Debra Lappin, of B&D; Consulting, will moderate a panel discussion at the Miliken Institute Global Conference from 9:30 a.m. until 10:45 a.m. on April 26, 2010, entitled "Spurring Innovation in Medical Research". Ms. Lappin will discuss what is needed to make our medical research system as robust as it can be.

The conference will also look at how new collaborations are de-risking research, new models stemming from the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, opportunities to build a strong scientific workforce, and utilization and impact of new research platforms. Speakers will include: representatives of new models, IT platforms, collaborative entities as well as academia, industry, foundations and government.