Every person – in every country in the world – should have the opportunity to live a long and healthy life.

Join us for this exciting Pioneer Presents event to hear from experts carrying out cutting-edge research and innovation into healthy ageing, creating the environments and opportunities that enable people to be and do what they value throughout their lives. 

Living well with age-related diseases

Ageing is a driving factor of various age-related diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, immune system disorders, and musculoskeletal disorders. Efforts to find drugs that improve the health span by targeting the pathogenesis of ageing have now become a hot topic in this field.

The role of nutrition in healthy ageing

Eating a nutrient-rich diet is the key to maintaining a high quality of life and staying healthy for years to come. By understanding the importance of nutrition, it is possible to boost immunity, guard against chronic diseases, and make sure the body gets what it needs to age in a healthy manner.

Agenda

10:00 Coffee and Registration
10:30 Welcome and introduction to Pioneer Group Jeroen Houtzager, Pioneer
10:45 Adding Life to Years: The Healthy Ageing Challenge George MacGinnis, Challenge Director, Healthy Ageing, UK Research and Innovation
Session One: Healthy ageing research
11:15 Nutrient-sensing pathways in cognitive aging Professor Gary Frost, Imperial College London
11:35 A healthy gut – the key to maintaining a healthy immune system with age Dr Niharika Duggal, University of Birmingham
11:55 Increasing health span by targeting fundamental ageing mechanisms Professor Richard Faragher, University of Brighton
12.15 Lunch and Networking
Session two: Scaling up and spinning out innovations for healthy ageing
13:00 The role of collaboration in developing cell and gene therapies for healthy ageing
Lee Dunham, Director of Business Development, Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult
13:20 A collaborative framework for drug discovery in healthy ageing Dr Graeme Wilkinson, Head of Virtual R&D and Strategy Leader – Ageing, Medicines Discovery Catapult
13:40 Developing life-changing medicines for people with serious diseases Harshit Shah, Senior Director, Jazz Pharma
14:00 Regenerative therapies for age related hearing loss Dr Terri Gaskell, our Chief Technology Officer. Rinri Therapeutics
14:20 Macrophages and glycoimmunology in healthy ageing Dr Masih Alam, Director, ImmunDNZ
14:40 Immuno-oncology, autoimmune disease and infectious disease Martin Gouldstone, CEO, OncImmune
15:00 Networking
15:00 Optional Tour of Kent Science Park Ventures Building; Perfect for small to medium start-ups, this newly refurbished building contains CL2 labs and office space.
16:00 Close

Venue: The Hub – Kent Science Park
Broadoak Road
Sittingbourne
ME9 8AG
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Closest train station: Sittingbourne
Free shuttle bus operates to and from Sittingbourne train station and Kent Science Park. Bus stop location: After exiting the station, cross the road and pass to the left of the Travelodge. Pick up the white Chalkwell minibus outside the Premier Express shop.
Please email us with your train arrival & departure times so we can make sure we have the appropriate number of additional services running for this event.

Direct trains to Sittingbourne every 30 mins from each of these London hubs:
London Stratford International – 51 minutes journey time
London St Pancras International – 58 minutes journey time
London Victoria – 61 minutes journey time

By car:

1. Coming from London on the M2 take J5 then the first exit (A249).
2. Exit onto the slip road to Sittingbourne.
3. At the roundabout, take the fourth exit onto Key Street / London Road (A2)
4. Continue along the A2. Follow one-way system left onto St Michaels Road (A2).
5. At the traffic lights, turn right onto Bell Road.
6. At the mini roundabout, turn left onto Woodstock Road (B2163).
7. Continue onto Ruins Barn Road and then turn left onto Broadoak Road towards KSP.

Turn into KSP from Broadoak Road. You’ll be greeted at the gatehouse, and signs will direct you to car parking close to The Hub where the event is taking place.

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At Pioneer Group, we believe in the power of innovation and collaboration, to tackle our human and planetary health challenges.

Pioneer Presents is our inspiring new event series exploring the challenges that we, as a life-sciences community, strive to solve.