Business programme

It is impossible to predict with 100% certainty what the threat of a new pandemic will be and which infection will become ‘Disease X’. The scientific community has identified several ‘suspects’, including highly pathogenic influenza, coronaviruses, arboviruses, and several other infections. However, the level of uncertainty is too high to settle on one candidate. Therefore, the main efforts of Russian specialists are directed towards readiness for any new pathogen, forming a proactive and flexible system for detecting and responding to biological threats. This includes digital transformation, genetic technologies, and the creation of technological platforms that should enable rapid development of tests and vaccines against any new infection. Young geneticists, epidemiologists, microbiologists, and artificial intelligence specialists are involved in shaping new approaches to preventing and responding to biological crises. Today, new epidemic-fighting technologies are not only being mastered but also being developed by representatives of Generations Y and Z. Clearly, today’s young scientists and specialists will need to respond to the threat of ‘Disease X’. Are they ready? What does it mean to be prepared for an unknown pandemic and what will it be? How can continuity between generations of scientists and professionals be ensured? What biosecurity technologies are being created and implemented by Millennials and Zoomers?

Moderator
Anna Popova, Head of the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing; Chief State Sanitary Physician of the Russian Federation

Anna Popova

Head of the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing; Chief State Sanitary Physician of the Russian Federation

Ms. Popova, M.D., has a degree in medicine and prophylactics, professor in medical hygiene.
Worked as an epidemiologist, chief of epidemiology at Budennovsk hospital, chief epidiemologist in State Center in Serpukhov and Pushino, deputy head of Rospoterbnadzor in Moscow oblast, head of HR or Rospoterbnadzor and deputy chief of Rospotrebnadzor .
After a decree of the government of Russian Federation government N1931 temporary acted as chief of Federal Agency for consumer protection and human wellbeing from October 23, 2013.
Following a decree of the government of Russian Federation N571-p appointed head of Rospoterbnadzor.
Married, has two children

Panellists
Marc-Alain Widdowson, Team Lead, High Threat Pathogens, Health Emergencies Program, Regional Office for Europe, World Health Organization (online)
Vadim Govorun, Director, Research Institute of System Biology and Medicine (RISBM)
Ilnaz Imatdinov, Head of the Laboratory of the Department of Genomic Research, State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology "Vector"
Zoya Korobova, Junior Researcher, Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, Pasteur St. Petersburg Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology
Areg Totolian, Director, Pasteur St. Petersburg Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology
Anna Cherkashina, Head of the Research Group of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Central Research Institute of Epidemiology

Vadim Govorun

Director, Research Institute of System Biology and Medicine (RISBM)

Vadim M. Govorun
Direktor, Research Institute for Systems Biology and Medicine
Head, Laboratory of Simple Systems
PhD, Professor, Full Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences
• Member of the Council for Science and Education under the President of the Russian Federation, Member of the Presidium of the Council
• Head, Dept of Molecular and Translational Medicine, MIPT
Education and Expertise
• 1987: graduated from the 2nd Moscow N.I. Pirogov Medical Institute (Faculty of Medical Biology, Department of Biochemistry)
• 1991: Ph.D. thesis in the specialty “biochemistry”
• 2000: Doctoral dissertation in the specialties “biochemistry” 03.00.04 and “molecular biology” 03.00.03
• 2003: The title of professor in the specialty "biochemistry" awarded
• 2011: Elected as Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences
• 2016: Elected as Full Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Department of Medical Sciences (Physical and Chemical Medicine)
Scope of Research Interest
• Molecular diagnostics
• Genomics
• Proteomics
• Systems Biology
• Synthetic biology
Vadim Govorun was awarded the medal of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, II degree (2019), the Order of Pirogov (2020).

Ilnaz Imatdinov

Head of the Laboratory of the Department of Genomic Research, State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology "Vector"

Zoya Korobova

Junior Researcher, Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, Pasteur St. Petersburg Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology

Junior Researcher at the Laboratory of molecular immunology at Saint Petersburg Pasteur Institute, Russia. In 2020, graduated from Saint Petersburg State Pediatric Medical University with a GPA of 4.6/5. In 2020, joined the Saint Petersburg Pasteur Institute; during the pandemic, worked in the diagnostic laboratory. In 2023, successfully finished a PhD program on immunology, working on T cells and cytokine profiling in COVID-19 patients. Author of more than 20 articles in international scientific journals, owner of 4 inventions.

Areg Totolian

Director, Pasteur St. Petersburg Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology

Director of Saint-Petersburg Pasteur Institute, Head of the Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, Professor (2003), Corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences (2011), Corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences (2014), academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences (2016)
Areg A.Totolian was born on 27 December 1958 in Yerevan (Armenia), and moved to Leningrad (Saint-Petersburg) in 1964.
In 1975 he entered the First Pavlov Medical Institute of Leningrad (The First Pavlov State Medical University of St. Petersburg /PSPbGMU) where he worked until 2008. He was trained and acquired his professional experience in the fields of internal diseases, pulmonology and general and clinical laboratory immunology.
In 1986 А. Totolian organized a Clinical Immunology Laboratory run by him until 2000; by authorization of the Ministry of Public Health of the Russian Federation, organized, at the premises of the PSPbGMU, a Research Guidance Centre of the Ministry of Public Health of the Russian Federation for Molecular Medicine (headed by him until 2008).
In 1987 he passed Ph.D. defence on pulmonology and immunology; in 1997 - earned his doctorate in immunology (concerned with the development of approaches and methodology of laboratory immunological diagnosis for diseases at the base of the achievements of fundamental immunology, immunochemical and molecular technologies).
From 1993 to 1995 he received training in infectious immunology at Istituto Superiore di Sanita (Rome, Italy).
For the first time in Russia, under the supervision of A. Totolian, 12 specialized immune programs were developed and since 2002 put into practice of the Federal System for External Quality Assessment of Clinical Laboratory Tests.
Under his direction 27 PhD theses and two doctorate theses were defended dealing with the strategy and methods of laboratory immune diagnosis; He is the author and a co-author of more than 440 research papers and 13 patents.
Since 2008, А. Totolian have been the Deputy Director for Research, the Director of the Laboratory of Molecular Immunology and Seroepidemiology (since 2016 - Laboratory of Molecular Immunology); since 2015 - the Director and interim of the Saint-Petersburg Pasteur Institute.
His main research activities are combined with teaching in PSPbGMU, here since 2013, he has directed the curriculum of clinical immunology and since 2015 has headed the Department of Immunology.
A. Totolian is an independent allergologist and immunologist at the Public Health Committee of the Government of St. Petersburg, Chairman of the Board of the regional office of the Russian Association of Allergologists and Clinical Immunologists in St. Petersburg (since 2017); Member of the Board of Directors of the Russian Scientific Society for Immunology and of All-Russian Scientific Society of Epidemiologists, Microbiologists and Parasitologists; member of the Board the Russian Scientific Society of Clinical Laboratory Diagnosis.
A. Totolian is Editor in Chief of the Infection and Immunity journal, deputy editor-in-chief of the Medical Immunology journal, member of the editorial boards and editorial teams of Clinical laboratory diagnostics, Journal of Microbiology, Epidemiology and Immunobiology, HIV infection and immunosupressions, Molecular Medicine, Cytokines and Inflammation, Russian Journal of Immunology journals.
A. Totolian participated in the establishment of the Department of the Russian Association of Allergologists and Clinical Immunologists in St. Petersburg, initiated and organized the annual (since 1997) All-Russia scientific forum with international participation Days of immunology in St.-Petersburg, and the annual (since 2010) All-Russian scientific school on Clinical Immunology Immunology for physicians in Pushkinskiye Gory (Pskov region).
In accordance with the decision of the Committee on Science and Higher Education of the Government of Saint Petersburg, the team led by A. Totolian was officially registered in 2013 as a scientific school in the field of Medical Immunology and Clinical Laboratory Diagnosis, and included in the Register of the Leading Scientific and Pedagogical Schools of St. Petersburg.
In 2013 А. Totolian received the gold medal from the Russian Scientific Society for Immunology for phenomenal achievements in the field of immunology.
In 2016 А. Totolian became the academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
He is married, has 2 children.

Anna Cherkashina

Head of the Research Group of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Central Research Institute of Epidemiology

Head of the scientific group of genetic engineering and biotechnology of the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology of Rospotrebnadzor (CRIE), PhD. In 2003 Graduated from the Faculty of Chemistry of the M.V. Lomonosov`s Moscow State University. Has been working at the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology of Rospotrebnadzor for more than 12 years. The main directions of scientific activity: studying the relationship between the structure and functions of various enzymes, obtaining antigens for serological diagnostics. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she studied the genetic variability of SARS-CoV-2. Author and co-author of more than 20 publications in scientific journals, 12 patents for inventions. Married, has two children.

Front row participants
Kira Zaslavskaya, New Products Director, "Promomed" Group of Companies
Kirill Kaem, Deputy Chairman of the Board for Innovation, Skolkovo Foundation
Sergei Pospelov, Executive Secretary, Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization

Kira Zaslavskaya

New Products Director, "Promomed" Group of Companies

Kira Zaslavskaya has more than 10 years of experience in the medical sector. She started her career as a medical representative and now she is a top manager at a major pharmaceutical company.
In 2009, she joined the team of Promomed Group. As Director for New Products, she is responsible for the product portfolio development strategy, the introduction of new technologies in the development of medicines, the organization of preclinical and clinical trials and the launch of products on the market.
Kira Zaslavskaya participated in the implementation of the world’s largest observational post-marketing study in endocrinlogy of the efficacy and safety of Reduxin®, as well as in the development, study and market launch of Areplivir®, the drug for coronavirus infection.
She graduated from the Mendeleev Russian University of Chemical Technology and passed postgraduate training program at the Nesmeyanov Institute of Organoelement Compounds of the Russian Academy of Sciences. She is an author of numerous scientific papers, a competent speaker at industry events.

Kirill Kaem

Deputy Chairman of the Board for Innovation, Skolkovo Foundation

Kirill Kaem, whose family have been doctors for no fewer than seven generations, graduated from the Kirov State Medical Academy in Nizhny Novgorod in 1992. Five years later he graduated with distinction from the economics department at the Lobachevsky State University, after successfully completing his studies in Russia and the USA on an MBA program run jointly with Taylor University. He has over 20 years' experience in senior management roles, including 15 years as a CEO at the corporation's various international branches. He specializes in launching start-ups in new regions and countries, and new business areas at major firms. From 1992 to 1994 he owned his own business, distributing medical equipment and pharmaceuticals. In 1995 Kirill Kaem set up a network of regional outlets for the Swedish company Oriflame in the Volga Region, which helped it become one of the region's biggest tax-payers. In the year 2000 he began working in Germany, in the central office of the company Varta. After Varta's merger with the American group Spectrum Brands, he spent eight years in overall charge of the company's operations in Russia. In 2008 he relaunched the German and American holding JAFRA International in Russia, improving profit margins by 40%. In 2009 he took control of the Russian holding Hygiene Kinetics, the biggest manufacturer in the market for domestic paper and cellulose products. Within two years the company's sales growth was several times higher than average growth in the sector, thanks to the introduction of new technologies. From 2011 to 2013 he headed up a new area of business at 'Alpha Group' - the biggest federal chain of clinics, 'Alpha Health Centre', where in the space of a year he managed to double revenue, whilst the chain itself saw profits rise by over a third. From 2013 onwards he has been a member of the Board of Directors and a co-founder of the international medical centre 'Medcluster', set up at the initiative of Sberbank in partnership with Strategy Group Partners, with Johns Hopkins Medicine International as a potential partner. From 2013-2017 he was director of the Skolkovo Foundation’s biomed cluster.

Sergei Pospelov

Executive Secretary, Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization