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Roger Whiting, Ph.D.
ROXRO Pharma
roger.whiting@cafescisv.org

John McIntosh
Publicist and Administrator
ROXRO Pharma
john.mcintosh@cafescisv.org

Peter Bijlsma
Webmaster
pfb@cafescisv.org

Advisory Board
Bern Beecham
Former Mayor, City of Palo Alto
Pat Devaney
Associate Dean of Research,
Emeritus at Stanford University
Steve Etchemendy
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
Lisa Krieger
San Jose Mercury News Science & Health Writer
Catherine Martineau
Canopy
Walter Moos, Ph.D.
SRI International
Ingrid Nystrom
Stacey’s Books
Fabian Pease, Ph.D.
Stanford University
Nancy Peterson
Communications Consultant
Co-Founder of Café Scientifique Silicon Valley
Robert Roe, M.D.
Corcept
George Rosenkranz, Dr.Sci.Tech.
Founding Chairman, Syntex

Links
Café Scientifique Main UK home page

 

A discussion with Dr. George Miljanich CEO, Airmid, Inc. Tuesday May 13, 2008 6 to 7:30 p.m.

SRI Menlo Park
Middlefield Road at Ringwood
Dining Room in the International Building
Open to all – Free of charge

The lethal harpoon tipped proboscis of the Magician’s cone snail is amazing to see in action.  For Dr. George Miljanich, the true beauty of this ocean dwelling predator lay within the complex cocktail of toxins in its venom.  One of the toxins interferes with the ability of pain sensing nerves to send signals to the brain and thus held the promise of a new way to treat pain.

Historically, people suffering from debilitating forms of severe chronic pain had few treatment options beyond large doses of opioid narcotics.  However, for many patients this pain is not adequately controlled by opioids.  These patients received a new treatment option when, in 2004, the FDA approved a new medicine that is a synthetic copy of a toxin found in the venom of the cone snail (Conus Magus).

Dr. Miljanich was involved with the research and development of the new medicine, ziconotide, while senior medical director at Elan Pharmaceuticals.  Currently, he is CEO of Airmid where he is focused on developing new toxin-based medicines for treating autoimmune diseases.  Dr. Miljanich will lead a wide ranging discussion on the potential of developing human therapeutics derived from the venom from various species.

Dr. Miljanich received a BS in chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley, a PhD in chemistry from U.C. Santa Cruz, and conducted post-doctoral research at U.C. San Francisco.  While on the faculty at the University of Southern California, his research focused on calcium channel biochemistry and pharmacology, including calcium channel-blocking conotoxins.  In addition to CEO of Airmid, Dr. Miljanich is Vice President of the Toxinomics Foundation, a non-profit organization devoted to developing toxin-based medicines.

Join us at SRI in Menlo Park
We are delighted that SRI International is the host location for Cafe Scientifique. SRI is an excellent partner, providing us with a beautiful, large, flexible meeting space, supporting us with highly professional staff and making expert researchers available as guest speakers.

Café Scientifique is a place where anyone can come to explore the latest ideas in science and technology. The Café provides a forum for debating science issues outside a traditional academic context. We are committed to promoting public engagement with science and to making science accountable - all spoken in plain English. There is no admission charge to attend our events. Building on its great success outside the United States, Café Scientifique Silicon Valley is the first such Café on the West Coast.  We meet monthly to discuss a variety of science topics.