September 21, 2023 

5:00 pm 

Reception at the SPAM Museum

September 22, 2023 

8:00am

Continental Breakfast

9:00am 

Opening Remarks 

Robert Clarke, PhD, DSc,FRS Biol, FRS Chem, FRS Med(UK)
Executive Director, The Hormel Institute, Professor, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology & Biophysics, UMN

9:05am

Initiatives and Rationale for Workshop 
Shashank Priya, PhD, Vice President for Research, Office of the Vice President for Research, UMN 

9:15am
  

Vector Core Development and Function
George Aslanidi, PhD, Professor, The Hormel Institute, UMN

9:45am 

Keynote: AAV Gene Therapy Challenges and Opportunities

 Junghae Suh, PhD, Vice President, Gene Therapy Accelerator Unit, Biogen, Cambridge, Massachusetts  

10:45am

Break

11:00am
 

Gene Therapy for Ultra-Rare Diseases 
Christina Pacak, PhD, Assistant Professor, Neurology, UMN

11:30am 

A Place to Grow: Austin, Minnesota
Thomas Yezzi, MSc, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Nu-Tek BioSciences, Austin, MN

12:00-12:15pm

Optional Sponsor Booth Presentations

12:15-1:30pm

Lunch Brainstorming Session

1:30pm 

Break

1:40pm

Keynote: Advancing gene therapies for childhood cancer and inherited diseases: clinical experiences in the US and economically developing countries

H. Trent Spencer, PhD, President & Co-founder of Expression Therapeutics, Professor, Pediatrics, Emory University, Director, Cell and Gene Therapy, Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta 

2:40pm

Building Synergy for Genetic Therapy Advancement 

Panelists:

R. Scott McIvor, PhD, Chief Development Officer, Immusoft, Professor, Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, UMN
Masato Yamamoto, MD, PhD, Professor, Eugene C. and Gail V. Sit Chair in Pancreatic and Gastrointestinal Cancer Research, Vice-Chair of Surgical Science, Surgery, UMN
Sandra Wells, PhD, Director, Office of Discovery and Translation, Clinical and Translational Science Institute, UMN

Christina Pacak, PhD, Assistant Professor, Neurology, UMN

George Aslanidi, PhD, Professor, The Hormel Institute, UMN (Moderator)

3:45pm

Closing Remarks

4:00-5:00pm 

Reception 

4:00-4:15pm

Optional Hormel Institute Tour

4:15-4:30pm

Optional Hormel Institute Tour