Category Archives: BioEngineering

Law, medicine, and dentistry these were the careers that I was constantly exposed to at home. With my father as a practicing lawyer for over 25 years, two of my siblings already qualified as doctors, and the third on course to completing his medical journey, most of my relatives and friends thought medicine or law would be my choice naturally. Yes, carefully deciding on and pursuing ones own profession (which would hopefully turn into ones passion) seems like a common chapter in every adults life. It is uncommon, however, and frankly worrying, for an adult to experience this chapter as soon as he has entered university in his freshman year. During the spring quarter of my freshman year (at the University of Washington), I intended to apply for bioengineering. It was set in my mind. I wanted to pursue something different from my father and siblings, something unique. If everything went according to plan, I would graduate with a bioengineering degree. Or so I thought. A few weeks before my summer break, I had received news that my father suffered from stage-five kidney failure and needed to undergo a kidney transplant. Unfortunately, that meant finding a donor as well. Seeing … Continue reading →

Photo by: L. Brian Stauffer/UI Rashid Bashir CHAMPAIGN Rashid Bashir, a professor and the department head of bioengineering at the University of Illinois, will be the permanent executive associate dean at The Carle Illinois College of Medicine. In that position, Bashir will work alongside Dean King Li to direct and oversee development and operations at the Carle Illinois College of Medicine, the nation's first engineering-based college of medicine. The appointment will be effective Aug. 16, pending approval by the UI Board of Trustees. "Professor Bashir is a pioneering researcher at the interface of medicine and engineering as well as a respected leader on our campus," said UI interim Provost John Wilkin. "He has been a key player in developing the unique mission and curriculum of the Carle Illinois College of Medicine since its inception. His passion for education and proven record of innovation exemplify the visionary ambitions of this new college and make him the perfect choice to serve as the executive associate dean." Bashir's research focuses on integrating engineering and technology with biology, from the molecular scale to tissues and systems. Among other innovations, his group has developed various lab-on-a-chip technologies, miniature biological robots and point-of-care diagnostic devices, leading … Continue reading →

Jennifer Cochran, PhD, has been appointed chair of Stanfords Department of Bioengineering, which is jointly operated by the School of Medicine and School of Engineering. Her five-year term begins Sept. 1. This department has an amazing energy due in no small part to its faculty, students and staff, said Cochran, associate professor of bioengineering. These individuals nearly 500 of them, in all have an unwavering commitment to research, learning and service, and they exude a spirit of collegiality and collaboration that permeates our department and the broader Stanford community. Cochrans research is interdisciplinary, integrating chemistry, engineering and biophysics. Her laboratory focuses on protein-based drug discovery for applications including oncology and regenerative medicine, and the development of new technology for high-throughput protein analysis and engineering. In addition to being a superb scholar and educator and a proponent of deeper connections with Silicon Valleys burgeoning biotechnology activities, Jennifer is an enthusiastic, dynamic individual who will bring exciting leadership to the department and be a key contributor to the schools of Engineering and Medicine, Lloyd Minor, MD, dean of the School of Medicine, and Jennifer Widom, PhD, dean of the School of Engineering, said in a joint statement. Cochran will succeed Norbert Pelc, … Continue reading →

Rice University chemist Zachary Ball has been named director of Rices Institute of Biosciences and Bioengineering (IBB). The institute promotes interdisciplinary research and education encompassing physics, chemistry, biology and engineering.Ball succeeds Jane Grande-Allen, who will continue to serve as the Isabel C. Cameron Professor and chair of the Department of Bioengineering. Zach is our first chemist in the role of IBB director and I am very excited about how he will expand the scope of our collaborative research, said Yousif Shamoo, Rices vice provost for research, who announced the appointment. Ball sees his role with IBB as an opportunity to soften boundaries between departments at Rice and to help faculty connect with outside researchers in the Texas Medical Center. There is this inherent tension at a university, Ball said. We still need a traditional department structure, but theres also a need to empower faculty in ways that are bigger and broader than traditional departments can provide. Thats a big reason why IBB is and remains a hugely important part of the Rice research ensemble. Its uniquely situated to encourage faculty collaboration. Zach brings an objective clarity on integration, said Paul Cherukuri, IBBs executive director. He has a great analytical understanding … Continue reading →

Modeling the walk Kidziski works in the lab of Scott Delp, a professor of bioengineering and of mechanical engineering who has spent decades studying the mechanics of the human body. As part of that work, Delp and his collaborators have collected data on the movements and muscle activity of hundreds of individuals as they walk and run. With data like that, Delp, Kidziski and their team can build accurate models of how individual muscles and limbs move in response to signals from the brain. But what they could not do was predict how people relearn to walk after surgery because, as it turns out, no one is quite sure how the brain controls complex processes like walking, let alone walking through the obstacle course of daily life or relearning how to walk after surgery. Whereas weve gotten quite good at building computational models of muscles and joints and bones and how the whole system is connected how the human machine is built an open challenge is how your brain orchestrates and controls this complex dynamic system, Delp said. Machine learning, a variety of artificial intelligence, has reached a point where it could be a useful tool for modeling of the … Continue reading →

Israeli human-on-a-chip platform has the unique ability to predict risk of toxicity in pharma and cosmetic product candidates without animal testing After spending an average of $2.5 billion to develop a single new drug, sometimes pharma companies have to pull it from the market due to a bad outcome that was not detected in clinical studies. Thats what happened in 2000, when a promising Type 2 diabetes drug called troglitazone led to idiosyncratic (unexplained) liver damage in one of every 60,000 users. The troglitazone mystery wasnt solved until March 2016, when a novel liver-on-a-chip platform developed by Hebrew University of Jerusalem Prof. Yaakov Nahmias revealed what no animal or human tests could: even low concentrations of this drug caused liver stress before any damage could be seen. It was the first time an organ-on-chip device could predict information to help pharmaceutical companies define risk for idiosyncratic toxicity, Nahmias tells ISRAEL21c. Shortly before that study, Nahmias liver-on-a-chip had revealed a new mechanism for acetaminophen (Tylenol) poisoning. Given that about 16 percent of all FDA-approved drugs eventually show unexpected toxicity, Nahmias recognized the potential of his smart human-on-a-chip platform. He licensed the technology from the university and spun off Tissue Dynamics to … Continue reading →

Worldwide Bioreactors and Fermenters Market 2017 presents a widespread and fundamental study of Bioreactors and Fermenters industry along with the analysis of subjective aspects which will provide key business insights to the readers. Global Bioreactors and Fermenters Market 2017 research report offers the analytical view of the industry by studying different factors like Bioreactors and Fermenters market growth, consumption volume, market trends and Bioreactors and Fermenters industry cost structures during the forecast period from 2017 to 2022. Bioreactors and Fermenters market studies the competitive landscape view of the industry. The Bioreactors and Fermenters report also includes development plans and policies along with manufacturing processes. The major regions involved in Bioreactors and Fermenters Market are (United States, EU, China, and Japan). For Sample Copy Of The Report Click Here: https://market.biz/report/global-bioreactors-and-fermenters-market-2017/94290/#inquiry Leading Manufacturers Analysis in Global Bioreactors and Fermenters Market 2017: 1 Sartorius AG ?BBI?2 Thermo Fisher3 Merck KGaA4 GE Healthcare5 Danaher (Pall)6 Eppendorf AG7 Praj Hipurity Systems8 Pierre Guerin (DCI-Biolafitte)9 ZETA10 Applikon Biotechnology11 Bioengineering AG12 Infors HT13 Solaris14 Other Bioreactors and Fermenters Market: Type Segment Analysis Single-use BioreactorsMultiple-use Bioreactors Bioreactors and Fermenters Market: Applications Segment Analysis Biopharmaceutical CompaniesCROsAcademic and Research InstitutesOthers The Bioreactors and Fermenters report does the thorough study of … Continue reading →

Parliaments steering committee approved representatives for the College of Engineering and the School of Theater, Film and Media Arts, which went unfilled after the Spring TSG elections. by Amanda Lien 03 August 2017 Junior bioengineering major Neil Chada (left) and sophomore musical theater major Doreen Nguyen were approved to fill vacant seats in Temple Student Government's Parliament. COURTESY NEIL CHADA AND DOREEN NGUYEN Temple Student Governments steering committee voted Monday to approve candidates for two vacant Parliament seats. Parliamentarian Jacob Kurtz appointed junior bioengineering major Neil Chada for the College of Engineering seat and sophomore musical theater major Doreen Nguyen for the School of Theater, Film and Media Arts seat in late June. Chada and Nguyen sent their resumes and statements of interest to members of the steering committee, who began questioning them via email in early July. Questioning ended in mid-July, but a vote was not taken until the end of the month. According to the TSG Constitution, both candidates need to be approved by the steering committee in a simple majority vote. Both candidates were approved 7-1. The steering committee, which is made up of the Speaker and the committee heads, is responsible for setting the Parliament agenda … Continue reading →

Sarah Harcum, professor of bioengineering, works in her lab at Clemson University. Photo Credit: Clemson University. Clemson University professor Sarah Harcum has been awarded a $6 million grant from the National Science Foundation to study ways to lower the cost of drugs for illnesses such as Crohns disease, breast cancer, severe anemia, and multiple sclerosis. Harcum and several other researchers plan to research better ways of engineering Chinese hamster ovary cells, which the drug industry uses to produce half of allbiopharmaceuticals. According to Harcum, a bioengineering professor, Chinese hamster ovary cells arehighly adaptable, bear no human viruses, and are capable of high-level production. But the hamster cells have one flaw: Genetic drift, a series of mutations that ultimately hinders drug production for manufacturers and increases prices for patients. Genetic drift begins at cell development, according to Harcum. A line of ovarian cells ideally develops with a uniform genetic composition, which is necessary for the efficient production of all biopharmaceuticals. Unfortunately,the composition drifts as cells reproduce, and they become less effective at creating drugs. As a result, production becomes more expensive as they require more monitoring, control, and analysis throughout the manufacturing process.Some biopharmaceuticals under current production conditions can cost patients … Continue reading →

Arizona researchers, educators, students and representatives of industry, government agencies and health care institutions gathered at the annual ASU Molecular, Cellular and Tissue Bioengineering Symposium in 2016 and 2017 to discuss the potential these fields hold for sparking medical advances. Photo by: Marco-Alexia Chaira/ASU Download Full Image The main thrust of biomedical engineering has long involved the hardware that the field produces devices, tools, machines, electronics and prosthetic apparatuses. Now the spotlight is rapidly being shared by engineers and scientists who are seeking to solve medical challenges through their increasing ability to manipulate cells, molecules, genes, proteins and neural systems those so-called soft, pliant and sometimes living biomaterials. So, about four years ago, it really started to make sense to form a group to strategize about how we could grow this area at ASU, both in the labs and the classrooms, said Haynes, a synthetic biologist and assistant professor of biomedical engineering in ASUs Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. We needed to start connecting with each other, to share knowledge and to collaborate to bring these new things happening in the biomedical field to the forefront here, said Rege, a professor of chemical engineering in the Fulton Schools. The … Continue reading →