2012 Lovett C. Peters Lecturer, Dr. Deepak Srivastava, Gladstone Institutes
On November 13th, 2012, Pioneer’s core supporters gathered for our 15th annual Lovett C. Peters Lecture in Public Policy, an event that embodies the spirit of Pioneer Institute’s founder by recognizing our country’s leading innovators and entrepreneurs. This year’s honored speaker was Dr. Deepak Srivastava, Director of the Roddenberry Center for Stem Cell Biology and Medicine at the California-based Gladstone Institutes.
Dr. Srivastava is an incomparable medical researcher, whose team has made extraordinary advances with adult stem cells, identifying ways to alter them to regenerate complex organs in test animals. An engaging and fascinating speaker, Srivastava’s work in regenerative medicine is focused on understanding the causes of heart disease to treat human cardiac disorders. His pioneering research may help doctors restore heart attack damage by transforming scar tissue into beating heart muscle.
The mission of the Lecture is to honor “individuals of vision, to inform and enrich intellectual debate surrounding the great public issues of our day, and to recognize individuals whose ideas or accomplishments have left a mark on their world.” Like past Lecturers, such as virtual learning innovator Sal Khan, Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Newark Mayor Cory Booker, X-Prize Founder Peter Diamandis, and so many others before them, Dr. Srivastava is just such an individual of vision who is leaving a mark on our world, in real time, developing new groundbreaking treatments, speeding to market and rendering more efficacious future drugs, and answering important ethical questions.
