Category Archives: BioEngineering

LIVERMORE, Calif., March 22, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Fannie and John Hertz Foundation today announced its 2012 Hertz Fellows. From over 600 applicants, 15 were selected to receive the Hertz Fellowship, considered to be the nation's most generous support for graduate education in the applied physical, biological and engineering sciences. The Hertz Fellowship is valued at more than $250,000 per student, with support lasting up to five years. Fellows have the freedom to innovate in their doctoral studies without university or research restrictions.

"We are pleased to announce this year's selection," stated Dr. Jay Davis, Hertz Foundation President, "and we make this announcement with equal amounts of excitement and resolve. We are committed to increasing the number of Fellows we can support each year. This, our 50th cadre of Fellows, was picked from such an outstanding field of applicants that we could easily have chosen thirty, had resources been available to us. We are approaching philanthropists in education in a recapitalization initiative that will eventually allow us to support a larger fraction of our country's top one percent in these disciplines."

For nearly a half century, the Hertz Foundation has fostered the scientific and engineering strength of the nation by finding the best and brightest from those disciplines. During the past decade, there has been a major shift of the candidates towards those who apply physical and computational tools to the problems of biomedicine and health. Significantly, another shift of the Hertz Foundation has been to support the Hertz Fellows to build the Hertz Fellows Community for all ages to gather together, inspire one another and collaborate for innovation that further augments the powerful contribution they bring to society.

"We invest in young people who will solve our most daunting problems," stated Dr. Davis. "These men and women show extraordinary promise. They join the community of leaders who produce advances in science, medicine, technology, business, academia and government. Scientists and engineers are only 4% of the U.S. workforce but they account for up to 85% of the GDP. The top 1% is responsible for 90% of important discoveries. We believe their creativity and risk-taking bring forth innovation for the technical and economic security of our nation."

Hertz Fellows pursue their own ideas with complete financial independence and under the guidance of some of the country's finest professors and mentors. Fellows are chosen for their intellect, their ingenuity and their potential to bring meaningful improvement to society. The highly competitive selection process includes a comprehensive written application, four references, and two rounds of technical interviews by recognized leaders in applied science and engineering.

"The Hertz Foundation nurtures these remarkable scientists and engineers as they develop and explore their genius," continued Dr. Davis. "We help genius find itself."

Visit: http://www.hertzfoundation.org

The Fannie and John Hertz Foundation 2012 Hertz Fellows

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The Hertz Foundation Nears Half-Century Milestone; Selects 50th Cadre of Hertz Fellows; Quarter Million Dollar Support ...

Road to Peace (means abolishing war)

The Forum of Questioning Minds presents a lecture from Andy Schoenberg, professor of bioengineering and rehab medicine at the University of Utah. In 2002 he received the Gandhi Peace Award for his work in promoting peace and human rights. His presentation, "Road to Peace Abolish War?", will look at the causes of war and the steps individuals and nations can take to establish a more just and peaceful world.

When Sunday, March 25, at 2 p.m.

Where Main Library, 210 E. 400 South, Salt Lake City

Info Free

Drawing up a story

The Orem Public Library will host a graphic-novel panel as part of the Librarys Orem Writes event series. Panelists include Nate Hale, acclaimed illustrator of Rapunzels Revenge; Jake Parker, illustrator of Missile Mouse and Michael Chabons Awesome Man; Jess Smiley, writer and illustrator of Upside Down: A Vampire Tale; and Brandon Dayton, writer/illustrator of Green Monk, one of YALSAs top 10 Great Teen Graphic Novels of 2011. They will discuss the art and writing behind some of todays hottest graphic novels.

When Wednesday, March 28, at 7 p.m.

Where Orem Library, 58 N. State St.

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Literary: Focusing on graphic novels, fantasy and horror stories

NEWARK,N.J., March 16, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- American Oriental Bioengineering, Inc. (NYSE: AOB - News) (the "Company"), today announced that its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011, which was due on March 15, 2012, will not be timely filed. During the performance of Ernst & Young Hua Ming's audit for the 2011 fiscal year they noted certain inconsistencies. As a result, management and the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors have agreed that the Audit Committee would immediately commence an independent investigation into the matters identified. Although the length of the investigation is uncertain at this time, the Company will endeavor to file the Form 10-K as soon as possible upon the completion of the investigation.

About American Oriental Bioengineering, Inc.

American Oriental Bioengineering, Inc. is a pharmaceutical company dedicated to improving health through the development, manufacture and commercialization of a broad range of prescription and over the counter products.

Safe Harbor Statement

Statements made in this press release are forward-looking and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in these statements. The economic, competitive, governmental, technological and other factors identified in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those described in the forward looking statements in this press release. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Contact:

Hong Zhu 646-367-1765

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American Oriental Bioengineering Inc. Announces Delay in Filing of its Annual Report on Form 10-K for 2011

City News Service

UC San Diegos biomedical/bioengineering program ranked fourth nationally behind Johns Hopkins, Georgia Tech and Duke. The engineering school overall was 14th.

Other high rankings for the La Jolla university included behavioral neuroscience and cognitive psychology, third; plasma physics, fifth; neuroscience/neurobiology, seventh; political science, seventh; AIDS research, eighth; and drug and alcohol abuse, eighth.

Its an honor to have the stellar academic quality of our graduate programs recognized each year by U.S. News, said Kim Barrett, dean of graduate studies at UC San Diego. Our world-class faculty continue to generate cutting-edge research and innovative programs that help create todays scholars and tomorrows leaders.

The magazine annually ranks professional school programs based on expert opinions about program excellence and statistical indicators that measure the quality of a schools faculty, research and students.

The data come from surveys of administrators at more than 1,200 programs and nearly 15,000 academics and professionals, conducted last fall and early this year.

Other scores for UCSD programs included fine arts, 13th; computer sciences, 14th; economics, 14th; and earth sciences, 17th.

San Diego State University ranked ninth in rehabilitation counseling, 25th in speech-language pathology, 26th in clinical psychology, 27th in audiology, and 30th in public health.

The University of San Diegos part-time law school ranked 13th nationally. Its nursing program was 50th.

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Graduate school programs at UC San Diego, two other major San Diego universities, fared well in U.S. News & World ...

A 200-patient phase 2 clinical pilot study will be initiated this month to test the efficacy and safety of a new use, and method of administering, an enzyme inhibitor for critically ill patients developed by UC San Diego bioengineering Professor Geert Schmid-Schnbein.

The study involves a San Diego startup.

This new use of the FDA-approved drug is based on decades of research by Schmid-Schnbein on the microvascular and cellular reactions that lead to multi-organ failure after a patient has gone into shock, which is the second-leading cause of in-hospital deaths in the United States.

Schmid-Schnbein and his colleagues at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering discovered that under conditions of shock, the epithelial cell barrier that lines the small intestine becomes permeable causing potent digestive enzymes to be carried into the bloodstream and lymphatic system where they digest and destroy healthy tissue, a process he named autodigestion. The treatment involves blockading the enzymes with an enzyme inhibitor.

In 2005, the teams protocol was licensed to San Diego startup InflammaGen Therapeutics under an agreement developed by UC San Diegos technology transfer office. InflammaGen Therapeutics, a development-stage, critical care company, developed the InflammaGen Shok-Pak, a drug/delivery platform that delivers the enzyme inhibitor through a nasogastric tube directly into the stomach and lumen of the intestine, preventing shock and multi-organ failure. Schmid-Schnbein serves as a scientific advisor to InflammaGen but is not an employee of the company. Instead, he has chosen to focus on continuing to conduct fundamental research on autodigestion at UC San Diego.

We are testing for the first time whether it is possible to help severely ill patients by blocking autodigestion, a condition in which digestive enzymes not only break down food inside the intestine but also the intestine itself, Schmid-Schnbein said. We have pre-clinical results that this treatment can save lives.

To date, InflammaGen Shok-Pak has been used successfully outside the United States as a rescue therapy in 15 patients, most of whom were diagnosed with life-threatening conditions. In addition, preclinical studies of the technology in two animal species have demonstrated significant increases in long-term survival.

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Bioengineering Professor’s Treatment for Shock Under Study

SAN DIEGO A 200-patient Phase 2 clinical pilot study will be initiated this month to test the efficacy and safety of a new use, and method of administering, an enzyme inhibitor for critically ill patients developed by University of California, San Diego, bioengineering professor Geert Schmid-Schnbein. Conditions expected to qualify for the study include new-onset sepsis and septic shock, post-operative complications and new-onset gastrointestinal bleeding.

This new use of a Food and Drug Administration-approved drug is based on decades of research by Schmid-Schnbein on the microvascular and cellular reactions that lead to multi-organ failure after a patient has gone into shock, which is the second-leading cause of in-hospital deaths in the United States.

Schmid-Schnbein and his colleagues at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering discovered that under conditions of shock, the epithelial cell barrier that lines the small intestine becomes permeable causing potent digestive enzymes to be carried into the bloodstream and lymphatic system where they digest and destroy healthy tissue, a process he named autodigestion. The treatment involves blockading the enzymes with an enzyme inhibitor.

In 2005, the teams protocol was licensed to San Diego-startup InflammaGen Therapeutics under an agreement developed by UC San Diegos Technology Transfer Office. InflammaGen Therapeutics, a development-stage, critical care company, developed the InflammaGen Shok-Pak, a drug/delivery platform that delivers the enzyme inhibitor through a nasogastric tube directly into the stomach and lumen of the intestine, preventing shock and multi-organ failure. Schmid-Schnbein serves as a scientific advisor to InflammaGen but is not an employee of the company. Instead, he has chosen to focus on continuing to conduct fundamental research on autodigestion at UC San Diego.

"We are testing for the first time whether it is possible to help severely ill patients by blocking autodigestion, a condition in which digestive enzymes not only break down food inside the intestine but also the intestine itself, Schmid-Schnbein said. We have pre-clinical results that this treatment can save lives.

To date, InflammaGen Shok-Pak has been used successfully outside the United States as a rescue therapy in 15 patients, most of whom were diagnosed with life-threatening conditions. In addition, pre-clinical studies of the technology in two animal species have demonstrated significant increases in long-term survival.

Currently, patients in shock who survive their initial insult dont necessarily survive long-term. In addition, morbidity is very high in those patients that do survive. Our animal studies suggest that the treatment could improve functional outcomes and reduce the time patients remain in intensive care, as well as increase long-term survival rates, said principal investigator Dr. Erik Kistler, who currently serves as an assistant clinical professor in the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care at the UC San Diego School of Medicine and the Veterans Administration Healthcare System, San Diego. While ICU costs can approach one-third of the entire hospital costs, decreasing ICU time by even a small percentage a day will have significant financial savings for patients and payors as well as result in significantly improved patient wellness, said Kistler, who earned a doctorate (1998) and masters (1994) in bioengineering from the Jacobs School of Engineering as a student of Schmid-Schnbeins.

The Phase 2 pilot is designed as a double-blind, standard-therapy controlled study of 200 critically ill ICU patients. The goal is to determine the safety and efficacy of the gastrointestinal administration of InflammaGen Shok-Pak in the reduction of morbidity, which is defined as the incidence of disease. The team wants to know whether the treatment will reduce the time patients spend in intensive care and the hospital, and improve long-term survival rates. To determine this, researchers will follow up with patients 28 days and six months after discharge. The Phase 2 pilot study will be conducted at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the VA San Diego Healthcare System, with additional sites being added as appropriate.

John Rodenrys, CEO of InflammaGen Therapeutics, remarked, Initiation of the Phase 2 pilot study is a key milestone in the development of InflammaGen Shok-Pak as a potential treatment for sepsis and septic shock, which may result in multi-organ failure, a highly-invasive condition for which there is currently no effective therapy option.

Hank Loy, president of InflammaGen Therapeutics, added, We look forward to working with the investigative team at the VA San Diego Healthcare System and expect their experiences to demonstrate the benefits of InflammaGen Shok-Pak, which have been evident in the pre-clinical studies and ex-U.S. patient experiences.

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Homing in a life-saving treatment for shock