BRIEF BACKGROUND TO THE NETWORK
The London Regenerative Medicine Network (LRMN) was established in early 2005 by two leading players in the field of stem cells and regenerative medicine; Dr. Stephen Minger (King’s College London) and Dr. Chris Mason (UCL) who merged their existing “South London” and “North London” networking activities into one. The resulting pan London network is today the largest and most successful network in the UK with a membership of over 3,500 and rapidly growing! With London the hub of the UK rail network and international air routes, we are happy to welcome participants from a wide area and speakers from the international community.
The first meeting of the London Regenerative Medicine Network was held at King's College London on June 1st 2005. The meeting was kindly hosted by Dr. Tony Jones and the London Biotechnology Network and sponsored by Thomson Pharma. This initial meeting attracted well over 250 attendees. Keynote presentations were given by Dr. Glyn Stacey (UK Stem Cell Bank) and Prof. Paul Sharpe (KCL and Odontis). Since the launch, regular monthly meeting have been held with a wide range of speakers including;
| Prof. Robin Ali | Institute of Ophthalmology + Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Trust | |
| Dr. Martin Anthony | Department of Trade and Industry | |
| Richard Archer | Founder - The Automation Partnership | |
| Dr. Anne Bishop | Imperial College London | |
| Gregory Bonfiglio | Anthem Ventures + Proteus Venture Partners | |
| Dr. Yen Choo | Plasticell Ltd. | |
| Prof. Pete Coffey | Institute of Ophthalmology | |
| Dr. Alan Colman | ES Cell International | |
| Dr. John Connolly | Department of Health and Secretary + UK Stem Cell Initiative | |
| Dr. Cosimo de Bari | King’s College London | |
| Dr. Emer Clarke | StemCell Technologies Inc. | |
| Dr. Julie Daniels | Institute of Ophthalmology + Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Trust | |
| Dr. Anthony Davies | Geron Corporation | |
| Dr. Aubrey de Grey | University of Cambridge | |
| Prof. Alicia El Haj | Magnecell Ltd. + University of Keele | |
| Sue Ellison | Department of Trade and Industry | |
| Prof. Mark Ferguson | Renovo plc + University of Manchester | |
| Prof. Sarah Franklin | London School of Economics and Political Science | |
| Prof. Nagy Habib | Imperial College London + Hammersmith Hospital NHS Trust | |
| Dr. Zach Hall | California Institute for Refgenerative Medicine (CIRM) | |
| Dr. John E. Hambor | Pfizer Global Research and Development | |
| Dr. Neil Harris | LGC + Department of Trade and Industry | |
| Dr. Jonathan Hill | King's College London + King's College Hospital | |
| Hugh Ilyine | Stem Cell Sciences plc | |
| Dr. Liz James | Blond McIndoe Centre | |
| Dr. Tony Jones | London Biotechnology Network | |
| Dr. Paul Kemp | Intercytex plc | |
| Dame Suzi Leather | Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) | |
| Prof. Robert Lechler | King’s College London | |
| Dr. Mike Leek | Intercytex plc | |
| Dr. Mark Lewis | Eastman Dental Institute + Isolagen Inc. | |
| Prof. Michael Lysaght | Brown University | |
| Geoff MacKay | Organogenesis Inc. | |
| Duncan MacKay | Genzyme Biosurgery Inc. | |
| David Macauley | UK Stem Cell Foundation | |
| Prof. Sheila MacNeil | University of Sheffield + CellTran Ltd. | |
| Elisa Manzotti | “Regenerative Medicine” journal (Future Medicine Ltd.) | |
| Dr. Paul Martin | University of Nottingham | |
| Greg McGarrell | VetCell Ltd. | |
| Prof. John Martin | University College London + University College Hospital NHS Trust | |
| Dr. Anthony Mathur | Barts and the London NHS Trust | |
| Dr. David Mountford | VetCell Ltd. | |
| Dr. Thomas Okarma | Geron Corporation | |
| Prof. Richard Oreffo | University of Southampton | |
| Chris Parsons | UK Trade & Investment | |
| Prof. Dame Julia Polak | Imperial College London + NovaThera Ltd. | |
| Linda Powers | Toucan Capital Corp. | |
| Prof. Geoff Raisman | Institute of Neurology, Queen Square | |
| Dr. Gareth Roberts | NovaThera Ltd. | |
| Dr. Terry Sachlos | University of Oxford + TeOx Ltd. | |
| Prof. Brian Salter | University of East Anglia | |
| Dr. Suparna Sanyal | BD Bioscience (USA) | |
| Prof. Kevin Shakesheff | University of Nottingham + RegenTec Ltd. + Critical Pharmaceuticals Ltd | |
| Prof. Paul Sharpe | King's College London + Odontis Ltd. | |
| Dr. John Sinden | ReNeuron plc | |
| Nicholas Sleep | Magnecell Ltd. | |
| Dr. Glyn Stacey | NIBSC + UK Stem Cell Bank | |
| Prof. Lars Sundstrom | Capsant Neurotechnologies Ltd. | |
| Ben Sykes | UK National Stem Cell Network (UKNSCN) + BBSRC | |
| Dr. Stephen Ward | Onyvax Ltd. | |
| Dr. Michael West | Advanced Cell Technology Inc. | |
| Dr. Will West | CellCentric Ltd. | |
| Dr. Gareth Williams | Marks & Clerk | |
| Dr. Rod Westrop | Axordia Ltd. |
The aim of the Network is to help accelerate the progression of the world-class stem cell and tissue engineering research being undertaken in the UK and its translation into everyday routine clinical practice. Furthermore, the Network is aimed at helping create the positive environment required to attract and retain regenerative medicine stake-holders in the UK and not just watch them get tempted away to the rest of the World!
London and the rest of the UK has a fast growing base of outstanding stem cell scientists, clinicians and tissue engineers whose goals are to dramatically reshape the world of medicine, thus improving the lives of millions of patients. But this paradigm shift requires excellent communication and understanding between all the stake-holders - Regenerative medicine with its multidisciplinary requirements is without any doubt a "contact sport"!
The LRMN is a grass-roots, research-led organisation, open to all involved with the advancement of stem cell technologies and regenerative medicine including the wider scientific, clinical, engineering, commercial, research councils and regulatory community based in the UK. The goal of the Network is to facilitate a regular forum where interested parties can meet, exchange information, swap ideas and form valuable collaborations, thus allowing everyone to benefit from the vast pool of talent in the UK. The aim of the Network is to help accelerate the progression of world-class stem cell and tissue engineering research being undertaken in the UK and its translation into everyday routine clinical practice. Furthermore, the Network is aimed at helping to create a positive environment required to attract and retain regenerative medicine stake-holders in the UK and in the south of the UK in particular. The Network has established an extremely fast growing base of outstanding stem cell scientists, clinicians, tissue engineers and regen companies whose goals are to dramatically reshape the world of medicine, thus improving the lives of millions of patients. Furthermore, the pool of stem cell technology experts to create the essential tools for big pharma e.g. drug discovery and developmental platforms, is also gaining momentum with for example, high throughput screening and automation companies becoming involved with the Network.
At present, the Network fosters exchange primarily through regular monthly evening symposiums. Each month the Network showcases two or three high profile researchers of international calibre with interests and backgrounds from basic science, translational research, clinical sciences, biotechnology, the pharmaceutical industry or regulatory affairs. The meetings are open to everyone, however in order to attend we request that people register either in response to our email invite or register via the website. Our meeting are now always fully subscribed (250-400+ people depending upon the lecture theatre). Upon arrival, attendees are issued name badges with their affiliation to aid networking. The meeting commence with networking over coffee, followed by presentations with questions and answers plus exciting breaking news e.g. Dr. John Connolly of the UK Stem Cell Initiative discussed the "UKSCI Report" and its recommendations. The formal part of the evening is followed by a couple of hours of networking over a glass of wine or two.
To date we have held regular monthly network meetings since June 2005, during which time we have hosted presentations by 60+ international experts and attracted well over 6,000 delegates. Meetings presently run at 250-400+ attendees, numbers are only limited by lecture theatre capacity. Attendees come from all the stake holder groups who an interest in making stem cell technologies and regenerative medicine successful.
The press have also been in good attendance at a great many of the events, for example three of our speakers (Prof. Nagy Habib (Imperial College London), Dame Suzi Leather (HFEA) and the team from VetCell Ltd.) all benefited from articles by Andy Coghlan in "New Scientist" thus show-casing their outstanding work to the World!
The Network also help establish and launch the award winning journal “Regenerative Medicine” a bimonthly full colour scientific journal published by Future Medicine Ltd. with Dr. Stephen Minger as Senior Editor and Dr. Chris Mason as one of the Associate Editors. The Editorial Director, Elisa Manzotti is closely involved with the Network and its activities.
In June 2006, Dr. Stephen Minger and Dr. Chris Mason were recognised by the London Biotechnology Network for their work setting up and running the London Regenerative Medicine Network and for their roles as ambassadors in the field, raising the profile of London's excellence in stem cell technology and regenerative medicine.
Dr. Tony Jones, Director of the London Biotechnology Network
presenting the "Outstanding Contribution to London Biotechnology
Award" - June 2006
The
London Regenerative Medicine Network whilst initially being London
centred is however continuing to attract multi-disciplinary
participants from all across the UK and is therefore promoting the
spirit of Recommendation 10
of the "UKSCI Report"
- "to maximise the cross-fertilisation between
those involved in the sub-disciplines of UK stem cell
research". Since its
start, the Network has enjoyed its privileged role of evolving into
an important UK stem cell and regenerative medicine network whilst
proudly remaining a totally independent
organisation.
MAIN SPONSORS
Guy's, King's and St Thomas' Annual Fund
London
Regenerative Medicine Network
"Bringing the regenerative medicine, stem cell and tissue
engineering community together..."