COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. A leading figure in the biotechnology industry, Thomas Lobl, will be the keynote speaker at the second biotechnology and bioinformatics symposium Oct. 20-21 at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.
Lobl, vice president for research and development at Valencia, Calif.-based NeuroSystec, is scheduled to speak at 8 a.m. Oct. 21 and will provide an overview of new developments in the field of bioinformatics. Bioinformatics is the merger of information science with biology to solve biology-based problems, including human disease.
Biotechnology and bioinformatics are emerging areas that are expected to substantially affect future scientific, engineering and economic development. Research and development in biotechnology requires collaboration of scientists and engineers in fields such as biology, chemistry, chemical engineering, and electrical engineering.
The symposium will bring together scientists, engineers and scholars with industry practitioners and policy makers.
For more than 20 years, Lobl has conducted pharmaceutical and basic research in areas such as cancer, inflammation, cardiovascular, and endocrine diseases. He held positions with Upjohn Company as well as various start-up firms including Allecure and Mannkind before helping form NeuroSystec in 2004.
He serves as treasurer of the American Peptide Society and has held numerous positions with the American Chemical Society. He holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of North Carolina and a PhD in organic chemistry from Johns Hopkins University.
Beginning at 3 p.m. Thursday, a group of Colorado Springs school district teachers will present their ideas on how to prepare K-12 science students for advanced study in Biotechnology and Bioinformatics.
At 9 a.m. Friday, students and faculty members from UCCS, other CU campuses, and other universities will make presentations about their work that, in many cases, combines fields such as mathematics and computer science with biology. For a complete list of presentations, visit http://bioinfo.uccs.edu/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=56&MMN_position=87:75
Conference registration is $25 for UCCS faculty and students; $100 for other participants. For registration information, visit http://bioinfo.uccs.edu/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=53&MMN_position=84:75.
UCCS, located on Austin Bluffs Parkway in northeast Colorado Springs, is the fastest growing university in Colorado and one of the fastest growing universities in the nation. The university offers 25 bachelor’s degrees, 17 master’s and two doctoral degrees. The campus enrolls about 7,800 students annually.