Texas FreshAIR Conference to showcase new therapeutics and devices

AUSTIN—A new heart disease medication and other discoveries made by University of Texas System researchers will be highlighted at the 2015 Texas FreshAIR Conference.

Texas FreshAIR is a world-class UT System conference designed to showcase faculty research at the System’s 14 institutions, industry research, new medications, medical devices and startups. The conference brings great minds together to foster academic-industry collaborations that will help commercialize more faculty research.

There will be 70 plus scientific lectures and presentations at Texas FreshAIR. One of them is on PCSK9 (proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9), an enzyme in humans that’s encoded by the PCSK9 gene. Research at UT Southwestern on this gene led to a new cardiovascular drug.

More than 250 researchers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and executives from Texas and the country’s top pharmaceutical and venture companies are expected to attend Texas FreshAIR, which will take place on Oct. 28 and 29 at UT Southwestern Medical Center’s Pickens Biomedical Building in Dallas.

“Texas FreshAIR is an excellent opportunity to network with top UT System faculty whose research could lead to the next blockbuster drug or medical device,” said Patricia Hurn, Ph.D., UT System’s vice chancellor for research and innovation. “The System is committed to developing Texas as a ‘Third Coast’ for the biotech industry by promoting partnerships between Texas institutions of higher education and the life science and device industries.”

A decade ago, UT Southwestern researchers played a critical role in identifying the PCSK9 protein as a key regulator of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, also known as bad cholesterol. A high level of LDL cholesterol in the blood is linked to cardiovascular disease, which is the leading cause of death for Americans.

Researchers announced the discovery of a patient who inherited two mutations of the PCSK9 gene. As a result, the patient had remarkably lower levels of LDL cholesterol, but was completely healthy. This discovery suggested that therapies aimed at blocking or reducing PCSK9 would not only be effective — but also safe.  

Their findings ignited several pharmaceutical companies to develop a new class of drugs that could successfully treat patients with a high risk of cardiovascular disease.

Other important scientific and medical topics that will be discussed at Texas FreshAIR include imaging techniques, metabolic hormones, diabetes, obesity, coronary artery disease, aortic disease, transformative materials, regenerative medicine and valves and stents, among many others.

About The University of Texas System

Educating students, providing care for patients, conducting groundbreaking basic, applied and clinical research, and serving the needs of Texans and the nation for more than 130 years, The University of Texas System is one of the largest public university systems in the United States. With 14 institutions and an enrollment of more than 217,000, the UT System confers more than one-third of the state’s undergraduate degrees, educates almost two-thirds of the state’s health care professionals annually and accounts for almost 70 percent of all research funds awarded to public institutions in Texas. The UT System has an annual operating budget of $16.9 billion (FY 2016) including $3 billion in sponsored programs funded by federal, state, local and private sources. With about 20,000 faculty – including Nobel laureates – and more than 70,000 health care professionals, researchers, student advisors and support staff, the UT System is one of the largest employers in the state.