Category Archives: BioEngineering

The University of California San Francisco is arming 2,000 frontline healthcare workers with the Oura smart ring for potential early detection of COVID-19 symptoms.

The Finnish startup, which hasU.S. headquarters in San Francisco, issponsoring research at UCSF to study whether physiological data collected by the Oura ring, combined with responses to daily symptom surveys, can predict illness symptoms.

The study aims to build an algorithm to help UCSF identify patterns of onset, progression, and recovery, for COVID-19, the company said.

The UCSF TemPredict study will focus on front-line healthcare workers and willalsobe open to Oura users in the general population.

Consumer adoption of wearables like the Fitbit and Apple Watch has quickly grown but doctors have questioned the clinical value of the data. Apple added an electrocardiogram feature to the latest version of the Apple Watch but cardiologists have cautioned that the ECG feature is not reliable to detectatrial fibrillation (AFib).

Researchers and clinicians now see opportunities to use wearables data for disease tracking and surveillance.

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The study is especially urgent as nationwide frontline healthcare workers are at risk of passing the virus while asymptomatic. Six UCSF healthcare workers are currently diagnosed with the virus, and two ER doctors remain in critical condition from COVID-19 in Washington state and New Jersey.

The smart rings can trackchanges in users' body temperature, respiratory rate, and heart rate. Healthcare workers using the rings can use this information to betterunderstand early warning signs of infection and toseek treatment, isolate themselves or stay home from work, according to the company.

The research team has hypothesizedthat the Oura ring could anticipate COVID-19 onset by as many as two to three days before the onset of more obvious symptoms, like coughing.

The researchteam hopes to develop a COVID-19 early detection device by fall, when infectious disease experts worry coronavirus will return for a second wave, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

It will help people self-quarantine sooner, get treatment sooner, said Dr. Ashley Mason, the UCSF assistant psychiatry professor who developed the project and is the lead investigator, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Its expected back in the fall and we need to have tools ready, Mason said.

Oura is conducting theresearch in partnership with the University of California healthcare providers and schools, and doctors at both UCSF and the University of California San Diego are running the study.

RELATED:How health systems will need to rethink their workforces amid COVID-19 surges

The Oura smart ring's ability to track body temperature is an important biological signal, according to Ben Smarr, Ph.D., an assistant professor of bioengineering and data science at UCSD, who will help crunch data as part of the study.

Smarr believes continuous data from wearablescan be highly valuable in tracking health and predicting illness.

"When you have time-series data, sotemperature every minute instead of once a day thatturns itfrom biomarker into a signal. We can begin toreimagine how healthcare works," he said.

He added, "This opportunity came along with UCSF tofocusthis research where we can make a difference and build some COVID detection systems."

Researchers will use this information as they attempt to identify patterns that could predict onset, progression, and recovery in future cases of COVID-19. If this approach is successful, it could open the door for research into tracking and managing other illnesses and conditions, the research team said.

Scripps Research Translational Institute has launched an app-based research study to analyze data from smartwatches or activity trackers, such as a Fitbit, Apple Watch, Amazfit or Garmin Watch.

The study, calledDETECT, aims to test whether this dataincluding heart rates, sleep and activity levelscan help to more quickly detect the emergence of influenza, coronavirus and other fast-spreading viral illnesses.

Researchers are seeking members of the public who are 18 or older and use a smartwatch or activity tracker, such as a Fitbit, Apple Watch, Amazfit or Garmin Watch, to join thestudy and consent to share their data through theMyDataHelps mobile app.

By usingkey data points from these wearable devices, scientists believe they can improve real-time surveillance of contagious respiratory illnesses.

RELATED:Former FDA chief Gottlieb has dire warnings about hitting the brakes on social distancing measures

Early detection is critical for effective public health response to infectious disease outbreaks and for improving treatments.

"In light of the ongoing flu season and the global pandemic of COVID-19, we see enormous opportunity to enhance disease tracking for improved population health, saysJennifer Radin, Ph.D., an epidemiologist at the Scripps Research Translational Institute who is leading the study. One way to do this is to leverage and analyze the rich health data thats already being collected by the millions of Americans who regularly use wearable devices.

Scripps Research is working with health technology company CareEvolution on the study.

Scripps Researchs prior work has demonstrated that passively collected data from consumer-grade wearable technologies can be not only a valuable marker of recent and current flu-like illnesses but a promising predictor of an impending illness that may not be perceived by the individual yet, saidVik Kheterpal, MD, principal at CareEvolution.

Earlier this year, a study by Scripps Research Translational Institute showed that by analyzing de-identified data from approximately 47,000 users of Fitbit devices equipped with heart rate tracking capabilities, they couldsignificantly improve predictionsof influenza-like illness at the state level when compared with data from the CDC.

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UCSF partners with Oura smart ring to study early detection of COVID-19 - FierceHealthcare

Studying a laminated poster of a human cell diagram on the wall of his fifth-grade classroom, with its kaleidoscope-colored blobs and globules the names and functions of which he barely understood, a young Jake Potts found his gaze wandering to the image of the endoplasmic reticulum.

He remembered observing how from a birds-eye view the circular grooves of the membrane system bore a striking resemblance to an orchestra. Only later in life did Potts come to understand the significance of that moment, epiphanizing, A seed of synesthesia between biology and music took root in my soul.

That was nearly a decade ago. Today, Potts is a bioengineering student at Northeastern on the path to earning a doctoral degree in genetics. He plays solo and ensemble violin as a member of the Northeastern University Symphony Orchestra and the Harvard Medical School Chamber Music Society.

In his third year of genetics research and eleventh playing violin, the harmony of these dual identities continues to pulsate within Potts. He imagines himself at once a composer whose imagination comes alive in the lab as he inscribes genetic code, and as a musician held captive to the whims of a conductor leading a string ensemblemuch like the nucleus in a cell directs the synthesis of ribosomes.

As a researcher at Northeastern, Potts has applied his analytical and engineering mind to the study of genetics and disease in the classroom and in the lab, cultivating strong chemistry and biology skills required to work in gene editing. And, he has helped to develop better cancer detection methods from improved computational image processing.

Potts participated in a Dialogue of Civilizations program in Chile, where he acquired and analyzed samples of microbes from the Atacama Desert to search for new antibiotics. He also completed a semester abroad in Paris, where he joined a Sorbonne University lab and applied bioengineering concepts to optimize a protocol to study DNA resilience in tardigrades.

Potts has been awarded a Fulbright scholarship, a prestigious award that provides grants for research projects or English teaching assistant programs. He says he will use the scholarship to return to the Sorbonne to try to determine how certain cancerous mutations happen as DNA is misrepaired, a process that occurs when, say, radiation or harsh chemicals break the two strands of our DNA, and our cells respond by trying to repair this damage. His research could result in therapeutic strategies to prevent or slow the progression of cancer.

I really took to not only all the fascinating gene-editing work they were doing there [at Sorbonne University], but the sense of camaraderie and candor I felt with them, and thats what I have to look forward to, Potts says.

Timothy Lannin, an assistant teaching professor of bioengineering at Northeastern who has taught three of Pottss courses, including his capstone, where Potts helped develop a tool to investigate the mechanical properties of lung tissue, lauded Potts as a superlative student and researcher.

I must admit that conversations with Jake have been so stimulating that Ive missed my train to continue talking, Lannin says. He has synthesized knowledge from his other courses to teach me things I didnt know about cellular engineering.

Potts says he was proud and elated to have been chosen for the Fulbright. Past winners have included former United States Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, author Jonathan Franzen, and soprano Renee Fleming.

It felt like validation of how I chose to approach genetics research, he says. I decided early on here at Northeastern that by working in various labs and thus putting myself into more environments where I have to learn anew, Id gain a broader exposure to techniques and ideas, and challenge myself to be more creative. The result of that is my Fulbright project proposal, which I used concepts from different lab experiences to come up with. Now that the idea is there, I get to see if it works.

For media inquiries, please contact media@northeastern.edu.

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This Fulbright scholar wants to find ways to prevent or slow the spread of cancer - News@Northeastern

An invisible enemy threatens the globe and tests if the world is equipped to confront it. The equation presented in this docuseries: Detect the case, isolate the case, then stop the chain of transmission.

It sounds simple, but this documentary reveals every single battle that the front-line teams need to overcome, in order to save lives. A societal disruption in the Netflix docuseries, Pandemic How to Prevent an Outbreak, portrays how the steadiness of health services is endangered and normal infrastructure gets under attack. In addition, unexpected susceptibilities like lack of food supplies occur when a killer version of flu reappears and threatens human lives.

I think the series couldnt have come at a more crucial time with the recent COVID19 outbreak. The series premiered in January, but with the recent coronavirus crisis it has been pushed into Netflixs Top 10 shows, " said TV and film producer Mando Stathi (The American Runestone).

Vasileios Christopoulos, Assistant Professor of Bioengineering at the University of California (UCR) said it is important to stay home. Because we are facing a very aggressive and fast-moving virus, in which we do not have herd immunity, and there is no vaccine or treatment.

The current COVID-19 reality parallels Pandemic closely, showing how people die from a form of influenza and what would happen if it was allowed to spread globally. According to the documentary, millions of lives could be lost.

However, resources for early detection are limited, says the docuseries which was released on Netflix on January 8, in tandem with the threats of COVID-19 becoming global.

Stathi deems the series is really informative and truly inspiring with a range of characters from scientists and doctors to disaster experts, trying to get the hospital system ready for a deadly pandemic and create a global one-shot flu vaccine available for free to people in developing countries.

In the documentary Dennis Carroll, Director of Emerging Threats Unit U.S. Agency for International Development said, Influenza and respiratory viruses are the ones that youre most concerned about, in terms of being able to spread rapidly from one human to another and spread around the world very quickly.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1918s influenza pandemic was one of the most lethal pandemics in history, caused by a virus called H1N1. World War I (WWI) soldiers spread the virus as they returned home from around the world.

The documentary briefly shares the lethal story that far more people died in the 18-month period of that flu than died in all of WWI and World War II (WWII).

While Pandemic boasts the world with 7.8 billion people, a virus like the one in 1918 would result in hundreds of millions of deaths. Dr. Syra Madad, the Senior Director of New York Citys Health System, assured audiences, special pathogens dont respect any peoples boundaries.

Christopoulos said the pandemics of the past, such as the 1981 influenza pandemic, or H1N1 influenza in 2009 gave us important insights to understand how we can stop the spread of the virus before it gets out of control.

This docuseries touches vaccination matters that have long been battled legislatively. While pro-vaccine advocates believe that all children must be required to receive vaccinations in order to attend any school, anti-vaccine advocates do not feel comfortable with them and believe my body my rules, according to Caylan Wagar, mother of five children. Wagar from Oregon, homeschools all of her children and has not vaccinated them. The focus of my life is to allow my kids to be who they are, Wagar said.

The efforts toward creating an affordable vaccination to fight flu season continue and fortunately, there are some amazing people who dedicate their life to this, said Bill Gates in the documentary, who contributes to science for vaccines through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.As weve seen various flu scares, we havent had a super good response. And its pretty surprising how little preparedness there is for it, said Gates.

People in breathing masks, lying in hospital beds with body aches and ventilators, rely immensely on these front-line doctors and scientists for creating cures. It seems as if science and prayers go hand-to-hand in the docuseries as they are preparing to fight back an invisible enemy.

Dr. Jake Glanville, Founding Partner and Chief Science Officer said if we really are serious about creating cures, and vaccines can be cures, unlike many other types of medicine, then we need to finish the job and the way to do that is to subsidize its release globally.

Although scientists from the past said hey, youre never gonna get to the Moon. No ones done it before, according to Dr. Glanville those voices will always be wrong because humans are moving towards a greater future.

As Dr. Madad puts it: We are all in it together.

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Review: Pandemic How to Prevent an Outbreak - The Corsair

The IIT Guwahati team| Pic: IIT-G

Researchers at The Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati are working to develop a vaccine for the Coronavirus and stem the pandemic. They are also developing rapid detection and portable diagnostic kits for various viruses and microorganisms. The team of researchers is led by Professor Sachin Kumar, Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering.

Explaining that they are currently analysing data, Professor Sachin says, "We haven't started the work on the vaccine yet. We are analysing the data. We are analysing the sequence of Coronavirus from samples from Kerala and China. It is also difficult to say how much time the vaccine will take to be fully functional. However, the diagnostic could be done fast. Currently, what we have is a realtime PCR based-diagnostic for CoV-2 detection."

Adding how they are taking the research forward he says, "We are working on a virus that causes Newcastle Disease. It is a poultry pathogen. It is a very important pathogen in the poultry industry as a lot of modalities related to poultry is going on. We are trying to develop some kind of vaccine and diagnostics for this poultry disease. In addition to the development of vaccine and diagnostic, we have developed this virus as a vector. Now, what is done is that this virus can express some foreign protein which can be useful in protection from other diseases as well. Though we are working on poultry, we can use this tool as a marker for the development of some kind of a vaccine."

How far away is the cure? Quite a bit.

The team comprises of PhD students, MTech students, Junior Research Fellows and Post Doctoral Fellows. "The viral immunology laboratory at IIT Guwahati works primarily on the avian paramyxovirus. The lab is actively involved in the development of vaccines and diagnostics against avian paramyxovirus. Besides, the lab has developed a viral vector system to deliver foreign antigens. Recently, the research group led by Prof Sachin Kumar, Department of BSBE has developed recombinant vaccines against Japanese encephalitis and classical swine fever virus which got published in the journal Vaccine and Archives of virology, respectively. The lab could substantially contribute to the research and development towards severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus -2 (SARS-CoV-2). The lab at IIT Guwahati is exploring the possibilities to clone the immunogenic proteins of SARS-CoV-2 to be used as diagnostics and possible vaccine candidates," the institute said in their statement.

What these researchers are looking forward to is that their research output, which will suggest if they can use the same tool, as they had developed for Japanese encephalitis virus and classical swine fever. Then they will use the same to extract the foreign protein of COVID-19. "We can use this tool which is there in our lab for generating a fast diagnostics against Coronavirus so that it can be used in the field condition as of what we have," he concludes.

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Meet the team of IIT Guwahati students, researchers who are developing a COVID-19 vaccine - EdexLive

While biotech stocks are often too risky for many investors, with the coronavirus raging and the race for a vaccine in play, taking a look at some ETFs that contain biotech stocks that are making strides might not be such a bad idea.

With the COVID-19 pandemic raging, biotechs that are consistently profitable and that offer drugs that patients absolutely must have could be seen as relatively safe compared to many other stocks on the market. For investors looking to stay in the market and diversify portfolios, here are two biotech ETFs that could be worth diversifying into during the coronavirus crisis.

With biotech companies like Gilead Sciences, which has been in the news a lot recently for the antiviral drug remdesivir, which appears to be the most promising treatment for COVID-19, IBB is a place for biotech investors to consider. Gilead is conducting late-stage studies of the drug and could report initial results as early as April. Gilead also has adividend yield currently stands at nearly 4%. The company has even augmented its dividend by 58% over the last five years.

IBB seeks to track the investment results of the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index, which contains securities of companies listed on NASDAQ that are classified according to the Industry Classification Benchmark as either biotechnology or pharmaceuticals and that also meet other eligibility criteria determined by Nasdaq, Inc. The fund generally invests at least 90% of its assets in securities of the index and in depositary receipts representing securities of the index. It may invest the remainder of its assets in certain futures, options and swap contracts, cash and cash equivalents. It is non-diversified.

While the iShares Genomics Immunology and Healthcare ETF has no directly related coronavirus drug-making companies in its holdings, it does contain stocks like Exelixis, which makes drugs that are used to treat kidney, liver, and medullary thyroid cancer, which will continue to be important going forward. The fund seeks to track the investment results of an index composed of developed and emerging market companies that could benefit from the long-term growth and innovation in genomics, immunology, and bioengineering.

For more market trends, visitETF Trends.

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2 Biotechnology ETFs That Could Be Good For Diversification - ETF Trends

VILLANOVA Villanova University President the Rev. Peter M. Donohue, OSA, PhD, today announced the appointment of Michele Marcolongo, PhD, PE, as the Drosdick Endowed Dean of the College of Engineering, effective July 31. Dr. Marcolongos engineering career spans more than three decades and encompasses roles as an academician, researcher, administrator, inventor and entrepreneur. This key appointment is the result of a rigorous national search led by a committee of faculty, administrators, students and alumni.

On behalf of the entire Villanova community, I am delighted to have Dr. Marcolongo spearheading our College of Engineering, said University President the Rev. Peter M. Donohue, OSA, PhD. Dr. Marcolongo is a well-known and respected leader whose wide-ranging experience made her stand out in a pool of very talented candidates. I am pleased that she is joining Villanova and that the College of Engineerings students, faculty, staff and alumni will have such a talented and experienced leader at the helm. I look forward to formally welcoming her to our University community.

A faculty member at Drexel University College of Engineering for more than 20 years, Dr. Marcolongo has held numerous leadership positions at the university and college levels. She has served as associate vice provost for Research, senior associate vice provost for Translational Research and associate dean for Intellectual Property Development. In 2018, Dr. Marcolongo was appointed co-chair of the universitys strategic plan, leading a committee of university leaders charged with setting the vision and focus for the next decade of innovative education at Drexel. She is currently department head and professor of Materials Science and Engineering in the College of Engineering.

It is a tremendous honor and privilege for me to be named Drosdick Endowed Dean of the College of Engineering, said Dr. Marcolongo. The Villanova College of Engineering is outstanding in its education of world-class engineers who are technically strong and who have a broad liberal arts background to contextualize real-world solutions for the needs of society. This approach, along with the creative research and scholarship, is what drew me to Villanova. I look forward to working with the community to continue to innovate Villanovas contributions to our world.

Dr. Marcolongos extensive research focuses on biomaterials and engineered biomedical solutions to treat disease. Widely recognized for her expertise and innovative work, she was named a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. Her research has been funded by such agencies as the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the US Department of Defense and the US Department of Education. Dr. Marcolongo serves on the editorial boards of two publicationsthe Journal of Biomedical Materials Research and Regenerative Engineering and Translational Medicineand is the founding president of the Philadelphia Spine Research Society.

Our search for a new Dean centered on finding an individual who champions innovative teaching and scholarship, appreciates the opportunities of engineering to positively impact society, and has extensive experience working with major research corporations and agencies, said University Provost Patrick G. Maggitti, PhD. Dr. Marcolongo brings all of these qualities, along with a steadfast commitment to supporting our world-class faculty and students to reach their full potential. I am confident that with Dr. Marcolongo at the helm, the College of Engineering will continue to build upon its storied legacy.

A staunch proponent of the teacher-scholar model, Dr. Marcolongo advised or mentored more than 200 graduate and undergraduate students at Drexel while pursuing her research. She was an integral part of the team that developed Drexels innovative first-year undergraduate engineering curriculum, and she received the Drexel College of Engineerings Teaching Award in 2003. She also is a longtime advocate for inclusivity in engineering education, supporting and mentoring female faculty and graduate and undergraduate students in STEM.

In addition to her extensive work in academia, Dr. Marcolongo is a successful entrepreneur who has co-founded three biomedical technology startup companies and is a co-holder of 15 patents/patent applications. Inspired by her experiences in academia and entrepreneurship, she authored a book, Academic Entrepreneurship: How to Bring Your Scientific Product to a Commercial Discovery, which serves as a how-to guide for academic faculty, graduate students and post-doctorals on translating research from the lab to commercialization.

Prior to joining Drexels faculty, Dr. Marcolongo was a biomedical engineer at DePuy DuPont Orthopaedics, a role in which she invented, designed and tested medical devices. She began her career at General Electric Aerospace. Dr. Marcolongo earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Delaware; a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Drexel; and a Master of Science and PhD in Bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania.

As the Drosdick Endowed Dean of the College of Engineering, Dr. Marcolongo will serve as the chief administrator of the College, providing vision and leadership for its long-term strategic and academic planning, faculty research and teaching innovation; strengthening the student experience; promoting community and industry outreach and partnerships; providing financial oversight; and overseeing fundraising and alumni relations.

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Villanova University appoints Michele Marcolongo, PhD, PE, as the Drosdick Endowed Dean of the College of Engineering - Main Line