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.
CRISPR Screening IDs Factors for Turning Stem Cells into Neurons
Charles Gersbach | Via Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News | December 2, 2020Genetic reprogramming can help stem cells mature into desired cell types, but it is often kludgy, which is to say, clumsy and inefficient—or worse, inexact. It may produce cells that don’t mature quite as much as they should, or that fail to represent the exact right subtype. These shortcomings may be avoided if more elegant […]
City of Hope developed cancer-killing virus: activates immune system against colon cancer
Yuman Fong | Via Science Codex | December 1, 2020A cancer-killing virus that City of Hope scientists developed could one day improve the immune system’s ability to eradicate tumors in colon cancer patients, reports a new study in Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. The preclinical research is a first step to showing that City of Hope’s oncolytic virus […]
Rethinking Hair Dye: A Natural New Process
Nathan Gianneschi | Via Medical Daily | November 30, 2020Whether we buy it at a drugstore or at a salon, hair dye can make a big difference in how we feel about our appearance—but how safe is it? There are ongoing questions about whether or not hair dye increases cancer risks, with at least two studies linking permanent hair dye with increased likelihood of […]
Fink Receives PHM Society’s Inaugural Scott Clements MVP Award
Wolfgang Fink | Via University of Arizona | November 30, 2020University of Arizona biomedical engineering and electrical and computer engineering professor Wolfgang Fink received the inaugural Scott Clements Most Valuable Person Award at the Prognostics and Health Management (PHM) Society’s 12th annual conference. The Scott Clements MVP Award recognizes individuals who have contributed to community engagement, cross-sector initiatives and other support of the PHM Society. […]
Study Reveals Connection Between Gut Bacteria and Vitamin D Levels
Rob Knight | Via UC San Diego | November 30, 2020Our gut microbiomes — the many bacteria, viruses and other microbes living in our digestive tracts — play important roles in our health and risk for disease in ways that are only beginning to be recognized. University of California San Diego researchers and collaborators recently demonstrated in older men that the makeup of a person’s […]
Combination therapy might improve outcomes in treatment-resistant liver cancer
Dan Duda | Via Massachusetts General Hospital | November 30, 2020A combination cancer therapy that is effective against treatment-resistant hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by inhibiting tumor growth and increasing survival has been identified by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). In a paper published in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer, the investigators describe how the dual therapy — which combines the multikinase inhibitor drug regorafenib […]
Imaging method reveals a “symphony of cellular activities”
Ed Boyden | Via MIT | November 23, 2020Within a single cell, thousands of molecules, such as proteins, ions, and other signaling molecules, work together to perform all kinds of functions — absorbing nutrients, storing memories, and differentiating into specific tissues, among many others. Deciphering these molecules, and all of their interactions, is a monumental task. Over the past 20 years, scientists have […]
Using a ‘lab-on-a-chip’ in the fight against COVID-19
Jie Chen | Via Alberta Innovates | November 23, 2020Powerhouse researchers at the University of Alberta have joined forces to develop a handheld Lab-on-a-Chip (LOC) device for rapidly detecting COVID-19 antibodies. LOC technology involves the miniaturization and integration of components (e.g., sensors, a pump, a centrifuge, a microchip, etc.) into small, portable devices that can carry out laboratory tests whenever and wherever needed. Alberta researchers are […]
Glenn Gaudette named inaugural chair of new department of engineering
Glenn Gaudette | Via Boston College | November 19, 2020Glenn Gaudette, a biomedical engineer who has pioneered the use of plants as scaffolding for heart regeneration, has been named the inaugural chair of Boston College’s new Engineering Department, which will integrate BC’s liberal arts focus with a human-centered engineering curriculum to prepare students to find solutions that address critical human needs. Gaudette is the […]
Parasite-inspired drug delivery system could be the future of medicine
David Gracias | Via Science Focus | November 18, 2020The tiny, star-shaped ‘theragrippers’ latch onto the intestinal tract, to slowly release their drug payload. Prof David Gracias is the director of graduate studies in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. He spoke to BBC Science Focus commissioning editor Jason Goodyer about his latest work on bioinspired microdevices that can […]
Researchers engineer tiny, shape-changing machines that deliver medicine to the GI tract
David Gracias | Via National Science Foundation | November 12, 2020Inspired by a parasitic worm that digs its sharp teeth into its host’s intestines, Johns Hopkins University researchers have designed tiny, star-shaped microdevices that latch onto intestinal mucosa and release drugs into the body. Made of metal and thin, shape-changing film and coated in a heat-sensitive paraffin wax, “theragrippers,” each roughly the size of a […]
Boone Named Next Editor-in-Chief of Medical Physics, Effective January 1, 2021
John Boone | Via AAPM | November 12, 2020The American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) has selected John M. Boone as the next Editor-in-Chief of its flagship journal, Medical Physics. Boone will succeed Jeffrey F. Williamson in this role, beginning January 1, 2021. He has a dedicated history with AAPM, becoming a Fellow in 1999; serving as the Vice-Chair and Chair of […]
Healing Chronic Wounds
Millie Sullivan | Via University of Delaware | November 2, 2020Prof. Millie Sullivan receives Fulbright Award to study gene therapies promoting wound healing at University of Melbourne Cuts, scratches and scrapes. A tumble on the playground, a misadventure making dinner or a crisp piece of paper can make wounds and injuries a natural part of life. Each time the skin breaks, a concert of activity […]
UB leads $3.7 million project to improve MRI technology
Xiaoliang Zhang | Via buffalo | November 2, 2020Diseases and injuries of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue, such as ligaments, tendons and bone, are a major cause of disability in the U.S. MRI has increasingly become the diagnostic tool of choice for evaluation and management of these diseases and injuries, primarily due to its ability to provide information on anatomic structure and […]
Tracer molecule may improve imaging tests for brain injury
Georges El Fakhri | Via EurekAlert | October 22, 2020Researchers have validated a new radiolabeled molecule that can be used with imaging tests to accurately detect and characterize brain injury. The team, led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), recently received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to initiate a first-in-human study with the strategy. As described in the Journal […]
DrugCell: New Experimental AI Platform Matches Tumor to Best Drug Combo
Trey Ideker | Via UC San Diego | October 22, 2020Only 4 percent of all cancer therapeutic drugs under development earn final approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). “That’s because right now we can’t match the right combination of drugs to the right patients in a smart way,” said Trey Ideker, PhD, professor at University of California San Diego School of Medicine […]
Medical device using Northwestern-invented biomaterial receives FDA clearance
Guillermo Ameer | Via Northwestern University | October 21, 2020An innovative orthopedic medical device fabricated from a novel biomaterial pioneered in the laboratory of Northwestern University professor Guillermo A. Ameer has received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in surgeries to attach soft tissue grafts to bone. The biomaterial is the first thermoset biodegradable synthetic polymer ever approved for […]
Engineering Customized Blood Vessels to Support Organ Regeneration
Sina Rabbany | Via Hofstra University | October 20, 2020A team of scientists that includes Sina Rabbany, PhD, dean of Hofstra University’s Fred DeMatteis School of Engineering and Applied Science, has pioneered a method for manufacturing functioning human blood vessels that can transport blood, an advancement that could potentially revolutionize the production of human transplantable organs. “More than 100,000 people on the national transplant […]
Scott E. Fraser elected to National Academy of Medicine
Scott Fraser | Via USC | October 19, 2020USC biophysicist Scott E. Fraser, PhD, has as been elected to the National Academy of Medicine, the organization announced Monday. He’s among 100 new members of the Academy. “For integrating biophysics, quantitative biology, and molecular imaging to enable unprecedented views of normal function and disease in live organisms, from embryonic development to old age,” the […]