2026 Keynote Speakers

Wesley A. Wierson, PhD, is a serial biotech entrepreneur and gene editor, training at Iowa State University first using TALENs as an undergrad, and next with CRISPR during his PhD under the tutelage of Dr. Jeff Essner and Dr. Maura McGrail. As a graduate student, he invented GeneWeld, a non-viral, multi-kilobase precision gene integration technology, which became the core, patented platform for his first biotech startup LEAH Labs. LEAH Labs, the first gene editing company funded by Y Combinator, was founded to bring CAR-T cell therapy to pets first, and their people next. LEAH Labs   is the first (and only) in the world to put pets with cancer into remission using CAR-T cell therapy. LEAH has invented novel IP using AI-led protein design, and recently spun-out a human focused company to re-invent CAR-T cells for humans from first principles. He's raised over $10M for his companies across venture investment and grant funding, and loves to evangelize "creating your own job after graduate school" (e.g. starting a startup!).

Dr. Isobel Scarisbrick is Director of the Mayo Clinic Neural Regeneration and Rehabilitation Laboratory. She received her Ph.D. from the University of California, Irvine and is currently a Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Physiology at Mayo Clinic. Her research interests include discovery of new targets for repair of the injured and diseased central nervous system. Among recent discoveries are the identification of novel roles for serine proteases and protease activated receptors in neural regeneration, including roles in stem cell expansion, lipid and cholesterol metabolism, synaptic sprouting, and myelin regeneration. These research efforts have resulted in ten issued Patents and significant publications in leading neuroscience journals. Dr. Scarisbrick’s Neural Regeneration Research Program has been continually funded by federal, private, and non-profit research awards, including grants from the National Institutes of Health, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the Neilsen Foundation, the Chris and Danna Reeve Paralysis Foundation, Get Up Stand Up to Cure Paralysis, the Minnesota Spinal Cord Injury and Traumatic Brain Injury Research Program, and Regenerative Medicine Minnesota. She is a globally recognized scientist credited with several important scientific breakthroughs related to mechanisms that underpin neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration as well as how to overcome these effects to enhance neural regeneration. Dr. Scarisbrick’s discoveries have been recognized by numerous awards, including, the C.P Leblond Research Award, the Genentech Research Award, the Weil Award in Experimental Neuropathology, the TRoHNS Award from ASIA, the Mayo Clinic Neurology Basic Science Research Award, the E.K. Frey – E. Werle and Henner Graeff Promotion Prize, and most recently the 2024 Rising Star Award from the Mayo Clinic Center for Biomedical Discovery. Dr. Scarisbrick is also credited with building the new Regenerative Sciences PhD Track in the Mayo Graduate School as Program Director and is the receipitent of Teacher of the Year Award from the Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences. In summary, Dr. Scarisbrick is committed to educating the biomedical workforce of the future and to discovery of new targets for neural repair that will advance regenerative medicine solutions.

Dr. Ruth Wagner is Vice President of R&D in the Crop Science division at Bayer. As a member of the Vegetable R&D Leadership Team, she leads the global Design & Development Team of Breeders, Geneticists, and Genomics Data Scientists. Prior to this, Ruth led Bayer’s Plant Biotechnology Data Systems & Intelligence organization and held other leadership roles since joining Monsanto in 2011.

Throughout her career, Ruth has supported development of others by launching, leading, and sponsoring professional programs, including the Bayer for Universities (B4U) mentoring program. Her technical and leadership impacts were recognized with induction into Monsanto’s Science Fellows and as the recipient of awards from the St. Louis Academy of Science and the Maize Genetics Cooperation.

Ruth earned a Biology bachelor's degree from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota and a PhD in Genetics at Iowa State University. Ruth enjoys coaching ice skating and hockey, time outdoors with her family, and traveling to new places.