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.
Vannevar Bush Award Given to Roderic Pettigrew, Innovator in Biomedicine and Technology
Roderic Pettigrew | Via National Science Board | September 28, 2020On September 28, 2020, the National Science Board (NSB) announced that Roderic Pettigrew will receive its prestigious Vannevar Bush Award. The award honors science and technology leaders who have made substantial contributions to the welfare of the nation through public service in science, technology and public policy. “Roderic Pettigrew’s passion and creativity have spurred innovation […]
COVID test site differences, a fourth option in the works
Rebecca Richards-Kortum | Via Rice University | September 24, 2020Rice’s Crisis Management Team plans to add a fourth and more rapid COVID-19 testing option on the Rice campus. Currently there are three sites that provide daily testing for asymptomatic students, staff and faculty who spend time on campus. All three of these current sites (Abercrombie Engineering Laboratory, East Gym in the Tudor Fieldhouse and […]
Exploring novel gene therapy approaches to treat ocular disease
Jordan Green | Via Ophthalmology Times | September 24, 2020Nanoparticles have been used to deliver gene therapy to treat age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in mice and rats. As reported in ScienceDaily, the Johns Hopkins University (JHU) investigators used a uniquely engineered large molecule that facilitated compaction of large bundles of therapeutic DNA to be delivered into the ocular cells. This approach does not depend […]
Introducing COVID19questions.org
Lucila Ohno-Machado | Via UC San Diego Health | September 17, 2020As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, there is an urgent need to determine who is at greatest risk for severe disease, better understand how the disease and treatments evolve, and predict the need for resources. But to get there, researchers and clinicians need more data about what patients have experienced so far, and what factors are […]
Bone Cancer Treatment Potentially Improved by Soy
Susmita Bose | Via Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News | September 16, 2020Soy is widely studied for its estrogenic and anti-estrogenic effects on the body. It has been linked to a reduced risk of breast cancer and recurrence, improved heart and bone health, as well as the reduced risk of other cancers. Now researchers at Washington State University (WSU) see the potential of soy when it comes […]
Farach-Carson, Young win grant to study possible treatment for xerostomia
Cindy Farach-Carson | Via UT Health Science Center | September 14, 2020The OMS Foundation has awarded a $75,000 grant to UTHealth School of Dentistry at Houston for development of stem cell therapy for xerostomia (severe dry mouth) using minor salivary glands. Professor Mary (Cindy) Farach-Carson, PhD, director of clinical and translational research, is the study’s principal investigator, with Simon Young, DDS, MD, PhD, assistant professor in […]
Add human-genome produced RNA to the list of cell surface molecules
Sheng Zhong | Via UCSD | September 10, 2020Bioengineers at UC San Diego have shown that human-genome produced RNA is present on the surface of human cells, suggesting a more expanded role for RNA in cell-to-cell and cell-to-environment interactions than previously thought. This new type of membrane-associated extracellular RNA (maxRNA) is found in human cells that are not undergoing cell death, shedding light […]
A new kind of prosthetics
Dustin Tyler | Via ABC 12, Gray Media Group | September 9, 2020There are nearly two million people in the United States who are living with a loss of a limb. The causes vary … from vascular disease to cancer and trauma. And it’s estimated half of all amputees with powered prosthesis don’t use them. They don’t like how they feel or that they cannot feel. Now […]
Markers may predict patient response to immune therapy of cancer
Rakesh Jain | Via EurekAlert | September 7, 2020For many individuals with different types of cancer, immune checkpoint inhibitors can effectively boost their immune system to fight their disease, but not all patients benefit from these medications. Now a team led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Harvard Medical School (HMS) has developed an approach to help identify potential clinical markers […]
First Demonstration of Neuro Therapeutic Tropane Alkaloids Produced in Yeast
Christina Smolke | Via Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News | September 3, 2020Researchers report the first successful microbial biosynthesis of the tropane alkaloids hyoscyamine and scopolamine, a class of neuromuscular blockers naturally found in plants in the nightshade family. Describing a first-in-class fermentation-based approach for producing complex molecules, the paper lays the foundation for a controlled, flexible, cell-based manufacturing platform for essential medicines that currently rely on […]
Blood test detects common cancer types 4 years before current screening methods
Kun Zhang | Via Healio | September 3, 2020A novel blood-based assay demonstrated the ability to detect five cancer types up to 4 years earlier than current screening methods, according to study results published in Nature Communications. The noninvasive PanSeer test (Singlera Genomics), which is based on DNA methylation, detected stomach, esophageal, colorectal, lung and liver cancer in 91% of asymptomatic individuals who […]
Predictive placentas: Using artificial intelligence to protect mothers’ future pregnancies
Philip LeDuc | Via EurekAlert | September 2, 2020After a baby is born, doctors sometimes examine the placenta–the organ that links the mother to the baby–for features that indicate health risks in any future pregnancies. Unfortunately, this is a time-consuming process that must be performed by a specialist, so most placentas go unexamined after the birth. A team of researchers from Carnegie Mellon […]
Scientists use two powerful immunotherapies to eradicate solid tumors
Yuman Fong | Via Science Daily | September 2, 2020City of Hope scientists have combined two potent immunotherapies — an oncolytic virus and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy — to target and eradicate solid tumors that are otherwise difficult to treat with CAR T therapy alone, according to a new Science Translational Medicine study. In preclinical research that could lead to a […]
Scientists Show How Brain Flexibility Emerges in Infants
Weili Lin | Via UNC Healthcare | August 31, 2020Cognitive flexibility, which refers to the brain’s ability to switch between mental processes in response to external stimuli and different task demands, seems to begin developing during the first two years of life, which is much earlier than previously thought. UNC BRIC researchers led by Weili Lin, PhD, used magnetic resonance imaging techniques to show […]
Scientists Show How Brain Flexibility Emerges in Infants
Dinggang Shen | Via UNC Healthcare | August 31, 2020Cognitive flexibility, which refers to the brain’s ability to switch between mental processes in response to external stimuli and different task demands, seems to begin developing during the first two years of life, which is much earlier than previously thought. UNC BRIC researchers led by Weili Lin, PhD, used magnetic resonance imaging techniques to show […]
Physiological Test for Autism Proves Effective Independent of Co-occurring Conditions
Juergen Hahn | Via Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | August 28, 2020Model developed at Rensselaer predicts diagnosis despite the presence of other medical conditions Developing a physiological test for diagnosing autism spectrum disorder (ASD), one that measures certain components in the blood, has the potential to be a paradigm shift for diagnosing ASD. However, the large heterogeneity of how ASD affects individuals has long been viewed […]
Neuroimaging experts are using AI to establish imaging biomarkers for brain disorders
Vince Calhoun | Via Health Imaging | August 26, 2020Neuroimaging experts at Georgia State University are using artificial intelligence to map the distinct brain patterns of various mental illnesses.
The project is being led by Vince Calhoun, PhD, director of the Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science, and Sergey Plis, director of machine learning at the TReNDS center. Using various datasets, they plan to develop multi-modal biomarkers to help diagnose mental health disorders such as schizophrenia and depression
New Insights into How COVID-19 Causes Heart Damage
Todd McDevitt | Via Gladstone Institutes | August 25, 2020COVID-19 was initially identified as a respiratory disease, but scientists now appreciate that it also affects several other organs in the body, including the heart. Heart damage is a major determinant of COVID-19 related deaths, and even patients who experience only mild COVID-19 symptoms exhibit signs of cardiac dysfunction several months after recovery. A new […]
Research Examines Links Between ‘Long COVID’ and ME/CFS
Ronald Tompkins | Via Medscape | August 24, 2020The persistence of long-term symptoms in some individuals with COVID-19 illness has opened up a new line of research into the mechanisms underlying myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue syndrome and other chronic post-viral illnesses.
Some patients who had COVID-19 continue to have symptoms weeks to months later, even after they no longer test positive for the virus. In two recent reports — one published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in July and another published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report this month — chronic fatigue was listed as the top symptom among individuals still feeling unwell beyond 2 weeks after COVID-19 onset.
One step closer to implanting diagnostic electronics in the body
David Martin | Via Open Access Government | August 17, 2020The American Chemical Society (ACS) are closer to using electronics in the body, to diagnose tumours and track illnesses Although true “cyborgs” (part human, part robotic beings) are science fiction, researchers are taking steps toward integrating electronics with the body. Such devices could monitor for tumour development or stand in for damaged tissues. But connecting […]