KCALSI Animal Health Research Symposium Expanded to Two Day Event: “The Growing Risk of Zoonotic and Vector-Borne Diseases Symposium”
In partnership with the Schools of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University and the University of Missouri, the Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute expanded the 2015 Animal Health Symposium to two days. The August 30 – 31 event entitled “The Growing Risk of Zoonotic and Vector-Borne Diseases Symposium” attracted 180 attendees from 13 states, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Germany and Canada.
The Symposium was designed for physicians, veterinarians and scientists interested in research and clinical topics of zoonotic and vector-borne diseases, including novel approaches for disease control.
The two-day Symposium featured an impressive slate of 27 speakers covering topics ranging from Ebola and Bourbon to Ehrlichiosis and was developed with the expertise of Stephen Higgs, PhD, FRES, FASTMH, Director of the BioResearch Institute at Kansas State University and Dana Vanlandingham, PhD, MS. Featured speakers included Tammy Beckham, DVM, PhD, incoming Dean of the K-State College of Veterinary Medicine, who addressed Current and Emerging Infectious Disease Threats to U.S. Livestock & Poultry Industries. Additionally, Michelle Haven, DVM, PhD, DACVS, Zoetis Senior Vice President of Corporate Development, Alliances, and Solutions, spoke about A One Health Focus to Innovation and Alliances.
The symposium agenda focused on four overlapping areas:
- Zoonotic Diseases
- Vector-Borne
- Foreign Animal Diseases
- Vaccines and Novel Approaches for Disease Control
Tenth Annual KC Animal Health Corridor Homecoming
At the 10th annual KC Animal Health Corridor Homecoming dinner on August 31, more than 1,000 animal health leaders gathered in the Kansas City Convention Center Grand Ballroom to celebrate a decade of success in the Corridor. The four main highlights of the evening included the announcement of two new workforce tools; Manufacturing Technician Level 1 Certification offering industry-endorsed basic skills for preferred placement in manufacturing and production positions with KC Animal Health Corridor companies, and ExploreKCCareers.com providing career exploration into the field of animal health. The keynote speaker was Dayton Moore, senior vice president of baseball operations/general manager of the Kansas City Royals who spoke about recruiting, retaining and motivating the best talent. Kansas City Area Development Council President and CEO Bob Marcusse noted that the collective efforts within the KC Animal Health Corridor initiative over the past ten years have assisted in the attraction of 32 new animal health companies pledging to initially create more than 1,400 jobs and invest nearly $1 billion in infrastructure. Dr. Ralph Richardson, interim dean and CEO of K-State Olathe was honored with the 2015 KC Animal Health Corridor Iron Paw Award.
Seventh Annual KC Animal Health Investment Forum
Nearly 400 attendees heard from 17 emerging companies from Germany, Australia, Portugal and 11 U.S. states at the 2015 KC Animal Health Investment Forum on September 1. This Forum offers one of the only opportunities in the world for early- to mid-stage companies in the animal health sector to present their vision and business plan to potential investors. Companies presenting at the Forum have raised $160 million in funding. Magnomics was chosen as the 2015 Innovation Award winner.
AUTM Animal Health & Nutrition Partnering Forum
The AUTM Animal Health & Nutrition Partnering Forum, held on September 2 in conjunction with the KC AHC events, exceeded expectations. The AUTM event was an expanded version of the animal health tech transfer event organized by the K-State Institute for Commercialization for the past five years.
AUTM Partnering Forums are designed to be smaller, intimate events bringing together tech transfer professionals from universities and business development/licensing professionals from companies in a specific market sector. AUTM has a goal of 50 attendees for these Partnering Forums and the Animal Health & Nutrition Partnering Forum shot past that target with 75 in attendance. There was an even split between company attendees and university attendees. Kim Young, President of KC AHC, graciously accepted the invitation to provide a welcome address to help get the event kicked off by sharing details about the KC AHC. Feedback from the event has been overly positive and the AUTM planning committee has committed to organizing the event again in August of 2017.