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The Festival of Genomics & Biodata in London 2024 

Mark your calendars, because the UK’s largest genomics event is back on home turf and returning to London in January 2024! 

After the triumphant return of the in-person Festival of Genomics & Biodata to London earlier this year and Boston, MA in October, we are excited to share that for next year’s Festival, we have taken a larger than ever space at ExCeL in London on Wednesday 24th and Thursday 25th January 2024.  

The 9th annual Festival of Genomics & Biodata in London promises to be bigger, better and more vibrant than ever before. With more than 5,000 registrants, 250 inspirational speakers and 12 theatres of content, it’s not one to miss!

Dive into Drug Discovery & Development!

This year’s agenda is a big deal. We’ve got more topics than ever, mixing in Festival favourites with exciting new areas. It’s all about keeping you up to date with the latest in genomics and biodata research. 

Here’s a selection of the D4-related content we’ve got planned for you:

  • The Promises and Pitfalls of AI/ML in Drug Discovery 
    • Michael Barnes, Professor of Bioinformatics and Director of the Centre for Translational Bioinformatics, Queen Mary University London 
  • 3D-printed Medicines: The Future of Pharmacy 
    • Atheer Awad, Lecturer in Pharmaceutics, University of Hertfordshire 
  • Genomics, Big Data and AI 
    • Ewan Birney, Deputy Director General, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) & Director, EMBL European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) 
  • Building and scaling secure data platforms for the UK’s largest ever health research programme 
    • Marko Balabanovic, Chief Technology Officer, Our Future Health 
  • The emerging role of proteomics for elucidating target and drug mechanisms in early drug discovery 
    • Marcus Bantscheff, Senior Scientific Director and Head of the Proteomics Platform, Cellzome 
  • Applying Machine Learning on UK Biobank Biomarker Data Empowers Case-Control Discovery Yield 
    • Manik Garg, Senior Data Scientist, AstraZeneca 
  • Code to Cure: Advancing Medicine with AI 
    • Jiajie Zhang, Vice President and Global Head of AI and Data Analytics, Sanofi 
  • Defining the Role of Real-World Data in Cancer Clinical Research 
    • Mieke Van Hemelrijck, Professor in Cancer Epidemiology, King’s College London & Academic Lead of Guy’s Cancer Real World Evidence, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust 
  • Using Computer-Aided Drug Design to Support Early Phase Drug Discovery 
    • Andrea Scarpino, Principal Computational Chemist, Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) 
  • Cause-and-Effect to Empower Drug Discovery in a Generative AI World 
    • Daniel Jamieson, CEO, Biorelate 
  • The Utility of CRISPR-based High-Throughput Functional Screening in Drug Development 
    • Robert Kitchen, Head of Systems Biology & Target Discovery, Novo Nordisk 
  • Harnessing The Power of Multi-Omic Technologies in Drug Discovery and Clinical Research 
    • Nikolaos Trasanidis, Computational Science Investigator, GSK & Honorary Research Fellow, Imperial College London 
  • Empowering Drug Discovery at Single Cell Resolution 
    • Sophia Wild, Senior Director Cancer Vaccines, BioNTech 

Check out the rest of the agenda on the Festival website.

Festival Features

The 9th annual Festival merges the best aspects of previous Festivals with an exciting array of new topics, leaving you brimming with excitement, inspiration and armed with cutting-edge knowledge to make waves in your field!

  • Free for over 90% of attendees. 
  • Over 250 expert speakers – more than ever before at an in-person Festival 
  • A bigger venue with 12 theatres of content 
  • A vibrant exhibition floor with more than 150 exhibitors
  • General and themed networking opportunities at Speed Networking.  
  • Share your research with thousands of attendees at the Poster Zone
  • Engage in themed or free-flowing discussions at Talkaoke (AKA “the glowing donut of chat.”) 
  • Relax and recharge at the Tree of Life Café 
  • Participate in themed Roundtable Discussions
  • A Drinks Reception followed by The Festival at Night featuring live music and entertainment – we all know the real networking goes on after hours!

More Mystery Speakers 

Following the last Festival’s unveiling of a mystery speaker, 2024’s edition is proud to announce not one, but two mystery speakers who are set to take to the stage. As the legacy of our past mystery speaker Professor Brian Cox CBE continues, the excitement and anticipation of our 2 mystery speakers for 2024 only grows! 

Returning Festival Favourites

As the annual get-together for the entire genomics and biodata community, we are thrilled to welcome back speakers from previous UK and USA Festivals, as well as some entirely new faces! 

  • J. Craig Venter, Founder, Chairman & CEO, J. Craig Venter Institute  
  • Sue Hill, Chief Scientific Officer, NHS England  
  • Ewan Birney, Deputy Director General, EMBL, & Director, EMBL-EBI  
  • Sir Mark Caulfield, Professor of Clinical Pharmacology & Vice Principal for Health, Queen Mary University of London Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry  
  • Clare Turnbull, Professor of Translational Cancer Genetics, Institute of Cancer Research  
  • Raghib Ali, Chief Medical Officer, Our Future Health  
  • Dame Lyn Chitty, Professor of Genetics and Fetal Medicine, University College London  
  • Mike Hubank, Scientific Director of the NHS England North London Genomic Laboratory Hub, NHS England

Plus, back by popular demand, the Festival unites four experts from the devolved nations to discuss genomics in the Panel Discussion “Life Sciences in the UK – From Strength to Strength”

  • Rob Orford, Chief Scientific Adviser for Health, Welsh Government  
  • Lucy Chappell, Chief Scientific Adviser, The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC)  
  • Dame Anna Dominiczak, Chief Scientist (Health), Scottish Government  
  • Ian Young, Chief Scientific Adviser, Department of Health, Northern Ireland 

And Fresh New Faces!

We’re continuously seeking inspirational individuals to share their expertise at the Festival. Check out the Festival speaker page to see the first 120 confirmed speakers. Stay tuned, as many others are set to be unveiled before the big day!

More Topics Than Ever 

This year, the Festival is expanding its horizons, spanning a wide range of new and pressing topics, including: 

  • RNA Therapeutics
  • Gene Editing & CRISPR
  • Antimicrobial Resistance

We’re also covering all your favourite topics from previous Festivals: 

  • Advancing Genomics in Clinical Practice 
  • AI  
  • Biodata 
  • Cancer Genomics 
  • Epigenetics 
  • Gene Editing 
  • Drug Discovery & Development 
  • Liquid Biopsy 
  • Mental Health 
  • Microbiome 
  • Multi-Omics 
  • Newborn Sequencing 
  • Precision Medicine 
  • Rare Disease  
  • Sequencing Landscape & Technologies 
  • Single-Cell & Spatial Genomics 
  • Women’s Health 

Well, What Are You Waiting For?

Join thousands of other registrants at the UK’s largest genomics event at ExCeL London on 24th and 25th January 2024 and become part of our ever-growing community!  

For further information and to see if you’re eligible for a free ticket, please visit the London 2024 Festival website

Make sure you never miss a Festival announcement by following our socials. 

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