Mike West delivers the science keynote A Unified Theory of Ageing: Implications for Biotechnology and the Future of Healthcare - [ Ссылка ]

The founding CEO of longevity medicine startup AgeX Therapeutics, Dr. Michael West's entire career has been focused on unraveling the mysteries of human aging, from his scientific training, to his founding and helming a variety of successful biotechnology companies focused on immortal “pluripotent” cellular therapies, to authoring a popular book on the topic.

Dr. West served as CEO of AgeX’s parent company, BioTime (BTX) CEO from 2007 to 2015 and as co-CEO through September 2018. From 1998 to 2007, he served in a variety of leadership positions including Chairman, CEO and CSO at Advanced Cell Technology, which, as Ocata Therapeutics, was acquired by Japanese pharma giant Astellas in 2016 for $379 million.

In 1992 Dr. West founded Geron Corp. (GERN; short for Gerontology), probably the first regenerative medicine company, securing backing from Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers, and Venrock. While at Geron he recruited for the company's scientific team Drs. Elizabeth Blackburn, Carol Greider and Jack Szostak, who collectively went on to win the Nobel Prize in Medicine. At Geron he also created the research consortium with Prof. James Thomson that led to the first isolation of human embryonic stem cells.

Dr. West holds a B.S. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, an M.S. in Biology from Andrews University, and a Ph.D. from Baylor College of Medicine, focused on the biology of cellular aging. He is the author of numerous articles in peer-reviewed scientific journalists, as well as The Immortal Cell: One Scientist’s Quest to Solve the Mystery of Human Aging (Doubleday, 2003). He has appeared as a guest on NBC's "Meet the Press" and has testified on the therapeutic potential of regenerative medicine before the United States Congress.

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