Moderna Co-founder Prof. Robert Langer to deliver special lecture to commemorate 15 years of Venture Center

Pune: Prof. Robert Langer, one of the most globally well-known professors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will be speaking at Venture Center’s 11th Innovation and Technology Enterprise Lecture on January 20, 2022.

Prof. Langer will be talking on the topic: From Lab bench to clinic: How to solve global health challenges by developing new therapies through innovation and founding new companies. Venture Center’s Innovation and Technology Enterprise (ITE) Lecture Series aims to present exemplary cases of research-based innovation translated into business ventures – the associated ideas, the people and the experiences – in order to inspire, energize and inform Indian scientists, technologists and business people. The talk is free to attend, but prior registration is mandatory. Interested participants can register here: https://tinyurl.com/prof-Langer

Dr. Langer is considered as the founder of tissue engineering in regenerative medicine, and a pioneer of new technologies, such as controlled release systems and transdermal delivery systems, which allow the administration of drugs through the skin without needles or invasive methods. These advanced drug delivery systems are having an enormous impact on human health, and his talk will focus on these advanced drug delivery systems developed in his lab led to products and companies which are pioneering novel treatment for diseases such as cancer and the development of COVID19 vaccine.

Prof. Robert Langer is one of 12 Institute Professors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); being an Institute Professor is the highest honor that can be awarded to a faculty member. In addition to being a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he is a chemical engineer, scientist, inventor and entrepreneur, having participated in the founding of more than 40 companies including the Massachusetts-based biotech firm Moderna. He has written over 1,500 articles, which have been cited over 360,000 times, making him one of the most published and cited scholars of all time. His h-index of 298 is the highest of any engineer in history and the 4th highest of any individual in any field. His patents have been licensed or sublicensed to over 400 pharmaceutical, chemical, biotechnology and medical device companies.

Dr Langer served as Chairman of the FDA’s Science Board (its highest advisory board) from 1999-2002. His over 220 awards include both the United States National Medal of Science and the United States National Medal of Technology and Innovation (he is one of 3 living individuals to have received both these honors), the Charles Stark Draper Prize (often called the Engineering Nobel Prize), Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering, Albany Medical Center Prize, Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, Kyoto Prize, Wolf Prize for Chemistry, Millennium Technology Prize, Priestley Medal (highest award of the American Chemical Society), Gairdner Prize, Hoover Medal, and the Dreyfus Prize in Chemical Sciences. He holds 36 honorary doctorates and has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine, the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Inventors