Speaker Profile
Hazel H. Szeto

Hazel H. Szeto MD, PhD

Clinical Pharmacology
Newton, Massachusetts, United States of America

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Dr. Hazel H. Szeto is a research scientist, inventor, and entrepreneur in drug development. She received her M.D. and Ph.D. in Pharmacology from Cornell University Medical College and served on the faculty for 37 years. In 2016, Dr. Szeto left Weill Cornell Medicine to devote her time to direct research for Social Profit Network, a public charity supporting research to promote healthy aging and reduce age-associated disabilities.

Dr. Szeto has developed the first class of compounds that enhance energy production in all cells of living organisms. Energy, in the form of ATP, is necessary to maintain normal cell structure and function; and energy deficiency leads to loss of function, tissue breakdown, and inflammation. Aging is associated with damage to mitochondria, the cellular powerhouses, and bioenergetics failure is a hallmark of many age-associated degenerative diseases, such as heart failure and Alzheimer’s Disease.

Dr. Szeto’s new compounds selectively target mitochondria to increase ATP production. In the aged, these compounds rejuvenate energy production, repair mitochondria, regenerate tissues, and restore organ function. Dr. Szeto’s research has resulted in over 200 peer-reviewed publications and more than 60 patents. These new compounds have demonstrated remarkable efficacy in diverse animal disease models, including heart failure, chronic kidney diseases, diabetic complications, neuropathic pain, and neurodegenerative diseases. Her findings have been confirmed and extended by numerous scientific investigators, contributing over 220 papers in peer-reviewed journals.
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