Pittsburgh’s Life Sciences Week, sponsored by the Pittsburgh Innovation District, will kick off with a Nobel Prize winner and will include a large contingent of Pitt researchers.

Pittsburgh native Francis Arnold, professor of chemical engineering, bioengineering and biochemistry and director of the Rosen Bioengineering Center at the California Institute of Technology, was awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. She will kick off the week with a keynote speech at 6:30 p.m. May 13 at Carnegie Music Hall in Oakland. James Martin, dean of Pitt’s Swanson School of Engineering, will make opening remarks.

Most of the events are free, but tickets are required for Arnold’s speech.

The schedule includes several activities through May 17, with most at the new Oaklander Hotel on Bigelow Boulevard. Other locations include the Carnegie Mellon University’s Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship 5000 Forbes Ave., the Magee-Womens Research Institute, and on Pitt’s campus, the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine and the Human Engineering Research Lab.

Other events of note include:

• A panel discussion about stem cell therapies at the McGowan Institute. 10 a.m. May 14

• Demonstrations of two human performance projects at Pitt that involve collaborations between University researchers and athletic teams, as well as a discussion about other performance innovation initiatives underway at Pitt. 1 p.m. May 14, Oaklander Hotel

• “How Big Data is Driving Women’s Health,” featuring experts from Pitt’s School of Medicine. 4 p.m. May 14, Oaklander Hotel

• Tour of Pitt’s Human Engineering Research Labs with Rory Cooper, founding director and SHRS associate dean for inclusion. 10 a.m. May 16

• Investor Day, which will discuss the $1.1 billion that’s been invested in 113 Pittsburgh life science companies over the past ten years. May 16

For more details, go to the Pittsburgh Innovation District website.