CLEVELAND -- Case Western Reserve University will host the regional conference of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) "Biomedical Technology: Challenges and Opportunities" will be held from 1-5 p.m. Thursday, May 4 at Reinberger Auditorium in Severance Hall.
Walter Gilbert -- biotech pioneer, Nobel Laureate, and professor of biomedical science at Harvard University -- will give the keynote address. The conference will feature speakers at the forefront of research and practical applications in genetics, tissue engineering, miniature medical devices, and medical imaging.
"Biomedical technology is one of the most exciting fields for discovery," said NAE Home Secretary Simon Ostrach, chairman of the organizing committee, and the W.J. Austin Distinguished Professor of Engineering at CWRU. "Significant work is going on right here in Cleveland, at Case Western Reserve University, the Cleveland Clinic, and University Hospitals. We want to draw attention to the topic and the region."
Trevor Jones, chairman and CEO of BIOMEC Inc. and a member of the National Academy of Engineers, says Northeast Ohio-based start-up companies such as AMMI, Athersys, BIOMEC, Gliatech, NeuroControl, and NetGenics have joined established firms such as Invacare and Steris to make Northeast Ohio a center for emerging biomedical technologies.
"We are in the process of combining our product development and manufacturing experience with Cleveland's leadership in biomedical research," said Jones. "With the help of the Edison Biotechnology Center (EBTC) and the Northeast Ohio Technology Coalition (NorTech), these new businesses will thrive and participate in the more than $150 billion annual U.S. biomedical device market."
Gilbert will deliver remarks on the future of biomedical technology. He received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1980 for his work on special building blocks of genes called introns and exons.
Much of the genetic material of any organism, whether in
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Contact: Marci Hersh
meh10@po.cwru.edu
216-368-6518
Case Western Reserve University
27-Apr-2000