BMES eNewsletter
     February 2015

BMES accepting abstracts for 2015 Annual Meeting in Tampa      

 

The Biomedical Engineering Society is now accepting abstracts for the 2015 Annual Meeting. The meeting is Oct. 7-10 in Tampa.    

 

For more information and to submit an abstract, visit: http://bmes.org/abstract.   

 

To go directly to the abstract submission system visit: http://submissions.mirasmart.com/BMES2015/Splash.aspx.   

 

The deadline to submit an abstract is April 23, 2015.   

 

The theme of the 2015 BMES Annual Meeting is: Innovation at the Interface.

 

 

BMES members elected to 2015 National Academy of Engineers class

 

The National Academy of Engineering has elected 67 new members and 12 foreign members, the organization announced. Three of the new inductees are Biomedical Engineering Society members.

 

The BMES members elected to NAE include Sangeeta Bhatia, Samir Mitragotri and Ajit P. Yoganathan.

 

Academy membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to "engineering research, practice, or education, including, where appropriate, significant contributions to the engineering literature," and to the "pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of engineering, or developing/implementing innovative approaches to engineering education," according to NAE.

 

 

Use of light to manipulate stiffness could one day help better treat cancer and cardiovascular disease

  

Light is used as a diagnostic, therapeutic, and drug delivery tool. Researchers in the University of Texas at Austin's Department of Biomedical Engineering believe light can also be used to help answer biological questions.

 

According to a paper published by Professor Laura Suggs' research group in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, light can be used to learn about the effect of extracellular matrix stiffness on disease progression. Suggs is a Biomedical Engineering Society member.

 

The paper, Dynamic Phototuning of Hydrogel Stiffness, describes a technique using a 3D hydrogel cell culture system where the stiffness of the extracellular matrix, the outside perimeter of a cell, can be adjusted with light, according to a university article.

 

 

Jorgensen leads new Wichita State Biomedical Engineering department

 

BMES member Michael Jorgensen will lead the new biomedical engineering department at Wichita State, according to an article in the Sunflower.

 

The university has had a BME program since 2009, but it became an official department in 2014, according to the Sunflower article.

 

Jorgensen was recently named to chair the department. He was the program coordinator for the BME effort at the university from the start, according to the article. The department currently has 160 undergraduate students.

 

 

Sakiyama-Elbert wins grant for spinal cord study

 

Biomedical Engineering Society member and fellow Shelly Sakiyama-Elbert was awarded a $1.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health for her research on how connections rewire after spinal cord injury, according to the university.

 

Sakiyama-Elbert is a professor of biomedical engineering in the School of Engineering & Applied Science at Washington University in St. Louis. Her research uses novel methods to take a closer look at how these nerve cells grow and make new connections to reroute signals between the brain and the body that could restore function and movement in people with these debilitating injuries, according to the article.

 

 

Innovative nanoparticle gene therapy system eliminates cancerous brain cells

 

Despite decades of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therpy treaments for glioma, a cure for this life-threatening brain cancer has remained elusive. In a study published on the website of the journal ACS Nano, BME Associate Professor and BMES Member Jordan Green and other Johns Hopkins researchers have successfully used compound-filled biodegradable nanoparticles to effectively kill brain cancer cells and extend survival in rats.

 

The biodegradable nanoparticles filled with a DNA-encoded enzyme, herpes simplex virus type 1 thymidine kinase (HSVtk), proved to be potent in killing brain cancer cells. When researchers combined this with the compound ganciclovir, the loaded nanoparticles were 100 percent effective at killing glioma cells grown in laboratory dishes.

 

 

Peppas Named Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry

 

BMES Fellow Nicholas Peppas, chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering and a professor in the McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering and the College of Pharmacy at The University of Texas at Austin, has been named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC).

 

The Royal Society of Chemistry, founded in 1841, is the United Kingdoms professional body for chemical scientists and the largest organization in Europe for advancing the chemical sciences. The Royal Society of Chemistry partners with industry and academia, promotes collaboration and innovation, advises governments on policy and promotes the talent, information and ideas that lead to great advances in science. The designation FRSC is given to a group of elected Fellows who have made outstanding contributions to chemistry. The names of newly elected Fellows are published each year in The Times (London).

 

 

BMES 2014 Annual Meeting Session Recordings 

 

As a member benefit, you can listen to select annual meeting sessions online.  

 

Archived sessions include: Outstanding Chapter & Commendable Achievement Awards, Outstanding Mentoring & Outstanding Outreach Awards, How to Get Your First Job, Networking Effectively, Mock Interview Demonstration, Owning Your Career & Using Mentors, and Research in BME and Grant Writing.

 

To access the recorded sessions visit: http://bmes.org/careervideos. You must be logged on as a member to access this content.  

 

Are you taking advantage of...

 

BMES offers a myriad of benefits to help you be successful in your BME career. One of the most valuable benefits, according the BMES member feedback, is the BMES Professional Development webinar series. The various webinars will help you be successful regardless of your membership level.

 

This month's Featured Webinar is How to Prepare and Effective Poster Presentation,

 

BMES Student members will find webinars on topics such as Developing an Industry Career, and How to Build Leadership and Networking Skills , in addition to many others.

 

BMES Early Career, Member and Fellow members will find webinars on topics such as Grant Writing, Technology in the Classroom, Lobbying for BME, and many others.

 

Take a moment to visit the BMES E-Learning website today to view more archives.

 
BMES awards nominations accepted

         

BMES is currently accepting award nominations for the following BMES Awards. Nominations will be accepted until May 31, 2015. Self-nominations are encouraged!

 

Annually, BMES recognizes individuals for their accomplishments, significant contributions and service to the Society and the field of biomedical engineering. The BMES Awards Committee is accepting nominations for the following awards:

 

Robert A. Pritzker Distinguished Lecture Award

- is awarded each year to an individual to recognize outstanding achievements and leadership in the science and practice of biomedical engineering.

 

Diversity Lecture Award

- honors an individual, project, organization, or institution for outstanding contributions to improving gender and racial diversity in biomedical engineering.

 

Rita Schaffer Young Investigator Lecture Award

- is offered to stimulate research careers in biomedical engineering.

 

Distinguished Achievement Award

- is presented each year to an individual, company, charitable foundation, or non-academic institution that has made great contributions to the field of biomedical engineering.

 

For more information on these awards, including how to apply, please visit

http://bmes.org/awards

Nominations accepted online only through May 31, 2015.

 

BMES accepting nominations for fellow

 

All BMES Member-level members who have been in good standing for the past three years are eligible to be nominated for Fellow status in BMES.  

 

More information on the qualifications for Fellowship can be found at http://bmes.org/fellow.

 

Nominations will be accepted until May 31, 2015.               

 

Be a featured BMES spotlight member

 

All BMES members are encouraged to sign up for the BMES featured member spotlight! This is a great opportunity to get to know your fellow members - and for them to get to know you! All member levels are welcome and encouraged to submit their information here.

 

BMES bylaws vote     

 

The vote on proposed changes to Section 13 of the BMES Bylaws passed by an overwhelming margin. The changes to the bylaws will ensure more opportunity for new members to be added to committees and streamlines the activities of various committees. The bylaws are available on the BMES website. 

 

BMES membership - profile updates

 

Have you started a new job? Changed career paths? New title? Whatever it may be, please remember to update your information with BMES!  

 

Login to the website at www.bmes.org with your username and password (contact BMES Membership at membership@bmes.org if you can't remember those), your profile page with instantly pop-up so you can update all your information at once.

 

Welcome new BMES members

 

In the month of January, BMES welcome over 120 new members to the Society! You can find a list of all new members, updated monthly, at http://bmes.org/newmembers. New members can be research on the Society's membership directory. Please take a moment to look up and welcome a new BMES member.

 

Sixth Annual Bay Area Biomedical Device Conference

 

The Biomedical Engineering Society at San Jose State University is pleased to announce the 6th Annual Bay Area Biomedical Device Conference scheduled for Tuesday March 31st, 2015 in the newly renovated Student Union at San Jose State University.  

 

The conference is intended for anyone who is interested in learning more about the industry, both from invited prominent speakers, and from the research featured at the poster session.  

 

Please take advantage of the reduced rate early registration which ends at 5:00 p.m. on March 19, 2015.

 

Students are invited to present their research during the poster session. Please download the form from the poster session page on our website and email it to us at info@biomedconference.org by February 28, 2015.  

 

For more information about the conference, including registration information, please visit  www.biomedconference.org












drexel

maquet










Biomedical Engineering Society
 301-459-1999 | info@bmes.org | http://www.bmes.org
8201 Corporate Drive | Suite 11259 | Landover, MD 20785