Miami Engineering Career Development Associate Professor
Department of Biomedical Engineering
University of Miami, USA

Dr. Tomei is the Miami Engineering Career Development Associate Professor in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Miami. She obtained her M.S. in Materials Engineering from the Politecnico of Milan (Italy) in 2004, and her Ph.D. in Bioengineering and Biotechnology from the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL, Switzerland) in 2008. Dr. Tomei currently directs the Islet Immunoengineering Lab at the Diabetes Research Institute (DRI) where she is applying her unique background in bioengineering and immunology to develop novel immunoengineering platforms to prevent rejection after islet transplantation and to promote antigen-specific tolerance for a cure of type-1 diabetes.

Head of the Laboratory of Tissue Engineering and Organ Regeneration
University of Geneva Technical Director of the Cell Isolation and Transplantation Center
University of Geneva Hospitals, Switzerland

Dr. Ekaterine Berishvili is the Technical Director at the Cell Isolation and Transplantation Center, Department of Surgery, University of Geneva Hospitals. She also leads the Laboratory of Tissue Engineering and Organ Regeneration at the University of Geneva. Her expertise is focused on cell-based therapies for type 1 diabetes, immune tolerance induction, and the bioengineering of the endocrine pancreas. She holds positions on the board of the ESOT and CTRMS. Dr. Berishvili is an active member of several scientific committees, including Breakthrough T1D beta cell replacement consortium, and serves on the editorial board of Transplant International as an associate editor. At the national level, Dr. Berishvili is a member of the Swiss Transplant Cohort Study’s scientific committee. She represents Geneva in the Swisstransplant working group specializing in pancreas, islet, and small bowel transplantation.

The Joseph E. Murray, MD Chair in Transplant Surgery, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Boston
and Professor of Surgery, Harvard Medical School.

Stefan G. Tullius, MD, PhD is the Joseph E. Murray, MD Chair in Transplant Surgery at Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Boston and Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School. He has served as Vice President of The Transplantation Society (TTS), Sr. Treasurer for TTS, and is currently Vice President of the Int’l Society of Uterus Transplantation. He also serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Transplantation journals (Transplantation and Transplantation-Direct). In addition to his clinical role as program director for Transplant Surgery, he leads a productive NIH-funded research laboratory and lists > 340 PubMed listed scientific manuscripts in addition to numerous book chapters. He serves and has served on the Board of several academic societies including ESOT, TTS, UNOS, and the National Kidney Registry. His work has been recognized with many awards in addition to memberships in the American Surgical Association and an honorary membership in the French Academy of Medicine.

Professor, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation,
Department of Physiology and Biomedical Engineering, Mayo Clinic
Director, Robert and Arlene Kogod Center on Aging
Co-Director, Paul F. Glenn Center for Biology of Aging Research,Mayo Clinic
Chair, NIH Cellular Mechanisms in Aging and Development Study Section.

Nathan LeBrasseur, PT, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and has a joint appointment in the Department of Physiology and Biomedical Engineering at Mayo Clinic. Dr. LeBrasseur is the Director of the Robert and Arlene Kogod Center on Aging and the Co-Director of the Paul F. Glenn Center for Biology of Aging Research at Mayo Clinic. He is the recent chair of the NIH Cellular Mechanisms in Aging and Development Study Section. Dr. LeBrasseur’s research team conducts translational “bench-to-bedside” research on strategies to improve physical function, metabolism, and resilience in the face of aging and disease. His latest work has centered on cellular senescence, a fundamental mechanism of aging, and interventions to counter this process to extend healthspan. Dr. LeBrasseur has received the Glenn Award for Research in Biological Mechanisms of Aging, the Nathan W. Shock Award Lecture from the National Institute on Aging, and the Vincent Cristofalo Rising Star Award in Aging Research from the American Federation for Aging Research. He is a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America.