May 5, 2021

A conference with a speaker lineup that includes Dr. Anthony Fauci, the CEOs of Moderna and Pfizer and FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb also will include five presentations from Sanford Health.

This week marks the third time Sanford has participated in the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Culture and the Cura Foundation’s International Vatican Conference.

It typically is held in Vatican City, but this year will be done in a virtual three-day format starting Thursday.

The conference aims “ to unite the foremost leading physicians, scientists, leaders of faith, ethicists, patient advocates, policymakers, philanthropists and influencers to engage in powerful conversations on the latest breakthroughs in medicine, health care delivery and prevention, as well as the anthropological scientific and cultural impact of technological advances.”

A group of Sanford researchers will present at this year’s event, titled Exploring the Mind, Body & Soul.

“There’s a clear focus in terms of the pandemic and the landscape of approval for emergency use,” said David Pearce, president of Sanford Research.

“Most people didn’t know what an emergency use authorization was 18 months ago, so I’m sure there will be discussion on that, the FDA’s role in approving these treatments and vaccines.”

But judging from the presentations coming from Sanford, the conference also will illustrate all the broader health care research that has continued against the backdrop of the pandemic.

“In this International Vatican Conference, you have the world’s physicians, scientists, leaders of faith, ethicists, patient advocates, all convening to talk about advances in medical innovation and the creation of healthier communities,” Sanford executive vice president Micah Aberson said.

“And what better venue for Sanford to participate than that? As a badge of pride, organizationally, we’re not just in the arena watching the game play out in front of us. As evidenced by five presentations, Sanford Health is on the field actively leading these conversations.”

Here’s a look at what Sanford will be presenting:

Sanford World Clinic

The Vatican conference puts an emphasis on collaboration, so Pearce’s presentation on Sanford’s World Clinic organization will include a report on its work in Ghana with Samaritan’s Feet.

“We’re going to go to Ghana and pilot a program where we give 1,000 pairs of shoes and a medication at the same time,” Pearce said. “And in six months, go back and give a second dose, and important in the research impact is what’s the impact, how can we measure this and … is this an effective way to deliver a medication, piggybacking on shoe distribution, and we’re looking at other countries where we can do this because there’s a dire need to get vaccines to children.”

Sanford Lorraine Cross

Aberson and Pearce also will moderate a session with the 2020 and 2018 Sanford Lorraine Cross award winners, a $1 million prize given to researchers who are working to bring new, transformative medical innovation to patients.

“I think it does a great job on this international stage highlighting what we’ve attempted to create with the Sanford Lorraine Cross award,” Aberson said.

“It certainly brings a lot of visibility and exposure to the award with an audience of people acutely interested in scientific discovery and advancements.”

Diabetes research

Sanford pediatric endocrinologist Dr. Kurt Griffin will detail Sanford’s recently announced population screening study to identify and predict which children may be at risk of developing type 1 diabetes.

Griffin, principal investigator on the project, will introduce a family enrolled in the study and discuss how the study can help families prepare for and potentially delay the onset of the disease if their child has autoantibodies for type 1 diabetes.

Rare diseases

Jill Weimer, senior director of therapeutic development at Sanford Research, will lead a panel focused on rare diseases. Weimer has addressed the conference in the past.

“Jill is one of the few scientists talking about the development of therapeutics for rare diseases,” Pearce said.

Stem cell therapy

Pearce will join Dr. Peter Marks of the Food and Drug Administration for a wide-ranging conversation focused on the field of regenerative medicine, including stem cell therapy options for orthopedic treatments.

“It’s really a philosophical conversation about how difficult it has been to advance regenerative medicine because there are so many clinics offering inappropriate or poorly described treatments or unapproved treatments,” Pearce said.

“And the other significant piece we talk about is what Sanford is doing with respect to doing this the right way. As a health system, we can be policed. We can’t do what some of these clinics are doing. So we’ll talk about how Sanford wants to legitimize the use of some of these cellular products in regenerative medicine.”

Sanford has participated in the biennial conference since 2016. To learn more and to watch this year’s virtual sessions, visit vaticanconference2021.org.