May 7, 2024
Day 1
8:00-8:30 Registration
8:30 Welcome: Suzanne Tomlinson, Gulf Coast Consortia
8:40-9:20 Keynote
Therapeutic Potentials of Pseudo-Natural Peptides, Therapeutic Potentials of Pseudo-Natural Peptides, Products, and Neobiologics
Hiroaki Suga, Univ. of Tokyo
Intro: Wenshi Liu
Session 1: Pharma and State of the Field
Convenor: Mary Geck Do, MD Anderson Cancer Center
9:20-9:45 Intriguing Therapies in 2024 and Beyond: An Insider’s Perspective
Elaine Lea-Chou, ELC Consulting
9:45-10:10 Beyond the Needle: Novel Approaches to Peptide Administration
Mohamed ElSayed, RVAC Medicines
10:10-10:35 NexGen Modeling, from Ideation to the Clinic
Jose Duca, Novartis
10:35-10:40 Core Highlight: GCC REACH
Dillon Fritz, Gulf Coast Consortia
10:40-11:15 Networking Break
Session 2: Next-Generation Immune-Modulator Approaches
Convenors: Zhiqiang An, Univ. of Texas Health Science Center Houston
Qingyun Liu, Univ. of Texas Health Science Center Houston
11:15-11:40 LILRBs – Myeloid Checkpoint Targets for Cancer Treatment
Alec Zhang, Univ. of Texas Southwestern
11:40-12:05 Immunotherapies Targeting Myeloid Cell Receptors
Charlene Liao, Immune-Onc Therapeutics
12:05-12:30 Simultaneous Targeting of Multiple Receptors with Ligand-Drug Conjugate for Cancer Treatment
Jim Liu, Univ. of Texas Health Science Center Houston
12:30-12:35 Core highlight: Accelerator for Cancer Therapeutics
Deepa Chakravarti, TMC Innovation
12:35-1:30 Lunch-Event hall
Session 3: Leading-Edge Biologic and (Cyclo)Peptide Technologies
Convenors: Diane Chow, Univ. of Houston
Dong Liang, Texas Southern Univ.
1:30-1:55 DA’s Approach to Approve the Therapeutic Biologics in Cancer Therapy – Clinical Pharmacology Aspect
Hong Zhao, FDA
1:55-2:20 Superhigh-Capacity Polymeric Micelles for Chemo/Immunotherapy of Cancer
Alexander Kabanov, Univ. of North Carolina
2:20-2:45 Lipid Nanoparticles for Overcoming Biological Barriers to mRNA Delivery
Michael Mitchell, Univ. of Pennsylvania
2:45-3:10 Panel Discussion
3:10-3:15 Core Highlight: Advanced Cancer Antibody Drug Modalities
3:15-3:35 Networking Break
Session 4: The Promise and Challenges of Cell Therapies
Convenors: Jason Cross, MD Anderson Cancer Center
Vinay Nair, MD Anderson Cancer Center
3:25-3:50 Cassian Yee, MDA and MongooseBio
3:50-4:15 The Promise and Challenges of Cell Therapies
Jason Bock, CTMC+
4:15-4:40 TIL Therapy in Melanoma
Rodabe Amaria, MD Anderson Cancer Center
4:40-5:00 Panel Discussion
5:00-5:05 Core Highlight: Preclinical Development Core for Large Molecule Therapeutics
5:05-6:15 pm Poster Session-odd numbered posters & Networking Reception-Event hall
May 8, 202
8:00-8:30 Registration
8:30 Welcome: Suzanne Tomlinson, Gulf Coast Consortia
Session 5: Gene Editing and Viral Therapies
Conveners: Pete Davies, Institute of Bioscience and Technology, Texas A&M Clifford Stephan, Institute of Bioscience and Technology, Texas A&M
8:35-9:00 Refueled CAR T Cell Therapy to Cure Solid Tumor
Xiaotong Song, Institute of Bioscience and Technology, Texas A&M University
9:00-9:25 Engineered Biomolecular Condensation to Augment CRISPR/Cas-Based Epigenome Editing and Transcriptional Regulation
Jing Li, Rice Univ
9:25-9:50 Deliver Therapeutics, Inc. and Ponce Therapeutics, Inc. – The Bellicum Phoenix Rises
Kevin Slawin, Ponce Therapeutics
9:50-9:55 Core highlight: Combinatorial Drug Discovery Core, MLOTS, and HTF
9:55-10:00 Core Highlight: Advanced Microscopy and Image Informatics
10:00-10:30 Networking Break
Session 6 Can We Ensure Equitable Access to Next-Generation Drugs?
Convenor: Suzanne Tomlinson, Gulf Coast Consortia
10:30-10:40 Amanda Onwuka, RTI International
10:40-10:50 Veronica Ajewole, Texas Southern Univ.
10:50-11:00 Connecting Latino Populations to Clinical Trials through Partnerships with Community Health Workers
Rosalia Guerrero, Texas Epidemic Public Health Institute
11:00-11:30 Panel Discussion
11:30-11:35 Core highlight: Center for Comprehensive PK/PD and Formulation
Dong Liang, Texas Southern Univ.
11:35-1:30 Lunch and Poster Session-even numbered posters
11:35 Lunch
12:30 Poster Session-even numbered posters
Session 7: What’s Next for Nucleic Acid-Based Drugs
Conveners: Trinh Tat, Houston Methodist Research Institute
John Cooke, Houston Methodist Research Institute
1:30-1:55 Next-Generation mRNA Design – Increasing mRNA Potency with a New Cap Analog
Kate Broderick, Maravai Life Sciences
1:55-2:20 AI-Assisted Directed Evolution of Immunogens
Jimmy Gollihar, Houston Methodist Research Institute
2:20-2:25 Core highlight: RNA Biology Core
Closing Keynote:
Convener: Jason Cross, MD Anderson Cancer Center
2:25-3:05 Future Directions Keynote:
The History, Current State and Future of Artificial Intelligence in Drug Discovery and Development
Naheed Kurji, Recursion Canada
3:05 Closing: Stan Watowich, UT Medical Branch at Galveston