6th Annual CERSI Innovations in Regulatory Science Summit

Regulatory Frontiers in Healthcare Innovation

Sunday, January 12, 2025 | 9 am - 6:00 pm Pacific Time

Robertson Auditorium
Mission Bay Conference Center at UCSF
1675 Owens St, San Francisco, CA

About This Event

The UCSF-Stanford Center of Excellence in Regulatory Science and Innovation (UCSF-Stanford CERSI) is pleased to present the sixth annual CERSI Innovations in Regulatory Science Summit, a gathering of leaders in the academia, industry, and regulatory sectors to discuss the role of regulatory science in medical product development.

The 2025 CERSI Innovations in Regulatory Science Summit will highlight the latest developments in regulatory science, with a particular focus on generative artificial intelligence and women’s health. Additionally, we’re excited to announce the return of our engaging panels with former FDA Commissioners who will explore the current challenges the Agency is facing. The FDA Center Directors panel will also make a comeback, alongside a series of stimulating debates on key issues in regulatory science.

The goal of the summit is to stimulate discussion across sectors and to critically consider lessons learned and scientific issues that need addressing to expeditiously and safely advance the development, approval, and monitoring of medical products.

Panels:

  1. Generative AI in Regulatory Science
  2. Women’s Health
  3. FDA Center Directors Forum
  4. FDA Chiefs Chat

Debates and Discussion include: 

  1. Should There be a Firewall Between Regulatory Approval and Reimbursement?
  2. Can FDA Maintain First Amendment Exceptionalism in Regulating Information About Approved Therapies?
  3. The Emergency Use Authorization Authority Should be Used More Frequently to Approve Medical Products: Pro and Con

Call for Poster Abstracts - Open now through November 1

The 2025 CERSI Innovations in Regulatory Science Summit Planning Committee will invite abstract submissions to be presented at our in-person poster sessions in San Francisco, CA on Sunday, January 12, 2025. 

Summit Agenda

Times shown in Pacific time (UTC-8)
8:30 - 9:00 am

Breakfast & Sign-In / Networking

9:00 - 9:05 am

Welcome

Kathy Giacomini, PhD, BSPharm – Co-PI, UCSF-Stanford CERSI
Kuldev Singh, MD, MPH
– Professor of Ophthalmology at Stanford University

9:05 - 9:15 am

Opening Remarks

Sam Hawgood, MBBS – Chancellor, University of California San Francisco (UCSF)
L
loyd B. Minor, MD – Dean, Stanford University School of Medicine

9:15 - 9:25 am

Updates on 2024 Summit Panels

Kathy Giacomini, PhD, BSPharm – Co-PI, UCSF-Stanford CERSI

9:25 - 9:45 am

FDA Year in Review

Robert Califf, MD – FDA Commissioner

9:45 - 10:45 am

Panel 1: Generative AI in Regulatory Science

Moderators:
Russ B. Altman, MD, PhD – Co-PI, UCSF-Stanford CERSI
Rahul K. Arora, DPhil 
– AI and Bio-AI Policy, OpenAI

Confirmed Panelists:
Mark Taisey – Senior Vice President, Global Regulatory Affairs & Strategy, Amgen
Janet Woodcock, MD
 – Former FDA Principal Deputy Commissioner
Liang Zhao, PhD, MAS, MBA – Professor, Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, School of Pharmacy at UCSF

10:45 - 11:05 am

Break / Networking

11:05 - 11:25 am

Debate 1: Should There be a Firewall Between Regulatory Approval and Reimbursement?

11:25 am - 12:25 pm

Panel 2: Women's Health

Moderators: 
Laura Esserman, MD, MBA – Professor of Surgery and Radiology at UCSF
Michelle A. Williams, ScD – Joan and Julius Jacobson Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Confirmed Panelists:
Laleh Amiri-Kordestani, MD Oncology Center of Excellence (OCE) Associate Director of Cardio-Oncology at FDA
Diana Blithe,
PhD – Chief, Contraceptive Development Program, DIPHR, NICHD, NIH

 

12:25 - 1:25 pm

Lunch / Poster session / Networking

1:25 - 2:25 pm

Panel 3: FDA Center Directors Forum

Moderators:
Kathy Giacomini, PhD, BSPharm– Co-PI, UCSF-Stanford CERSI
Kuldev Singh, MD, MPH
 – Professor of Ophthalmology at Stanford University

Confirmed Panelists:
Patrizia Cavazzoni, MD – Director, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) at FDA
Jim Jones, MS – Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods at FDA

Peter Marks, MD, PhD
 – Director, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) at FDA
Michelle Tarver, MD, PhD – Acting Director, Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) at FDA

2:25 - 2:45 pm

Debate 2: Can FDA Maintain First Amendment Exceptionalism in Regulating Information About Approved Therapies?

Moderator:
Andy Plump, MD, PhD
– President, Research and Development at Takeda Pharmaceutical

Debaters:
(No) – Scott Gottlieb, MD – FDA Commissioner, 2017-2019

2:45 - 3:05 pm

Debate 3: The Emergency Use Authorization Authority Should be Used More Frequently to Approve Medical Products: Pro and Con

Moderator:
George Scangos, PhD – Former CEO of Vir Biotechnology

Debaters:
(Pro) –
Peter Marks, MD, PhD – Director, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) at FDA
(
Con) – Hal Barron, MD – CEO, Founder and Board Co-Chair at Altos Labs

3:05 - 3:20 pm

Break / Networking

3:20 - 4:20 pm

Panel 4 - FDA Chiefs Chat

Moderators:
Andy Plump, MD, PhD – President, Research and Development at Takeda Pharmaceutical
Janet Woodcock, MD – Former FDA Principal Deputy Commissioner

Confirmed Panelists:
Robert Califf, MD – FDA Commissioner
Scott Gottlieb, MD
 – FDA Commissioner, 2017-2019
Mark McClellan, MD, PhD – FDA Commissioner, 2002-2004

4:20 - 4:30 pm

Closing Remarks

4:30 - 6:00 pm

Poster Session & Networking Reception

Kathy Giacomini, PhD, BSPharm – Co-PI, UCSF-Stanford CERSI

6:00 pm

Adjournment

Confirmed Speakers, Panelists, and Moderators:

Russ Altman

Stanford University

Laleh Amiri-Kordestani

U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Rahul Arora

OpenAI

Hal Barron

Altos Labs

Diana Blithe

DIPHR, NICHD, NIH

Robert Califf

U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Patrizia Cavazzoni

U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Laura Esserman

University of California, San Francisco

Kathy Giacomini

University of California, San Francisco

Scott Gottlieb

Former FDA Commissioner

Sam Hawgood

University of California, San Francisco

Jim Jones

U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Peter Marks

U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Mark McClellan

Duke University

Lloyd Minor

Stanford University

Andy Plump

Takeda Pharmaceutical

George Scangos

Former CEO of Vir Biotechnology

Kuldev Singh

Stanford University

Mark Taisey

Amgen

Michelle Tarver

U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Michelle Williams

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Janet Woodcock

Former FDA Principal Deputy Commissioner

Liang Zhao

University of California, San Francisco

About UCSF-Stanford CERSI

The UCSF-Stanford Center of Excellence in Regulatory Science and Innovation (CERSI) is a joint effort among members of a world-class team of highly collaborative scientists at the University of California San Francisco, Stanford University, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  The two academic institutions and the FDA work together on projects that promote regulatory science—including innovative research, education, and scientific exchange—in partnership with foundations and commercial entities interested in the development of FDA-approved medical products. The center collaborates, in particular, with the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and high-tech industries of the San Francisco Bay Area and the West Coast.

Contact

For information or questions about this event, please contact the UCSF-Stanford Center of Excellence in Regulatory Science and Innovation at info@ucsfstanfordcersi.org.

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