2025 Technology Showcase

Introduction

Presenter: Matthew McFarland, RPh, PhD

Vice President of Commercialization and Industry Relations of the Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC) at Nationwide Children’s Hospital

Keynote

Genetic Therapy in Sickle Cell Disease: Targeting BCL11A with Lentivirus shmiR, Discovery to Pivotal Human Study and Commercial Considerations

Presenter: David A. Williams, MD

Chief, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Boston Children’s Hospital; Associate Chairman, Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; Institute Physician, Leland Fikes Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School

Transforming Cancer Treatment with Next-Generation Immuno-Gene Therapy

Presenter: Samit Varma, BS, MBA

Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Vironexis Biotherapeutics

Intermission

Enhanced IV Line Clamp

Presenters:

• Jenna Merandi, PharmD, MS, CPPS
  Medication Safety Officer, Nationwide Children’s Hospital
• Erin Ahrens, BSN, RN
  Senior Solutions Developer, Nationwide Children’s Hospital

The Future is Now (It’s Just Not Evenly Distributed!): Bringing the Science of Personalized Evidence-Based Assessment to the People Who Would Benefit

Presenter: Eric Youngstrom, PhD

Director, Institute for Mental & Behavioral Health Research, Nationwide Children’s Hospital; DiMarci Family Professor of Psychiatry, The Ohio State University

Use of Endoxifen to Reduce Foreign Body Capsule Formation Around Silicone Breast Implants

Presenter: Jenny Barker, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor, Pediatric Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery; Director, Comprehensive Wound Program; Director, Adolescent Breast Program; Nationwide Children’s Hospital

VarHouse: Harnessing AI and Big Data to Revolutionize Precision Medicine

Presenter: Peter White, PhD

Chief Data Sciences Officer, Abigail Wexner Research Institute; Battelle Endowed Chair in Quantitative & Computational Biology, Nationwide Children’s Hospital; Professor of Pediatrics, The Ohio State University College of Medicine

There will be a networking reception from 4 to 5 p.m. Heavy hors d'oeuvres and libations included.