Business school to host life science series

The Kelley School of Business will be hosting its second Life Science Collaboration Conference Series starting Sept. 21 and continuing through May.\nThe conference is a series of workshops focused on Indiana life science and health care businesses. It will consist of a series of workshops in which both businesses and academics alike are welcome to participate\n The focus of this series is to “reach out to Indiana ... and to provide a business perspective on timely life science issues,” said Kelley School Dean Dan Smith. Smith also said that such a conference will help to “provide students at IU, regardless of area (of study), with (the) opportunity to be exposed to business leaders in life sciences and pick up knowledge and skills.”\nThe first workshop, titled “The Age of Life Sciences Informatics,” will be held in Indianapolis. It is cosponsored by the IU School of Informatics and Barnes & Thornburg LLP. One of the goals of this first conference is to “explore ways in which the new field of informatics is having significant positive impacts on life science businesses and research,” according to the Kelley School Web site.\nThis workshop will help participants understand the exciting new developments and roles of computers and technology in the field of life sciences, said Robert Schnabel, dean of the School of Informatics.\nIU speakers at the workshop will include A. Keith Dunker, director of the Center for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics at the IU School of Medicine. Other readers from Indiana life science and health care businesses will also be speaking, including Donald E. Knebel of BTech Practice Group, Derek L. Faughn of Mead Johnson Nutritionals and Michael A. Evans, president and CEO of AIT Laboratories.\nIn addition to providing knowledge and insight into the life science industry in Indiana, these workshops will offer an example of how the Kelley School “is working to make Kelley the place to study and to hire business students for life sciences and health care industries,” according to the Kelley Web site.\nThe Kelley School’s Collaboration Series is just part of IU’s larger Life Sciences Initiative. When defining “life sciences,” the Indiana Life Science Initiative Web site notes the significance of business and technology in the success of any scientific industry.\n“The response this past year to Kelley School efforts to help Indiana life science and health care firms has been tremendous, and we expect that momentum to continue,” Smith said. “In addition to helping our state economy to grow, the Indiana Life Science Initiative helps us to better prepare our students for careers in those fields and has deepened the expertise of our faculty.” \nThe registration fee is either $40 per individual workshop or $150 for the entire series. Students are welcome to attend, and contact and registration information can be found at www.kelley.iu.edu. Full-time students may qualify for discounts and should see the Web site for more information. \nLast year, the conference managed to reach the maximum enrollment of 100 to 150 tickets per workshop. This year, with the charge of admission, Smith does not expect the fee to deter participation.\n“The school does not make any money” he said.\nAll money earned will help finance workshop components such as room rental, lunches during workshops and even travel expenses for some of the speakers involved.