The 2023 Translational Medicine Symposium is co-sponsored by the Program in Translational Medicine and the Cancer Cell Biology Training Program.  

Symposium Agenda

9:10-10:20a Welcome, followed immediately by opening keynote address by Dr. Ralph DeBerardinis, UT Southwestern
10:30-11:20a Trainee Talks
11:30-12:30p poster session 1
12:30-1:30p Lunch with Dr. Larsen and Dr. DeBerandinis
1:40-2:30p Trainee Talks
2:30-3:30p poster session 2
3:45-4:45 Closing Keynote Talk by Dr. Joseph Larsen, Locus Biosciences
4:45-5:00 Student Awards & Closing Remarks

About the invited speakers:

Ralph DeBerardinis earned a B.S. in biology from St. Joseph’s University and M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. DeBerardinis was the first trainee in the combined residency program in pediatrics and medical genetics at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and received several awards for teaching and clinical care. He ultimately achieved board certification in pediatrics, medical genetics and clinical biochemical genetics. Dr. DeBerardinis performed postdoctoral research in Craig Thompson’s laboratory in the Penn Cancer Center from 2004 to 2007. He joined the faculty of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in 2008 and joined the Children’s Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern (CRI) shortly after its founding in 2012. Dr. DeBerardinis serves as chief of Pediatric Genetics and Metabolism at UT Southwestern and director of the Genetic and Metabolic Disease Program in the CRI. Dr. DeBerardinis became a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Investigator in 2018 and was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2020.  The DeBerardinis laboratory is interested in the role of altered metabolic states in human diseases, particularly pediatric inborn errors of metabolism and cancer. This research is tightly integrated with clinical activities in medical genetics, oncology and radiology, providing seamless opportunities to examine the relevance of findings in patients.

Joe Larsen is Vice President, Clinical Development at Locus Biosciences where he leads development programs for Locus’s clinical stage assets. Previously, Dr. Larsen was Vice President, Strategic Portfolio Development at Venatorx Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company focused on the development of novel antibiotics. Prior to that, Dr. Larsen spent ten years in the federal government, including serving as Deputy Director of Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) medical countermeasures at the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), where he oversaw the $2.8B Project Bioshield fund for the late-stage development and procurement of medical countermeasures. Dr. Larsen received his Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and a B.A. in microbiology from the University of Kansas.