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Guangping Gao, PhD, and Terence Flotte, MD, are pictured at the 12th Annual International Conference on Rare Diseases & Orphan Drugs (ICORD) conference in Bejing, China. |
Terence R. Flotte, MD, the Celia and Isaac Haidak Professor of Medical Education, executive deputy chancellor, provost and dean of the School of Medicine, and Guangping Gao, PhD, the Penelope Booth Rockwell Chair in Biomedical Research, professor of microbiology & physiological systems and director of the Horae Gene Therapy Center, presented at the 12th Annual International Conference on Rare Diseases & Orphan Drugs (ICORD) conference in Bejing, China, Sept. 7 to10.
ICORD is an international society for people actively involved in advocacy and research on rare diseases and the development of “orphan” drugs to treat them. Attendees include those in health care, research, academia, industry, patient organizations, regulatory bodies and public policy. The ICORD annual meetings started in 2005. This was the first ICORD meeting in China.
“This conference provided an important platform for information exchange about rare diseases around the world, to facilitate communication and collaboration and foster innovation for rare disease research and development,” Dr. Gao said. “We are dedicated to improving the health and well-being for rare disease patients worldwide.”
Gao said having the conference in China reflected the significant enhanced effort by patient and family organizations, advocacy groups and the Chinese government in promoting rare disease awareness, research and therapeutic development.
Gao and Dr. Flotte gave a presentation at the conference on the ground-breaking gene therapy developments at the Horae Gene Therapy Center at UMMS.
“UMMS is one of the biomedical institutions that lead the world in discoveries for the causes of human diseases, including rare diseases, and translating the discoveries into therapeutic interventions for patients and improving human health,” Gao said. “UMass Medical School’s presence at ICORD 2017 was a great showcase of our global leadership in rare disease research."
