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.
Probing the tumor microenvironment
Douglas Lauffenburger | Via Vanderbilt University Medical Center | July 12, 2022The tumor microenvironment, which includes epithelial, immune and connective tissue cells, plays important roles in the pathogenesis of colorectal tumors. Few studies have examined how the microenvironment changes as colorectal tumors transition from advanced adenomas to pre-invasive carcinomas. Ken Lau, PhD, and colleagues have now used single-cell RNA-sequencing, multiplex immunofluorescence imaging, and computational approaches to […]
Study finds cancer cells gravitate toward mechanical ‘sweet spot’ environments
David Odde | Via Science Board | July 12, 2022An international team of researchers, led by University of Minnesota Twin Cities engineers, has discovered that cancer cells invade the body based on the stiffness of their environment, providing a new understanding of how cancer spreads and the potential for improvements to future treatments. Their study, published on July 11 in the journal Nature Materials, […]
When it comes to darker skin, pulse oximeters fall short
Kimani Toussaint | Via NPR | July 11, 2022Over the past two years, the pulse oximeter has become a crucial tool for tracking the health of COVID-19 patients. The small device clips onto a finger and measures the amount of oxygen in a patient’s blood. But a growing body of evidence shows the device can be inaccurate when measuring oxygen levels in people […]
‘Digital human’ helps teach Stanford study participants to walk with less stress on knees
Scott Delp | Via Stanford Medicine | July 7, 2022A computer simulation that relates muscle activation patterns to harmful pressure on the knee helps participants adopt knee-protective strategies as they walk. Researchers at Stanford Medicine have discovered how to reduce force on the knee by teaching study participants to employ different muscles as they walk. Using results from a detailed computer simulation, called a […]
‘Dancing molecules’ in the lab
Samuel Stupp | Via Northwestern University | July 5, 2022Professor Samuel Stupp welcomes congressional champions of biomedical research to his Northwestern lab Professor Samuel Stupp welcomed U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, U.S. Rep. Jim Langevin and Northwestern President Morton Schapiro to his lab recently to discuss his research in the area of regenerative medicine and a new injectable therapy that harnesses “dancing molecules” to reverse […]
Inhalable COVID-19 Vaccine Shows Promise in Rodent Model
Ke Cheng | Via NC State University | July 5, 2022Researchers have created an inhalable COVID-19 vaccine that is shelf stable at room temperature for up to three months, targets the lungs specifically and effectively, and allows for self-administration via an inhaler. The researchers also found that the delivery mechanism for this vaccine – a lung-derived exosome called LSC-Exo – is more effective at evading […]
Can rubrics combat gender bias in faculty hiring?
Stephanie Fraley | Via Science | June 30, 2022Some bias persisted, but rubric use should be encouraged Abstract Research has documented the presence of bias against women in hiring, including in academic science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Hiring rubrics (also called criterion checklists, decision support tools, and evaluation tools) are widely recommended as a precise, cost-effective remedy to counteract hiring bias, despite […]
Experts Study Marine Mammals To Learn About Human Hearing
Barbara Shinn-Cunningham | Via Carnegie Mellon University | June 30, 2022Many hearing loss patients have the same complaint: They have trouble following conversations in a noisy space. Carnegie Mellon University’s Barbara Shinn-Cunningham has spent her career conducting research to better understand this problem and how it affects people at cocktail parties, coffee shops and grocery stores. Now, along with a team of researchers from six […]
Breast Cancer’s Spread Accelerates During Sleep
Sunitha Nagrath | Via Medpage Today | June 28, 2022Breast cancer metastases spread far more efficiently during sleep, according to a Swiss study. While it has been assumed that circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are constantly shedding from growing tumors, or as a result of mechanical insults, there’s a “striking and unexpected pattern of CTC generation dynamics in both patients with breast cancer and mouse […]
Tissue model reveals key players in liver regeneration
Sangeeta Bhatia | Via MIT | June 27, 2022By tracing the steps of liver regrowth, MIT engineers hope to harness the liver’s regenerative abilities to help treat chronic disease. The human liver has amazing regeneration capabilities: Even if up to 70 percent of it is removed, the remaining tissue can regrow a full-sized liver within months. Taking advantage of this regenerative capability could […]
Using DNA to better calculate a dog’s age
Trey Ideker | Via Veterinary Practice News | June 27, 2022Where the long-accepted one-to-seven ratio came from is unknown, but a 2020 study determined the equation to be wildly inaccurate For decades, a dog’s age in human years has been determined by a general ratio of one dog year to seven human years, so a three-year-old dog would be the physical equivalent of a 21-year-old […]
Nanomaterials That Provide Imaging While Delivering Medication
Kytai Nguyen | Via University of Texas at Arlington | June 24, 2022A University of Texas at Arlington bioengineer is leading a project that will develop biodegradable nanomaterials that will take pictures and deliver medicine to combat peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Kytai Nguyen, a UT Arlington bioengineering professor, is the principal investigator in the four-year, $2.1 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant. She’s collaborating with Jian […]
Lipid nanoparticles carry gene-editing cancer drugs past tumor defenses
Daniel Siegwart | Via UT Southwestern | June 23, 2022As they grow, solid tumors surround themselves with a thick, hard-to-penetrate wall of molecular defenses. Getting drugs past that barricade is notoriously difficult. Now, scientists at UT Southwestern have developed nanoparticles that can break down the physical barriers around tumors to reach cancer cells. Once inside, the nanoparticles release their payload: a gene editing system […]
Self-plugging Microneedles Offer Potential to Improve Delivery of Drugs into the Eyeball
Ali Khademhosseini | Via Terasaki Institute | June 17, 2022Published research on new eye treatment delivery shows improvement over hypodermic needles A collaborative team, including scientists from the Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation (TIBI), has developed a novel, self-plugging microneedle for injecting therapeutics into the eyes, potentially solving one of the major challenges of treating eye diseases – accurate delivery of therapeutic drugs to […]
Robert Langer wins BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award
Robert Langer | Via MIT | June 17, 2022Institute Professor honored for groundbreaking work in nucleic acid delivery and nanoparticles. Robert Langer, the David H. Koch (1962) Institute Professor at MIT, received yesterday the 2022 BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Biology and Biomedicine in recognition of his contributions to messenger (mRNA) therapeutics and delivery technology, which enabled the rapid development of […]
Dr. Cato T. Laurencin Elected to the European Academy of Sciences
Cato Laurencin | Via University of Connecticut | June 16, 2022The prestigious European Academy of Sciences has recognized UConn’s Dr. Cato T. Laurencin for his visionary and pioneering work in the field of regenerative engineering In recognition of his pioneering work in the field of regenerative engineering, UConn professor Dr. Cato T. Laurencin has been elected to the prestigious European Academy of Sciences (EURASC). “It’s […]
Understanding Poor Vaccine Responses in Individuals With Weakened Immune Systems
Rong Fan | Via Yale School of Medicine | June 16, 2022When the COVID-19 vaccine first became available, people eagerly signed up for coveted slots to boost their antibodies against the virus that shut down much of the world. But not everyone who rolled up their sleeve received equal protection from illness. A significant proportion of the population has weakened immune systems, including cancer patients, those […]
Lydia Contreras Named New Vice Provost for Faculty Diversity
Lydia Contreras | Via The University of Texas at Austin | June 15, 2022The University of Texas at Austin has named Lydia Contreras as its new vice provost for faculty diversity, equity and inclusivity, effective immediately. Contreras, who currently holds the Jim and Barbara Miller Endowed Faculty Fellowship in Chemical Engineering, has served for the past two years as the managing director of diversity in the Office of […]
$2.38M to test nano-engineered brain cancer treatment in mice
Joerg Lahann | Via University of Michigan | June 15, 2022A protein that crosses the blood-brain barrier carries a drug that kills tumor cells and another that activates the immune system A new nanomedicine that crosses the blood-brain barrier, engages the immune system and kills cancer cells may offer hope for treating the most aggressive form of brain cancer, glioblastoma. With $2.38 million in funding […]