Over the past 16 years, Mr. Shipton has amassed deep domain expertise in cell-based products and services. Currently serving as President of Novabiosis, Inc. Mr. Shipton brings a skill for implementing sales-driven business strategies, an extensive track record of meeting and ... surpassing targeted sales objectives, and a passion for translating customer needs into solutions that exceed expectations. Prior to joining Novabiosis, Mr. Shipton served as Chief Operating Officer for Hurel Corp, overseeing Hurel's commercial operations. Before joining Hurel, Matthew served as the Central and Southern U.S. Regional Sales Manager for Bioreclamation IVT (formerly CelsisIVT), where he was responsible for leading regional revenue generation and new account growth. In that capacity Mr. Shipton organized and led multiple, dedicated strategic initiatives, including establishing the CelsisIVT partnership with the Research Institute for Liver Disease (RILD) in China, as well as consummating long-term supply agreements with a number of the major pharmaceutical companies. Prior to CelsisIVT, Mr. Shipton served as Director of North American Business Development for Cyprotex, PLC, a UK-based contract research organization ("CRO") specializing in preclinical drug discovery services. Before Cyprotex, he was Regional Sales Manager for CellzDirect, a Durham, NC based provider of primary hepatic cell-based products and services which in 2008 was acquired by Invitrogen (now Thermo Fisher). Mr. Shipton holds Master's and Bachelor's Degrees in Chemistry from, respectively, North Carolina State University and Youngstown State University.

Dr. Shaifali Bhalla is Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Associate Dean of Administrative Affairs at Midwestern University College of Pharmacy, Downers Grove, IL. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Chicago, USA in 2005. Dr. Bhalla's ... laboratory focuses on the role of the central endothelin (ET) system in opioid tolerance and withdrawal. Her research interests include exploring the signaling mechanisms involved in the pharmacological actions of opioid analgesics. In recent studies, the lab group has identified that ET-A antagonists attenuate opioid withdrawal, and her research group is presently investigating the cyclic AMP and calcium signaling pathways by which endothelin-A receptor antagonists enhance opioid analgesia and reverse analgesic tolerance. The Bhalla lab is also evaluating the role of endothelin-A and endothelin-B receptors in neuroadaptations in the brain during opioid withdrawal. Here interests also include the role of α2-adrenergic receptors and imidazoline receptors in opioid analgesia. Students in her laboratory have the opportunity to evaluate signaling pathways and changes in receptor binding, function, and expression with acute and chronic opioid treatment in in vitro and in vivo systems. In her role as faculty member, Dr. Bhalla directs and teaches courses on Pharmaceutical Calculations, Introduction to Biopharmaceutics and Pharmacokinetics, and Physical Pharmacy and Dosage Forms in the first year of the Pharm.D. curriculum. She also lectures on the Pharmacogenomics (PGx) of CNS drugs in a PGx elective and serves as research mentor for students at the College of Pharmacy, Masters in Biomedical Sciences programs in the College of Health Sciences, and the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Bhalla has received 11 teaching awards for her dedication to her students. At Midwestern University, Dr. Bhalla has provided leadership as Chair of several committees: University Faculty Development Committee, Faculty Promotion in Rank and Tenure Committee, Faculty Research Stimulation Grant Proposal Review Committee, Student Promotion and Graduation Committee, Student Leadership and Research Award Committee, and Pharmaceutical Sciences Department Strategic Planning Committee. She was also elected as the College Faculty Representative on the Executive Committee, the Dean's Advisory Council, and Faculty Delegate for AACP. Dr. Bhalla has also served in appointed roles as Faculty Advisor to the Association of Indian Pharmacists of America, and the African Student Pharmacist Association. Dr. Bhalla is involved in various professional organizations: the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET), the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS), and the American College of Clinical Pharmacology (ACCP). Most recently, she has held elected leadership as the Secretary and Treasurer, as well as Communications Officer, both for the Neuropharmacology Division of ASPET.

Dr. Marsha Pierce is an assistant professor at Midwestern University where she studies the role of marine natural products in neuroscience drug development. Dr. Pierce received her BS in biology and MS and PhD in biomedical sciences at Creighton University. Her postdoctoral ... research examined the role of marine natural products effects on cellular signaling, neurite outgrowth, and post-stroke recovery under the mentorship of Thomas Murray at Creighton University.

Sophia G. Antimisiaris received her B.Pharm (1984) and Ph.D in Pharmaceutics (1988) from Athens University, Greece. She worked as a Post-doc research assistant in the School of Pharmacy of the University of South California, Los Angeles for 2 years (1989-1990), and then became a ... Lecturer of Pharmaceutical Technology in the University of Patras in Greece, where she became the head of the Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Technology (from 2002) and a full Professor in 2009. During a sabbatical leave from Patras, she worked on Liposome Technologies for Advanced Drug Delivery applications as a Visiting Professor in the School of Pharmacy, University of London, group of Prof. Gregory Gregoriadis from 1992 till 1993. From 2006, after invitation, she is a collaborating member of the Institute of Chemical Engineering of the Foundation of Research and Technology Hellas (FORTH), the largest research Institute in Greece. SGA's research group focuses on the development of liposomal nanomedicines for controlled and/or targeted drug delivery. She has received funding from National and European sources (FP6, INTERREG, Marie Curie, FP7), as well as Industry. Her group was responsible for the development of advanced liposomal formulations in several large collaborating European projects (SHIVA, Euro-PhD in Advanced Drug Delivery Systems, NAD), as well as numerous National research programs. She is the main author of more than 100 peer-reviewed papers and more than 25 book chapters and review articles. She has mentored more than 25 MSc students and 11 PhD Thesis and participated in the advisory committees of more than 50 Post-graduate degrees in Greece and other countries. She is a member of AAPS, CRS (& CRS-Greek Chapter), ILS and other National and International Scientific Societies, and inventor of 5 Greek, 1 European, 1 US and 1 World patent.

Matt entered the research field over 20 years ago as a lab animal technician at the TSI/Mason contract research facility. He has worked at both contract facilities such as TSI and OREAD Biosafety as well in industry at Pharmacia, Pfizer, and Sanofi-Aventis. During that period he ... has performed a variety of surgical procedures including device implantation, transplants, orthopedic defect, ocular and vascular implants, cardiac surgery, and brain and spinal procedures. His experience ranges from mice and rats to non-human primates and livestock. In addition, he holds four patents for novel surgical devices and implants and has been training technicians, scientists, veterinarians, and physicians in surgical techniques and procedures for over 15 years. Outside of the surgical realm, he has been a study director, sonographer, Safety Pharmacology scientist, and manager. Currently Matt supervises a team of technicians and surgeon-technicians at Genzyme who support the Boston hub and perform over 1250 surgical procedures a year. Matt was also on the board of directors for the Academy of Surgical Research for over ten years, serving as their program chair for three of them as well as educational chair for two. Currently he is the program chairman for the New England branch of AALAS.

Volkmar Weissig, Sc.D., Ph.D. (Dr.rer.nat.habil.) is a Tenured Professor of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and he holds a second non-tenured appointment as Professor of Biomedical Sciences. Dr. Weissig received his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Chemistry and his ... postdoctoral Sc.D. degree (habilitation) in Biochemistry and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology from the Martin-Luther University in Halle (Germany). Combined he completed several years of postdoctoral fellowships at the Cardiology Research Center in Moscow (Russia), at the Academic Department of Medicine at the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine in London (UK), at the Institute of Organic Chemistry at the Czechoslovakian Academy of Science in Prague (CSFR), at the College of Pharmacy and the College of Medicine at the University of Florida, Gainesville, FL and at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, MA. Before joining the faculty at Midwestern University, Dr. Weissig was an Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Northeastern University in Boston, MA. Dr. Weissig holds 16 patents, and he has published over 100 research papers, review articles and book chapters, mostly in the area of nano drug delivery systems and mitochondrial medicine. He also edited and published 11 books. He serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Liposome Research, and as the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Mitochondria, Plastids and Endosymbiosis, he is also member of several other Editorial Boards among them for 4Open. In July 2009 he was inducted into the World Technology Network as a Fellow. In October 2014 Dr. Weissig was elected President of the World Mitochondria Society. In April 2023 he was elected as Ordinary Member of the European Academy of Science and Arts, in November 2023 he became a member of the Scientific Society of Berlin (Berliner Wissenschaftliche Gesellschaft).

Lydia Kariuki is a seasoned science communicator and the Managing Editor at the American Pharmacogenomics Association. Over the past decade, she has worked across organizations to translate complex scientific concepts into engaging, accessible content for general audiences. She ... has moderated sessions at leading science conferences and spoken at various scientific events. Lydia holds a degree in Nursing and an advanced postgraduate diploma in Clinical Research and Medical Writing from James Lind University, as well as a Diploma in Online Journalism from the London School of Journalism. Her passions include science fiction, STEM education for teens, and the growing field of biohacking.