Category Archives: BioEngineering

A few had panda jewelry. Some drew the black and white bears on their name tags. Others sported attire that one might expect from semifinalists in a contest to become a world panda ambassador, or Pambassador.

Ashley Jaeger, 23, a bioengineering researcher at the National Institutes of Health, had black-and-white panda-colored nails and panda-patterned shoes.

I thought it was fun and kind of something to set me apart, she said.

Jaeger is one of 24 semifinalists one from Brazil, the rest from the United States competing in Washington at the Omni Shoreham Hotel on Tuesday and Wednesday for a chance to spend a year as a global envoy for wildlife conservation.

Four finalists will be selected Wednesday afternoon to spend nearly a month at the Chengdu Panda Base in China, working to introduce the bears into the wild. Later, the four will compete in Chengdu against 12 other finalists from Britain, Singapore and Chinato be named one of three globe-trotting pambassadors.

Those unofficial diplomats will receive a $20,000 stipend which could buy a lot of bamboo in tough economic times and will visit pandas around the world while promoting conservation at the community level. There were 45,000 online applications worldwide for the honor.

The competitions sponsors, the Chengdu Panda Base and the San Francisco-based nonprofit organization WildAid, are using pandas as the adorable public face of wildlife conservation and endangered species. The contest started in 2010, but it did not take place last year.

WildAid Executive Director Peter Knights said that in the conservation business pandas with their cute faces and scruffy fur are far more appealing as spokescreatures than, say, sharks.

A lot of animals dont have that going for them, Knights said. The panda is an icon for many endangered species.

Giant pandas are among the rarest animals in the world, according to the National Zoos Web site. About 1,600 live in the wild. Another 300 are in zoos and breeding centers around the world, mostly in China.

Link:
‘Panda ambassador’ hopefuls compete in D.C.

Public release date: 16-Oct-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Shelly Leachman shelly.leachman@ia.ucsb.edu 805-893-8726 University of California - Santa Barbara

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) By growing new retinal cells to replace those that have malfunctioned, scientists hope to one day create and fuse entire layers of fresh cells a synthetic patch akin to a contact lens as a treatment for age-related macular degeneration, the top cause of visual impairment among people over 60.

Such is the goal of an elite research team at UC Santa Barbara, which aims to advance the novel therapy out of the lab and into the clinic by way of regenerative bioengineering. With stem cells also showing great promise for diabetic retinopathy, the same group is taking a similar approach to this condition the leading cause of blindness in younger adults.

Based at UCSB's Center for Stem Cell Biology and Engineering, the two projects are being pursued in tandem, in a new, five-year endeavor funded by a $5-million gift from philanthropist Bill Bowes, founder of biotechnology giant Amgen. With the development of cellular therapies as its goal, the Garland Initiative for Vision named for Bowes' mother, who was a physician and Santa Barbara native will position the campus to propel its ocular innovations toward clinical trials.

"UC Santa Barbara is honored by the visionary and generous philanthropy of Bill and Ute Bowes in establishing the Garland Initiative. We are deeply grateful for their longstanding leadership and dedication to advance critical research in ocular diseases," said Chancellor Henry T. Yang. "This gift expands the impact of the Bowes' earlier inspirational gift to establish the Ruth Garland Professor and Co-Director of the Center for Stem Cell Biology and Engineering, and will fuel new discoveries and further strengthen the outstanding work of our faculty conducting interdisciplinary research in bioengineering and biomedicine.

Asked what inspires him to give, Bowes, Amgen's first chairman and the still-active founding partner of Silicon Valley-based U.S. Venture Partners, said, "For me, philanthropy is the best use of resources, by far. I've come to respect UC Santa Barbara as a very important technological institution. My firm has used Santa Barbara technologies to start companies, and that has enabled me to get a pretty good look at what's going on down there. My respect level has been going up and up and up over the years. That's all it takes.

"I put UC Santa Barbara in a small cadre of institutions that I have respect for and work with and support that includes Caltech, UCSF, Stanford, and Harvard," Bowes added. "The people at UC Santa Barbara and the technology there are ripe for a program that makes some real accomplishments in the vision field."

A stem cell dream team of renowned researchers all directors of the UC Santa Barbara stem cell center will lead the Bowes-funded project. They include Dennis Clegg, a professor of molecular, cellular, and developmental biology, and co-principal investigator of the California Project to Cure Blindness; Neuroscience Research Institute research biologist Peter Coffey, director of the London Project to Cure Blindness; James Thomson, professor of molecular, cellular, and developmental biology at UCSB, and director of Regenerative Biology at the University of Wisconsin's Morgridge Institute for Research; and H. Tom Soh, professor of mechanical engineering and of materials, associate director of the California NanoSystems Institute, and a 2010 Guggenheim Fellow in engineering.

The Garland Initiative will tackle age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy with biology and engineering two of UCSB's core scientific strengths.

Read this article:
Envisioning novel approaches for eye disease: 'The new medicine' at UC Santa Barbara

Media Release

New Zealand aids drug delivery research at IIT Bombay

MUMBAI, 16 October 2012 Drug delivery research in India will advance with help from New Zealand, with the gift of a highly advanced qNano system to Prof. Rinti Banerjee from the Department of Biosciences & Bioengineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Mumbai.

New Zealand nanotechnology company Izon Science gifted the instrument to accelerate advancement of research in the area of nanoparticles for drug delivery. The qNano provides the highly accurate information required to aid development of drug delivery systems that could deliver cancer drugs directly to the tumor. The gift recognises the path-breaking technology platform and drug delivery mechanism award winning Prof. Rinti Banerjee has developed.

The qNano system was presented to Prof. Banerjee by Hans van der Voorn, the Executive Chairman of Izon Science. The function held at IIT Bombay was attended by Hon Steven Joyce, New Zealands Science and Innovation Minister, as part of his visit to India with a delegation of New Zealand education and aviation companies. Acting Director of IIT Bombay, Prof. R.K. Malik and Prof. N.S. Punekar, Head of Department of Biosciences & Bioengineering were also present at the occasion.

Prof. Banerjee is the winner of numerous awards for her work including most recently the prestigious National Award for Women Bio-scientists by the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India.

Her group works in the area of nanomedicine. Her group focuses on development of non-invasive carriers for delivery of drugs using specifically engineered nanoparticle technologies.

At present the technologies are being developed for therapy in cancers, respiratory diseases, ocular diseases and malnutrition. Several technologies developed by her group have been patented and have shown promising effects in in vivo animal models. Prof. Banerjee is keen to collaborate with industrial partners for further translation of these technologies.

Gavin Young, New Zealands Trade Commissioner and Consul General in Mumbai says, Its great to see a New Zealand company helping researchers in India at the forefront of new research frontiers. New Zealands focus on science and innovation is something we share with India.

Izon Sciences Hans van der Voorn says, Were very pleased to be contributing to Prof. Banerjees very important research work into controlled release drug delivery. This research could lead to the development of high value added products that could really make a difference to peoples wellbeing worldwide, as well as to the Indian economy.

View post:
New Zealand aids drug delivery research at IIT Bombay

Drug delivery research in India will advance with help from New Zealand, with the gift of a highly advanced qNano system to Prof. Rinti Banerjee from the Department of Biosciences & Bioengineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Mumbai.

New Zealand nanotechnology company Izon Science gifted the instrument to accelerate advancement of research in the area of nanoparticles for drug delivery. The qNano provides the highly accurate information required to aid development of drug delivery systems that could deliver cancer drugs directly to the tumor. The gift recognises the path-breaking technology platform and drug delivery mechanism award winning Prof. Rinti Banerjee has developed.

The qNano system was presented to Prof. Banerjee by Hans van der Voorn, the Executive Chairman of Izon Science. The function held at IIT Bombay was attended by Hon Steven Joyce, New Zealands Science and Innovation Minister, as part of his visit to India with a delegation of New Zealand education and aviation companies. Acting Director of IIT Bombay, Prof. R.K. Malik and Prof. N.S. Punekar, Head of Department of Biosciences & Bioengineering were also present at the occasion.

Prof. Banerjee is the winner of numerous awards for her work including most recently the prestigious National Award for Women Bio-scientists by the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India.

Her group works in the area of nanomedicine. Her group focuses on development of non-invasive carriers for delivery of drugs using specifically engineered nanoparticle technologies.

At present the technologies are being developed for therapy in cancers, respiratory diseases, ocular diseases and malnutrition. Several technologies developed by her group have been patented and have shown promising effects in in vivo animal models. Prof. Banerjee is keen to collaborate with industrial partners for further translation of these technologies.

Gavin Young, New Zealands Trade Commissioner and Consul General in Mumbai says, "Its great to see a New Zealand company helping researchers in India at the forefront of new research frontiers. New Zealands focus on science and innovation is something we share with India."

Izon Sciences Hans van der Voorn says, "Were very pleased to be contributing to Prof. Banerjees very important research work into controlled release drug delivery. This research could lead to the development of high value added products that could really make a difference to peoples wellbeing worldwide, as well as to the Indian economy.

"This gift is a sign of our commitment to building business and research relationships in India. Half of our global sales already come from Asia and we see India as a very important market going forward."

Prof. Banerjee says, "I am thankful to Izon Science, New Zealand for presenting me with the qNano which is a state-of-the art piece of equipment renowned for its precise measurements of nanoparticle sizes and concentrations. I am very excited that qNano will help us in accelerating our translational efforts in nanoparticle based drug delivery for affordable therapies in cancers and other diseases worldwide."

Here is the original post:
NZ aids drug delivery research at IIT Bombay

Vaccines given with a painless skin patch rather than needles are a step closer after Australian innovators secured a deal with international vaccine manufacturer Merck.

The Nanopatch, developed by University of Queensland Professor Mark Kendall and his bioengineering and nanotechnology team, uses 100 times less vaccine than a syringe and is smaller than a postage stamp.

The technology is being commercialised by an investor-backed company, Vaxxas, formed in August 2011, but the partnership with Merck has injected extra research funds and potentially opens up a suite of vaccines to eventually be used with the patch.

Merck, the international distributor of the Gardasil HPV vaccine pioneered by Australia's Professor Ian Frazer, will initially fund Vaxxas to evaluate the Nanopatch for use with one of its vaccines.

'This is an essential step for Vaxxas because for the first time we have a partnership with one of the world's largest vaccine manufacturers,' Prof Kendall told AAP on Monday.

He said the deal validated the development of the Nanopatch, which was selected by Merck from a field of about 40 other international technologies.

Vaxxas raised about $15 million last year to commercialise the Nanopatch technology.

This process will involve several rigorous testing phases to ensure the patch is effective and safe.

The patch had already been tested in animal models and would move into human clinical trials within the next two years, Prof Kendall said.

'If everything works well, quite possibly this could be on the market within the next five to seven years,' he said.

Original post:
Needle-less technology developed

Vaccines given with a painless skin patch rather than needles are a step closer after Australian innovators secured a deal with international vaccine manufacturer Merck.

The Nanopatch, developed by University of Queensland Professor Mark Kendall and his bioengineering and nanotechnology team, uses 100 times less vaccine than a syringe and is smaller than a postage stamp.

The technology is being commercialised by an investor-backed company, Vaxxas, formed in August 2011, but the partnership with Merck has injected extra research funds and potentially opens up a suite of vaccines to eventually be used with the patch.

Merck, the international distributor of the Gardasil HPV vaccine pioneered by Australia's Professor Ian Frazer, will initially fund Vaxxas to evaluate the Nanopatch for use with one of its vaccines.

'This is an essential step for Vaxxas because for the first time we have a partnership with one of the world's largest vaccine manufacturers,' Prof Kendall told AAP on Monday.

He said the deal validated the development of the Nanopatch, which was selected by Merck from a field of about 40 other international technologies.

Vaxxas raised about $15 million last year to commercialise the Nanopatch technology.

This process will involve several rigorous testing phases to ensure the patch is effective and safe.

The patch had already been tested in animal models and would move into human clinical trials within the next two years, Prof Kendall said.

'If everything works well, quite possibly this could be on the market within the next five to seven years,' he said.

Read more here:
Needle-less technology developed in Aust