What
NIDCR will host a symposium, “Autotherapies: Enhancing Our Innate Healing Capacity,” on January 25, 2018, from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in the Lipsett Amphitheater (Building 10) on the NIH campus.
Autotherapies are treatments based on the body’s natural ability to heal and protect itself. For example, immunotherapy harnesses the body’s immune cells to fight cancer and is now in clinical use. In the dental, oral, and craniofacial region, autotherapies could be used to selectively signal the body to repair and regenerate tissue, trigger immune responses, and restore a natural microbial balance. These strategies might also help to heal damaged or diseased tissues in other parts of the body, prevent or treat infections, fight cancer, treat autoimmune conditions, and enhance overall health.
Advancing the development of autotherapies is one of the five goals of NIDCR 2030–NIDCR’s vision for the future of dental, oral, and craniofacial research.
Who
8:00 – 8:10 am
Welcome and Introduction
Martha Somerman, DDS, PhD
Director, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research
8:10 – 8:40 am
Opening Remarks and Overview
Lawrence Tabak, DDS, PhD
NIH Principal Deputy Director
Featured Speakers
8:40 – 9:20 am
Stories from Bioinspiration to Innovation
Jeffrey Karp, PhD
Associate Professor, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School
Principal Faculty, Harvard Stem Cell Institute
9:20 – 10:00 am
Conceptualizing Clinical Autotherapies for Repair of Craniofacial Abnormalities
Janice Lee, MD, DDS, MS
Clinical Director and Chief, Craniofacial Anomalies and Regeneration Section
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research
10:00 – 10:10 am
Break
10:10 – 10:50 am
Biomaterials to Re-engineer Immune Response and Enhance Regenerative Capacity of Musculoskeletal Tissues
Edward Botchwey, PhD
Associate Professor, Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University
Director, Laboratory for Immuno-Regenerative Engineering, Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience at Georgia Tech
10:50 – 11:30 am
Mechanisms of Response and Resistance to Cancer Immunotherapy
Robert Ferris, MD, PhD
Hillman Professor of Oncology and Director of the Hillman Cancer Center
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
11:30 am – 12:00 noon
Questions and Answers, Panel Discussion, Closing
When
Thursday, January 25, 2018, 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Where
Lipsett Amphitheater, Clinical Center (Building 10), NIH Campus, Bethesda, Md. View NIH Campus Visitor Information.
Event Resources
- The January 25 symposium is free and open to the public; no registration is required.
- Sign language interpretation is available upon request. Individuals who need sign language interpretation, or other accommodations, should contact Mary Daum at Mary.Daum@nih.gov or 301-594-7559.
- The symposium will be videocast live and archived.