Hellenic Bioscientific Association in the USA
HBA-USA
The HBA-USA organizes its first Panamerican scientific meeting aiming to facilitate the interaction and the
establishment of collaborations among its members.
The Board of Directors extends its gratitude to the Consul General of Greece, Mr. Konstantinos Orphanides for
setting this meeting under the auspices of the Consulate.
Organizing committee
Coordinator
Thomas Thomou (Vice-president of the HBA-USA)

Members
Konstantinos Drosatos (president of the HBA-USA)
Dimitrios Iliopoulos (Treasurer of the HBA-USA)
Iordanes Karagiannides (App. secretary of the HBA-USA)
Evangelos Ntrivalas (Councillor of the HBA-USA)


Volunteers
Emmanuela Filippidi (New York University)
Magda Vasiadi (TUFTS)
Vanessa Xanthakis (Boston University)
PROGRAM
“Multidisciplinary Workshop in Biomedical Research: a collaborative effort mending the gap
between bench and bedside”
October 10 – 11, 2009

Joseph B. Martin Conference Center, Harvard University,
77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA, 02115


Saturday, October 10

2:00 – 3:00 pm Meeting Registration & Reception
2nd floor lounge

Opening ceremony
Rotunda

3:00 – 3:15 pm Opening remarks
Dr Konstantinos Drosatos, Columbia University (President of the HBA-USA)

3:15 – 3:20 pm Welcoming address
Mr. Konstantinos Orphanides, H.E. Consul General of Greece to Boston


Presentation of the
1st “Aristoteles Award”
for outstanding achievements in Bioscientific Research

Dr. Greg Stephanopoulos,
Professor of Chemical Engineering, MIT, Boston, MA


3:20 – 3:50 pm Keynote lecture
Dr. Dimitri Nanopoulos, Distinguished Professor of Physics, Texas A&M University, TX

Session 1: plenary session-scientific highlights talks
Rotunda

Chair: Dr, Nicolaos Madias, Caritas St. Elizabeth's Medical Center, Boston, MA
Co-chair:  Dr. Ari Patrinos, Synthetic Genomics Inc., Washington, DC

3:50 - 4:15 pm         Dr. Nina Papavasiliou, Rockefeller University, New York, NY
A yeast-endonuclease-generated DNA break induces antigenic switching inTrypanosoma
brucei, Nature 2009

4:15 – 4:40 pm         Dr. Dimitrios Vavylonis, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA
Assembly mechanism of the contractile ring for cytokinesis by fission yeast.
Science, 2008

4:40 – 5:05 pm         Dr. Maria Hatzoglou, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, A
stress-responsive RNA switch regulates VEGFA expression, Nature, 2008
   

5:05 – 5:10pm         Closing remarks by the chairing committee


Poster session
5:15 – 6:15 pm
2nd floor lounge

Reception Dinner
7:00 – 9:00 pm
Consulate General of Greece, 86 Beacon Street, Boston, MA 02108
Honorable Consul General of Greece in Boston, Mr. Konstantinos Orphanides, will host a
reception in honor of participants of the 1st Multidisciplinary Workshop in Biomedical
Sciences

 
Sunday, October 11

9:00 – 11:00 am Parallel thematic workshops

Session 2
Endocrinology, Cardiovascular Biology and Metabolic Diseases workshop
                          Bray lecture room, 1st floor                                 

Moderators: Dr. Charalambos Gavras, Boston University, Boston, MA
Dr. Yu-Hua Tseng, Joslin Diabetes Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston MA

9:00 – 9:25 am         Preparatory and introductory talk by Dr. Charalambos Gavras, Boston
University, Boston, MA
9:30 – 10:00 am        Preparatory and introductory talk by Dr. Yu-Hua Tseng, Harvard Medical
School, Boston MA
10:00 – 11:00 am         Workshop-round table discussion for collaborative effort
Participants should be prepared to give a brief description of their scientific expertise and
achievements



Session 3
Cancer Genetics and Tumor Marker Biology workshop
Classroom 214, 2nd floor

Moderator: Dr. Theodore Krontiris, City of Hope National Medical Center
Dr. Philip N. Tsichlis, TUFTS University Medical School, Boston, MA

9:00 – 9:25 am         Dr. Theodore Krontiris, City of Hope National Medical Center
9:00 – 9:50 am        Dr. Philip N. Tsichlis, TUFTS University Medical School, Boston, MA
9:50 – 10:15 am        Dr. Manolis Kellis, MIT, Boston, MA
10:15 – 11:00 am         Workshop-round table discussion for collaborative effort
Participants should be prepared to give a brief description of their scientific expertise and
achievements


Session 4
Neurobiology and Neurodegenerative Diseases workshop
Classroom 217, 2nd floor

Moderators: Dr. Nikos Robakis, New York University, New York City, NY
Dr. Diomedes Logothetis, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA

9:00 – 9:25 am         Preparatory and introductory talk by Dr. Diomedes Logothetis, Virginia
Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
9:25 – 9:45 am        Preparatory and introductory talk by Dr. Nikos Robakis, Mount Sinai
School of Medicine, New York City, NY

10:00 – 11:00 am         Workshop-round table discussion for collaborative effort
Participants should be prepared to give a brief description of their scientific expertise and
achievements


Refreshment break
2nd floor lounge

Session 5
Technology Commercialization & Academia-Industry Collaborations
Bray lecture room, 1st floor

Moderators: Mr. John Cosmopoulos, TUFTS University, Boston, MA
            Dr. Thomas Thomou, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN

11:30 - 11:50 am         Dr. Christos S. Mantzoros, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA

11:50 - 12:10 pm         Mr. John Cosmopoulos, TUFTS University, Boston, MA

12:10 – 12:30 pm         Dr. George Vasmatzis, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN,

12:30  -  12:45pm        Discussion


Conference concluding remarks
12:45 – 1:00 pm

Dr. Thomas Thomou, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
(vice-president of the HBA-USA and coordinator for the preparation of the meeting)
Bray lecture room, 1st floor


Attendees depart