Bioengineering News - Volume 2, Issue 1 April, 2006
Faculty
Appointments Continue to Enhance Department’s Breadth
The Bioengineering Department is pleased to announce a second round
of new faculty appointments that continue to build on the already-strong
faculty that have initiated the department.
Boahen Joins from Penn
Welcome to Associate Professor Kwabena Boahen. Previously at the University
of Pennsylvania, Boahen's research interests include mixed-mode multichip
VLSI models of biological sensory and perceptual systems, their epigenetic
development, and asynchronous digital communication for reconfigurable
connectivity.
Linehan Elected to NAE
John Linehan, a recent addition to the Bioengineering Department, has
been elected to the National Academy of Engineering. He was cited for
research on the pulmonary mechanics and metabolism of critical bioactive
agents and for innovations in bioengineering education and professional
development. Linehan is one of 76 selected this year. This brings the
total U.S. membership to 2,216.
Faculty Searches
The department is conducting a third round faculty search to fill two
more associate and/or assistant professor positions. Candidates are interviewing
in the Winter and Spring quarters. Appointments, beginning in Fall, will
bring the number of core faculty in the department to 15.
First Round Wallace H. Coulter Foundation Grants Awarded
The
Bioengineering department has initiated the Coulter Grant process with
four projects receiving funding. Congratulations to Karl Deisseroth
and David Schneider for Light-activated ion channels: Noninvasive optical
technology applicable to diseases of excitable cells, Kwabena Boahen
and Mark Schnitzer for Minimally invasive cellular level imaging in the
inner ear for intervention and diagnosis using fluorescence microendoscopy,
Jennifer Cochran and Mike Longaker for Engineered epidermal growth factor
for wound healing applications, and Stephen Quake and Russ Altman for
Ultrasensitive Noninvasive Testing: Genotypes and Phenotypes.
Microchip Foundry Opens
Silicon
microelectronics have made computation ever faster, cheaper, more accessible
and more powerful. Microfluidic chips, feats of miniscule plumbing where
more than a hundred cell cultures or other experiments can take place
in a rubbery silicone integrated circuit the size of a quarter, could
bring a similar revolution of automation to biological and medical research,
says Stanford bioengineering Professor Stephen Quake. To put the university
on the leading edge of that movement, on Jan. 11 in the James H. Clark
Center, Quake opened the Stanford Microfluidics Foundry to manufacture
custom "labs on a chip" for academic researchers.
Pictured above: Foundry Director Jessica Melin, Bioengineering Professor Stephen Quake, Medical School Dean Phil Pizzo, Engineering School Dean James Plummer
Faculty Receive Recognition
Hounsfield Medal Bestowed
Dr. Sanjiv "Sam" Gambhir,
Professor of Radiology and Bioengineering and Director of the Molecular
Imaging Program at Stanford (MIPS), has received the prestigious Hounsfield
Medal for his work in Molecular Imaging. This medal is named after Sir
Godfrey Hounsfield, who received the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1979
for his work on developing computer-assisted tomography (CAT scanning).
Dr. Gambhir's research focuses on multimodality molecular imaging with
an emphasis on novel strategies for cancer diagnostics and management.
Also Awarded U54
The National Cancer Institute has awarded Stanford University a $20,000,000
U54 grant to establish a Center of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence
(CCNE). Dr. Gambhir is the Principal Investigator.
Grant Awarded for Database
Russ Altman, MD, PhD, professor of genetics, medicine, bioengineering
and computer science, was awarded $13.7 million from the National Institutes
of Health Pharmacogenetics Research Network. Altman is the P.I. of
a project, PharmGKB, which is an online database of genetic and phenotype
information from people who have participated in research studies at
various medical centers.
Jacobs Awarded Prize
At the 24th annual meeting of Society for Physical Regulation in Medicine
and Biology, Dr. Christopher Jacobs was given the Iwao Yasuda award.
This honor is bestowed annually to "an individual who has made
an excellent contribution to the field of biomedical research, based
upon current research achievements in the area of physical regulation
in biology and medicine." The award carries a cash prize, but
Dr. Jacobs returned the money with instructions that it be used to
enhance student travel fellowships to present their work at the annual
meeting.
Swartz Gains Professorship
James Swartz has been appointed as the second holder of the Leland T.
Edwards Professorship in the School of Engineering. This professorship
was established in 1986 by William Edwards in honor of his father and
is a tribute to Leland Edward's determination to foster an appreciation
of the importance of education.
California Institute Awards Grant
The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) announced on
April 10 that Stanford will receive $3.7 million to train the next
generation of stem cell researchers. Dr. Michael Longaker is the P.I.
on the grant.
Other News
At the 24th annual meeting of Society for Physical Regulation in Medicine
and Biology, Stanford BioE PhD student Amanda Malone was awarded a "Best
Student Presentation" award for her talk on the potential role of
primary cilia as molecular mechanotransducers in bone cells.
Faculty of Bioengineering
Russ Altman, Professor
Kwabena Boahen, Associate Professor
Dennis Carter, Professor
Jennifer Cochran, Assistant Professor
Karl Deisseroth, Assistant Professor
Scott Delp, Professor
Gregory Kovacs, Professor
Norbert Pelc, Professor
Stephen Quake, Professor
Matthew Scott, Professor
James Swartz, Professor
Charles Taylor, Associate Professor
Paul Yock, Professor
Affiliated Faculty
Kim Butts, Associate Professor
Rebecca Fahrig, Assistant Professor
Sanjiv Sam Gambhir, Professor
Christopher Jacobs,Associate Professor
John Linehan, Consulting Professor
Michael Longaker, Professor
Dan Spielman, Associate Professor
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