World Stem Cell Summit- serving the stem cell ecosystem

I'm a cancer survivor (going on 20 years) and a believer in freedom of scientific inquiry. We all know that sitting in a bleak chemotherapy patient waiting room is a profoundly emotional and reflective experience. If I got through everything, I vowed to do something really meaningful in life- hardly a novel thought. Many have made the same promise.

Well, opportunity knocked for me in 2003. I decided to leave the practice of law and devote all my time, skills and resources to advance a still fairly obscure area of developmental biology- stem cell research. Research that one day might deliver cures to chronic disease.

My first desire was to learn. I spent that year meeting scientists, industry leaders, bioethicists, government officials and leaders of the great medical philanthropies. I attended the giant gathering of the Biotechnology Industry Organization. But my greatest epiphany came at the very first meeting of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) in Washington, where I was a guest of the distinguished scientists, Rudolf Jaenisch and Sir Ian Wilmut. Awestruck by the potent scientific promise, I became fascinated with the bioethical issues, regulatory challenges and societal debate.

But I observed that there was one big thing missing from that meeting- the voice of patients. The very stakeholders that would ultimately benefit from the entire enterprise and would be critically needed to champion these new curative technologies.

To galvanize the patient movement, I created the nonprofit Genetics Policy Institute (now Regenerative Medicine Foundation) with the mission to accelerate regenerative medicine to improve health and deliver cures. With fellow advocates and wonderful scientists, we forged a movement, from which emerged an entire ecosystem of organizations, academic centers, medical philanthropies, industries, investors, philanthropists and, most importantly, a giant community patient consumers.

To advance the movement, we created a modest conference that has morphed into the World Stem Cell Summit- a global, mission-driven gathering of more than a thousand stakeholders (including patient leaders) from 35 countries. A meeting intelligently designed to expand knowledge, forge collaboration and deliver cures. The Summit has changed the face of the emerging world of advanced therapies. From the dozen Summits, have come important international academic collaborations, novel business enterprises, economic expansion, careers launched, friendships forged and even some marriages leading to a few babies!

So, it is with great pride that RMF announces that registration is now open for our 13th World Stem Cell Summit taking place in that great, exciting international crossroads of Miami, Florida, January 22-26, 2018. Co-organized with prestigious academic institutions, WSCS will be co-located for the first time with the Phacilitate Leaders Forum, which incorporates the Cell & Gene Therapy World and Immuno-Oncology Frontiers World conferences. The scope of this combined event is historic in the way that it supports industry-academic convergence in a bid to accelerate innovation in the field. It will be the largest ecosystem and total partnering meeting in the regenerative space, designed to provide participants with the following opportunities:

• Connecting with thought leaders and decision makers from the top global organizations in the field.
• Breaking the silos; forging collaborations and building relationships across disciplines.
• Expanding knowledge about hot topics and emerging trends vital to your success.
• Networking with 1,300+ attendees from 35 countries.
• 30+ expert luncheon roundtable discussions.
• Top international speakers including: acquiring actionable intelligence from scientists doing breakthrough research, industry leaders, top regulators and trendsetters.
• 13th Stem Action & Regenerative Medicine Awards Gala Dinner; finding inspiration and celebrating achievements.

Please consider joining us at this conference. It's time to change the world for the better. Now is the moment to achieve your goals. Join a community of people sharing points of view. Accomplishing good, with open minds and generous hearts. Goodwill abounds at the World Stem Cell Summit. It's more than a meeting, it's an experience. I look forward to meeting you in Miami in January!