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.
Motor Control Development May Extend into Late Adolescence, Study Finds
Francisco J. Valero-Cuevas | Via University of Southern California News | September 18, 2013The development of fine motor control — the ability to use your fingertips to manipulate objects — takes longer than previously believed and isn’t entirely the result of brain development, according to a pair of complementary studies by USC researchers. The studies open up the potential to use therapy to continue improving the motor control […]
MIT’s Langer Wins Top Honor, Palmaz Award for Innovation in Healthcare and Biosciences
Robert Langer | Via Boston Business Journal | September 18, 2013BioMed SA will award its eighth Julio Palmaz Award for Innovation in Healthcare and the Biosciences to Robert S. Langer on Wednesday. Langer, the David H. Koch Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, runs one of the largest research labs at the internationally acclaimed institution. The award, named after Palmaz Stent inventor Dr. […]
Tracking Hallucinations Inside the Brain
Vince D. Calhoun | Via University of New Mexico | September 16, 2013What happens in your brain when you hear voices that aren’t there? What happens when you see things that no one else sees around you? People with some mental illnesses struggle every day to separate reality from hallucinations and it appears those hallucinations trigger activity in specific parts of the brain. Distinguished Professor of Electrical […]
Studying Tumor Mutations via a Network Approach
Trey Ideker | Via Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News | September 16, 2013Researchers at the University of California-San Diego have developed a novel strategy to identify cancer subtypes not by the single mutations of individual patients, but by how those mutations affect shared genetic networks or systems. They published their paper (“Network-based stratification of tumor mutations”) in the September 15 advanced online edition of Nature Methods. “Somatic […]
Gene Networks Predict Cancer Prognosis
Trey Ideker | Via UT San Diego | September 15, 2013Better cancer treatments can be found by studying the genetic networks they involve, according to a study published Sunday by UC San Diego researchers. While individual cancer patients vary greatly in the precise mutations that drive tumors, they can be grouped into similar genetic networks that mesh with response to therapy, stated the study, published […]
Matthew Tirrell Named Pritzker Visiting Scientist-Inventor-Engineer at Parker School
Matthew Tirrell | Via UChicago News | September 12, 2013The University of Chicago’s Matthew Tirrell has accepted an invitation to serve as the Robert A. Pritzker Visiting Scientist-Inventor-Engineer in Residence at the Francis W. Parker School for the 2013-14 school year. Tirrell, the Pritzker Director of the Institute for Molecular Engineering, will present a public lecture on Monday, Oct. 28 and will interact with students through […]
Unraveling Cancer Through Network Models
Trey Ideker | Via BioTechniques | September 11, 2013In many ways, cancer is simply a devastating natural mutagenesis experiment. Alterations to genes and their products, as well as additional downstream modifications, lead to dangerous and deadly consequences. From recent studies, we know there are a few key cancer drivers, genes such as p53 and Ras that have central roles within the genetic pathways […]
Peppas Selected For American Chemical Society’s Applied Polymer Science Award
Nicholas Peppas | Via Cockrell School of Engineering | September 10, 2013Professor Nicholas Peppas has been selected for the 2014 American Chemical Society (ACS) Award in Applied Polymer Science for his pioneering work on the development and implementation of polymer networks and hydrogels for biomedical applications. Nicholas Peppas is the Fletcher Stuckey Pratt Chair in Engineering and a professor in the McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, the […]
Diller Named Fellow of the Society for Cryobiology and Recipient of 2013 Luyet Medal
Kenneth Diller | Via University of Texas as Austin BME News | September 10, 2013Professor Kenneth Diller has been inducted as a Fellow of the Society for Cryobiology and will be recognized with the 2013 Luyet Medal for his extensive work in cryobiology. Diller, who has been a major figure in bio heat transfer problems for the last 43 years, is one of the 22 distinguished Fellows of Society […]
Programmable Glue Made of DNA Directs Tiny Gel Bricks to Self-Assemble
Ali Khademhosseini | Via Wyss Institute | September 9, 2013A team of researchers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University has found a way to self-assemble complex structures out of bricks smaller than a grain of salt. The self-assembly method could help solve one of the major challenges in tissue engineering: regrowing human tissue by injecting tiny components into the […]
City College Appoints Two Academic Leaders in STEM Fields
Gilda Barabino | Via The City College of New York | September 6, 2013New deans of engineering and science bring academic excellence, management expertise and research accomplishments Following an extensive nationwide recruiting process, The City College of New York today announced the appointment of two outstanding academicians, administrators and researchers who will bring new leadership to the College’s programs in the STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering and mathematics): […]
Cancer Vaccine Begins Phase I Clinical Trials
David Mooney | Via Harvard SEAS | September 6, 2013Cross-disciplinary team from Harvard University and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute brings novel therapeutic cancer vaccine to human clinical trials A cross-disciplinary team of scientists, engineers, and clinicians announced today that they have begun a Phase I clinical trial of an implantable vaccine to treat melanoma, the most lethal form of skin cancer. The effort is the […]
Molecular Beacons Light Path to Cardiac Muscle Repair
Gang Bao | Via Emory University | September 4, 2013Pure cardiac muscle cells, ready to transplant into a patient affected by heart disease. That’s a goal for many cardiology researchers working with stem cells. Having a pure population of cardiac muscle cells is essential for avoiding tumor formation after transplantation, but has been technically challenging. Researchers at Emory and Georgia Tech have developed a […]
Pratt HIV Pouch Waiting on Funds
Robert Malkin | Via Duke Chronicle | September 3, 2013Modeled after a ketchup packet, an invention made by a Pratt School of Engineering class could revolutionize the way antiretrovirals are delivered to newborns. Robert Malkin, professor of the practice of biomedical engineering and director of Engineering World Health, and the students in his Design for the Developing World course developed the new antiretroviral delivery […]
IOVS Editor-in-chief Highlights the benefit of Primary Tissue or in Vivo Data to Support Experimental Results from Cell Lines
David Beebe | Via EURETINA | September 2, 2013Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science’s (IOVS), Editor-in-Chief, Prof. David C. Beebe, has proposed that experimental results from cell lines should be confirmed with supporting primary tissue or in vivo data prior to publication. Prof. Beebe’s comments follow from a recently published perspective by researchers at North Texas Eye Research Institute, University of North Texas Health […]
Griswold and Team Close in on “Holy Grail” of Medical Imaging: New Type of MRI Can Do Virtual Biopsy
Mark Griswold, | Via Case Western Reserve Medicine | September 1, 2013A cool hand on a warmer-than-normal forehead can mean fever. But is it 100 degrees—or 103 or 105? Taking a temperature and knowing the number can be the difference between prescribing fluids and bed rest or handling a medical emergency. Modern-day magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has long been like a hand on a forehead. MRI […]
Introducing Dr. Frances Ligler
Frances Ligler | Via NC State Engineering | September 1, 2013Dr. Frances Ligler is new to the College of Engineering at NC State, but she’s far from being a novice. A pioneer in the fields of biosensors and microfluidics, Ligler’s seminal concepts in biosensing and transfer to industrial products, including the development of detection systems for biological agents, led to being elected to the National […]
New Curriculum, New Faculty for Biomedical Engineering
Metin Akay | Via University of Houston | August 30, 2013Building an entirely new academic program has its benefits. Sure, some parts of the job can be difficult – handling everything from faculty searches to office supply orders is enough to make anyone’s head spin. But there’s a reason a clean slate is so valuable: you can write anything you want on it. That’s the […]
Dr. Schmidt’s Nerve Scaffold Research Featured on NSF’s Science Nation
Christine Schmidt | Via University of Florida | August 25, 2013Helping the body regrow nerves: Dr. Schmidt’s research on nerve repair scaffolds is featured on Science Nation, the National Science Foundation’s online video magazine that examines breakthroughs and the possibilities for new discoveries. Combat, cancer and accidents — all can cause devastating nerve injuries. Sometimes, the body heals on its own. “Your peripheral nerves, the […]