1st UAE Drug Discovery & Biotechnology Symposium – Registration (Soon) Open and Confirmed Speakers

Dear All, we are very happy to share the currently confirmed speakers – there will be more to come, and we have 80 posters for you as well!

Location and time: Khalifa University (Google Maps), Abu Dhabi/UAE, 30 April 2026

Registration is shortly open below (end of Feb) – register early to secure your place!

Confirmed Speakers

The Abu Dhabi Department of Health Strategy – Towards Clinical Impact
Prof Shahrukh Hashmi, Department of Health, Abu Dhabi/UAE
Drug Development – From Lab to Patient and the Opportunity for AI Acceleration
Dr Gillian Dines, Juvenescence, London/UK and Abu Dhabi/UAE
Code to Clinic: A Blueprint for Navigating the Gene Therapy Lifecycle
Dr Basel Assaf, Attentive Science, Abu Dhabi/UAE
Bridging Academia and Enterprise: Translational Research as a Launchpad for Startups in the UAE
Dr Rasha Msallam, Next Gen of Immunology (NGIG), Dubai/UAE
GLP-1 Based Therapies Demonstrate Multiple Benefits in Animal Models of Cardiometabolic Diseases
Dr Francois Briand, Physiogenex, Escalquens/France
De-risking Early-Stage Innovation: From Scientific Breakthroughs to Fit-to-Fund Assets 
Dr Johnny Habchi, Medicines Discovery Catapult, Alderley Park/UK
From Variants to Validation: Rewiring the ALS Discovery Pipeline
Dr Ahmad Al-Khleifat, King’s College London, London/UK
From Genetic Risk to Resilience – A Novel LRRK2 Inhibitor for Lowering Risk of Alzheimer’s for APOE4 Carriers
Dr David Bearss, Halia Therapeutics, Lehi, UT/USA
Bridging Genetics and Clinical Practice in Cardiovascular Disease
Prof Nadia Akawi, UAE University, Abu Dhabi/UAE
Title TBC
Prof Piergiorgio Percipalle, NYU Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi/UAE

… there are more to come, so check back regularly!

Registration is free and open – please register here (before 23 April 2026, when registration will close): [to come end Feb]