STEADMAN PHILIPPON RESEARCH INSTITUTE HOSTED ITS NINTH VAIL SCIENTIFIC SUMMIT, AUG. 18-20
VAIL, Colo. – The Vail Scientific Summit, an annual highlight on Steadman Philippon Research Institute’s (SPRI) calendar each summer, returned for its ninth meeting Aug. 18-20. The internationally acclaimed scientific conference, focused on the latest research in regenerative medicine, was again held at The Hythe Vail.
The three-day event kicked off on the evening of Sunday, Aug. 18, with a welcome dinner and program featuring keynote speaker Lindsey A. Criswell, M.D., M.P.H., D.Sc., the director of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Almost every household in America is affected by diseases of the bones, joints, muscles and skin. Dr. Criswell oversees NIAMS, which works to understand and treat such diseases and conditions. The Institute seeks to advance health through biomedical and behavioral research as well as through research training and dissemination of information on research progress in these diseases.
There were seven sessions on both August 19 and 20, with topics ranging from age-related tissue degeneration and repair to interventional strategies for cancer. Over 70 speakers presented during the Summit, including 13 doctors, surgeons and researchers from SPRI and The Steadman Clinic.
The Vail Scientific Summit began in 2015, just a few months after Johnny Huard, Ph.D., joined SPRI’s team as chief scientific officer and director of the Linda and Mitch Hart center for regenerative and personalized medicine.
“Dr. Huard was new to our team and we suggested the idea of hosting a scientific meeting and bringing many of his esteemed colleagues in the research world to Vail for a summer conference,” said Marc J. Philippon, M.D., chair of SPRI and managing partner of The Steadman Clinic. “He put together a tremendous program in just a matter of weeks and that first Scientific Summit has grown to the point where it is now one of the premier events of its kind in North America. Speakers come to Vail from all over the globe to participate each August.”
Dr. Huard believes that the Vail Scientific Summit finds ways to improve with each event.
“We have really focused on featuring different segments of regenerative medicine each year since we started this event nearly a decade ago,” said Dr. Huard, who co-chaired sessions on innovative health and healthy aging on Monday, Aug. 19 and skeletal repair on Tuesday, August 20. “We re-visit some of the key topics such as aging, stem cells, cancer and musculoskeletal disease on a regular basis, but always discuss new and improved methods of treatment and the findings of the latest research in those fields. These are topics and areas for discussion that appeal to the diverse group of scientists, researchers and physicians that are in attendance at our event.”
For further information, contact Lynda Sampson, vice president of external affairs at The Steadman Clinic/SPRI (lsampson@sprivail.org).