AIMBE
Fellowbook News
AIMBE Fellowbook collects news stories highlighting the members of the AIMBE College of Fellows. Read the latest stories, jump to the College Directory, or search below to find the newest research, awards, announcements and more for the leaders of the medical and biological engineering community.
Making microbes that transform greenhouse gases
Ramon Gonzalez | Via Phys.org | August 13, 2019Researchers at the University of South Florida are harnessing the power of human physiology to transform greenhouse gases into usable chemical compounds—a method that could help lessen industrial dependence on petroleum and reduce our carbon footprint. The new biologically-based technique, published in Nature Chemical Biology, was developed by USF Professor Ramon Gonzalez, Ph.D., and his […]
Improving the efficacy of osteosarcoma therapy: combining drugs that turn cancer cell ‘don’t eat me’ signals off and ‘eat me’ signals on.
Heike Daldrup-Link | Via National Library of Medicine, NIH | August 13, 2019Abstract The long-term survival of osteosarcoma patients with metastatic or recurrent disease remains dismal, and new therapeutic options are urgently needed. The purpose of our study was to compare the efficacy of CD47 mAb plus doxorubicin combination therapy in mouse models of osteosarcoma with CD47 mAb and doxorubicin monotherapy. Forty-eight NOD scid gamma (NSG) mice […]
Tissue model reveals role of blood-brain barrier in Alzheimer’s
Roger Kamm | Via MIT | August 12, 2019Beta-amyloid plaques, the protein aggregates that form in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients, disrupt many brain functions and can kill neurons. They can also damage the blood-brain barrier — the normally tight border that prevents harmful molecules in the bloodstream from entering the brain. MIT engineers have now developed a tissue model that mimics beta-amyloid’s […]
Doctors find new ways to reduce unnecessary breast biopsies
Maryellen Giger | Via KTVA | August 6, 2019One out of eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some point in her lifetime. Early detection is the best tool to increase survival rates. Now researchers are looking at a new way to confirm cancer faster during a mammogram while reducing the need for additional testing. It’s a terrifying moment for any […]
A simple method to improve heart-attack repair using stem cell-derived heart muscle cells
Jay Zhang | Via The University of Alabama at Birmingham | August 5, 2019The heart cannot regenerate muscle tissue after a heart attack has killed part of the muscle wall. That dead tissue can strain surrounding muscle, leading to a lethal heart enlargement. Biomedical engineers believe they can aid the failing heart by using pluripotent stem cells to grow heart muscle cells outside of the body, and then […]
Bin He Honored with IEEE EMBS William J. Morlock Award
Bin He | Via Carnegie Mellon University | July 31, 2019BME Department Head Bin He has been honored with the William J. Morlock Award, one of the highest honors bestowed by the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS). EMBS is the world’s largest member-based international society of biomedical engineers, with 11,000+ members residing in 97 countries around the world. The prestigious Morlock Award […]
How AI Can Be Used to Accurately Diagnose Breast Cancer
Assad Oberai | Via Oncology Times | July 30, 2019Nearly one in 10 cancers is misdiagnosed as not cancerous, meaning that a patient can lose critical treatment time. On the other hand, the more mammograms a woman has, the more likely it is she will see a false-positive result. After 10 years of annual mammograms, roughly two out of three patients who do not […]
Nanovis Announces Commercial Launch of New Nanosurface Technology on Spinal Interbody Implants
Thomas Webster | Via Nanovis | July 30, 2019Nanovis today announced the commercial launch of its bioceramic nanotube enhanced FortiCore interbodies following a successful alpha launch. The FortiCore interbodies are designed with a unique, proprietary, patent protected bio-ceramic enhanced titanium nanotube surface. The nanotubes are applied to a deeply porous, fully interconnected titanium scaffold intermolded with a PEEK core for preferred modulus and […]
Nanoparticles Heal Spinal Cord Injuries
Lonnie Shea | Via AZoNano | July 25, 2019Engineers have now created unique nanoparticles that redirect immune cells away from the spinal cord, promoting regeneration that helped restore spinal cord function in mice. The study was funded by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB). The spinal cord, similar to the brain, has a blood-brain barrier that guards the fragile nerves […]
Cellular soldiers designed to kill cancer cells that get loose during surgery, stop metastasis
Michael King | Via Vanderbilt University | July 24, 2019Cellular soldiers created using the body’s own defenses can track down and kill escaping cancer cells during surgeries, preventing metastasis and saving lives, a Vanderbilt University biomedical engineer has discovered, particularly in cases of triple negative breast cancer. Michael King, J. Lawrence Wilson Professor of Engineering and chair of the biomedical engineering department, and his […]
Fast-Food Breakfast Combo May Feature Digestive Enzymes on the Prowl and Diabetes
Geert W. Schmid-Schönbein | Via UCSD Jacobs School of Engineering | July 20, 2019The mechanisms for Type II diabetes with defective insulin receptors remain uncertain. A new protease activity technique shows digestive proteases and proteolytic receptor cleavage of the insulin receptor in man even after a single meal… Continue reading.
BioMed SA to honor Pitt regenerative medicine pioneer
Stephen Badylak | Via Pittsburgh Business Times | July 18, 2019BioMed SA, a San Antonio, Texas-based organization, has selected Dr. Stephen Badylak, professor of surgery and bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh and deputy director of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, to receive its 2019 Award for Innovation in Healthcare and Bioscience. Badylak discovered the use of the extracellular matrix, or ECM, which has […]
CCNY Grove School’s Dean Barabino receives AlChE Award for Service to Society
Gilda Barabino | Via The City College of New York | July 15, 2019Gilda A. Barabino, dean of The City College of New York’s Grove School of Engineering, is the recipient of the 2019 AIChE Award for Service to Society. The award, which will be presented at the annual AIChE meeting in November, recognizes outstanding contributions by a chemical engineer to community service and to the solution of […]
New vaccine strategy boosts T-cell therapy
Darrell Irvine | Via MIT | July 11, 2019A promising new way to treat some types of cancer is to program the patient’s own T cells to destroy the cancerous cells. This approach, termed CAR-T cell therapy, is now used to combat some types of leukemia, but so far it has not worked well against solid tumors such as lung or breast tumors. […]
Researchers create double-strength fillings
Jack Ferracane | Via Dentistry.co.uk | July 9, 2019This is according to a study published by the journal Scientific Reports. The new filling uses the additive thiourethane, which is also in protective coatings for cars and decks. The team also has developed an adhesive that’s 30% stronger after six months in use than adhesives that are currently used to keep fillings in place. […]
Deep Learning-Powered ‘DeepEC’ Helps Accurately Understand Enzyme Functions
Sang Yup Lee | Via Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology | July 9, 2019A deep learning-powered computational framework, ‘DeepEC,’ will allow the high-quality and high-throughput prediction of enzyme commission numbers, which is essential for the accurate understanding of enzyme functions. A team of Dr. Jae Yong Ryu, Professor Hyun Uk Kim, and Distinguished Professor Sang Yup Lee at KAIST reported the computational framework powered by deep learning that […]
The root of the matter
Alan Russell | Via Carnegie Mellon University | July 5, 2019For most plants, saltwater is essentially poison—yet the mangrove drinks it, lives in it, and thrives in it. This rare ability to survive in such inhospitable conditions is what first led Professors Alan Russell and Phil LeDuc, along with their Ph.D. student Adam Wood, to study the plant. The Carnegie Mellon University researchers were hoping […]
The root of the matter
Phil LeDuc | Via Carnegie Mellon University | July 5, 2019For most plants, saltwater is essentially poison—yet the mangrove drinks it, lives in it, and thrives in it. This rare ability to survive in such inhospitable conditions is what first led Professors Alan Russell and Phil LeDuc, along with their Ph.D. student Adam Wood, to study the plant. The Carnegie Mellon University researchers were hoping […]
Turmeric May Be the Answer to Osteosarcoma Treatment
Susmita Bose | Via Specialty Pharmacy Times | July 4, 2019A new drug delivery system using curcumin, the main ingredient in the spice turmeric, successfully inhibited bone cancer cells while promoting growth of healthy bone cells, according to a study by the Washington State University. The work could lead to better post-operative treatments for patients with osteosarcoma. As young patients with bone cancer are often […]
Translating proteins into music, and back
Markus Buehler | Via MIT | June 26, 2019Want to create a brand new type of protein that might have useful properties? No problem. Just hum a few bars. In a surprising marriage of science and art, researchers at MIT have developed a system for converting the molecular structures of proteins, the basic building blocks of all living beings, into audible sound that […]