Industry perspectives for neurotranslation, Nestlé

Dr. Stefan Catsicas (Executive Vice President, Chief Technology Officer and Head of Innovation Technologies and Research and Development, Nestlé, Switzerland) explains that preventing or slowing complex diseases requires a diversified approach. Further, as 30% of the metabolites reaching the brain may be of microbial origin, micro- and macronutrients will play a significant role in upcoming brain therapies.

About speaker:
Dr. Stefan Catsicas has a background that spans academia and business. He obtained his PhD in Natural Sciences from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland and continued with post-doctoral studies on the principles of neuronal development at the Scripps Research Institute in San Diego, USA. He started his career as the Head of Neurobiology at the Glaxo Institute for Molecular Biology in Geneva. Returning to academia, he joined the University of Lausanne as Professor and Chairman of the Cell Biology and Morphology Institute, and later as Vice-President of Research and Professor of Cellular Engineering at the EPFL in Lausanne. In 2005 he co-founded a private group of biotechnology companies and his passion for education brought him back to academia in 2011 as Provost and Executive Vice President of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology.

Dr. Catsicas was appointed Executive Vice President for Innovation, Technology and R&D, and Chief Technology Officer of Nestlé S.A, effective September 1st 2013. He is also the chairman of Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences and a board member of Nestlé Health Science S.A., Nutrition-Wellness Venture AG and Nestlé Skin Health S.A. Concerning external board memberships, he is an active board member for the Foundation Solar Impulse, Lausanne and Foundation Latsis International, Geneva.