LIVE from Space: It’s Out-of-This-World Biotech Research
International Space Station NASA Astronaut Mission Commander to Speak at Largest Global Biotech Convention
NASA Astronaut Kjell Lindgren, MD, will connect live from the International Space Station to the Biotechnology Innovation Organization’s BIO International Convention on June 14. While the world’s largest biotechnology meeting will take place in person in San Diego, Dr. Lindgren will explain from space how research and development in microgravity helps companies accelerate product development pipelines back on Earth.
Dr. Lindgren will be joined by panelists who have experience connecting science from 250 miles above earth and will discuss practical steps to move the biotechnology industry into the future: Jessica Jensen, Vice President, Customer Operations & Integration, SpaceX; Michael López-Alegría, Axiom Space’s Chief Astronaut; Paul Reichert, Ph.D., Research Fellow, Merck; and Ken Savin, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, Redwire. The panel will be moderated by Jennifer Strong, Editorial Director, Audio and Live, for MIT Technology Review.
The International Space Station has hosted more than 3,000 experiments since crew operations began more than 20 years ago. NASA, international partners, and the ISS National Lab have sponsored in total well over 1,200 biological and biotechnology experiments during that time span. Crew-4 Mission Commander Lindgren has logged more than 141 days in space, participated in two spacewalks, and performed more than a hundred different scientific experiments.
“The first all-private astronaut mission in April sparked a renewed interest in space and helped the world see the commercial potential of research and development in microgravity,” said BIO’s President and CEO Michelle McMurry-Heath. “Public-private partnerships are growing the capacity, complexity, and availability of orbital research and development to make it easier for biotechnology companies to participate. These are practical steps forward that will improve medicines and people’s lives.”
The BIO International Convention returns in person for the first time in three years and brings together key international industry stakeholders for networking, partnering, and more than a hundred informative sessions that cover topics such as narrowing the health equity gap, vaccine innovation, and preparing for the next pandemic.
Registration for the BIO International Convention is open. Click here to register.
Registration is complimentary for credentialed media.
