Expo 2026: ITHS Symposium & Poster Session

Expo 2026

We are thrilled to announce our upcoming Expo 2026: ITHS Symposium & Poster Session, featuring Keynote Speaker Robert J. Jones, PhD, President of the University of Washington. The event will also include remarks from leading researchers and innovators in the health sciences and showcase the exciting research of our ITHS-supported investigators. The event will take place on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, 11:00am–4:00pm, at the Center for Urban Horticulture on the University of Washington campus. Register now!

Event Description

This year’s event will feature two distinguished speakers who will discuss the latest advancements in Engineering and Medicine.

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Robert J. Jones, President, University of Washington

Robert J. Jones, PhD, took office as the 34th president of the University of Washington on Aug. 1, 2025. He holds a faculty appointment in the Department of Biology in the College of Arts and Sciences. Prior to leading the UW, Jones served as chancellor of Illinois’ flagship university, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and prior to that as president of the State of New York University at Albany (SUNY Albany). He is a distinguished scholar whose research focuses on crop physiology, and he has served in leadership roles in national academic organizations and the Big Ten Conference. At Illinois, Dr, Jones launched the world’s first engineering-based medical school, The Carle Illinois College of Medicine at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. 

Featured Speaker: Dr. Tueng T. Shen, Associate Dean, Medical Technology Innovation (UW Medicine/College of Engineering); Professor of Ophthalmology, Graham and Brenda Siddall Endowed Chair; Adjunct Professor, Bioengineering & Global Health

Dr. Shen is a physician and an engineer at the University of Washington. She is an expert in medical and surgical management of corneal disorders, cataract surgeries, and refractive surgeries. Dr. Shen received her PhD in Medical Engineering and Medical Physics (MEMP) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and her MD from Harvard Medical School. She builds bridges between engineers and physicians to facilitate the translation of innovative engineering technology into creative clinical solutions to treat global blindness, particularly by leveraging technological advancements in polymer sciences, microelectronics and modern imaging techniques. 

In addition to the above speakers and an exciting selection of lightning talks from promising early-career entrepreneurs, Expo 2026 will include a poster session featuring presentations by dozens of researchers and innovators all across the spectrum of translational science. The event will provide an excellent opportunity for networking and collaboration among attendees and presenters. The full event agenda will be available soon.

Past Expos

Previous ITHS Expos have been held at the University of Washington Husky Union Building, virtually during the Covid lockdown, and more recently at Burke Museum in 2022, at wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ – Intellectual House in 2023, and at the Center for Urban Horticulture (CUH) since 2024. We’re pleased to be returning to the CUH this year! Read about Expo 25 here.

With attendees and presenters coming from across the region and from many different areas of health research, the event has always proven to be the perfect chance to network, learn and to celebrate translational science. Check out the video below and don’t forget to register!

About The Center for Urban Horticulture

The Center for Urban Horticulture, opened in 1984, is part of the University of Washington Botanic Gardens. It includes a 16-acre landscaped site with buildings and gardens, and the 74-acre Union Bay Natural Area, which provides publicly accessible wildlife habitat (more than 200 bird species have been sighted there) and an outdoor laboratory for UW research. The UW Botanic Gardens’ administrative offices are housed in Merrill Hall, along with associated faculty and research laboratories and greenhouses.

Address: 3501 NE 41st Street, Seattle, 98195

Land Acknowledgement

The University of Washington and the Institute of Translational Health Sciences acknowledge the Coast Salish people of this land, the land which touches the shared waters of all tribes and bands within the Suquamish, Tulalip, and Muckleshoot Nations.

Registration

Registration for the ITHS Expo will be open through Friday, May 8.

This event is open to all regardless of race, sex or other identity.