The conference titled ” 21st Century Drug Design and Precision Medicine” is jointly organized by Koc University, the University of Pittsburgh and American Hospital. Doctors and Faculty members from each one these institutions had come together on October 31st, 2012 to discuss the recent developments in Drug Design and Precision Medicine.

For more information about the conference, please see below:

Koç University proudly hosted a cutting-edge symposium on Precision Medicine and Drug Design, which was done in conjunction with the University of Pittsburgh and American Hospital. This event was the first collaboration done between Koç University’s School of Medicine and and the Univeristy of Pittsburgh’s School of Health Sciences. The Conference was held at Koc University’s campus located in the fast-paced and fashionable district of Nişantaşı.

The Senior Vice Chancelor for the Health Sciences and Dean of the University of Pittsburgh (UP) Medical School, Dr. Arthur Levine, and Dean of the Koç University Medical School, Dr. Şevket Ruacan, co-chaired the event.

Six specialist doctors, from the University of Pittsburgh, made presentations on a wide range of topics including: Computer aided drug discovery by Dr. Ivet Bahar (Univ. of Pittsburgh). Dr. Adrian Lee (UP) discussed the role of endocrine hormones in breast cancer and Dr. Jeremy Martinson (UP) presented on the Susceptibility to HIV infection and AIDS.

Our own Dr. Nathan Lack (KU) talked about Designing drugs for prostate cancer.

Other speakers and or contributors to the conference were:

Dr. Margaret McDonald (UP), Dr. Önder Ergönül (KU), Dr. Derek Angus (UP), Dr. Hulya Bayır (UP), Dr. Tamer Önder (KU), Dr. Burak Erman (KU), Dr. Özlem Keskin (KU), Dr. Halil Kavaklı (KU)

Physicians, nurses, and staff from the American Hospital, Koc University Medical School, and other area universities and hospitals students and staff were in attendance for this full day event. Question and answer periods created an interactive platform and collaborative atmosphere that greatly enhanced the outcomes of the symposium. Students were also able to access to our guests from the University of Pittsburgh to have impromptu and candid conversations about their field of study and research.

The conference was well organized, informative, and thought provoking. It proved to be a mutually beneficial venture that, not only introduced the University of Pittsburgh faculty and Koc University faculty members to one another, but created a platform where they were able to discuss new areas of research and meaningful developments found in their fields. Both medical schools look forward to developing and diversifying this newfound relationship in the field of health sciences and taking the next steps toward innovative joint research activity.