InnoPharm-2026 Tentative Program

Where Science Meets Life-Saving Innovation

📅 November 2–4, 2026 📍 Holiday Inn Boston Hotel, MA 🎓 3 Days of Cutting-Edge Research
Drug Discovery & Development
Clinical Research & Precision Medicine
Drug Delivery Systems & Biologics
AI & ML in Pharma R&D

Nov 02, 2026

From breakthrough targets to transformative therapies

Session Chair: Girish Nallur, Founder/CEO, Vistara Bioscience

Keynotes
Daria Mochly Rosen
Keynote
Daria Mochly Rosen
Professor
Stanford University
Talk Title: The SPARK Model of Translational Research in Academia; a 20 Years Report
Martin Schwartz
Keynote
Martin Schwartz
Professor
Yale School of Medicine
Talk Title: A Novel Target for Combating Vascular Inflammatory Disease
Debbie C. Crans
Keynote
Debbie C. Crans
Professor
Colorado State University
Talk Title: Beyond the Active Species: Transformation Networks in Vanadium Pharmacology
A. Thomas Look
Keynote
A. Thomas Look
Professor, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Harvard Medical School
Talk Title: KAT6A/B Inhibitor Transcriptionally Upregulates GD2 to Sensitize Neuroblastoma Cells to Targeted Immunotherapy
Liwu Li
Keynote
Liwu Li
Professor
Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University
Talk Title: Rejuvenation of Innate Immunity for Treating Chronic Inflammatory Disease
Special Talks
Kenneth C Waterman
Special Talk
Kenneth C. Waterman
President
FreeThink Technologies, Inc. Branford, CT
Talk Title: The Accelerated Stability Assessment program (ASAP): using Science to Rapidly Set Drug Product Shelf Life for Small Molecules and Biologics
Zaher Nahle
Special Talk
Zaher Nahle
CEO, Ivyctory Group
Sr. Advisor, Ctr. for a Humane Economy, Bethesda, MD
Talk Title: FDA Modernization Act 2.0 and 3.0
Session – I: Drug Discovery & Optimization

Chair: Girish Nallur, Founder/CEO, Vistara Bioscience

Barry Morgan
Oral Presentation
Barry Morgan
Chief Scientific Officer
HitGen Inc.
Talk Title: 25 years of DNA-encoded Library Technology: A Personal Perspective
Xiaofeng Tan
Oral Presentation
Xiaofeng Tan
Founder & CEO
DeepCovalent, Inc.
Talk Title: One-Step De Novo Small-Molecule Drug Discovery
B. Rita Alevriadou
Oral Presentation
B. Rita Alevriadou
Professor
University at Buffalo
Talk Title: Mitochondrial Transfer Via Endothelial-Derived Extracellular Vesicles: A Potential Therapy for Vascular and Mitochondrial Diseases
Eugenia Trushina
Oral Presentation
Eugenia Trushina
Professor
Mayo Clinic
Talk Title: Advancing Mitochondrial Complex I Modulators for Neurodegenerative Diseases
Jiayu Liao
Oral Presentation
Jiayu Liao
Professor
University of California
Talk Title: FDA-approved World's First Oral GLP1R Small-molecule Agonist
Ronald Davis
Oral Presentation
Ronald Davis
Professor
University of Florida Health
Talk Title: Mitochondrial-targeted Therapeutics for ALS
Philipp-Mews
Oral Presentation
Philipp Mews
Assistant Professor
Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA
Talk Title: Epigenetic Therapeutics for Addiction: Targeting ACSS2 to Reduce Relapse Vulnerability
Yuping Bao
Oral Presentation
Yuping Bao
Associate Professor
The University of Alabama
Talk Title: Transmembrane Proteins as Targets for Breast Cancer Drug Resistance
Talip-Ucar
Oral Presentation
Donald L Durden
President, Founder, Biologica LLC
Prof. Emeritus,(UCSD) Professor, Wake Forest University Charlotte, NC
Talk Title: In silico design of Multitarget Directed Ligands (MTDSs) for the polypharmaceutical treatment of refractory diseases
Girish Nallur
Oral Presentation
Girish Nallur
Founder/CEO
Vistara Bioscience
Talk Title: Targeted Peptide Interventions to Restore Proteostasis in Parkinson’s Disease
Ying-Xian Pan
Oral Presentation
Ying-Xian Pan
Professor
New Jersey Medical School
Talk Title: Establishing Oprm1 exon 7-associated Splice Variants as Therapeutic Targets for Improving Opioid Safety Without Compromising Analgesia
David Belnap
Oral Presentation
David Belnap
Research Associate Professor
The University of Utah
Talk Title: Facilitating Commercial Drug Discovery at the University of Utah Electron Microscopy Core
Plenary
Donald E. Ingber
Plenary
Donald E. Ingber
Founding Director & Core Faculty
Wyss Institute at Harvard University
Talk Title: Human Organ Chips for Disease Modeling, Drug Development, and Personalized Medicine
Keynotes
Rhoda Alani
Keynote
Rhoda Alani
Professor
Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School
Talk Title: Epigenetic Inhibitors as Novel Therapeutics: Applications in Cancer and Beyond
Wolfgang Sadee
Keynote
Wolfgang Sadee
Professor Emeritus
University of California San Francisco
Talk Title: Title to be Announced!
Session – II: AI & ML in Pharma R&D
Thomas Caulfield
Oral Presentation
Thomas Caulfield
Founder/CEO
Digital Ether Computing
Talk Title: Title to be Announced!
Naeyma Islam
Oral Presentation
Naeyma Islam
AI Scientist
Mayo Clinic
Talk Title: Predicting Drug-Likeness With or Without Structure: A Multi-Modal ADMET Framework
Diana-Bohannon
Oral Presentation
Diana Bohannon,
Head of Translational Science
Absentia Labs, Cambridge, MA
Talk Title: Bridging Translational Gaps in Drug-Induced Liver Injury Using Predictive AI
Alp Tartici
Flashtalk
Alp Tartici
PhD Student
Stanford University
Talk Title: Generative Denoising AI Models for Structure Guided Biologics Engineering
Shourya Verma
Flashtalk
Shourya Verma
PhD Student
Purdue University West
Talk Title: Towards Multi-Modal Cellular Perturbation Modelling
Session – III: Drug Delivery Systems & Biologics
David K. Imagawa
Oral Presentation
David K. Imagawa
Professor of Clinical Surgery
UC Irvine School of Medicine
Talk Title: Development of a Novel Drug Delivery System for Solid Organ Tumors
Peter F. Kador
Oral Presentation
Peter F. Kador
Distinguished Professor & CEO
UNMC & Therapeutic Vision, Inc.
Talk Title: Orally Active Multifunctional Redox Modulators are Neuroprotective for Vision, Hearing and Cognition
Ananth Kumar Kammala
Oral Presentation
Ananth Kumar Kammala
Associate Professor
The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston
Talk Title: Exosome-Based Biologics: A New Frontier in Drug Development and Precision Medicine
Gihoon Lee
Oral Presentation
Gihoon Lee
Senior Scientist
Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine
Talk Title: Proteomics-Based Discovery of Cellular Mechanisms Driving CHO Productivity
Shanhu Hu
Oral Presentation
Shanhu Hu
Scientific Director
WuXi AppTec Co., Ltd
Talk Title: Integrated Solutions for Advancing Oligonucleotide Drug Discovery
Tania (Tali) Konry
Oral Presentation
Tania (Tali) Konry
Professor
Bouvé College of Health Sciences, Northeastern University
Talk Title: Beyond Omics: Functional Immunology as a New Engine for Drug Discovery and Biomarker Development
Su Ryon Shin
Oral Presentation
Su Ryon Shin
Assistant Professor
Harvard Medical School
Talk Title: Nano- and Micro-engineered Biomaterials Modulating Stem Cells Behavior for Regenerative Medicine
Yangmei Li
Oral Presentation
Yangmei Li
Assistant Professor
University of South Carolina
Talk Title: Developing Cyclic Peptide MOR/DOR Dual Agonists as Safe and Potent Analgesics Without Abuse Liability
Shikha P. Barman
Oral Presentation
Shikha P. Barman
President & CEO
Integral BioSystems, LLC
Talk Title: Title to be Announced!
Hu Yang
Oral Presentation
Hu Yang
Professor
Marquette University
Talk Title: Title to be Announced!
Urszula Komarnicka
Oral Presentation
Urszula Komarnicka
Associate Professor
University of Wrocław
Talk Title: Organometallic (Fe, Ru, Ir, and Os) Phosphine-Based Inducers of Ferroptosis in Drug-Resistant Cancer Cells and Their Applications in Drug Delivery
Jan E. Schnitzer
Oral Presentation
Jan E. Schnitzer
CEO & President
PRISM
Talk Title: Title to be Announced!
Matthew Caporizzo
Oral Presentation
Matthew Caporizzo
Assistant Professor
University of Vermont
Talk Title: Providing a Clinical Grade of Diastolic Function in a Small Myocardial Slice
Thoa Tran
Oral Presentation
Thoa Tran
Assistant Research Professor
Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN
Talk Title: Bridging the Gap in Aptamer-Based Cancer Therapy: Engineering Tunable Photodynamic Therapy for Cancer Treatment
Special Talk
Yoko Ambrosini
Special Talk
Yoko Ambrosini
Assistant Professor
Washington State University
Talk Title: Title to be Announced!
Session – IV: Clinical Research & Precision Medicine
Diane Joseph-McCarthy
Oral Presentation
Diane Joseph-McCarthy
Professor
Boston University
Talk Title: Title to be Announced!
Alain Bicart-SĂ©e
Oral Presentation
Alain Bicart-SĂ©e
Maladies Infectieuses
HĂ´pital Joseph Ducuing
Talk Title: Kinetics of Molecular Patterns Captured by Mannose-binding Lectin in Septic Shock Correlate With Clinical Outcome: A Monocentric Prospective Observational Study
Ryan W. Logan
Oral Presentation
Ryan W. Logan
Professor
University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School
Talk Title: New Pharmacological Targets in Sleep and Circadian Dysfunction in Opioid Addiction
Bradley M. Palmer
Oral Presentation
Bradley M. Palmer
Associate Professor
University of Vermont
Talk Title: Cardiac Slice Preparation and Pressure-Volume Work Loop Mimicry for Drug Discovery
Shari Price
Oral Presentation
Shari Price
Senior Principal Scientist
Leidos Biomedical Research Inc.
Talk Title: In vitro Cardiac Safety Assessments using New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) in 2D and 3D Formats
Amir Aref
Oral Presentation
Amir Aref
Translational Scientific Leader,
Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
Talk Title: Micro-physiological Systems Developing a Functional Precision Medicine for Immuno-oncology
Jienyu Ding
Oral Presentation
Jienyu Ding
Staff Scientist
The National Institutes of Health Bethesda, MD
Talk Title: Bottom up Reconstitution of Integrin Based Focal Adhesion Machinery
Zhimin Cao
Oral Presentation
Zhimin Cao
Associate Professor
SUNY Upstate Medical University
Talk Title: Triple-Negative Breast Cancer – Evidence of Successful Treatment Using Chinese Herb Extract in Animal Model
Ameer H. El-Afandi
Oral Presentation
Ameer H. El-Afandi
Assistant Professor
Medical College of Wisconsin
Talk Title: Title to be Announced!
Hoon-Ki Sung
Oral Presentation
Hoon-Ki Sung
Scientist
The Hospital for Sick Children
Talk Title: Title to be Announced!
Talip-Ucar
Oral Presentation
Katherine C. MacNamara
Professor
Albany Medical College, Albany, NY
Talk Title: To Be Announced!
Roger Giese
Oral Presentation
Roger Giese
Professor Emeritus
Northeastern University
Talk Title: The Missing Cancer Prevention Test: Next Generation DNA Adductomics
Virtual Talks
Paul A. Insel
Virtual Plenary
Joseph wu
Professor
Stanford University
Talk Title: New Approach Methodologies (NAMs): human-centric biology for drug discovery
Nathan D. Wong
Virtual Keynote
Nathan D. Wong
Professor
University of California
Talk Title: Lipoprotein(a): A Powerful Driver of Cardiovascular Risk and Emerging Therapeutic Options
Ernst Wagner
Virtual Keynote
Ernst Wagner
Chair
Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Talk Title: Chameleon nanocarriers for RNA delivery
Pal Pacher
Virtual Keynote
Pal Pacher
Senior Investigator
National Institute of Health
Talk Title: Title to be Announced!
Pal Pacher
Virtual Keynote
Nicolas G. Bazan
Director
Neuroscience Center of Excellence, Boyd Professor, LSU Health New Orleans, New Orleans, LA
Talk Title: Title to be Announced!
Ipek Suntar
Oral Presentation
Ipek Suntar
Professor
Gazi University
Talk Title: Title to be Announced!
Robin Ketteler
Oral Presentation
Robin Ketteler
Professor
Medical School Berlin
Talk Title: Inhibition of Autophagy as Therapeutic Strategy in Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma
Basil Golding
Oral Presentation
Basil Golding
Director, Office of Tissues & Advanced Therapies
CBER | US FDA
Talk Title: The Impact of Cognate Antigen on Antibody Distribution
William R. Kem
Oral Presentation
William R. Kem
Professor
University of Florida Health
Talk Title: The Alpha6Beta2 Nicotinic Receptor as a Preferred Target for Treating Tobacco Addiction
Michael E. Green
Oral Presentation
Michael E. Green
Professor Emeritus
The City College of New York
Talk Title: Water, Protons, and Gating the Kv1.2 and Shaker Potassium Ion Channels
Shuiying Hu
Oral Presentation
Shuiying Hu
Associate Professor
The Ohio State University
Talk Title: Title to be Announced!
Asmita Khanolkar
Oral Presentation
Asmita Khanolkar
Sr. Director
SMC Ltd
Talk Title: Developing Combination Products for the Evolving Therapeutic Drug-device Landscape
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Oral Presentation
Gina D’Angelo
Statistical Science Director
AstraZeneca Gaithersburg, MD
Talk Title: From Discovery to Impact: Biomarkers Powering the Future of Precision Medicine
Kumaraswamy Naidu Chitrala
Oral Presentation
Kumaraswamy Naidu Chitrala
Assistant Professor
University of Houston, Houston, TX
Talk Title: Title to be Announced!
Talip-Ucar
Oral Presentation
Hira L. Nakhasi
Division Director – DETTD
U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD
Talk Title: Development of Genetically Modified Live Attenuated Leishmania Vaccine- from Bench to Bed side
Talip-Ucar
Flashtalk
Taeyoon Jung
PhD Student
Johns Hopkins Drug Discovery, Baltimore, MD
Talk Title: Title to be Announced!

*Program Is Tentative & Subject To Change. Last Updated on July 08, 2026

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