Three Years Forgotten, Why Go Crazy When I Say Goodbye? novel Chapter 414

The Oncology Genomics Symposium was scheduled for the following week, and conveniently, it was being held right here in New York City.

Given that gene editing played a crucial role in modifying immune cells (CAR-T) to precisely target cancer, as well as editing cancer genomes to suppress proliferation, Merit Biotech had naturally received an invitation.

Sinclair Group was on the guest list as well. More notably, Mr. Smith—who had recently partnered with them—had been invited by the organizers as a VIP guest and keynote speaker.

As soon as Willow Horgan received the itinerary, she informed Leo Yardley. She planned to bring him along. Since he was new to New York City, it was the perfect opportunity for him to network and catch up on the absolute bleeding edge of industry technology.

Leo was thrilled. Anyone in their line of work would jump at the chance to hear about the latest patents and breakthroughs. Besides, ever since Willow had been forced out of Sinclair Group, he hadn't attended a single conference of this caliber. He had been starting to feel totally disconnected from the academic world.

Willow sent him a link. "Register your credentials on this portal. Let me know if you run into any issues."

"Will do." Leo clicked the link. The first thing that loaded was the symposium's promotional banner. Mr. Smith's portrait was featured front and center, emblazoned with the words: *Academic Titan, Industry Pioneer.*

Honestly, the title was entirely deserved.

Leo eagerly pitched an idea. "When we see Mr. Smith at the symposium, I'm going to try and ask him a few questions. We've hit a bottleneck in our current research phase, and I'd love to pick his brain about any advanced methodologies they might be using overseas."

"If the opportunity arises, absolutely." Willow nodded. The entire point of these summits was information sharing and high-level debate. She had heard that Mr. Smith was notoriously aloof and hated small talk, but when it came to pure academia, he was always willing to engage.

"I'm so glad I came." Leo clutched his briefcase, treating the moment with reverence. "I've been drafting my questions for days, tweaking and adjusting the phrasing. I just need to find the right moment to approach him."

"We'll make it happen," Willow assured him. "Just wait for an opening."

At exactly nine o'clock, the summit commenced.

It followed the standard protocol: opening remarks, sponsor introductions, and welcoming speeches. Once the formalities were cleared, the real draw began—the guest presentations.