BMES eBulletin, December 2016

December 2016

Abstracts due January 22:

Frontiers In Medical Devices Conference

Abstracts are now being accepted for the 2017 BMES/FDA Frontiers in Medical Devices Conference: Advancing Translational Science.

The conference will take place May 16-18, 2017, at the College Park Marriott Hotel and Conference Center at the University of Maryland, College Park, MD.

Abstracts are now being solicited that highlight the latest developments in computer methods and best practices in computational modeling and simulation of medical devices.

Deadline for submission is January 22, 2017.

This conference will provide a forum for participants involved in the development and evaluation of medical devices to meet and share their expertise, establish collaborations, and discuss strategies to effectively utilize computational modeling to support patient care and improve final outcomes.

>>Read More

University of Minnesota research shows that people can control a robotic arm with only their minds

Researchers at the University of Minnesota have developed technology that allows people to control a robotic arm using only their minds, according to a university announcement.

"This is the first time in the world that people can operate a robotic arm to reach and grasp objects in a complex 3D environment using only their thoughts without a brain implant," said Bin He, a University of Minnesota biomedical engineering professor and lead researcher on the study. "Just by imagining moving their arms, they were able to move the robotic arm." He is a Biomedical Engineering Society member.

The study is published in Scientific Reports, a Nature research journal.

The noninvasive technique, called electroencephalography (EEG) based brain-computer interface, records weak electrical activity of the subjects' brain through a specialized, high-tech EEG cap fitted with 64 electrodes and converts the "thoughts" into action by advanced signal processing and machine learning.

>>Read More

BMES 2017 Annual Meeting Event Request

Any BMES Member, Committee or Special Interest Group (SIG) requesting to have a social event, workshop, session or special meeting added to the BMES 2017 Annual Meeting outside the parameters of the abstract submission process must submit an event request form no later than February 15, 2017. CLICK HERE to access the annual meeting event request form.

The Annual Meeting Co-Chairs will review the proposal and if necessary, seek the counsel of the National Meetings Committee, BMES Executive Committee and/or full Board of Directors. If approved, the activity may be added to the 2017 Annual Meeting on a date and time determined by the Meeting Co-Chairs based on availability. Requests and preferences will be taken into account, but are not guaranteed. For questions, please contact meetings@bmes.org .

BMES 2016 Annual Meeting Recorded Sessions Now Available On Demand

As a member benefit, you can now listen to select 2016 BMES Annual Meeting session recordings on demand.

Recently archived sessions include:

Research in BME and Grant Writing,
Becoming a Biomedical Engineer,
BME Careers in Academia, Industry, Government, and Alternate Careers,
Mentoring and Chapter-Industry Best Practices, and more.

To access the 2016 and previously recorded sessions, log on to the BMES website at www.bmes.org. Once logged on, visit Annual Meeting Recordings to see all the available recordings.

2017 CMBE Conference

Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel

January 3-7, 2016

Registration is now closed.

Registration re-opens onsite January 3, 2017.

Click here for more information

The conference room block is sold out.

Click here if you're interested in sharing a room at the conference hotel, Hapuna Beach Prince.

Peppas & Khademhosseini outline how to make better, safer biomaterials in Nature article

A more integrated approach to designing and regulating polymers in biomedicine is needed to create better and safer biomaterials, according to BMES members Nicholas Peppas and Ali Khademhosseini in an article published by Nature.

According to the article, polymers are used for applications including dental implants and hip replacements. But those materials can cause side effects.

While getting approval for new materials is expensive and difficult, the authors argue the effort will be worth it.

>>Read More

Researchers use 3D wax printing and polymer molding to create realistic kidney

Organ models are used for planning and simulation of operations, developing new surgical instruments, and training purposes.

Animal models and existing simulator systems poorly mimic the detailed morphology and the physical properties of human organs.

A research team in Germany developed a novel fabrication process to make a human kidney phantom with realistic anatomical structures and physical properties.

>>Read More

ABET program evaluators sought

Ensure the foundation of engineering education while representing BMES - become an ABET Program Evaluator for biomedical engineering today.

Are you an academic or industry biomedical engineer with at least 10 years post-baccalaureate? We are seeking a diverse, representative set of individuals with a desire to contribute time and experience to reviewing world-wide biomedical engineering programs. Training provided.

>>Read More

Rebecca Richards-Kortum featured in Runner's World magazine

Rice University professor and BMES member Rebecca Richards-Kortum was featured in a recent Runner's World magazine article.

The recent MacArthur Foundation Fellow recipient told the magazine that her daily morning runs in Houston is one factor that has contributed to her many successes.

"It's really important for me to have something in my life that that's for me, that makes me feel good," Richards-Kortum told the magazine. "And that's what gets me going in the morning."

>>Read More

The Whitaker International Program is accepting applications for biomedical engineering/ bioengineering research or study grants

The Whitaker Program provides funding to emerging U.S.-based leaders in biomedical engineering to conduct a self-designed project overseas.

Grant projects - including research, coursework, public policy work - are intended to enhance both the recipient's career and the biomedical engineering field with an underlying objective of increasing international collaboration.

The Whitaker Program is looking for candidates who are not only superb scientists, but who can advance the profession by gaining an international perspective.

>>Read More

Olabisi highlighted in Vanity Fair feature on notable and diverse role models in STEM

Ronke Olabisi, assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Rutgers, is featured in a Vanity Fair article profiling notable and diverse role models in S.T.E.M. education.

Olabisi is a BMES member and leads the Olabisi Lab at Rutgers.

The lab's research involves tissue engineering and regenerative medicine to repair or build de novo tissues for treating defects due to injury, disease, aging, or spaceflight.

The Vanity Fair article is in Celebration of the Release of the Movie Hidden Figures, an upcoming film that tells the true story of three "human computers"-African-American women whose major contributions to the space race have remained, until recently, eclipsed, according to the article.

>>Read More

USC Makeathon provides hands-on experience

The BMES Chapter at the University of Southern California has recognized the need to provide students with real-life, application-based challenges to students interested in the biomedical field. For this reason, ASBME began hosting the Makeathon in February of 2016.

This event provides students a hands-on opportunity to solve a real-world problem in a collaborative environment. Students are presented with a challenge, and have 30 hours and a limited amount of resources to solve the challenge.

By working in teams, students engage in an interdisciplinary sharing of knowledge in order to solve a time-sensitive case. During the competition, corporate representatives and graduate students act as mentors, providing feedback to students, and offering advice. Students from other universities are invited to compete to provide exposure to Viterbi's innovative and collaborative environment and to foster bonds with students and organizations from other schools.

For more information about the Makeathon please visit http://www.uscmakeathon.com/ . If you are interested in providing a challenge, volunteering, or sponsoring please contact asbme.president@gmail.com. Registration opens in January.

Biomedical West Conference hosted by BYU BMES Student Chapter

Provo, Utah

January 19-20, 2017

Don't miss out on this "first of its kind" conference that will bring together the Western region to innovate and advance human health!

Learn more here http://bmewestconf.com/

U of Md. BMES hosts STEM expo for area middle school students

The University of Maryland chapter of the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES-UMD) (link is external) welcomed 50 students from area middle schools to the College Park campus to take part in the chapter's first-ever Empowering STEM Leaders expo on Saturday, Nov. 5.

Read more here: http://bioe.umd.edu/news/news_story.php?id=10106

Duke holds graduate section holds on-campus conference

The Graduate Section of the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) at Duke hosted its first annual on-campus conference recently.

The Conference opened with an introduction to BMES at Duke by PhD Candidate Lisa Cervia and included a total of fourteen talks by BME Professors including: Collier, Gersbach, Yuan, Gong, Tornai, Chilkoti, Shen, Satterwhite, Wax, Yao, Trahey, Hoffman, Randles, and Zauscher.

A lunchtime poster session included presentations by postdocs, graduate students and undergraduate students. The Conference concluded with a plenary session and reception with invited speaker Dr. Zhen Gu, who was recently named TR35 Young Innovators by MIT Technology Review. The Executive Board, including Lisa Cervia (President), Daniel Alvarez (Vice President), Ravi Chowdhary (CTO), and Mounika Vanka (CFO) plan to continue this annual event and welcome new members from all fields and graduate levels interested in biomedical engineering.

Photos From BMES 2016 Minneapolis Now Available

Photos from the 2016 BMES Annual Meeting in Minneapolis are now available on the Society's Flickr page.

You may view and download the images.

CLICK HERE to view the photos.

If you are having trouble locating a specific image, contact communications@bmes.org.

Thank you for making #BMES2016 one of the best in the Society's history.

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