WPI's academic and research programs in the life sciences and bioengineering will be on display at BIO 2007, the international global convention for biotechnology that is expected to bring more than 27,000 representatives of the biotechnology industry, academia, and trade organizations to Boston between May 6 and 9, and at BioParks 2007, a conference sponsored by the Association of University Research Parks that runs in conjunction with BIO 2007.
WORCESTER, Mass. – Worcester Polytechnic Institute's (WPI) academic and research programs in the life sciences and bioengineering will be on display at BIO 2007, the international global convention for biotechnology that is expected to bring more than 27,000 representatives of the biotechnology industry, academia, and trade organizations to Boston between May 6 and 9.
During BIO 2007, WPI will showcase its life sciences programs in a booth display in the Massachusetts Pavilion. WPI will also co-sponsor a networking reception aimed at connecting biotech companies in Massachusetts and Italy. WPI will also participate in BioParks 2007, a conference sponsored by the Association of University Research Parks that runs in conjunction with BIO 2007. WPI's new Life Sciences and Bioengineering Center at Gateway Park will be featured on a tour of the Worcester Life Sciences Cluster offered to BioParks participants; a second tour of Gateway will run in conjunction with the Italian Trade Commission.
Here is a complete schedule of WPI's participation in BIO 2007 and BioParks 2007:
Friday, May 4: Worcester Life Science Cluster Tour
As part of BioParks, participants will be able to take part in a bus tour of several life sciences facilities in the greater Worcester area, including the Massachusetts Biotechnology Research Park, the University of Massachusetts Medical School, and the Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine.
The first stop (at 2 p.m.) will be Gateway Park in Worcester and WPI's new 124,600-square-foot life sciences research facility, the Life Sciences and Bioengineering Center. The bus leaves the Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel in Boston at 1 p.m. For more information and to register online, visit (removed old link) or email info@aurp.net.
Saturday, May 5: BioParks 2007 Conference
D'Anne Hurd, vice president for business development at Gateway Park, will be a panelist in a session during Bioregions: Impacting Global Discovery and Innovation, the two-day BioParks conference. Hurd's session, called "Regional and International Perspectives on Bioclusters," will run from 2:30 to 3:45 p.m. in State Suites A&B in the Fairmont Copley Plaza. For more information and to register online, visit (removed old link).
Monday, May 7, to Wednesday, May 9: WPI in the Massachusetts Pavilion
WPI will showcase its various academic and research programs in the life sciences and bioengineering with an exhibit in the Massachusetts Pavilion (Booth 533) at BIO 2007. The 10,000-square-foot pavilion in the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, sponsored by the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, is called the Massachusetts Super Cluster. Located in Pod C33, the WPI booth will also highlight the activities of Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives (MBI).
The programs and facilities highlighted in the booth include Gateway Park, the 11-acre life-sciences-based campus WPI is developing with the Worcester Business Development Corporation; the university's new 124,600-square-foot life sciences research center, the WPI Life Sciences and Bioengineering Center at Gateway Park; WPI's graduate research programs in the life sciences; the WPI Bioengineering Institute; and life sciences programs for companies and working professionals offered by the university's Corporate and Professional Education Division. For information about registering for BIO 2007, visit (removed old link)
Monday, May 7: Bio-Link Italy 2007 -- Doing Business with Italian Biotech
WPI, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, and the Italian Trade Commission (the trade promotion section of the Consulate General of Italy) will co-sponsor a networking reception and dinner aimed at connecting biotechnology clusters in Italy and Massachusetts. More than 60 Massachusetts and Italian companies and organizations will send representatives to the event, which will provide opportunities for companies in Italy and America to learn about each other and explore potential partnerships. Speakers include H.E. Giovanni Castellaneta, ambassador from Italy to the United States, Anielo Musella, executive director for the United States, Italian Trade Commission, Simone Zanolo, business development manage for European Venture, S.p.A, and Dennis Berkey, president of WPI.
The event will be held in the UMass Boston Ballroom in the Campus Center at the University of Massachusetts Boston from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. To register, contact Mary Centrella at msc@wpi.edu or 508-831-6024. For more information, contact Alessandra Ferri, alessandraferri.itcla@gmail.com, or Barbara Guida, bionano.itcla@gmail.com.
Wednesday, May 9, Bus Tour of Gateway Park in Worcester
After BIO 2007 officially ends at 3 p.m. on May 9, WPI, in conjunction with the Italian Trade Commission, will host a trip to Gateway Park in Worcester for representatives of Italian and Massachusetts biotechnology companies. The visit will include a tour of the brand new WPI Life Sciences and Bioengineering Center. This modern research facility will house the life sciences-related graduate research programs from four WPI academic departments, the WPI Bioengineering Institute, the WPI Corporate and Professional Education Division, and the Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives Gateway Park Incubator.
The tour will be led by Eric Overström, head of WPI's Biology and Biotechnology Department and director of the Life Sciences and Bioengineering Center, and Grant McGimpsey, director of the WPI Bioengineering Institute. To reserve a space, contact Alessandra Ferri, alessandraferri.itcla@gmail.com, or Barbara Guida, bionano.itcla@gmail.com.
