Dr. Xiaoyang Qi, Professor

Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, USA

Topic: Cancer Immunotherapy: Impeding Hsp70–TLR2 Axis for MerTK downregulation

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2026 13th International Conference on Biology and Life Sciences

May 23-25, 2026

Despite significant advancements in cancer treatment, a major challenge remains in overcoming the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) that hinders effective anti-tumor immunity. Immunosuppressive M2 macrophages (MΦs) in the TME facilitate escape from immune surveillance and promote tumor growth. One key player in this suppression is MerTK (Myeloid-epithelial-reproductive tyrosine kinase), which promotes tumor immune evasion through various mechanisms. This study investigates a novel therapeutic approach centered on interrupting the interaction between cancer-secreted heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) and Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) to downregulate MerTK expression and reverse immune tolerance. Hsp70, often found on the surface of tumor cells, engages with TLR2 on immune cells, initiating signaling cascades that ultimately lead to increased MerTK expression and the promotion of a pro-tumoral phenotype. By employing specific lipid vesicles (LVs) to impede the Hsp70–TLR2 axis, we hypothesized that the downstream signaling can be interrupted, thereby reducing MerTK levels. Our findings demonstrate that sequestering of cancer-secreted Hsp70 by tumor-targeting saposin C (SapC)-based LVs to block the M2 MΦ polarization through disrupting the Hsp70-TLR2-MerTK interaction. These results suggest that targeting the Hsp70–TLR2 axis represents a novel and effective strategy for downregulating MerTK, offering a potent adjunct to existing immunotherapies and providing a potential pathway to overcome resistance in a broad range of cancers.

Dr. Xiaoyang Qi is a professor in the Division of Hematology-Oncology in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. The laboratory of Dr. Qi focuses on cell membrane phospholipids and proteins as specific therapeutic targets and diagnostic biomarkers for cancer and genetic diseases. His research is focused on developing a new saposin C (SapC) coupled dioleoylphosphatidylserine (DOPS) nanovesicle which has the potential to offer a targeted, potent, broad, and safe therapeutic agent for cancer patients.

Dr. Hang Li, Associate Professor

Biomedical Engineering, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China

Topic: Advancing Multifunctional Hydrogels for Wound Management: Innovative Chitosan-Based Platforms

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2026 13th International Conference on Biology and Life Sciences

May 23-25, 2026

Wounds pose significant clinical challenges, requiring advanced dressings that integrate antibacterial activity, rapid hemostasis, robust tissue adhesion, enhanced mechanical properties, and promotion of tissue regeneration. This keynote presentation reviews recent developments in multifunctional hydrogels based on chitosan and carboxymethyl chitosan (CMC), highlighting three tailored platforms that address these multifaceted demands. The first system, a DCMC-OHA-PCMC hydrogel incorporating protamine-grafted CMC, catechol-modified CMC, and oxidized hyaluronic acid, demonstrates sustained antibacterial efficacy (>76% against E. coli and S. aureus over 5 days), superior adhesion and hemostasis driven by charged interactions, and accelerated in vivo wound healing, including enhanced collagen deposition, epidermal regeneration, and closure. The second, a one-pot PEG-CMC-THB-PRTM hydrogel formed via dynamic Schiff base crosslinking, offers excellent mechanical strength, controlled release of protamine for antibacterial and hemostatic effects, and promoted extracellular matrix remodeling in full-thickness wound models. The third, a CS-PEG-hydrocaffeic acid hybrid, achieves four-fold mechanical improvement, enhanced mucoadhesiveness, rapid hemostasis in visceral models (liver bleeding model), and significantly accelerated skin re-epithelialization with thickened epidermis within 14 days. These versatile polysaccharide-based hydrogels exemplify how strategic chemical modifications can yield comprehensive solutions for both cutaneous and internal wound management, holding substantial promise for clinical translation and improved patient outcomes.

Dr. Hang Li is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Jinan University. He received his Ph.D. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from the University of Akron, USA, in 2015, and subsequently conducted postdoctoral research at Lehigh University (PA, USA) and the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine (CA, USA). Since returning to China in 2019, he has focused his research primarily on polysaccharide materials, wound healing, and tissue engineering. To date, he has authored more than 40 papers in high-impact journals such as Biomaterials, Carbohydrate Polymers, and Advanced Healthcare Materials. His research focus on functional hydrogels, antibacterial and antioxidant materials, wound repair, and regenerative medicine. He has been invited to speak or deliver keynote presentations at several international academic conferences and serves as an editorial board member for journals including PLoS ONE and Burns & Trauma, as well as a reviewer for prestigious journals such as Advanced Materials and Advanced Functional Materials.

Dr. Alex Kuo, Professor

School of Health Information Science, University of Victoria, Victoria, Canada

Topic: AI in Big Data Analytic for Healthcare

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2026 12th International Conference on Health, Medicine and Life Sciences

May 23-25, 2026

This keynote examines the transformative influence of artificial intelligence and big data on modern healthcare systems. It brings together researchers, practitioners, and industry leaders to explore breakthroughs in AI-powered diagnostics, predictive analytics, and personalized medicine. The session also delves into big data strategies for managing large-scale healthcare datasets, strengthening clinical decision-making, and streamlining operational workflows. Core themes include an overview of cutting-edge AI methodologies, the role of AI in advancing big data analytics, and practical insights into overcoming challenges in AI adoption.

Dr. Alex Kuo holds a PhD from the Department of Computer Science, University of Nottingham, UK. He is a full time professor at the School of Health Information Science, University of Victoria (UVic). He was a visiting scholar at the Department of Computer Science, Politecnico di Milano, Italy (2023), the Center for Expanded Data Annotation and Retrieval (CEDAR), School of Medicine, Stanford University, USA (2016), and the Electronic Commerce Resource Centre (ECRC), Georgia Tech (2000). Now, he is the chair of Special Interest Group on Big Data for Healthcare, Medicine and Biology at IEEE Technical Committee on Big Data. With over 20 years of programming and data analysis practical as well as research experience, he has over 170 peer-reviewed publications. His research interests include Cloud Computing & Big Data application to healthcare, health data interoperability, health database & data warehousing, data mining application in healthcare, e-health and clinical decision support system.

Dr. Pravesh Kumar Srivastava, Professor

Department of Ancient Indian History, Culture & Archaeology, Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi, India

Topic: Rewriting Asia’s Ancient Past: Indian and Chinese Civilizations Beyond Colonial Historiography

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2026 12th International Conference on Social Sciences and Humanities

May 21-23, 2026

Asia’s great civilisations—particularly India and China—possess some of the world’s oldest and most sophisticated intellectual, religious, and cultural traditions. Yet the way these civilisations are studied, represented, and taught in modern academia has been deeply shaped by European colonial scholarship of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Colonial Indology and Sinology did not merely interpret Asia; they actively re-constructed it through Western conceptual categories, philological priorities, and imperial political interests. As a result, many indigenous historical frameworks, knowledge systems, and civilisational self-understandings were marginalised or distorted. This keynote proposes a critical re-examination of how Asia’s ancient past was written under colonial conditions and how India and China can now reclaim their historical narratives on indigenous and intercultural foundations. Drawing upon Indian historiographical traditions, Sanskritic sources, Buddhist transmission networks, and the long history of India–China intellectual exchange, the paper argues that Asia was not a passive object of Western knowledge, but a self-generating world of ideas, institutions, and civilisational logics. By comparing the colonial construction of Indian and Chinese histories with pre-modern Asian modes of recording, transmitting, and interpreting the past, the lecture highlights the need for a new Asian-centred historiography. Such a framework does not reject global scholarship, but re-anchors it in Asian epistemologies, languages, and cultural memories. In an era when Asia is reasserting its intellectual and geopolitical presence, rewriting its own ancient history is not merely an academic exercise—it is a civilisational necessity. India and China, as two of the world’s oldest living civilisations, have a shared responsibility to lead this historiographical renewal.

Dr. Pravesh Kumar Srivastava is a Senior Professor of Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology at Banaras Hindu University, India. His scholarship focuses on Indian historiography, colonial Indology, religious history, and the reinterpretation of India’s ancient past from indigenous intellectual traditions. He has published widely on the impact of European scholarship on Indian history and is currently engaged in international projects examining the global construction of Asian civilizations.