NEW ORLEANS – A consortium of New Orleans partners welcomes the Microphysiological Systems (MPS) World Summit to New Orleans May 30 – June 3, 2022. This effort is a collaboration of 40 organizations chaired by thought leaders from Johns Hopkins University, the Wyss Institute of Harvard University, and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and led in part by two local New Orleans homegrown biotech companies, AxoSim, and Obatala Sciences. Other local partners who have helped to sponsor the event and bring it to New Orleans are The New Orleans Business Alliance (NOLABA), Jones Walker, GNO, Inc., New Orleans & Co., Baker Donelson, and the New Orleans BioInnovation Center.

The MPS World Summit will bring together a global audience, including institutions (government, health foundations, charities), the academic research community (universities, research institutes), environmental and human toxicity researchers, biopharmaceutical and other industries (cosmetics, chemical, and food industries), medical centers and practitioners, patient associations, and policymakers and testing centers – in a series of global conferences to create a roadmap for MPS technologies.
“AxoSim is ecstatic about being a part of bringing the inaugural MPS World Summit to New Orleans to create the preeminent meeting and society for this emerging field of scientific research,” said AxoSim Chief Business Officer Ben Cappiello. “We are proud to play host as well as serve on the Executive Committee with the best minds, institutions, and companies in our field.”

Additionally, this series of international conferences (which included two virtual events in the lead-up to the hybrid event in New Orleans) will facilitate stakeholder communication, as well as networking among all scientists and MPS thought leaders, promoting international standardization and harmonization of MPS and serving as a global training environment.

“As the Economic Development Organization for the City of New Orleans, NOLABA extends its full support for the MPS World Summit,” said Norman E. Barnum, IV, Interim President and CEO of NOLABA. “We are committed to helping further the growth of local bio and health services innovation companies in New Orleans, as we seek to help recruit top talent to New Orleans, provide elite facilities, and bring into the spotlight the fact that New Orleans is more than a place for play. It’s a place to stay.”
All of the festivities will culminate during the 2022 meeting in New Orleans, which will start on Monday, May 30, 2022, with evening networking events, and on Tuesday, May 31, with two pre-meeting workshop sessions in the morning focused on hands-on training and education. The scientific sessions will include varying formats: workshops, roundtables, plenary sessions, and scientific symposia. In total, there will be four keynotes, up to 24 parallel sessions, and three lunch sessions. The lunch and keynotes will be 60-minute sessions.

“Obatala Sciences is very excited to be a part of the Host Committee for this event,” said David Bode, COO of Obatala Sciences. “Hosting the MPS World Summit in New Orleans is a tremendous opportunity for companies like ours, as we will showcase the exciting scientific breakthroughs happening in our city and state and will welcome the international MPS community to New Orleans with a once-in-a-lifetime experience.” 
The May 30 – June 3, 2022 summit is a hybrid event and will host up to 750 in-person participants and provide room for an additional 500 attendees online.

“New Orleans is the perfect destination to host this highly prestigious scientific summit as the city itself inspires collaboration and creativity,” said Stephen Perry, President & CEO of New Orleans & Company, the official destination marketing and sales organization for New Orleans’ cultural economy. “We welcome these thought leaders into New Orleans, as we continue to emerge as the hub of the global biotechnology industry, where research is pioneered in a walkable, authentic city that fosters growth and success.” 

The MPS event in New Orleans will be followed by the second and third summits in Berlin, Germany, in 2023 and Seattle, WA, in 2024. The host committee hopes to bring the conference back to New Orleans in the following years.

Visit the MPS World Summit website to learn more and register.