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.
Engineering biology through DNA’s environment – NSF awards $16 million to understand and control epigenetic effects
Emilia Entcheva | Via National Science Foundation | September 12, 2018To advance the engineering of biology at the molecular and cellular levels, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded $16 million for research to characterize the regulation of gene activity and expression, and to create strategies to modify those processes without altering the DNA sequence. Chromatin — a combination of DNA, RNA and proteins within […]
Engineering biology through DNA’s environment – NSF awards $16 million to understand and control epigenetic effects
Igal Szleifer | Via National Science Foundation | September 12, 2018To advance the engineering of biology at the molecular and cellular levels, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded $16 million for research to characterize the regulation of gene activity and expression, and to create strategies to modify those processes without altering the DNA sequence. Chromatin — a combination of DNA, RNA and proteins within […]
Eric Hoffman receives the 2018 Alton Ochsner Award Relating Smoking and Disease
Eric Hoffman | Via University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine | September 12, 2018The Selection Committee for the 2018 Alton Ochsner Award Relating Tobacco Smoking and Diseases is pleased to present its 33rd Annual Award to Geoffrey T. Fong, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology and public Health Systems, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada, and to Eric A. Hoffman, Ph.D., Professor of Radiology, Medicine, and Biomedical Engineering, University of Iowa […]
Advanced fabrication of biosensor on detection of Glypican-1 using S-Acetylmercaptosuccinic anhydride (SAMSA) modification of antibody
Chung-Chiun Liu | Via Nature | September 10, 2018Abstract Glypican-1 (GPC-1) has been recognized as biomarker of pancreatic cancer. Quantification of GPC-1 level is also pivotal to breast cancer and prostate cancer’s patients. We hereby report the first biosensor for GPC-1 detection. Instead of using crosslinking technique and surface immobilization of antibody, we applied a novel method for biosensor fabrication, using S-Acetylmercaptosuccinic anhydride […]
NIH selects Bruce Tromberg, Ph.D., to lead the National Institute on Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB)
Bruce Tromberg | Via NIBIB | September 6, 2018National Institutes of Health Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., has selected Bruce J. Tromberg, Ph.D., as director of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB). A pioneering leader in the field of biophotonics, Dr. Tromberg is currently a professor at the University of California at Irvine (UCI), with dual appointments in the […]
A homing system targets therapeutic T cells to brain cancer
Rakesh Jain | Via Nature | September 5, 2018Abstract Successful T cell immunotherapy for brain cancer requires that the T cells can access tumour tissues, but this has been difficult to achieve. Here we show that, in contrast to inflammatory brain diseases such as multiple sclerosis, where endothelial cells upregulate ICAM1 and VCAM1 to guide the extravasation of pro-inflammatory cells, cancer endothelium downregulates […]
Organic, Transparent, but Robust- Biomimetic Cornea Implants
Jennifer Elisseeff | Via Advanced Science News | September 3, 2018The human eye is a marvelous organ that owes its performance to a lot of specialized components. The outermost of those, and seemingly simplest, is the cornea. The German word for it, “Hornhaut” (callused skin) already hints at one key function of the cornea – protection of the eye. However, actual callus, being as intransparent […]
New Cancer Treatment Uses Enzymes to Boost Immune System and Fight Back
George Georgiou | Via The University of Texas at Austin | August 30, 2018Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have developed a new approach to treating cancer using enzyme therapy. The enzyme, PEG-KYNase, does not directly kill cancer cells but instead empowers the immune system to eradicate unwanted cells on its own. PEG-KYNase is designed to degrade kynurenine, a metabolite produced by numerous tumors that suppresses […]
Decoding the Brain
Karen Moxon | Via UC Davis | August 30, 2018In the last decade, researchers in academia and the technology sector have been racing to unlock the potential of artificial intelligence. In parallel with federally-funded efforts from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, heavy-hitters such as Microsoft, Facebook and Google are deeply invested in artificial intelligence. As part of the BRAIN Initiative, […]
Scientists alter membrane proteins to make them easier to study
Shuguang Zhang | Via MIT | August 27, 2018About 30 percent of the proteins encoded by the human genome are membrane proteins — proteins that span the cell membrane so they can facilitate communication between cells and their environment. These molecules are critical for learning, seeing, and sensing odors, among many other functions. Despite the prevalence of these proteins, scientists have had difficulty […]
Mass. General study defines mechanisms behind focused-ultrasound-assisted treatment of brain tumors
Rakesh Jain | Via Massachusetts General Hospital | August 27, 2018A study led by a team of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators has analyzed, for the first time, the mechanisms underlying the use of focused ultrasound to improve the delivery of anti-cancer drugs across the blood brain barrier into brain tumors. Their report published in PNAS uses advanced microcopy techniques and mathematical modeling to track […]
One step closer to bioengineered replacements for vessels and ducts
Ali Khademhosseini | Via EurekAlert | August 24, 2018A team of Brigham and Women’s Hospital researchers have developed a way to bioprint tubular structures that better mimic native vessels and ducts in the body. The 3-D bioprinting technique allows fine-tuning of the printed tissues’ properties, such as number of layers and ability to transport nutrients. These more complex tissues offer potentially viable replacements […]
Deep Learning Attacks Joint Degeneration and Osteoarthritis: Musculoskeletal Imaging Research Published in ‘Radiology’
Sharmila Majumdar | Via University of California, San Francisco | August 23, 2018Deep learning has become a powerful tool in radiology in recent years. Researchers at the UC San Francisco Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging have started using deep learning methods to characterize joint degeneration and osteoarthritis, which will ultimately reduce the number of total joint replacements. In a recent paper published in Radiology (PubMed) they […]
Cleavage of the leptin receptor by matrix metalloproteinase–2 promotes leptin resistance and obesity in mice
Geert Schmid-Schoenbein | Via AAAS | August 22, 2018R. Mazor, D. Friedmann-Morvinski, T. Alsaigh, O. Kleifeld, E. B. Kistler, L. Rousso-Noori, C. Huang, J. B. Li, I. M. Verma, G. W. Schmid-Schönbein Restoring leptin’s effects in obesity Obesity is the most common metabolic disease in the developed world. Although obese individuals have increased plasma concentrations of the anorexigenic hormone leptin, they are refractory […]
Dean Loboa named vice chancellor for Strategic Partnerships
Elizabeth Loboa | Via University of Missouri | August 22, 2018University of Missouri Chancellor Alexander Cartwright appointed MU Engineering Dean Elizabeth Loboa as the vice chancellor for Strategic Partnerships during his campus address on Wednesday. She will hold the position in addition to her duties as dean. In this dual role, Loboa will be the primary MU contact for the UM System Precision Medicine Initiative, […]
Michele Grimm earns Fellow status from Biomedical Engineering Society
Michele Grimm | Via Wayne State University | August 21, 2018The Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) has elected Michele Grimm, associate professor of biomedical engineering at Wayne State University, to the BMES Class of 2018 Fellows, a distinguished group of biomedical engineers who demonstrate exceptional achievements and experience in the field as well as a history of active membership in the Society. The Class of 2018 […]
Rory Cooper is Driven to Solve Problems for Disabled People
Rory Cooper | Via AAAS | August 20, 2018As a young man, facing life after suffering a spinal cord injury in a bicycling accident in 1980, AAAS Fellow and AAAS-Lemelson Invention Ambassador Rory Cooper wanted three things — to become an engineer, to be able to support a family, and to make a difference in the world. But he didn’t think he could […]
ICME Approaches to Innovation in Biomedical Implants Workshop
Bikramjit Basu | Via AIMBE | August 11, 2018Proof-of-concept technique makes nanoparticles attractive for new medications
You Han Bae | Via MD Linx | August 9, 2018Since the development of insulin to manage diabetes, pharmacists have longed to create an insulin pill. Past attempts have failed because insulin does not survive the harsh conditions of the GI system and cannot easily cross the GI wall. Researchers at University of Utah Health developed a proof-of-concept technology using nanoparticles that could offer a […]
Genetic Mutations of Appendix Cancer Identified, May Impact Treatment
Trey Ideker | Via UC San Diego | August 8, 2018The rarity of appendix cancer, accounting for less than 1 percent of tumors that originate in the gastrointestinal tract, and the lack of scientific data for this disease means that current treatment guidelines recommend applying therapies to people with appendix cancer that are intended for those with colon cancer. To understand why some patients with […]