The keynote speaker is 2004 Nobel Laureate Aaron Ciechanover from the Technion Israel Institute of Technology.  Ciechanover, along with Avram Hershko and Irwin Rose, received  the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discoveries concerning regulated protein degradation. This knowledge offers an opportunity to develop drugs against diseases such as cystic fibrosis. The summit will also feature leaders of pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device companies. 

 "At Brandeis International Business School, we focus on preparing our students from 70 countries to thrive in the global economy by bringing leading practitioners who share how to work successfully across borders," said Dean Bruce R. Magid. "Hosting programs like the 2010 Life Sciences Summit will advance understanding of opportunities in emerging industries such as life sciences and help our students gain real-world insights about how international business is conducted."

Brandeis is hosting the summit in hopes that it will foster collaboration between the life science industry, research, healthcare and the investment communities in New England and Israel. The summit will address important topics concerning the life science industry and discuss the major issues that affect hospitals, insurance companies, and medical investors. Among the speakers will be Stuart Altman, the Sol C. Chaikin Professor of National Health Policy from The Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis.

According to the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, nearly 45,000 life sciences workers in Massachusetts generate payroll of $4 billion.[1] According to the state Office of Labor and Workforce Development, hiring in the pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing sector is expected to grow by 45 percent through 2016, placing it as the third fastest-growing sector in the state economy. [2]

[1]http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=gov3pressrelease&L=1&L0=Home&sid=Agov3&b=pressrelease&f=100908_cubist&csid=Agov3

[2] http://lmi2.detma.org/lmi/pdf/MAprojectionsREPORT 2016.pdf#page=9