4:37 p.m., April 29, 2009----Barbara Alving, director of the National Center for Research Resources of the National Institutes of Health, will deliver the keynote address at a Delaware Health Sciences Alliance research conference on Wednesday, May 6, at the University of Delaware.

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The daylong Symposium on Clinical and Translational Science will be held in Clayton Hall on the University's Laird Campus, beginning with registration at 8 a.m. It will provide a forum for researchers, educators, clinicians and representatives from the drug and health insurance industries to discuss and share ideas and knowledge related to the emerging field of translational medicine. Translational medicine, which is growing in importance in healthcare, seeks to translate laboratory research into clinical care that directly benefit patients.

The Delaware Health Sciences Alliance, a partnership of the University of Delaware, Thomas Jefferson University, Christiana Care Health System and Nemours, is dedicated to providing the finest healthcare education, conducting research that addresses the most pressing health concerns and continuously improving regional health and health services.

There is no fee for the symposium. Those interested in attending should send their contact information to [seiband@udel.edu].

At the symposium, Alving will discuss the national network of medical research institutions that are funded through the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSAs). Those institutions share a common vision: to improve the way biomedical research is conducted across the country; to reduce the time it takes for laboratory discoveries to become treatments for patients; to engage communities in clinical research efforts; and to train the next generation of clinical and translational researchers.

After Alving's talk, Ronald Sokol will speak on “Rare Disease Research in Children as a Paradigm for Clinical and Translational Research.” Sokol is professor and vice chair of pediatrics; chief, pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition; and director, Colorado Clinical Translational Sciences Institute, at the University of Colorado Denver and The Children's Hospital.

The luncheon speaker will be Julian Solway, who is Walter L. Palmer Distinguished Service Professor and professor of pulmonary and critical care in the University of Chicago's Department of Medicine and director of the University of Chicago Institute for Translational Medicine. His topic will be “From Bench to Bedside: Lessons Learned in the University of Chicago CTSA.”

A morning panel discussion, “The Promise of the Delaware Valley Institute for Clinical and Translational Science,” will be moderated by Arthur Feldman, chair of the Department of Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University. Panelists are Brian Little, vice president, academic affairs and research, Christiana Care Health System; Jeffery Twiss, director, Center for Translational Neurobiology, Nemours; Leonard Freedman, vice dean for research, Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University; Donna Woulfe, assistant professor, Jefferson Center for Translational Research, Thomas Jefferson University; and Thomas Buchanan, deputy dean, College of Engineering, and professor of mechanical engineering, University of Delaware.

In the afternoon, a panel discussion focused on the “Track Record of Collaboration,” will be moderated by Vicky Funanage, director of biomedical research at the Nemours Foundation and head of the Musculoskeletal Inherited Diseases Laboratory at Nemours. Panelists are David Usher, associate chair of the Department of Biological Sciences, University of Delaware; Richard Derman, chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Christiana Care Health System; Kathryn Kash, associate professor, Jefferson School of Population Health, Thomas Jefferson University; Ayyappan Rajasekaran, director, Center for Childhood Cancer Research, Nemours; and William Weintraub, John A. Ammon Chair of Cardiology, Christiana Care Health System.

Following the afternoon panel will be a discussion of industry perspectives on translational medicine. Speakers will be Anastasia Christianson, senior director and global discipline leader, biomedical informatics, Astra Zeneca; Giora Feuerstein, head of discovery translational medicine and assistant vice president, translational medicine, Wyeth; and Gifford Boyce-Smith, chief medical officer, Medicity.

Opportunities for audience response and discussion of the various topics will be available throughout the conference, which will conclude with a reception from 4:30-5:30 p.m.