BMES welcomes new Membership Director, Jenn Novesky
Jenn Novesky joined the Biomedical Engineering Society this month as the Society's new Director of Membership Development and Corporate Partnerships.
Novesky has 19 years of membership, corporate relations, event planning and advocacy experience. Most recently, she was the Director of Corporate Relations at the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA), where she led the creation of a robust corporate member benefit program.
Novesky was responsible for the recruitment and retention of corporate members and event sponsors. She worked with AMIA's membership to create a number of innovative new programs including a "Shark Tank-like" entrepreneurial contest and worked to secure funding for scholarships for memberships and meeting registrations for undergraduate women in STEM.
"I am excited to bring this experience to BMES and to get to work on growing BMES' overall membership and engagement activities," Novesky said.
2019 CMBE Conference
January 2 - 6, 2019
Loews Coronado Bay Resort
Coronado (San Diego), CA
Registration is Now Open!
Hotel Room Block is Open!
2019 BMES/FDA Frontiers in Medical Devices Conference
March 19 - 21, 2019
College Park Marriott Hotel and Conference Center
at the University of Maryland
Hyattsville, MD
Abstract Submission is Now Open!
New Virginia Tech biomedical engineering degree to focus on technology transfer, health care
Virginia Tech will launch a new undergraduate degree program in biomedical engineering that emphasizes technology transfer, engineering fundamentals, and hands-on learning opportunities, the university announced.
Approved by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia on Sept. 18, the degree will be offered through the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics within the College of Engineering, which currently hosts both master's and doctoral programs in biomedical engineering through a partnership with the Wake Forest School of Medicine, according to the university.
"There's definitely demand for more biomedical engineers across the Commonwealth of Virginia," said Pamela VandeVord, the N. Waldo Harrison Professor and interim head of the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics. VandeVord is a BMES member
"Every year we get calls from students who want this degree at Virginia Tech, and every year we have to turn them away," she said in the article. "We also know that industry representatives are actively recruiting for people who have a bachelor's degree in biomedical engineering, so the new program will meet a need expressed by both students and employers."
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute: Research hints at predicting autism risk for pregnant mothers
Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute continuing to make progress with research focused on autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
A recent paper authored by Juergen Hahn -- professor and head of biomedical engineering -- and Jill James from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) in the journal Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders discusses their research. The work focuses on predicting with approximately 90 percent accuracy whether a pregnant mother has a 1.7 percent or a tenfold increased risk of having a child diagnosed with ASD, according to a university article.
Hahn is a BMES member.
Currently there is no test for pregnant mothers that can predict the probability of having a child that will be diagnosed with ASD, according to the article. Recent estimates indicate that if a mother has previously had a child with ASD, the risk of having a second child with ASD is approximately 18.7 percent, whereas the risk of ASD in the general population is approximately 1.7 percent, it states.
Samira Kiani: Gene editing technology that could potentially cure disease and turn the medical world on its ear
Arizona State University's Samira Kiani, M.D. (PI) recently discussed groundbreaking medical advances that could be on the horizon with gene editing on the Future Tech Podcast.
Kiani studied the development of synthetic gene circuits used to reprogram various functions and general behavior of mammalian cells based on the advanced CRISPR/Cas9 technology, according to Future Tech Podcast.
VCU wins $3m NSF grant to expand STEM female faculty recruitment, retention and advancement
The National Science Foundation has awarded a $2.99 million grant to an interdisciplinary team of faculty women leaders at Virginia Commonwealth University aimed at increasing the recruitment, retention and advancement of STEM female faculty across the university, according to a VCU announcement.
The grant has the goal of raising the participation and advancement of women in academic science, technology, engineering and math careers by initiating systematic change throughout VCU's institutional structure and culture, according to a university article.
"With this grant, we will identify the structural and cultural elements that are preventing us from actually transforming our institution," Montse Fuentes, Ph.D., dean of the College of Humanities and Sciences said in the article.
New cancer treatment developed at U of Texas uses enzymes to boost immune system and fight back
Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have developed a new approach to treating cancer using enzyme therapy, the university announced.
The enzyme, PEG-KYNase, does not directly kill cancer cells but instead empowers the immune system to eradicate unwanted cells on its own, according to a university article.
PEG-KYNase is designed to degrade kynurenine, a metabolite produced by numerous tumors that suppresses the immune system. The UT team's findings were published in a recent issue of Nature Biotechnology.
A healthy, fully functioning immune system can combat the spread of cancer cells and eliminate tumors by itself. However, tumors have evolved in multiple ways to suppress the immune system, leading to the growth and metastasis of cancer cells.
"Our immune system constantly polices the body and normally recognizes and eliminates cancerous cells," said Everett Stone, research assistant professor in the College of Natural Sciences' Department of Molecular Biosciences and co-author of the study. "Kynurenine acts as a roadblock to immune cells that impedes normal surveillance; our drug removes this obstacle."
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