The first-of-its kind Missouri Regional Life Sciences Summit will take place March 8–9, 2010, at the University of Missouri–Kansas City. The theme of the summit is “Animal to Human Health Collaborations: Regional Partnerships for Innovation.”
With the Animal Health Corridor stretching from Manhattan, Kan., to Columbia and a concentration of basic plant sciences and agricultural development from Columbia to St. Louis, the Missouri-Kansas region is a world leader in applied biosciences and innovation, says Robert Duncan, vice chancellor for research. Led by MU in collaboration with the Kansas City Area Development Council and the University of Missouri System, the summit will identify innovations that could foster private sector investments, job creation and commercialization.
“The goal is to accelerate the movement of new ideas from the lab to the marketplace,” says MU Chancellor and Summit Chair Brady J. Deaton. “Our region must emerge as a world leader in bioscience research and job creation; the economy depends on it.”
Designed for the scientific and business communities, the summit will:
- Establish new partnerships for research innovation;
- Identify regulatory changes, legislation and institutional streamlining that will accelerate the transfer of knowledge from the laboratory to businesses;
- Generate ideas for product and service development that will guide private sector investment and demonstrate the need for a supportive government infrastructure;
- Provide insight about ways to collaborate with university researchers and other partners to transfer new technologies; and
- Share new information on how to leverage the assets of universities, financial markets and business investment to create companies and jobs that will strengthen the economic foundations of the region.
Representatives and speakers attending the summit hail from several institutions, including Kansas State University, Washington University, Bayer HealthCare, the University of Kansas, Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute, Stowers Institute for Medical Research, University of Missouri-St. Louis, the Kauffman Foundation and the Midwest Research Institute.
Two-day registration costs $100 for faculty and $20 for students. Single-day registration costs $75 and $15, respectively.