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The Inaugural BioFlorida Latin America & Caribbean Life Sciences Conference was held on March 27 and 28, 2014 in Miami. The purpose of the conference was to connect experts in life sciences from Florida (and other parts of the United States) with counterparts from Latin America and the Caribbean. The event, hosted at Florida International University and the Sofitel Miami Hotel, consisted of panels and speakers on current trends in the scientific and business sides of life sciences. The Beacon Council, as part of its activities in Life Sciences, was one of the sponsors and Lyndi Bowman, Director, Economic Development and Dr. Jaap Donath, Senior Vice President, Research & Strategic Planning were involved in the Conference Committee. Speakers included Florida’s Lt. Governor Carlos Lopez-Cantera, Gray Swoope, Florida’s Secretary of Commerce, Jack Osterholt, Deputy Mayor of Miami-Dade County, Dr. Gabriela Gebrin Cezar, Senior Director & Head External R&D Innovation for Pfizer in Brazil, Miguel Angel Margain, Director General, Mexican Institute of Industrial Property and Jim Hogan, President, Medtronic Latin America, as well as many other experts from international research institutions, business and academia. Larry Williams, President & CEO of the Beacon Council introduced Gray Swoope and Jack Osterholt at the conference. Attendees came from the United States and Latin America, making it a unique conference for the life sciences in the Americas. The conference showed the continued growth of Miami-Dade County and Florida as a center for life sciences, especially with an emphasis on Latin America.
