Global Perspectives on Supporting Research Translation

What to expect at the event

Translational research which bridges the gap between basic scientific discoveries and their real-world application, has become increasingly vital in addressing global challenges. Funders play an important role in driving impactful translational research outcomes. How can funders support and promote cross-disciplinary translational research in a global context? What are the best practices and lessons learned from existing funding schemes and initiatives? What are the emerging opportunities and needs for translational research?

Co-organized by EATRIS, EASSH and Taylor & Francis, we will bring research funding and performing organizations across continents (EU, UK, US) to share how they support effective knowledge translation and how we could do it better globally.

About the speaker

Dr Joni Rutter, Director of National Centre for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), NIH, oversees the planning and execution of the center’s complex, multifaceted programs that aim to overcome scientific and operational barriers slowing the development and delivery of new treatments and other health solutions. Before joining NCATS, Rutter was the director of scientific programs within the All of Us Research Program. She led scientific programmatic development and implementation efforts to build a national research cohort of 1 million or more U.S. participants to advance precision medicine. While at NIH, she also led the Division of Neuroscience and Behavior at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). During her career, Rutter has earned a national and international reputation for her diverse and unique expertise via her journal publications. She has received several scientific achievement awards, including the 2022 Rare Disease Legislative Advocates–RareVoice Award for Federal Advocacy and the 2022 FedHealthIT–Women in Leadership Impact Award.

Dr Anji Miller, Senior Business Manager, LifeArc, leads on LifeArc’s support for academic-led gene therapy innovation, with responsibility as the overall LifeArc lead for the Innovation Hubs for Gene Therapies, the LifeArc Gene Therapy Innovation Fund and advancing the hubs’ gene therapy skills agenda. She has management responsibility for specific projects within LifeArc’s Philanthropic Fund. A seasoned tech transfer professional, Anji leads both the AUTM and LifeArc Fellowship programmes and is a Board Director of AUTM, ASTP and member of the BioIndustry Association Cell & Gene Therapy Advisory Committee. An EDI in STEM advocate, she directs all technology transfer skills activity and translational STEM outreach programmes. She is an active participant in LifeArc’s policy engagement.

Dr Alicia Greated, Executive Director, Campaign for Science & Engineering (CaSE) leads a dynamic organisation that has shaped significant changes in public policy. Alicia has extensive experience of strategic leadership and management in the R&D sector. Prior to joining CaSE Alicia was CEO of the Knowledge Transfer Network (now Innovate UK KTN), and before that, was Global Director of Research and Enterprise at Heriot Watt University, from 2015-2019. Alicia spent many years working for the UK Research Councils. She was founder and Director of Research Council UK (RCUK) India at the British High Commission in Delhi, and Director RCUK China at the British Embassy in Beijing. She also worked as acting Director of Research for the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and was Head of Engineering at the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). Alicia is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology and holds a number of advisory roles including as a member of the Royal Society’s Science, Industry and Translation Committee, and a member of the Scottish Funding Council’s (SFC) Research and Knowledge Exchange Committee.

Dr Nikos Kastrinos, former European Commission official, is a political scientist working in the field of science, research and innovation policy. He has recently retired from the European Commission where he was,  for the last 12 years, the team Leader for Foresight in the Directorate General for Research and Innovation. For the previous 15 years he was engaged in R&I strategy and policy development, technology assessment and the social sciences and the humanities.  He has worked as an adviser on research and innovation policy in the Greek, Irish and Cyprus governments. Before his involvement in policy he was a researcher at the University of Manchester.

Moderator: Anton Ussi, Operations and Finance Director at EATRIS, has a background in engineering and SME administration. He is a specialist in the establishment and execution of strategic public-private and public- public collaborations based on the deployment of high value translational research infrastructure for medicine. Anton has been co-responsible for the development of several ongoing public private partnerships and spin-out companies, among which the €130 million VU University Medical Imaging Center Amsterdam, and the Dutch Imaging Hub, a public-private translational initiative with Roche-Genentech and three Dutch university medical centres.

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Co-organizers: