Dr. William Hauswirth invited by Pope Francis to speak at the Vatican about his efforts to cure blindness

Dr. Hauswirth was recently invited by Pope Francis to speak at the Vatican Symposium on Regenerative Medicine and its Cultural Impact.  Created by the Stem Cell for Life Foundation and the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Culture, this symposium gathered a mix of scientists, philosophers and medical philanthropists world wide.  Sessions were chaired by Dr. Max Gomez (CBS News), Dr. Steve Groft (exDirector, Office of Rare Disease Research, NIH), Katie Couric (News anchor, Yahoo), Dr. Sanjay Gupta (Chief Medical Correspondent, CNN), Robin Roberts (ABC News), Tommy Thompson (exHHS Secretary), William Frist (exUS Senate Majority Leader), with special talks given by Vice President Joe Biden and Pope Francis.

Dr. Hauswirth was one of several world-renowned researchers assembled to discuss progress on cell and gene therapies for fatal and blinding childhood diseases. The event fostered open dialogue among researchers, physicians, religious leaders, political figures and innovators and resulted in continued strong support from the IT sector and medical philanthropists.