Speakers - Kenneth Rainin Foundation

Speakers

Researchers, clinicians and industry professionals will share a range of perspectives and their latest work into solving Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

  • Liza Konnikova, MD, PhD

    Liza Konnikova, MD, PhD

    Associate Professor, Yale University

    Dr. Konnikova’s team focuses on the development of early life immunity particularly at barrier sites such as the gastrointestinal tract and the maternal-fetal interface with a particular focus on T cell biology. 
  • Dan Littman, MD, PhD

    Dan Littman, MD, PhD

    Professor, New York University

    The Littman lab studies how information from the environment, including microbiota and metabolites, is relayed to cells of the immune system and how this is manifested in homeostatic processes as well as in pathological conditions.
  • Laura MacKay, PhD

    Laura MacKay, PhD

    Professor, University of Melbourne

    The Mackay Group studies memory T cell responses, with a focus on the signals that control tissue-resident memory T cell differentiation, and a view to harness these cells to develop new treatments against infection, cancer and autoimmune conditions.
  • Saurabh Mehandru, MD

    Saurabh Mehandru, MD

    Professor, Director Helmsley Inflammatory Bowel Disease Research Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

    The Mehandru lab focuses on multidimensional profiling of the mucosal immune system to understand the pathogenesis of IBD and determine what distinguishes individuals who respond to therapy from those who do not. They apply bioinformatics to analyze complex, high-dimensional data.
  • Bali Pulendran, PhD

    Professor, Stanford University

    The Pulendran lab focuses on understanding the mechanisms by which the innate immune system regulates adaptive immunity and harnessing such mechanisms in the design of novel vaccines.
  • Headshot of Dr. Carla Rothlin

    Carla Rothlin, PhD

    Professor, Yale University

    Dr. Rothlin’s research focuses on the mechanisms that underlie the regulation of inflammation and the homeostatic control of immune function.

Register

July 18-20, 2025

The Ritz-Carlton Oʻahu, Turtle Bay, Kahuku, Hawaiʻi

Registration is open through June 11 for the 2025 Innovations Symposium.

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