Aug 1 2010
The 5 th SBE International Conference on Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (ICBN 2010) kicks off today at the Biopolis in Singapore from August 2-4, 2010. Over 300 delegates from around the world will convene at this multidisciplinary conference organized by the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN), the world's first bioengineering and nanotechnology research institute, to showcase the latest cutting-edge research advances.
The ICBN conference series was launched in 2004 by IBN, the Society for Biological Engineering (SBE) and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), to foster greater knowledge exchange and collaboration in the areas of bioengineering and nanotechnology – two interdisciplinary fields that cut across and integrate different areas in science, engineering and medicine to create breakthroughs in biomedical research. ICBN 2010 marks the third time that IBN is holding the event in Singapore.
Chaired by IBN Executive Director, Professor Jackie Y. Ying, ICBN 2010 features an impressive line-up of 23 invited talks by renowned international experts, including 3 plenary lectures, 26 contributed oral presentations and 61 posters by researchers from 15 countries. The comprehensive range of topics that will be covered during this three-day conference include Drug, Protein and Gene Delivery Systems, Cell and Tissue Engineering, Biodevices and Biosensors, Pharmaceuticals Synthesis and Green Chemistry, as well as Nanoparticles, Nanocomposites and Nanoporous Materials for Bio-Applications.
“IBN is delighted to organize the ICBN conference again this year to offer an on-going platform for bioengineering and nanotechnology researchers from all over the world to discuss their latest scientific discoveries. To develop innovative solutions to global challenges, it is important to promote interdisciplinary research. We are honored to have leading experts in various fields attending this conference, and look forward to stimulating presentations and discussions,” said Professor Jackie Y. Ying.
The first Keynote Lecture (August 2, Monday) on “Supramolecular Structures of Block Copolymers as Smart Nanocarriers for Gene and Drug Delivery” will be delivered by Professor Kazunori Kataoka fromThe University of Tokyo, Japan. Professor Kataoka received the National Institute of Materials Science (NIMS) Award in 2009 for his outstanding research achievements and contributions to developing functional nanodevices for drug and gene delivery. His talk will focus on the development of new polymeric carrier systems, especially block copolymer micelles for drug targeting.
The second Keynote Lecture (August 3, Tuesday) on “Multimeric siRNA Conjugates for Highly Efficient Gene Silencing” will be presented by Professor Tae Gwan Park from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Korea. Professor Park has successfully commercialized PLGA scaffolds (Innopol-DÒ) for soft tissue engineering and licensed out several protein and gene delivery technologies. His talk will focus on how cleavable multi-siRNA can be applied as potential gene silencing therapeutics for the treatment of genetic diseases and cancers.
The third Keynote Lecture (August 4, Wednesday) on “Healing a Heart: Harnessing the Macrophage and Stem Cells for Cardiac Reconstruction” will be presented by Professor Buddy R. Ratner. Professor Ratner is the Director of University of Washington Engineered Biomaterials Engineering Research Center. He was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering (2002) and received the Founders Award of the Society for Biomaterials (2004). His talk will explore the feasibility of developing a tissue engineered heart muscle.
ICBN 2010’s line-up of invited speakers come from leading institutions around the world, including Cornell University, Fudan University, Imperial College London, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Nanyang Technological University, National Tsing Hua University, National University of Singapore, Rice University, Rutgers University, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zürich), The University of Tokyo, University of California, Berkeley, University of California, Los Angeles, University of California, San Diego, University of Rostock and University of Texas at Austin.
To nurture the future generation of researchers, 15 outstanding students from 7 countries received the ICBN 2010 Student Travel Awards to present their research findings and engage with scientific leaders at the conference. The award recipients received travel funding and conference registration fee waiver.