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.
Nano-Sized ‘Factories’ Churn Out Proteins
Daniel Anderson | Via Massachusetts Institute of Technology | April 8, 2012Drugs made of protein have shown promise in treating cancer, but they are difficult to deliver because the body usually breaks down proteins before they reach their destination. To get around that obstacle, a team of MIT researchers has developed a new type of nanoparticle that can synthesize proteins on demand. Once these “protein-factory” particles […]
Targeted Nanoparticles Show Success in Clinical Trials
Robert Langer | Via Massachusetts Institute of Technology | April 4, 2012Targeted therapeutic nanoparticles that accumulate in tumors while bypassing healthy cells have shown promising results in an ongoing clinical trial, according to a new paper. The nanoparticles feature a homing molecule that allows them to specifically attack cancer cells, and are the first such targeted particles to enter human clinical studies. Originally developed by researchers […]
Bashir Wants Research to Have an Impact
Rashid Bashir | Via University of Illinois ECE | April 4, 2012Like any good professor, ECE and Bioengineering Professor Rashid Bashir wants to pass on what he’s learned to students. That goes for both imparting knowledge of science and engineering to the students in his lab, and for passing on his experience when it comes to career choices. Bashir, the director of the Micro and Nanotechnology […]
Six Pegasus Professors Honored in 2012
Sudipta Seal | Via UCF Today | April 4, 2012Five University of Central Florida scientists and an internationally renowned musician were recognized as Pegasus Professors today, during the annual Founders’ Day ceremony in the Student Union. The award is the most prestigious a faculty member can receive at UCF. The honor recognizes extraordinary contributions to the UCF community through teaching, research and service. Each […]
Texas Children’s Hospital Researchers Awarded More than $290,000 from Simmons Family Foundation for Joint Collaboration Projects
Jane Grande-Allen | Via Texas Children's Hospital | April 3, 2012This year at the 2012 Collaborative Research Awards Luncheon held on Feb. 17, the Virginia and L.E. Simmons Family Foundation provided a total of $635,000 to support the Collaborative Research Fund program. This five-year, $3 million initiative, provides funding to support teams of collaborators from Texas Children’s Hospital, Rice University and The Methodist Hospital Research […]
Genetic Sensor Boosts Biofuel Production
Jay Keasling | Via MIT Technology Review | April 2, 2012Designer microbes regulate their own pathways to optimize fuel production, boosting yields threefold. Give bacteria a bit of self-awareness and they can be smarter about producing biofuel. That’s the conclusion from researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, who report a genetic sensor that enables bacteria to adjust their gene expression in response to varying […]
Akay Honored by Two Engineering Associations
Metin Akay | Via University of Houston | April 2, 2012The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers has named Metin Akay, founding chair and John S. Dunn Endowed Chair Professor of the Cullen College’s Department of Biomedical Engineering, to its inaugural group of IEEE Brand Ambassadors. Founded in January of this year, the Brand Ambassador’s program is designed to communicate the importance of engineers and […]
Engineering School Announces New Dean, Major Gifts
Jeffrey Lewis Duerk | Via Case School of Engineering | April 1, 2012Jeffrey L. Duerk oversees $11 million in gifts, including $5 million for Think[Box] program. The Case school of engineering is proud to announce the appointment of its new dean— former biomedical engineering department chair Jeffrey L. Duerk. The school recently announced $11 million in new gifts under Duerk’s leadership, with more than $5 million going to support […]
Jason Burdick Receives Edward C. Nagy New Investigator Award
Jason Burdick | Via SEAS Penn Engineering | April 1, 2012Jason A. Burdick, associate professor in the department of Bioengineering, has been selected as a recipient of the Edward C. Nagy New Investigator Award from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB). The award will be presented at the first NIBIB Edward C. Nagy New Investigator Symposium on April 12, 2011 at the […]
Cancer Crusaders
Liping Tang | Via UT Arlington | April 1, 2012Breakthroughs in tissue engineering and optical imaging have brought UT Arlington bioengineers millions of dollars in funding to fight the disease that took more than 570,000 American lives last year. The numbers are alarming. The National Cancer Institute estimates that almost half the country’s male population will have some form of cancer, as will about […]
DeLisa Group Paper on Bacterial “Glycoengineering” Featured on The Nature Chemical Biology Website
Matthew P. DeLisa | Via Cornell University | March 30, 2012A method for engineering a bacterial strain to create eukaryotic glycoproteins developed by Professor Matthew DeLisa and colleagues is presented this week in Nature Chemical Biology. These results may have immediate importance for industrial production of glycoproteins that scientists use in looking for therapies for various diseases.
Novel Compound Halts Tumor Spread, Improves Brain Cancer Treatment
Ravi Bellamkonda | Via Georgia Tech Research News | March 28, 2012Treating invasive brain tumors with a combination of chemotherapy and radiation has improved clinical outcomes, but few patients survive longer than two years after diagnosis. The effectiveness of the treatment is limited by the tumor’s aggressive invasion of healthy brain tissue, which restricts chemotherapy access to the cancer cells and complicates surgical removal of the […]
Colburn Lecture Showcases Trailblazing Career as Researcher/Educator
H. Steven Colburn | Via Boston University | March 27, 2012At a hearing research conference that Professor H. Steven Colburn (BME) attended in Germany several years ago, a 15-year-old girl recalled how a pair of cochlear implants changed her life. She observed that the first implant enabled her to converse with individuals in isolation, but not in groups; as conversations jumped from person to person, […]
Harvard’s Wyss Institute Creates Living Human Gut-on-a-Chip
Donald Ingber | Via Wyss Institute | March 27, 2012Researchers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University have created a gut-on-a-chip microdevice lined by living human cells that mimics the structure, physiology, and mechanics of the human intestine — even supporting the growth of living microbes within its luminal space. As a more accurate alternative to conventional cell culture and […]
University of Akron Research Team Gets National GE Innovation Award for Breast Cancer Research
Judit Puskas | Via Cleveland | March 27, 2012A research team from the University of Akron is one of five national recipients of a $100,000 grant from General Electric, which last fall launched a program to identify and bring to market innovations created to diagnose and treat breast cancer. The team’s idea — a polymer covering the outside of a breast implant or […]
Safer Breast Implant with Healing Properties Among Top Winners in Cancer-Fighting Innovations International Competition
Judit Puskas | Via University of Akron | March 27, 2012The development of a safer breast implant that could actually help detect and destroy cancer cells is the focus of research at The University of Akron that won international recognition today as one of the most exciting and innovative ideas in the battle against breast cancer. Launched last fall, the “GE Healthymagination Cancer Challenge” generated […]
Simple, Cheap Way to Mass-Produce Graphene Nanosheets
Liming Dai | Via Case Western Reserve University | March 26, 2012Mixing a little dry ice and a simple industrial process cheaply mass-produces high-quality graphene nanosheets, researchers in South Korea and Case Western Reserve University report. Graphene, which is made from graphite, the same stuff as “lead” in pencils, has been hailed as the most important synthetic material in a century. Sheets conduct electricity better than […]
Cooking Better Biochar: Study Improves Recipe for Soil Additive
Kyriacos Zygourakis | Via Rice University News | March 22, 2012Backyard gardeners who make their own charcoal soil additives, or biochar, should take care to heat their charcoal to at least 450 degrees Celsius to ensure that water and nutrients get to their plants, according to a new study by Rice University scientists. The study, published this week in the Journal of Biomass and Bioenergy, […]
Robotic Lake Lander Could Explore Bodies of Water on Other Planets
Wolfgang Fink | Via Gizmag | March 21, 2012Ask someone to picture a robotic roving vehicle, and chances are they’ll think of something with wheels, like the Mars Rover. If an alien civilization were sending a craft to explore Earth, however, they might be better off using a boat – after all, the majority of our planet’s surface is covered with water. Saturn’s […]