LIVE BREAKOUTS - 11:30am to 12:30pm EST
Launch of MIT Health and Life Sciences Collaborative
MIT is creating the Health and Life Sciences Collaborative to drive high-impact solutions through interdisciplinary projects spanning engineering, science, AI, economics, business, policy, design, and the humanities. The collaborative will also strengthen partnerships between MIT, hospitals, and industry to fund research, share data, connect investors, and advance commercialization.
On December 4, 2024, all of MIT will gather to launch this exciting initiative, celebrating the rich history and promising future of health and life sciences research. There will be faculty presentations on breakthrough cross-disciplinary life science research, a CEO-level panel discussion on the future of university-industry-hospital collaborations, a showcase of student research, plenty of opportunities for networking across MIT and beyond—and so much more.
Preview the program below and click the Register Now button to reserve your seat!
AGENDA*
MORNING, Kresge Auditorium
8:00 - 9:00 AM Breakfast and Registration Check-In
9:00 - 9:05 AM VIDEO FEATURE
9:05 - 9:20 AM WELCOME AND OPENING REMARKS
Sally Kornbluth, President, MIT
9:20 - 9:50 AM KEYNOTE
Introduction: Nergis Mavalvala, Curtis (1963) and Kathleen Marble Professor of Astrophysics and Dean, MIT School of Science
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Phillip Sharp, Institute Professor and Professor Emeritus, MIT Biology; Intramural Faculty, Koch Institute
9:50 - 10:30 AM REVOLUTIONS
Chair: Robin Scheffler, Associate Professor, MIT Science, Technology, and Society
· Tyler Jacks, David H. Koch (1962) Professor of Biology, Daniel K. Ludwig Scholar, Co-director, Ludwig Center at MIT
· Douglas Lauffenburger, Ford Professor of Engineering and Founding Professor, MIT Biological Engineering
· Ruth Lehmann, Whitehead Institute Director, and Professor, MIT Biology
10:30 - 10:50 AM EXPANSION
Chair: Amy Keating, Jay A. Stein (1968) Professor of Biology and Department Head, MIT Biology; Professor, MIT Biological Engineering and Katharina Ribbeck, Andrew (1956) and Erna Viterbi Professor, MIT Biological Engineering
· Oleta Johnson, William R (1964) and Daniel L. (1995) Young Career Development Assistant Professor, MIT Chemistry
· Bryan Bryson, Phillip and Susan Ragon Career Development Professor, MIT Biological Engineering
· Sara Prescott, Gerald D. Laubach Career Development Professor, MIT Biology; Investigator, The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory
· Siniša Hrvatin, Assistant Professor of Biology and Thomas D. and Virginia W. Cabot Career Development Professor; Core Member, Whitehead Institute
10:50 - 11:00 AM SYSTEMS
Introduction: Amy Keating, Jay A. Stein (1968) Professor of Biology and Department Head, MIT Biology; Professor, MIT Biological Engineering
· An original spoken word performance by Victory Yinka-Banjo, MIT Senior, Computer Science and Molecular Biology (Course 6-7); President, African Students' Association; Former Undergraduate President, MIT Biotech Group
11:00 - 11:30 AM Travel to your chosen breakout location, where lunch will be available.
11:30 AM - 12:30 PM CONCURRENT BREAKOUTS
BIOSPHERE: Schwarzman College of Computing, 8th Floor (51 Vassar St, MIT Bldg 45)
From the molecular to global scales, MIT faculty will explore how living systems sustainably power life on Earth.
Chair: Matthew Shoulders, Class of 1942 Professor of Chemistry, MIT Chemistry
· Gabriela Schlau-Cohen, Robert T. Haslam and Bradley Dewey Professor, MIT Chemistry
· David Des Marais, Cecil & Ida Green Career Development Professor and Associate Professor, MIT Civil and Environmental Engineering
· Janelle Knox-Hayes, Professor, Economic Geography and Planning Head, MIT Architecture and Planning
· Sallie (Penny) Chisholm, Institute Professor, MIT Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Biology
BRAINS: Kresge Tent (48 Mass Ave, in front of MIT Bldg W16)
MIT faculty will share some of their most exciting research—across cognitive, perceptual, and motor systems—on analyzing and understanding a range of fundamental brain functions and generating new approaches to control brain state and improve brain health, often utilizing novel and innovative technologies.
Chair: Emery Brown, Edward Hood Taplin Professor of Medical Engineering and Computational Neuroscience, The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, the Institute for Medical Engineering and Science and Brain and Cognitive Sciences, MIT
· Ed Boyden, Professor, MIT Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Media Arts and Sciences, and Biological Engineering, and the Y. Eva Tan Professor in Neurotechnology, McGovern Institute, and HHMI
· Mark Bear, Picower Professor of Neuroscience, MIT Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, MIT Brain and Cognitive Sciences
· Josh McDermott, Associate Department Head and Professor, MIT Brain and Cognitive Sciences
· Evelina (Ev) Fedorenko, Associate Professor, MIT Brain and Cognitive Sciences; Investigator, McGovern Institute for Brain Research
HEALTHCARE: Kresge Auditorium (48 Mass Ave, MIT Bldg W16)
MIT faculty will discuss how their current research is helping to shape considerations important for the future of healthcare delivery, economics, and policy.
Chair: Jonathan Gruber, Ford Professor and Department Head, MIT Economics
· Kate Kellogg, David J. McGrath Jr Professor of Management and Innovation, Professor of Business Administration , MIT Sloan Management
· Joe Doyle, Erwin H. Schell Professor of Management and Applied Economics, MIT Sloan Management
· Michael Yaffe, Director, MIT Center for Precision Cancer Medicine; David H. Koch Professor in Science; Professor, MIT Departments of Biological Engineering and Biology; Intramural Faculty, Koch Institute
IMMUNOLOGY: Du Pont Gym (120 Mass Ave, MIT Bldg W31)
Through a variety of lenses—from humoral immunity to glycoimmunology to cell therapies, and more—MIT faculty will consider the key role immunology plays in health and disease.
Chair: Stefani Spranger, Associate Professor of Biology, Member, Koch Institute for Cancer Research, Ragon Institute at MGH, MIT and Harvard, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
· Facundo Batista, Professor, MIT Biology; Associate Director and Scientific Director, Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard
· Arup Chakraborty, John M. Deutch Institute Professor; Professor of Chemical Engineering, Physics and Chemistry, MIT; Core Member and former Founding Director, MIT Institute for Medical Engineering and Science; Founding Steering Committee Member, Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT & Harvard
· Jessica Stark, Underwood-Prescott Career Development Professor, MIT Biological Engineering and Chemical Engineering; Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research
· Harikesh Wong, Assistant Professor, MIT Biology, Core Member, Ragon Institute
· Michael Birnbaum, Associate Professor, MIT Biological Engineering; Member, Institute for Cancer Research, Ragon Institute at MGH, MIT and Harvard
AFTERNOON, Kresge Auditorium
12:30 - 1:00 PM Return to Kresge Auditorium for afternoon plenary sessions.
1:00 - 1:45 PM HEALTH
Chair: Kristala Prather, Arthur Dehon Little Professor and Department Head, MIT Chemical Engineering
· Canan Dagdeviren, LG Career Development Professor of Media Arts and Sciences, Associate Professor, MIT Media Lab
· Linda Griffith, School of Engineering Professor of Teaching Innovation, MIT Biological Engineering; Director, MIT Center for Gynepathology Research
· Paula Hammond, Institute Professor, MIT Chemical Engineering; Vice Provost for Faculty, MIT
· Bruce Walker, Founding Director, Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard; Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Professor of Practice at MIT; Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
1:45 - 2:00 PM ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Chair: Ernest Fraenkel, Grover M. Hermann Professor in Health Sciences and Technology, MIT Biological Engineering
· Cullen Buie, Professor, MIT Mechanical Engineering and Biological Engineering; Co-founder, Kytopen
· Tasuku Kitada, Co-founder, President, and Head of R&D, Strand Therapeutics; Former researcher, MIT Synthetic Biology Center
2:00 - 2:45 PM AI
Chair: Asu Ozdaglar, MathWorks Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Department Head, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science; Deputy Dean of Academics, Schwarzman College of Computing
· Joseph Davis, Associate Professor of Biology, MIT Biology
· Caroline Uhler, Andrew (1956) and Erna Viterbi Professor of Engineering, MIT Electrical Engineering and Computer Science; Core member and director, Eric and Wendy Schmidt Center, Broad Institute
· Marzyeh Ghassemi, Germeshausen Career Development Professor and Associate Professor, MIT Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and Institute for Medical Engineering and Science
· Dimitris Bertsimas, Boeing Leaders for Global Operations Professor of Management, Professor of Operations Research, Associate Dean for the Master of Business Analytics Program, MIT Sloan Management; and Vice Provost, MIT Open Learning
2:45 - 3:15 PM Break
3:15 - 4:00 PM TRANSLATION
Chair: Ellen Roche, Latham Family Career Development Professor and Associate Professor, MIT Mechanical Engineering, and Institute for Medical Engineering and Science
· Andrew Lo, Charles E. and Susan T. Harris Professor, MIT Sloan Management; and Director, MIT Laboratory for Financial Engineering
· Sangeeta Bhatia, John J. and Dorothy Wilson Professor, MIT Health Sciences and Technology and MIT Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
· Hugh Herr, Professor of Media Arts and Sciences, MIT Media Lab; Co-Director, K. Lisa Yang Center for Bionics, MIT
· Alex K. Shalek, J. W. Kieckhefer Professor, MIT Chemistry and Institute for Medical Engineering and Science; Director, Institute for Medical Engineering and Science; and, Extramural Member, Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research
4:00 - 4:55 PM COLLABORATION
Introduction: Anantha Chandrakasan, MIT Chief Innovation and Strategy Officer and Dean of Engineering, and Vannevar Bush Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Panel Moderator: Noubar Afeyan, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Flagship Pioneering, and Co-founder and Chairman, Moderna
· Reshma Kewalramani, President and Chief Executive Officer, Vertex
· Anne Klibanski, President and Chief Executive Officer, Mass General Brigham
· Robert Langer, Institute Professor, MIT Chemical Engineering
· Christopher Viehbacher, President and Chief Executive Officer, Biogen
4:55 - 5:00 PM CONNECTIONS
· Amy Keating, Jay A. Stein (1968) Professor of Biology and Department Head, MIT Biology; Professor, MIT Biological Engineering
· Katharina Ribbeck, Andrew (1956) and Erna Viterbi Professor, MIT Biological Engineering
5:00 - 6:30 PM Reception and Poster Session, Kresge Lobby and Tent
Poster session chairs:
· Katharina Ribbeck, Andrew (1956) and Erna Viterbi Professor, MIT Biological Engineering
· Iain Cheeseman, Herman and Margaret Sokol Professor and Associate Department Head, MIT Biology; Core Member, Whitehead Institute
*Details subject to change