MITCOB BioSummit

MITCOB BioSummit Human Health 2050

Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard In Person & Virtual

Thursday, April 27th, 2023

Thanks to all our speakers, volunteers, and attendees!

We will see you Spring 2024 for the next installment of our annual event
The information below is for our 2023 event

What Is The MITCOB BioSummit?​

The MIT Club of Boston will host Living in the Future: Human Health in 2050, the inaugural event in a new annual series highlighting emerging significant health challenges. The event will take place on April 27th, 2023, at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard adjacent to MIT’s campus. The event is open to all, and is not limited to MIT alumni.

This conference will provide a wide-ranging look at the future of human health with the emphasis this year on how health will be impacted by climate change. Specific topics that will be addressed include infectious viruses and diseases, human aging and longevity, and the food supply chain. Attendees will engage in an informative and thought-provoking discussion led by experts in their respective fields.

Speakers at the conference are well-known authorities in their areas of discussion, having worked with the White House, delivered TED-affiliated talks, and worked with leading companies, including Google. Their collective knowledge and experience will provide valuable insight into the challenges presented by climate change and the issues facing us over the next several decades.

Join us for this unique opportunity to learn and be inspired, as the Club brings together some of the most respected experts in their fields to share their knowledge and perspectives. You will leave the conference with a greater understanding of the health-related threats of climate change as well as some of the solutions being developed to help contribute to a healthy future. Most importantly, you will be inspired to join the global public to tackle these health challenges in your area, no matter where you are across the planet.

The conference is expected to attract a diverse audience, including researchers, policymakers, and professionals in the healthcare industry. You will have the opportunity to network and engage in discussions with other attendees and speakers.

Why Should I Attend?

  1. Leaders in the biotech industry and allied fields inventing and perfecting products that will enhance human longevity and disease mitigation, resistance, and cures in humans and in agricultural products and leverage or protect against the effects of climate change.
  2. Academics (professors and researchers) pursuing projects that will unlock secrets to living longer, living healthier, eating better, and protecting the global population from the challenges of the next several decades.
  3. Students interested in learning about future areas of study or careers in the forefront of discovering and implementing the next set of groundbreaking improvements in staying healthy while aging and making the best use of sustainable food production globally.
  4. Government researchers and policymakers looking for insights on how noted experts in science and engineering are creating novel solutions that will improve life in the setting of changing weather patterns and the resulting new environment.
  5. Anyone stimulated by discussion of these topics who wants to hear from noted authorities and talented problem solvers

Agenda

Morning

08:00

Registration & Breakfast

09:00

Summit Welcome

09:15

Opening Keynote

10:00

Break

10:15

Infectious Disease Speaker Panel

11:45

Lunch

Afternoon

01:00

Human Longevity Speaker Panel

02:30

Break

03:00

Food Supply Speaker Panel

04:30

Closing Keynote

05:00

2024 BioSummit Preview

05:10

Reception

06:00

Venue Close

Keynote Speakers

Bradley Willcox, MD - Opening Keynote​

Professor and Director of Research at the Department of Geriatric Medicine, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawai‘i Mānoa Co-Principal Investigator, Okinawa Centenarian Study, Okinawa Research Center for Longevity Science

Sebastian Eastham, PhD - Closing Keynote​

Principal Research Scientist, Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change, MIT

Panelists - Infectious Disease

Kieren Marr, MD, MBA​

CEO and Founder of Pearl Diagnostics, Inc. CMO and co-Founder of Sfunga Therapeutics, Inc. Adjunct Professor of Medicine and Business, Johns Hopkins University​

Ryan Robinson​

CEO, Conduit Computing Professor of Quantum Engineering, TEDx Speaker

Logan Collins​

Futurist, Synthetic Biologist, Author, and PhD candidate, Washington University in St. Louis, TEDx Speaker

Panelists - Human Longevity

Joseph Coughlin, PhD

Director of MITAge Lab, MIT

Vadim Gladyshev, PhD

Professor, Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Director of Redox Medicine, Medicine, Brigham And Women's Hospital

Cavin Ward-Caviness, PhD

Computational Biologist, US Environmental protection Agency

Panelists - Food Supply

Gary Cohen

President, Health Care Without Harm and Practice Greenhealth

Greg Sixt, PhD

Director, Food and Climate Systems Transformation (FACT) Alliance, MIT
Research Manager for Climate and Food Systems,
Abdul Latif Jammer Water and Food Systems Lab, MIT

Pilar Pedrinelli

Expert in Sustainable Food, Nature Solutions and Adaptation & Resilience, BCG

Anirban Kundu, PhD

Science & Policy Researcher in Environmental Engineering, McGill University

Find Out More About The MIT Club of Boston​

The MIT Club of Boston is dedicated to providing ways for MIT alumni and alumnae in the Greater Boston Area to know, meet, and work with one another in the expression of their professional, cultural, and social horizons. The Club also serves to link members more closely to MIT through its programs and other activities, and by promoting the charitable, scientific, and educational purposes of MIT. We are an independent, not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) organization that is member-funded and volunteer-operated.