Dr. Francis S. Collins: Director, National Institutes of Health

Come hear one of the world's most influential scientists and medical researchers discuss the coming revolution in biomedical innovation – and what it might mean for you. Dr. Collins oversees the work of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the federal agency that is the nation's largest supporter of biomedical research. Before taking the helm of NIH in August 2009, he led the international Human Genome Project and made landmark discoveries of a number of important disease genes. Today, one of Dr. Collins' top priorities is to accelerate the movement, or translation, of scientific advances from the research lab to the medical clinic. However, despite dramatic progress in identifying the molecular basis of many diseases, translation remains a slow, expensive and failure-prone endeavor. For example, it currently takes about 13 years and more than $1 billion to develop a successful new drug. To help reengineer this process, NIH recently announced plans to establish a new entity, the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS). Dr. Collins will describe how NCATS, along with other NIH research initiatives, will catalyze the generation of innovative methods and technologies to enhance the development, testing and implementation of new treatments for a wide range of diseases.

Speaker:

Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D, Director, National Institutes of Health

Dr. Larry Brilliant, President and CEO, Skoll Global Threats Fund - Moderator