Thursday, November 28, 2013

1st US-India Conference on Vaccines and Immunotherapy (UICVI) March 17-18, 2014 ATLANTA, USA

Driven by technological rapid advances, the United States and India enjoy robust bilateral science and technology cooperation. This collaboration has been vital in working together on cutting edge science research and development etc. USA and Indian research institutions are increasingly facilitating mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation in science, engineering, and health.

USA- India bilateral trade is growing leaps and bounds and has touched USD $100 billion with a potential to grow to a whopping USD $ 1 trillion in less than a decade. The 1st US-India conference on Vaccines and Immunotherapy (UICVI) is being organized in Olympic City Atlanta on March 17-18, 2014 at the Georgia Tech Historic Academy of Medicine (GT HAOM). The goal of the UICVI is to promote bilateral interactions in research, business and investment between USA and India in key areas of vaccines science and technology. This unique conference will be organized by USA India Business Summit (UIBS) and Georgia Tech Center for International Business Education and Research (GT CIBER) with support of presenting technology partners, Emory Vaccine Center, Emory University; Center for ImmunoEngineering, Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) and the University of Georgia (UGA). “Immunotherapy and immune modulation is now one of the most exciting areas of biomedical sciences with implications for treatment of infectious diseases, autoimmunity and cancer. This conference will provide the opportunity to develop collaborative interactions between USA and India in vaccine sciences and therapeutics,” said Dr. Rafi Ahmed, Director, Emory Vaccine Center, which is an epicenter of academic research and development of vaccines for both chronic and infectious diseases.

Emory Vaccine Center’s focus is on the continuum of vaccine research, from basic science to clinical trials to vaccine policy. Towards these efforts, in 2008, the Emory Vaccine Center (EVC) along with the Indian counterpart, the International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) at new Delhi-- launched the Joint ICGEB-EVC in New Delhi to continue efforts for tackling public health problems in India through collaboration. Working in the labs in Atlanta and New Delhi, along with partners across the United States and around the world the EVC is making efforts for improving human health. Emory’s Global Diabetes Research Center is engaged in large population-based studies of diabetes and its complications in South Asia, is involved in trials of prevention and treatment of diabetes, and has a major portfolio of training of investigators in the region and beyond.

Georgia Tech is one of the leading academic institutions in the world and is one of the top 5 engineering schools in the US. It is also a leader in developing breakthrough engineering and biomedical solutions for improving human health in Georgia, the United States, and around the globe. The mission of the newly established Center for ImmunoEngineering at Georgia Tech is to develop new engineering tools and methods for improving vaccine delivery platforms and for novel immunotherapies. According to Dr. Ravi V. Bellamkonda, Chair, Wallace H Coulter Dept. of Biomedical Engineering Georgia Institute of Technology & Emory School of Medicine – Engineering tools ranging from polymeric drug delivery vehicles to novel adjuvants to molecular imaging agents will have a big bearing on our ability to modulate the human immune system.  Georgia Tech and Biomedical Engineering are committed developing novel technologies for immunoengineering in close collaboration with Emory scientists and other interested groups from across the world.  This conference will serve as an excellent venue for discussions on the role of technology and engineering in designing better immunomodulatory strategies, including better vaccines.”

The University of Georgia (UGA), Georgia State’s flagship institution and America’s oldest state-chartered university, is a land-grant/sea-grant university and the state’s most comprehensive and most diversified institution of higher learning. The University of Georgia is an international leader in infectious disease research and vaccine development, with a strong One-Health emphasis at the interface of human, animal, and environmental health. UGA’s interdisciplinary breadth is reflected in the diverse expertise of the Faculty of Infectious Diseases, which encompasses more than 100 research investigators from nine schools and colleges campus-wide. UGA’s strengths include the College of Veterinary Medicine, featuring the state-of-the-art biocontainment facilities of the Animal Health Research Center; the Odum School of Ecology, the first stand-alone school of ecology in the world; a new and rapidly expanding College of Public Health; the Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases, among the foremost research centers in the US and internationally in parasitic diseases; and the Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, a world-class research unit focusing on the structures and functions of complex carbohydrates. 

 "The University of Georgia looks forward to being a partner in U.S.-India collaborations around the concept of immunotherapy. This is without doubt one of the most exciting and promising approaches to the prevention and treatment of human diseases, including infectious diseases, currently," said Dr. David Lee, Vice President of Research, University of Georgia.

Scientific Scope of the conference:

Vaccines represent the most cost-effective tools for inducing protective immunity before development of the disease, and immunotherapy represent treatment strategies that uses body's own immune system to help fight against diseases such as chronic infections and cancer. Both India and USA have had long-standing history of cooperation in these areas, and has seen some major advances in the recent past. The establishment of the Joint ICGEB-Emory-Vaccine Center (EVC) in India is one of the most recent lank marks in this arena.  Countries such as India are also experiencing an explosion of metabolic diseases, such as diabetes, which increases the risk of infections, and may affect the efficacy of vaccines through changes in immunological functions and other mechanisms.

UICVI brings together academic researchers, vaccine policy makers, corporate and vaccine manufacturers in India and USA with the following tentative scientific sessions in which experts share their insight on:

  • Vaccines and Immune memory
  • Lessons learned from immunity to infectious agents
  • Immunoengineering: platforms and tools for vaccines and immunotherapies
  • Cancer, autoimmunity and immunotherapy vaccines
  • One Health / dual purpose approach animal vaccines for human health
  • Diabetes and  immunity to vaccines and infectious agents
  • Vaccine manufacture, clinical trials, technological challenges and opportunities
  • Vaccine policy and India-US Venture capital landscape, funding sources and entrepreneurial opportunities


About UIBS

UIBS (www.usaindiabusinesssummit.com) has distinguished history of being largest conference in the South–East USA that promotes business relations between USA and India. UIBS is organized by USA India Initiatives and the Georgia Tech CIBER, with support from Georgia Department of Economic Development, Consulate General of India-Atlanta, U.S. Commercial Service, Metro Atlanta Chamber, Confederation of Indian Industry, MM Activ, The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) and a host of sponsoring organizations.

Registration details coming soon. For more information and sponsorship opportunities of 1st US-India conference on Vaccines and Immunotherapy (UICVI), contact Ani Agnihotri by e-mail Ani@usaindiabusinesssummit.com or on USA phone # 404-394-6678.

Media Contact
Company Name: USA India Initiatives, Inc.
Contact Person: Ani Agnihotri
Email:Send Email
Phone: 4043946678
Address:415 Lakehill Court
City: Alpharetta
State: Georgia
Country: United States
Website: www.usaindiabusinesssummit.com
Source: www.abnewswire.com

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