Amgen-Stanford Conference on Human Genetics and Disease Therapies Set for August 21


An all-day symposium on the Stanford campus on August 21 will bring together experts in genetics and atherosclerosis to talk about moving the needle from targets to drug therapies. Jointly sponsored by Amgen and Stanford, the conference will begin with a welcome from the Vice President for Research of Amgen, Aarif Khakoo, MD, MBA, and from Joseph C. Wu, MD, PhD, Director of the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute (CVI). The morning session will begin with a keynote address about the genetics of common diseases by Kari Stefansson, MD, DrMed, Vice President of Research at deCode Genetics. The remainder of the morning session, which will focus on the role of human genetics in discovering targets, will consist of four talks by speakers from Columbia and Stanford followed by a panel discussion.

The topic of the afternoon session will be translating human genetics into therapies, with a talk on familial hypercholesterolemia and its treatment with PCSK9 inhibitors as its centerpiece. Speakers in this session will be from Amgen, The Medicines Company, and Stanford. There will be a second panel discussion followed by dedicated time for networking among the attendees and speakers.

The intended audience for the symposium includes interested parties at Stanford and Amgen as well as academic institutions and biotech companies in the Bay Area.

Kiera Larsen, RN, BSN, of the Stanford Center for Clinical Research oversaw planning and coordination of the conference while Joshua Knowles, MD, PhD, of Stanford CVI directed the scientific leadership. 

The symposium will be held in McCaw Hall at the Arrillaga Alumni Center at Stanford. Click here for the complete agenda and registration form.