Sessions | Lift Basel 2015

Sessions

Lift Basel 2015 is presenting six intense sessions, each around one of the pressing questions of today:

Synthetic Biology Today and Tomorrow

Thursday, October 29, 2015 - 14:15 to 15:30

The programmable gene editing CRISPR/Cas system, which many call the biggest biotech discovery of the century, will certainly be a game changer: cutting, pasting and modifying the sequence of specific genes, as well as fine tuning their expression, have become standard practice in species throughout the tree of life. This fast-paced revolution represents fantastic opportunities but also revives demons. We will explore the possibilities, from mammoth resurrection to novel antibacterial agents.

  • Dr Rob Carlson
    Rob Carlson
    Visionary analyst and shaper of the bioeconomy
  • Neil Goldsmith
    Brewing new food ingredients using custom-built organisms
  • Xavier Duportet
    Creating programmable biological agents to eradicate bacteria by hacking their genome

The Future of Food & Beverage

Thursday, October 29, 2015 - 17:45 to 18:45

Food and beverage is a hot topic - not only when it comes to taste, but also when we look at a future in which production will have to raise by 70% until 2050, while arable land, fresh water and other essential inputs are becoming increasingly scarce. How can we secure a tasty supply of protein and improve nutritional quality? What roles are to played by urban and vertical farming? Will a mouthful of insects become the new sirloin steak? What new solutions can biotech produce, and how will taste and culture adapt?

Surgeon Superpowers

Friday, October 30, 2015 - 09:00 to 10:00

The craftsmen fixing our bones, joints and teeth are acquiring new superpowers: using the latest technology in the operation theatre they can perceive and analyse the situation like never before and with new high-precision instruments, with ways and means to regrow even nerves they are becoming truly super-powered.

Doctors and Patients, Revisited

Friday, October 30, 2015 - 10:30 to 12:00

Knowledge is power, and that power is shifting to the patient: as wearables and personal analytics grow mature, as online forums, encyclopedias and algorithms continue to inform people’s health choices, the age of doctor demigods seems to be ending. How will this crucial relationship be lived, mediated and valuated, how can technology and human care work well together hand in hand?

  • Haig A. Peter
    Haig A. Peter
    Bringing Artificial Intelligence to Healthcare with IBM's Watson
  • Cécile Monteil
    Cécile Monteil
    Emergency Room Pediatrician and Startup Entrepreneur
  • Dr. med. Patricia Sigam
    Patricia Sigam
    Designing the apps for Switzerland's eHealth ecosystem

Global Ageing

Friday, October 30, 2015 - 14:00 to 15:30

The demographic shift we are all experiencing is as dramatic as it is promising: we are running out of youths, forcing us to look at fundamentally new ways to keep us young. And as we’re growing older and older, we need to to drive fresh approaches in care and in medicine, in economy and society at large to add life to these extra years.

Strategic Openness in Life and Data Science

Friday, October 30, 2015 - 16:15 to 17:45

Every technological revolution also shaped the way we work together. As with reading and writing or the telephone, „big data“ will have a profound impact, too — and today it looks like large-scale information sharing is what we need to do to cope with the data avalanche. But how can such openness be leveraged without giving away the keys to invaluable intellectual property, how do we make business work in an open data world?

  • Bastian Greshake
    Opening up a million genomes (for starters)
  • Paul Willis
    Advancing antimalarial drug research through open source initiatives
  • Gernot J. Abel
    Making open innovation and citizen science work in biotechnology
  • Marcel
    Marcel Salathé
    When an epidemiologist thinks like a web developer