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The Hellenic Bioscientific Association in USA (HBA-USA) organized the second Pan-American Congress at Columbia University in New York on October 15th-16th. The conference theme was "Moving from basic to translational research via novel technologies" and was supported by the Columbia University Hellenic Association. About 100 Greek researchers in the field of biosciences from 15 U.S. states attended the conference. The first day included the opening ceremony and talks from the President of the HBA-USA, Dr. Thomas Thomou (Harvard University, MA), the representative of the Columbia University Hellenic Association, Mr. Thomas Nikolakaki and general consuls of Greece and Cyprus in New York, Mrs Agi Balta and Mrs. Koula Sofianou.
Following the opening ceremony, Mr. Stavros Vougiouklakis and Niki Sideri, who passed away unexpectedly 3 days before the start of the conference, were nominated as honorary members of the Association. This was followed by the award to Professor Vassilis Zannis (Boston University, MA) for his contributions to education in the field of biosciences and the award to Professor Charalambos Gavras (Boston University, MA) for his contributions in biomedical research. The next section of the first day of the conference included presentations by Dr. Iannis Affanti (New York University, NY), Dr. Poulikos Poulikakos (Memorial Sloan Kettering, NY) and Dr. Nick Vlahakis (Mayo Clinic, MN), whose published scientific papers were the best among the scientific publications of the members of the Association during the last year. The first day of the conference ended with a reception where all the attendees of the conference had the chance to interact with each other.
The program of the 2nd day of the conference included only scientific talks. The first session was sponsored by the family of Christos Polentas and the theme park in memory of road accident victims in Chania, Crete. This session was focused on the implementation of new technologies in research and started with the distinguished lecture given by Dr. Nikos Kyrpides (head of the Genome Biology Programm U.S. Department of Energy, CA) followed by two lectures by Dr. Nikos Chronis (University of Michigan, MI) and Dr. Maria Liberis (University of Pennsylvania, PA). The session was opened by Deputy Ambassador of the Permanent Representation of Greece to the United Nations (UN), Mr. Dimitris Karamitsos-Tziras, which focused on the particular value of the role of expatriate Greek scientists in Greece ravaged by the economic crisis. Furthermore, he referred to the cooperation of the UN with the Park "Christos Polentas" to build a memorial in memory of victims of road accidents.
The next session, which was sponsored by the Atlantic Bank of New York, focused on research related to metabolism and cardiovascular diseases. Dr. Litsa Kranias (University of Cincinnati, OH) gave the distinguished lecture on the mechanisms that cause calcium disorders which affect heart function leading to the onset of heart failure. In the same session Dr. Chris Vlahos (Lilly Research Laboratories, IN) discussed the process for the design and manufacture of drugs in the industry and Dr. Tasos Lymperopoulos (Nova Southeastern University, FL) talked about new therapeutic targets in heart failure.
The last scientific session, which was sponsored by the "Pangregorian Enterprizes of Metro NY and Long Island" included lectures focused on cancer research. Mr. Dimitris Kafkitsas, president of the sponsor emphasized the enterprizes interests to support scientific events.. Dr. John Kyriakis (Tufts University) presented the distinguished lecture in this session on the identification and mechanisms of action of a tumor suppressor protein, followed by Dr. Constantine Stratakis (Director of the Endocrinology & Genetics at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, MD) who described mechanisms that contribute to the development of adrenal tumors. This session ended with the talks of Dr. Gabriela Chiosis (Memorial Sloan-Kettering, NY) and Dr. Dimitris Iliopoulos (Harvard, MA) who discussed novel approaches for finding new therapeutic treatments for cancer patients.
The conference ended with the presentation of collaborative educational programs between the U.S., Greece and Cyprus by Dr. Vassilis Zannis (Boston University, MA), Dr. John Evans (Harvard University, MA) and Mr. Leon Stavrou (the Next Generation Initiative). The President of the Association, Dr. Thomas Thomou, presented the Science Teaching Exchange Program (STEP) with the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the University of Ioannina in Greece, which was just launched with the support of Greek expatriates, the Maritime Administration of Thessaloniki, and the think tank Strategy International. Finally Dr. Stelios Papadopoulos delivered the final talk in the session with the presentation of Fondation Santé, which provides scholarships to young scientists from Greece and Southeast Europe for training in pharmaceutical companies.
The conference was concluded with a summary speech by Dr. Athanasios Vasilopoulos (Vanderbilt University, TN), Vice-President of the HBA-USA, who emphasized the value of volunteer work of the members of the Association which contributed to the success of the conference as well as the high scientific level of the research findings presented by all speakers indicating the great impact of the Greek bioscientists in the USA on the scientific community worldwide. The Board of Directors renewed the appointment with the members of the Association in 2 years, when the 3rd Pan-American conference of the HBA-USA will take place.
Following the opening ceremony, Mr. Stavros Vougiouklakis and Niki Sideri, who passed away unexpectedly 3 days before the start of the conference, were nominated as honorary members of the Association. This was followed by the award to Professor Vassilis Zannis (Boston University, MA) for his contributions to education in the field of biosciences and the award to Professor Charalambos Gavras (Boston University, MA) for his contributions in biomedical research. The next section of the first day of the conference included presentations by Dr. Iannis Affanti (New York University, NY), Dr. Poulikos Poulikakos (Memorial Sloan Kettering, NY) and Dr. Nick Vlahakis (Mayo Clinic, MN), whose published scientific papers were the best among the scientific publications of the members of the Association during the last year. The first day of the conference ended with a reception where all the attendees of the conference had the chance to interact with each other.
The program of the 2nd day of the conference included only scientific talks. The first session was sponsored by the family of Christos Polentas and the theme park in memory of road accident victims in Chania, Crete. This session was focused on the implementation of new technologies in research and started with the distinguished lecture given by Dr. Nikos Kyrpides (head of the Genome Biology Programm U.S. Department of Energy, CA) followed by two lectures by Dr. Nikos Chronis (University of Michigan, MI) and Dr. Maria Liberis (University of Pennsylvania, PA). The session was opened by Deputy Ambassador of the Permanent Representation of Greece to the United Nations (UN), Mr. Dimitris Karamitsos-Tziras, which focused on the particular value of the role of expatriate Greek scientists in Greece ravaged by the economic crisis. Furthermore, he referred to the cooperation of the UN with the Park "Christos Polentas" to build a memorial in memory of victims of road accidents.
The next session, which was sponsored by the Atlantic Bank of New York, focused on research related to metabolism and cardiovascular diseases. Dr. Litsa Kranias (University of Cincinnati, OH) gave the distinguished lecture on the mechanisms that cause calcium disorders which affect heart function leading to the onset of heart failure. In the same session Dr. Chris Vlahos (Lilly Research Laboratories, IN) discussed the process for the design and manufacture of drugs in the industry and Dr. Tasos Lymperopoulos (Nova Southeastern University, FL) talked about new therapeutic targets in heart failure.
The last scientific session, which was sponsored by the "Pangregorian Enterprizes of Metro NY and Long Island" included lectures focused on cancer research. Mr. Dimitris Kafkitsas, president of the sponsor emphasized the enterprizes interests to support scientific events.. Dr. John Kyriakis (Tufts University) presented the distinguished lecture in this session on the identification and mechanisms of action of a tumor suppressor protein, followed by Dr. Constantine Stratakis (Director of the Endocrinology & Genetics at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, MD) who described mechanisms that contribute to the development of adrenal tumors. This session ended with the talks of Dr. Gabriela Chiosis (Memorial Sloan-Kettering, NY) and Dr. Dimitris Iliopoulos (Harvard, MA) who discussed novel approaches for finding new therapeutic treatments for cancer patients.
The conference ended with the presentation of collaborative educational programs between the U.S., Greece and Cyprus by Dr. Vassilis Zannis (Boston University, MA), Dr. John Evans (Harvard University, MA) and Mr. Leon Stavrou (the Next Generation Initiative). The President of the Association, Dr. Thomas Thomou, presented the Science Teaching Exchange Program (STEP) with the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the University of Ioannina in Greece, which was just launched with the support of Greek expatriates, the Maritime Administration of Thessaloniki, and the think tank Strategy International. Finally Dr. Stelios Papadopoulos delivered the final talk in the session with the presentation of Fondation Santé, which provides scholarships to young scientists from Greece and Southeast Europe for training in pharmaceutical companies.
The conference was concluded with a summary speech by Dr. Athanasios Vasilopoulos (Vanderbilt University, TN), Vice-President of the HBA-USA, who emphasized the value of volunteer work of the members of the Association which contributed to the success of the conference as well as the high scientific level of the research findings presented by all speakers indicating the great impact of the Greek bioscientists in the USA on the scientific community worldwide. The Board of Directors renewed the appointment with the members of the Association in 2 years, when the 3rd Pan-American conference of the HBA-USA will take place.