Nanobiotechnology Symposium At UCLA To Highlight Advances In Nanomedicine

Main Category: Medical Devices / Diagnostics
Also Included In: Public Health;  Conferences;  Biology / Biochemistry
Article Date: 01 Nov 2007 - 2:00 PDT

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UCLA's California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI) and the University of Tokyo's Center for NanoBio Integration (CNBI) are jointly sponsoring an international symposium on nanobiotechnology at UCLA Nov. 1-2.

The CNSI-CNBI Symposium on NanoBiotechnology, which is being held in the auditorium of UCLA's new CNSI building, an 188,000-square-foot structure dedicated to nano-scale research, will feature keynote speakers from the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center in San Diego, the National Cancer Institute's Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the National Science Foundation.

The symposium will begin with remarks from UCLA Chancellor Gene Block and University of Tokyo President Hiroshi Komiyama, followed by special presentations on biotechnology and biomedical topics by renowned researchers from the Japanese National Institute for Materials Science, the CNBI, the CNSI and the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

Nanobiotechnology has emerged in recent years as an important new field of research -- especially the area of nanomedicine. Nano-scale cancer research, for example, has produced new means of detection, diagnosis and drug delivery. Speakers from disciplines including biology, medicine, chemistry, physics and bioengineering will highlight such advances, which are transforming medical research today and are expected to have a dramatic impact on medical practices in the future.

A special panel discussion titled "Bridging the Gap: Bringing NanoBiology to the Healthcare Industry" will illuminate the importance of developing novel nanomaterials and nano-scale methods for biological research and medical application and will highlight the important research initiatives featured throughout the symposium.

The symposium, organized by CNSI member Fuyu Tamanoi, UCLA professor of microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics and director of the signal transduction and therapeutics program area at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, will also feature in-depth scientific panels and discussion groups focusing on nanomaterials, nanodetection and cell interatcion; nanodevices and microscopic methods; and nanomedicine and nanotherapy.

The symposium's focus -- nanobiotechnology -- reflects important strengths of both UCLA and the University of Tokyo. Located in technology research hubs, both universities have strong medical, engineering and physical science schools and through their interdisciplinary nano-research centers play significant roles in the international science community. This is the first of what will be an ongoing series of international conferences at CNSI.

The symposium has received additional sponsorship from Japan's National Institute of Materials Science; the University of California Discovery Program; Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA; UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center; the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA; the UCLA Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics; and Wako Pure Chemical Industries Ltd.

Click here for additional information -- including the complete symposium agenda, a list of speakers and abstracts. The event is free, but registration is encouraged, as space is limited.

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Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
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The University of Tokyo Center for NanoBio Integration promotes the understanding of the structure and function of the body at the nanoscale, as well as the development of nanomachines in which bio-inspired structures and functions are incorporated and methodologies are extracted that regulate the functions of body components, including biomolecules and cells. CNBI researchers work to establish an intellectual foundation and interdisciplinary scientific-technological system that explores and reveals the nature of biofunctions at the nanoscale, based on nanotechnology and materials technology. The center's five-year strategic goals include the construction of an innovative nanomedical system based on nano-level spatiotemporal bioregulation and the establishment of innovative new nanobio industries. Click here for more information.

The California NanoSystems Institute is a multidisciplinary research center at UCLA whose mission is to encourage university-industry collaboration and to enable the rapid commercialization of discoveries in nanosystems. CNSI members include some of the world's preeminent scientists, and the work conducted at the institute represents world-class expertise in five targeted areas of nanosystems-related research: renewable energy; environmental nanotechnology and nanotoxicology; nanobiotechnology and biomaterials; nanomechanical and nanofluidic systems; and nanoelectronics, photonics and architectonics. For additional information on the institute, visit http://www.cnsi.ucla.edu/.

UCLA is California's largest university, with an enrollment of nearly 37,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The UCLA College of Letters and Science and the university's 11 professional schools feature renowned faculty and offer more than 300 degree programs and majors. UCLA is a national and international leader in the breadth and quality of its academic, research, health care, cultural, continuing education and athletic programs. Four alumni and five faculty have been awarded the Nobel Prize.

Source: Jennifer Marcus
University of California - Los Angeles