Community Learning Space

The infraNET Project and 
The Education Program for Health Informatics Professionals (EPHIP)
University of Waterloo

present ...

Two Heads (and a Computer) are Healthier than One:
Knowledge and Collaboration Tools 
from Drug Discovery to Patient Treatment

by

Martin Sumner-Smith
VP, Pharmaceutical and Life Science Solutions
Open Text Corporation

Wednesday, April 16, 2003
3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Davis Centre, Room 1302
University of Waterloo

There is no charge. Space is limited. 
We recommend registering for the seminar to reserve your seat.
Seats are reserved on a first come, first served basis.

Abstract

There have been recent explosions of data in all life science fields. But, it would be a mistake to assume that most information is found, or can even be managed, in databases. In fact, it has been estimated that 80% of the information in any given organization is in an unstructured form; so information management strategies must embrace and integrate both structured and unstructured content. More recently, we have also discovered that for information repositories to be useful, they must be tightly integrated with supported processes, ranging from ad hoc group collaborations to highly structured and sequenced workflows. These concepts will be illustrated using examples from the pharmaceutical industry, ranging from drug discovery to clinical study execution.

Martin Sumner-Smith, Ph.D., is currently Vice President, Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences Solutions, Open Text Corporation, where he is responsible for developing the global life sciences market for Open Text s Livelink product. Martin was trained in molecular biology and genetics (B.Sc. & M.Sc., University of Guelph) and received his Ph.D. from the Department of Medical Genetics, University of Toronto. After postdoctoral research in RNA-protein interactions at Yale University, he joined Allelix Biopharmaceuticals Inc. in 1984 as a Research Scientist. While at Allelix, he held a number of positions in both the commercial and research sides of the company, including Director of Research. Martin has authored more than 70 referred scientific papers and presentations and has taken three drug candidates into clinical trials. In 1996, Martin founded Base4 Inc. and served as its President & CEO until its acquisition by Open Text in 2001. Base4 pioneered the application of knowledge management technologies to facilitate the drug discovery and development process in pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

For more information

Shirley Fenton
The infraNET Project
Computer Systems Group, University of Waterloo
(519) 888-4074

Seminar Hosts

This seminar is hosted by the Education Program for Health Informatics Professionals (EPHIP) and The infraNET Project, University of Waterloo.

The infraNET Project, initiated by the University of Waterloo in 1996, is a partnership to advance Web and Internet technologies. Its founding partners are: LivePage (now part of Siebel), MKS, Open Text, RIM, Sybase (Waterloo) and Waterloo Maple.

We also gratefully acknowledge the assistance of the Institute for Computer Research, University of Waterloo.