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.