ELRIG’s Research & Innovation 2017 scientific directors Mark Wigglesworth (Astrazeneca) and Mike Kerins (Cambridge Bisoscience) tell us about the theme of this year’s meeting and why Research & Innovation 2017 is a must-attend event.

The main theme of this year’s Research & Innovation meeting is Cells as models of disease and new therapeutic agents. What is the importance of this area of research and what impact does it have?

Having techniques that enable us to understand every single cell and how they interact within complex cell models presents an opportunity to move to the next level in drug discovery. Greater understanding of this field will improve chances of success in clinical settings.
Understanding the nature of single cells and being able to manipulate and target them is underpinning the revolution that is currently taking place in immunotherapy.

This meeting will showcase some of the most innovative developments currently taking place in the development of new models that will improve drug discovery effectiveness and the ways in which cells are being harnessed to treat a wide range of disease.

What are the main challenges faced by scientists in this field today?

Further advances in this area will require the development and refinement of new tools and technologies that will enable us to understand the nature of single cells and how they behave within complex systems representative of physiological conditions.

In order to harness the power of cells as therapeutics we will need new methods to safely direct the body’s defences towards the sites of disease which have previously remained invisible to the immune system.
These are all major scientific challenges, but given the rapid progress that has been made in the past five years it seems reasonable to be optimistic that we will be able to develop the tools and strategies needed to make further meaningful progress in the near future.

Why should people attend ELRIG’s Research & Innovation 2017 meeting?

This year ELRIG is bringing its Research & Innovation meeting to Cambridge, a city synonymous with life science innovation.

We have gathered together an outstanding group of academic and industrial researchers heading tracks on topics that can be expected to have profound effects on the discovery and development of new treatments in years to come.
Participating in this year’s ELRIG Research & Innovation meeting will enable you to learn about research taking place at the forefront of cell biology, at an event designed to break down barriers between different groups within the whole drug discovery community.

Registration is now open for delegates, poster presenters and exhibitors. Visit the Research & Innovation 2017 web page for further details by clicking here.