-- NIH Director Francis Collins to Deliver Keynote Address
-- First-ever 'Business Opportunities in NF' Satellite Meeting
NEW YORK, June 6, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Children's Tumor Foundation (CTF) is hosting the 2014 NF Conference/Forum, the largest worldwide meeting dedicated entirely to neurofibromatosis (NF), a genetic disorder that affects one in 3,000 people and can cause tumors to grow anywhere in the body. Media is invited to cover the entire Conference, and in particular two key events:
KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY NIH DIRECTOR FRANCIS COLLINS, MD
Who: Keynote Address by Francis Collins, PhD, Director of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Collins is also a co-discoverer of the NF gene.
What: Premier NF conference of the year, themed "Connecting for a Cure", with a joint keynote gathering of the NF Patient Forum and the NF Scientific Conference. Over 600+ attendees comprised of scientists, clinicians, biotech executives, and NF patients.
Where: Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC
When: Saturday, June 7 at 8PM
Media Opportunity: Dr. Collins and other attendees, including compelling human-interest stories of NF patients.
"BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES IN NF" SATELLITE MEETING
Who: Biotech and pharma executives; leading scientific research advocates; scientists/researchers
What: Business satellite meeting outlining innovative business opportunities for NF, including a presentation of the NF market model and an industry panel:
- Randall Stanicky, RBC Managing Director, Global Equity Research - Specialty Pharmaceuticals
- David Lapidus, Principal, LapidusData
- Mark DeSouza, PhD, CEO, desouzatech
- Margaret Anderson, Executive Director, FasterCures
- Scott Plotkin, MD, PhD, Director NF Clinic, Massachusetts General Hospital
- Gideon Bollag, PhD, CEO, Plexxikon
- Sara Nayeem, MD, Principal, New Enterprise Associates
- Isai Peimer, Principal, MedImmune Ventures
Where: Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC
When: Monday, June 9 at 2PM
Media Opportunity: Coverage of meeting and interviews with the panelists.
The annual NF Conference is the premier event in the neurofibromatosis research and clinical calendar. The theme for this year's Conference is "Connecting for a Cure," which reflects the event's impressive gathering of clinicians, researchers, and scientists from many different 'classical' disease areas, including genetics, neurology, oncology, pediatrics, neurosurgery, orthopedics, and many others. It is an opportunity to share information and build relationships, driven by the goal of ending NF. Media is invited to attend any portion of the conference.
To see a complete agenda, visit: www.ctf.org/nfconference.
To attend, please contact Simon Vukelj, Director of Communications, Children's Tumor Foundation; svukelj@ctf.org; 212-344-7568.
About Children's Tumor Foundation
The Children's Tumor Foundation is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization dedicated to finding effective treatments for the millions of people worldwide living with neurofibromatosis (NF), a term for three distinct disorders: NF1, NF2, and schwannomatosis. NF can cause tumors to grow on nerves throughout the body and can lead to blindness, bone abnormalities, cancer, deafness, disfigurement, learning disabilities, and intense and disabling pain. NF affects one in every 3,000 people, more than cystic fibrosis, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and Huntington's disease combined. The Children's Tumor Foundation funds critical research into neurofibromatosis. In addition to benefiting those who live with NF, this research is shedding new light on several forms of cancer, brain tumors, bone abnormalities, and learning disabilities, ultimately benefiting the broader community. For more information, please visit www.ctf.org.