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Volume 6, Issue 6(Suppl) J Biotechnol Biomater
ISSN: 2155-952X JBTBM, an open access journal
Page 37
Bio Summit & Molecular Biology 2016
October 10-12, 2016
conferenceseries.com
October 10-12, 2016 Dubai, UAE
2nd World Congress on
Bio Summit & Molecular Biology Expo
Mark G Bloom, J Biotechnol Biomater 2016, 6:6(Suppl)
Academic Technology Transfer in the Middle East: A Focus on Open Innovation
Over the past two decades, biomedical knowledge has grown exponentially, giving us completely new insights into how life
works. Astonishing advances in genomics, bioinformatics, imaging and stem cell medicine are offering up possibilities
that were unimaginable just a few years ago. New tools that will allow us not only to heal disease but to also predict it and
prevent it are finally within our reach. This is more than just a revolution in science and health care; it is a revolution in the
human condition. However, because of regional and international economic changes and uncertainties, core systemic financial
support for basic research is decreasing or becoming more competitive to obtain, especially for younger researchers at a time
when the pace of biomedical innovation and its concurrent translational development and adoption should be increasing to
address unmet health care needs. What can we do in view of this new (fiscal) reality? Expertise, experience, resources, and
technology must be cross-linked in entirely new ways to establish even more efficient and effective collaborative public-private
partnerships to accelerate the advancement of biomedical science. The adoption of “open innovation” programs and platforms
could be an important step in attaining this goal, while such an initiative would be especially useful in the MENA Region given
its unique characteristics. The benefits and various key challenges of adopting an “open innovation” project in an academic
medical center setting will be discussed in this presentation.
Biography
Mark G Bloom is the Director of the Office of Technology Transfer and is responsible for leading the long-term growth of Sidra’s technology transfer program. In
addition to the traditional duties of overseeing Sidra’s intellectual property rights portfolio, he is responsible for developing technology transfer and intellectual
property rights management strategies that support Sidra’s mission to become a world-class academic health center focusing on women’s and children’s health.
Sidra expects to become a regional leader in moving innovation and research to the commercial marketplace and is looking to its Office of Technology Transfer to
play a leading role in realizing that goal.
Mark G Bloom
Sidra Medical and Research Center, Qatar