IT World
11:55 Keynote Introduction, Benchling
Ashoka Rajendra, Head, Product, Registry, Inventory, Benchling
12:10 pm KEYNOTE PRESENTATION: The AI Bubble and the Emerging Thinking Economy
Pietro Michelucci, PhD, Director, Human Computation Institute
This presentation presents a realistic assessment of the “AI bubble” – where there is value, where there is hype, and how human-in-the-loop computing gives us futuristic AI capabilities today that co-evolve with AI technology and even
help improve AI.
12:40 PANEL DISCUSSION: Data Quality in Human Computation Systems
Is today’s artificial intelligence fervor based on hype or is it happening? We’ve seen some amazing results from AI-based systems, fueled by increases in processing speed that render traditional applications finally practicable. At the same
time, powerful new techniques are emerging including fruitful human/AI partnerships and recent successes based on combining crowdsourcing with machine learning. These new methods dovetail nicely with special challenges posed by precision medicine,
often entailing complex interdependencies among data acquisition, analysis, privacy, and ethics. That said, they also introduce a new set of challenges as we navigate issues of transparency, trust, and reliability where automated systems are involved.
This panel will discuss recent work in online collective systems that combine human and machine-based information processing in the biomedical space, how these systems could be applied to precision medicine, and how to avoid some of the potential
pitfalls associated with these approaches. We also discuss an information processing ecosystem designed to accelerate precision medicine research while mitigating associated complexity and resource needs.
Moderator:
Allison Proffitt, Editorial Director, Bio-IT World
Panelists: Jennifer Couch, PhD, Chief, Structural Biology and Molecular Applications Branch, Division of Cancer Biology and Citizen
Science Coordinator, National Cancer Institute
Devin
Krotman, Director, IBM Watson AI XPRIZE
Vani
Mandava, Director, Data Science Outreach, Microsoft Research
Pietro Michelucci, PhD, Director, Human Computation Institute
Ginger Tsueng, PhD, Scientific
Outreach Project Manager, Department of Integrative, Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute
1:30 Bio-IT World WEST Luncheon Presentation: Accelerating the Exchange of Data in Healthcare and Life Sciences
Fred Lee, MD, MPH, Head, Health Care, Life Sciences Business Development, AWS Data Exchange, AWS
Predictive models and algorithms in healthcare and life sciences (HCLS) have emerged from the combination of patient data and advanced analytics. With machine learning and AI technologies becoming commoditized, scalable access to patient data now throttles
the build of such predictive analytics. We will discuss how the AWS Data Exchange, as a digital marketplace for data, addresses this ‘data bottleneck’ by accelerating data exchange in a regulatory compliant, economically sustainable, and
cloud-native manner.
2:05 Session Break
2:20 Chairperson’s Remarks
2:25 AI Approaches to Medical Imaging
Daniel Rubin, MD, MS, Professor of Biomedical Data Science, Radiology, and Medicine (Biomedical Informatics), Computer Science and Ophthalmology, Stanford University
This talk will address several major challenges to developing robust and clinically useful AI models in medicine and some exciting frontiers to tackling them, specifically (1) application for AI methods in making clinical predictions, (2) ways to leverage
the large amounts of unlabeled data to build AI models using weak learning methods on text, and (3) federated computational methods to create AI models from multi-institutional data without data sharing
3:10 NEW: The InnerEye Project:
Medical Imaging AI to Empower Clinicians
Aditya Nori, PhD, Healthcare Intelligence Lead, Senior Principal Researcher, Microsoft Research
Project InnerEye develops machine learning techniques for the automatic delineation of tumors as well as healthy anatomy in 3D radiological images. The InnerEye technology may enable: 1) extraction of targeted radiomics measurements for quantitative radiology;
2) efficient contouring for radiotherapy planning; and 3) precise surgery planning and navigation. In practice, Project InnerEye turns multi-dimensional radiological images into measuring devices.
Presentation delivered via a live, interactive video conferencing platform.
3:55 Making Personalized Healthcare a Reality: The Power of Advanced Imaging Analytics
Thomas Bengtsson, Director, PHC DS Imaging, Genentech
Advanced imaging analytics are creating new opportunities to enhance drug development and personalize healthcare. A wealth of valuable patient data is contained within images. At Roche, we are applying computer vision techniques to reveal clinical insights
and rapidly and accurately identify disease features. I will describe ongoing initiatives in several therapy areas and discuss how these approaches will contribute towards our vision for Personalized Healthcare.
4:25 Refreshment Break and Transition to Plenary Keynote
4:35 Welcome Remarks
Cindy Crowninshield, RDN, LDN, HHC, Executive Event Director, Cambridge Healthtech Institute
4:45 PLENARY KEYNOTE INTRODUCTION
Thomas Westerling-Bui, PhD, Senior Scientist, Regional Business Development, Aiforia
5:00 PLENARY KEYNOTE PRESENTATION: High-Performance Medicine
Eric Topol, MD, Founder and Director, Scripps Research Translational Institute (SRTI); Author, Deep Medicine: How Artificial Intelligence
Can Make Healthcare Human Again
6:00 Grand Opening Reception in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing, Speed Networking, Book Signing, and Meetup Group
7:30 End of Day
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Tuesday, March 3
7:30 am Registration Open and Morning Coffee
(please see Keynotes page for details)
8:00 Organizer’s Remarks
Cindy Crowninshield, RDN, LDN, HHC, Executive Event Director, Cambridge Healthtech Institute
8:05 NEW: Chairperson’s Remarks
Annastasiah Mudiwa Mhaka, PhD, Founder and Principal, Mawambo Lifesciences; Co-Founder, Convenor and Former President, Alliance for AI in Healthcare (AAIH)
8:10 Keynote Sponsor Introduction
Vasu Rangadass, President, CEO, L7 Informatics, Inc.
8:25 KEYNOTE PRESENTATION: AI and Big Data Strategies in Accelerating Clinical Research for Faster Rare Disease Cures
Harsha Rajasimha, MS, PhD, Founder, Jeeva Informatics Solutions, Inc.; Founder and Chairman, IndoUSrare; Co-Director, Rare Diseases Systems
Biology Initiative, George Mason University
After losing a child to a rare congenital disease, Dr. Rajasimha became determined to apply his clinical genomics data research experience to develop solutions to help accelerate clinical research leading to faster cures for rare disease. Dr. Rajasimha
will discuss his efforts in fostering collaborative bridges between patient advocacy groups and researchers in the USA and their counterparts in India to help accelerate clinical research, trials, and therapy access across borders. The talk will include
recent global initiatives to accelerate screening, diagnosis, and treatments of rare and undiagnosed diseases. He will also share work on the development of an AI-driven digital health platform to improve clinical trial operational efficiencies while
significantly reducing costs and travel burden on patients.
8:55 PANEL DISCUSSION: Applications of AI Technologies in Pharmaceuticals: Facilitating Development of Therapeutics in Treating Rare Diseases
The complex research framework involving industry, academia, and government to discover and develop new therapeutic products makes drug discovery a laborious process. With rapid strides that life sciences companies are making in the fields of gene and
cell therapies, -omics technologies, and smart molecule approaches, an urgent need exists for cost-effective, time-effective, and advanced technologies to analyze large databases of information to help develop novel therapies. Organizations are recognizing
the value of AI-based platforms and tools to leverage data to find hidden drug-disease correlations. Also, structured and unstructured data can be derived from multiple sources as never before. This panel brings senior level experts in pharma, AI-based
technology, and government to discuss the role of AI platforms and tools to establish a robust pipeline as part of drug discovery portfolio and address new therapeutic areas, including rare diseases.
NEW: Moderator: Annastasiah Mudiwa Mhaka, PhD, Founder and Principal, Mawambo Lifesciences; Co-Founder, Convenor and Former President, Alliance for AI in Healthcare (AAIH)
Panelists: Tom Defay, Senior Director, R&D Strategy and Alliances, SPMD, Strategy, Program Management and Data Sciences, Alexion
Harsha Rajasimha, MS, PhD, Founder, Jeeva Informatics Solutions, Inc.; Founder and Chairman, IndoUSrare; Co-Director, Rare Diseases Systems Biology Initiative, George Mason University
Vasu Rangadass, President, CEO, L7 Informatics, Inc.
9:40 Refreshment Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing, Speed Networking, Book Signing, and Meetup Group
10:40 Chairperson’s Remarks
Casey Greene, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Systems Pharmacology and Translational Therapeutics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
10:45 NEW: A Patient-Centered Analytic Learning Machine (PALM) for Learning Healthcare Systems
Parsa Mirhaji, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Systems and Computational Biology, Chief Technology Officer, NY City Data Research Network, Director, Center for Health Data Innovations, Founder, Cognome, Inc.
PALM is a real-time system designed to scale advanced analytics and promote digital transformation of healthcare through analytically driven clinical decision support, patient experience, automation of operational processes and administrative support
systems. PALM scales knowledge graphs to assimilate data from virtually any source and modality, and applies an ensemble of AI/ML/DL algorithms to generate predictive and prescriptive models to ultimately automate and drive patient care in complex
healthcare systems environments.
Presentation delivered via a live, interactive video conferencing platform.
11:15 Search Over Knowledge Graphs Predicts Cellular Mechanisms Underlying Statistical Associations
Casey Greene, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Systems Pharmacology and Translational Therapeutics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
Knowledge graphs capture relationships between biomedical entities that can support drug repurposing, gene-disease association discovery, and other use cases. However, unsupervised analysis of paths across multiple node and edge types has been challenging
because interpreting multi-edge scores depends significantly on node degrees. We developed an approach that provides well-calibrated estimates of the unexpectedness of a set of edges between a pair of entities given their node types and degrees. This
can lay the groundwork for considering drug efficacy in the context of polypharmacology, identifying combinations of therapies that traverse different edges, predicting whether side effects arise from on-target or off-target binding events, and other
efforts. Our proof-of-concept server implementing this methodology is available at https://het.io/search/.
11:45 Data-Driven Modeling Platform
Corrado Priami, PhD, Founder and CSO, COSBI
A user-friendly graphical platform is presented to integrate different data types in a single framework and to abstract them into actionable models. The platform speeds up research and development process and promotes data sharing.
12:15 pm Session Break
12:20 BIO-IT WORLD WEST CO-LUNCHEON PRESENTATION I: Describing Chemistry to Algorithms: Why Scientific Expertise Improves Accuracy
Alpha Lee, PhD, Doctor, Physics, University of Cambridge
Matthew McBride, MS, Director, Science IP, CAS
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a chemical structure is worth thousands of features. Join Dr. Alpha Lee from the University of Cambridge to see how impactful descriptors are on predictions. If your AI initiatives aren’t
meeting expectations, see how better representations of chemistry structures improve algorithm performance. CAS descriptors are derived from centuries of scientific knowledge and are proven to improve AI accuracy.
12:50 BIO-IT WORLD WEST LUNCHEON PRESENTATION II: Towards the Digital Lab
Paul Denny Gouldson, Chief Digital Officer, Digital Solutions, Zifo RnD Solutions
1:20 Refreshment Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing, Speed Networking, Book Signing, and Meetup Group
2:00 Breakout Discussions in the Exhibit Hall (please click here for details)
3:00 Transition to Keynote Session
(please see Keynotes page for details)
3:15 Organizer’s Remarks
Christina Lingham, Executive Director, Conferences and Fellow, Cambridge Healthtech Institute
3:20 Keynote Introduction
Allison Mallory, PhD, Director, R&D Molecular Biology, Stilla Technologies
3:35 What Does the New Era of Genomic Medicine Look Like? Effects on Patient Care, Therapeutics, and Diagnostics
20 years after the completion of the first draft of the Human Genome Project, there is compelling evidence of genomics delivering the rich promise of precision medicine. There have been major advances in the throughput and affordability of genome sequencing,
enhanced tools for genome analysis and interpretation, new paradigms for therapeutics and strong signs of clinical benefit using genome editing. But major challenges remain. In this special plenary roundtable, three established pioneers of genomic
medicine – David Haussler, Stephen Kingsmore, and Liz Worthey – offer their insights on the extraordinary advances in genomic medicine over the past 1-2 decades and share their hopes and concerns for the future of our field.
Moderator: Kevin Davies,
PhD, Executive Editor, The CRISPR Journal, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
Panelists: Stephen Kingsmore, MD, DSc, President/CEO, Rady Children’s Institute for Genomic Medicine
David Haussler, PhD, Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Distinguished Professor, Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Santa Cruz; Scientific Director, UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute; Scientific Co-Director, California
Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3)
Elizabeth
Worthey, PhD, Director, Genomic Medicine, University of Alabama, Birmingham School of Medicine
4:50 Spring Fling Celebration in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing, Speed Networking, Book Signing, and Meetup Group
6:00 End of Day
Wednesday, March 4
6:45 am Registration Open
7:00 BREAKFAST PANEL DISCUSSION: The Time is NOW: Creating Meaningful Change for Women in the Workplace (Sponsorship Opportunity Available)
(please see Women in Science page for details)
Moderator:
Robin Toft, Author of WE CAN, The Executive Woman’s Guide to Career Advancement; Founder and Chairman, Toft Group Executive Search
Panelists: Camille Samuels, MBA, Partner, Venrock
Paul
Hastings, President and CEO, Nkarta Therapeutics, Inc
Teresa
L. Wright, MD, Staff Physician, Medicine, San Francisco Veterans Administration
(please see Keynotes page for details)
8:00 Organizer’s Remarks
Mana Chandhok, Conference Producer, Cambridge Healthtech Institute
8:05 Chairperson’s Remarks
Joseph Ferrara, CEO, Boston Healthcare
8:10 Keynote Introduction
Fred Lee, MD, MPH, Head, Health Care, Life Sciences Business Development, AWS Data Exchange, AWS
8:25 KEYNOTE PRESENTATION: The Value and Application of Informatics in Cancer Care Delivery
Debra A. Patt,
MD, Vice President, Public Policy & Academic Affairs, Medical
Oncologist, Texas Oncology Cancer Center & Editor in Chief, Journal of Clinical Oncology-Clinical Cancer Informatics
8:55 KEYNOTE PANEL DISCUSSION: Pragmatic Use of Informatics in Cancer Care Delivery and Cancer Research: Big Data and AI Take on Cancer
Moderator: Joseph Ferrara, CEO, Boston Healthcare
Panelists: Mark Hulse, Chief Digital Officer, City of Hope
Debra A. Patt, MD, Vice President, Public Policy & Academic Affairs, Medical Oncologist, Texas Oncology Cancer Center & Editor in Chief, Journal of Clinical Oncology-Clinical Cancer Informatics
Kristin Beaumont, PhD, Assistant Professor, Assistant Director of Single Cell Genomics Technology Development Icahn Institute, Dept. of Genetics & Genomic Sciences, Icahn School
Ajay Shah, PhD, Executive Director & Head of IT for Translational Medicine, Bristol-Myers Squibb
Paul A. Rejto, PhD, Vice President, Head of Translational Research, Pfizer Oncology R&D
9:40 Refreshment Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing, Speed Networking, Book Signing, and Meetup Group
10:40 Chairperson’s Remarks
Carl Dukatz, Digital Tech Arch Principal Director, Accenture
10:45 Image-Based Profiling
for Phenotyping Variants of Unknown Significance
Juan C. Caicedo, PhD,
Schmidt Fellow, Principal Investigator, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
We use Cell Painting for image-based profiling as a rapid and inexpensive method to systematically map chemical and genetic perturbations. Image-based profiling extracts single-cell measurements from microscopy images to compute signatures of treatments
at high-throughput, which encode variations in cell state that are analyzed to identify correlations between treatments. We developed computational tools, including deep learning-based methods, to discern the functional impact of variants of unknown
significance in lung cancer.
11:15 Building a Knowledge Factory to Retain and Reuse Tacit Knowledge
Alan Pruitt, Principal Project Manager, Knowledge Management, Pharma Technical Development, Genentech, Inc.
Every pharma company struggles with capturing knowledge trapped in the minds of its most talented employees. Multiple reorganizations, turnover, and retirements all contribute to the loss of tacit knowledge that the business needs to thrive. One way to
combat this is to establish strong user communities centered on the critical technologies and processes. Doing this at scale for dozens or even hundreds of communities requires standard processes and robust IT tools to deliver value efficiently and
reliably.
11:45 PANEL DISCUSSION: Quantum Computing in Life Sciences - Research and Applications
The tiny particles that make up our universe behave very differently at the sub-atomic scale. Actually, they behave in awesome ways. Companies are building computers that take advantage of these behaviors. This is called quantum computing and a sufficiently
powerful quantum computer could change everything. Come learn from a distinguished panel of quantum software and hardware manufacturers about how this technology is changing the bio informatics space.
Moderator: Carl Dukatz, Digital Tech Arch Principal Director, Accenture
Panelists: Hossein Sadeghi Esfahani ,PhD, Senior Scientist, Applications and Technology, D-Wave Systems Inc.
Katie Pizzolato, IBM Q Network - Global Client Lead, IBM
12:45 pm Enjoy Lunch on Your Own
1:20 Refreshment Break in the Exhibit Hall with Last Chance Poster Viewing, Speed Networking, Book Signing, and Meetup Group
2:00 Chairperson’s Remarks
Geraldine A. Van der Auwera, PhD, Director of Outreach and Communications, Data Sciences Platform, Broad Institute
2:05 Fake It ‘til You Make It (Reproducible): Synthetic Data Resources for Genomics
Geraldine A. Van der Auwera, PhD, Director of Outreach and Communications, Data Sciences Platform, Broad Institute
The computational reproducibility of published biomedical research is limited by data access restrictions, affecting not just researchers who wish to reuse published analysis code, but also tool developers and educators who lack suitable example data
for testing and training. We present: 1) a prototype pipeline that wraps established open-source data simulation tools to generate publicly shareable synthetic sequence data at any scale; and 2) a plan to develop community resources.
2:35 Drug Targets with Genomic Support: A Genomics-based Strategic Framework for Improving Target Discovery and Accelerating Drug Development
Justin Wade Davis, PhD, ACOS Research Fellow, Director, Computational Genomics, Genomics Research Center (GRC), AbbVie
Despite strong vetting for disease activity, only 10% of candidate new molecular entities in Ph1 clinical trials are approved. Analyzing historical data, Nelson et al. 2015 concluded pipeline drug targets with human genetic evidence of disease association
are twice as likely to lead to approved drugs. We extend this using updated data, test prospectively whether genetic evidence predicts future successes, and introduce statistical models adjusting for target and indication-level properties.
3:05 Close of Conference