Conference Description
The Tuberculosis Drug Discovery and Development GRC is a premier, international scientific conference focused on advancing the frontiers of science through the presentation of cutting-edge and unpublished research, prioritizing time for discussion after each talk and fostering informal interactions among scientists of all career stages. The conference program includes a diverse range of speakers and discussion leaders from institutions and organizations worldwide, concentrating on the latest developments in the field. The conference is five days long and held in a remote location to increase the sense of camaraderie and create scientific communities, with lasting collaborations and friendships. In addition to premier talks, the conference has designated time for poster sessions from individuals of all career stages, and afternoon free time and communal meals allow for informal networking opportunities with leaders in the field.
Despite advances, Tuberculosis therapy still requires lengthy, complex treatment and available treatments for drug resistant TB can result in serious side effects. The Gordon Research Conference series on Tuberculosis Drug Discovery & Development has been making important contributions to the quest for new TB drugs for more than two decades. The key to the success of these conferences is their constant mission to bring together diverse and international researchers from all career stages and sectors and from all fields relevant to TB drug discovery and development, to present and discuss key topics and challenges inherent in this endeavor in a deliberately inclusive and collaborative environment. This focus has resulted in numerous fruitful discussions and connections, as well as promoting mentorship, the collegiality of the field and providing training for the next generation of researchers.
The 2023 Conference will feature presentations on breaking preclinical and clinical science followed by in-depth inclusive discussions. Extensive poster sessions will also feature, as well plentiful time for informal interactions during free time or over meals. The theme of the 2023 Conference - Leads, technologies, and clinical trials for new TB drug regimens - has been designed to combine cutting-edge research on clinical trial design, identification & development of new chemical matter, and translational research, with alternative approaches to treating TB and research that studies the biology of M. tuberculosis and TB disease, to improve TB chemotherapy. Each session is designed to address the challenges specific to the topic and will range from early stage drug discovery to lessons learned in clinical trials.
We invite researchers interested in all aspects of drug discovery and development and welcome participants from academia, industry, government and non-governmental organizations. In particular, we invite trainees and scientists from TB-endemic countries to apply, as their contribution to the struggle against TB is especially important. All participants are asked to submit abstracts of their work for presentation as posters, and some abstracts will be chosen for oral presentations. The conference provides the opportunity to interact with colleagues in an informal and intimate atmosphere and is designed to promote extensive discussion. In the past, the meeting has been oversubscribed – please apply early!
The topics, speakers, and discussion leaders for the conference sessions are displayed below. The conference chair is currently developing their detailed program, which will include the complete meeting schedule, as well as the talk titles for all speakers. The detailed program will be available by March 25, 2023. Please check back for updates.
Keynote Session: Applying New Technologies and Recent Learnings From TB Drug Discovery and Development, Towards Next Generation Treatments
Discussion Leaders
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Sarah Fortune (Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, United States)
Speakers
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Stewart Cole (Institut Pasteur, France)
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Anastasia Koch (Eh!woza & University of Cape Town, South Africa)
Improving TB Chemotherapy Through Translational Science and Clinical Trial Design
Discussion Leaders
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Kelly Dooley (Vanderbilt University Medical Center, United States)
Speakers
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Rada Savic (UCSF, United States)
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Robert J Wilkinson (Francis Crick Institute, United Kingdom)
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Nicholas Walter (University of Colorado Denver, United States)
Designing and Evaluating TB Drug Combinations Using Preclinical Data
Discussion Leaders
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Jurriaan De Steenwinkel (Erasmus MC, The Netherlands)
Speakers
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Bree Aldridge (Tufts University, United States)
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Alexander Berg (Simulations Plus, Inc., United States)
Finding and Optimizing New Lead Compounds
Discussion Leaders
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Brendan Crowley (Merck, United States)
Speakers
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Laura Cleghorn (Drug Discovery Unit, University of Dundee, United Kingdom)
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Elena Fonfria (Exscientia, United Kingdom)
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Natalya Serbina (TB Alliance, United States)
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Kamel Djaout (Institut Pasteur de Lille, France)
Profiling Drugs and Leads
Discussion Leaders
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Khisimuzi Mdluli (Bill and Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute, United States)
Speakers
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Max Gutierrez (The Francis Crick Institute, United Kingdom)
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Neeraj Dhar (University of Saskatchewan)
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Laura Kiessling (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States)
Approaches to Seeking New Chemical Matter
Discussion Leaders
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Christine Roubert (Evotec ID (Lyon) SAS , France)
Speakers
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Anthony Keefe (X-Chem Inc., United States)
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Deborah Hung (Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, United States)
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Robert Abramovitch (Michigan State University, United States)
Alternative Strategies to Cure TB
Discussion Leaders
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Thomas Dick (Hackensack Meridian Health, United States)
Speakers
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Graham Hatfull (University of Pittsburgh, United States)
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Francesca Ester Morreale (IMP - Research Institute of Molecular Pathology, Austria)
Advancing Our Understanding of TB and Mtb to Improve TB Chemotherapy
Discussion Leaders
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Luiz Pedro Carvalho (UF Scripps Biomedical Research, United States)
Speakers
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Jeremy Rock (Rockefeller University, United States)
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Michael Glickman (Sloan Kettering Institute, United States)
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Greg Cook (University of Otago, New Zealand)
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Erin McCaffrey (Stanford University, United States)
Drug Tolerance, Resilience, and Resistance
Discussion Leaders
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Valerie Mizrahi (University of Cape Town, South Africa)
Speakers
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Qingyun Liu (Harvard University)
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David Alland (Rutgers - New Jersey Medical School, United States)
The GRC Power Hour™
Organizers
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Bree Aldridge (Tufts University, United States)