News & Events

"Sensing and Actuating Life"

 

BME Seminar Series
University Lecture Series

News

Ron Weiss, PhD

Associate Professor
Department of Biological Engineering
MIT
Profs. Robert Tilto, Todd Przybycien, Physics Prof. Steve Garoff and collaborators received a 5-year R01 grant from NIH to develop self-dispersing aerosol drug carriers that can overcome mucus barriers against aerosol drug delivery in diseased lungs.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
4:30 - 5:30 PM
Porter Hall 100

“Synthetic biology: from parts to modules to therapeutic systems”
1:30-3:20 PM
Grand Room, Posner Hall 3rd Floor
GBMES Distinguished Speaker Symposium:
"Discussions at the Interface of Nature & Technology"


Seminar Abstract

Synthetic biology is revolutionizing how we conceptualize and approach the engineering of biological systems. Recent advances in the field are allowing us to expand beyond the construction and analysis of small gene networks towards the implementation of complex multicellular systems with a variety of applications. In this talk I will describe our integrated computational / experimental approach to engineering complex behavior in living systems ranging from bacteria to stem cells. In our research, we appropriate design principles from electrical engineering and other established fields. These principles include abstraction, standardization, modularity, and computer aided design. But we also spend considerable effort towards understanding what makes synthetic biology different from all other existing engineering disciplines and discovering new design and construction rules that are effective for this unique discipline. We will briefly describe the implementation of genetic circuits and modules with finely-tuned digital and analog behavior and the use of artificial cell-cell communication to coordinate the behavior of cell populations.
The first system to be presented is an RNAi-based logic circuit that can detect and destroy specific cancer cells based on their microRNA expression profiles. We will also discuss preliminary experimental results for obtaining precise spatiotemporal control over stem cell differentiation for tissue engineering applications. We will conclude by discussing the design and preliminary results for creating an artificial tissue homeostasis system where genetically engineered stem cells maintain indefinitely a desired level of pancreatic beta cells despite attacks by the autoimmune response, relevant for diabetes.

Seminar Poster
Seminar Series Listing
Profs. Phil LeDuc has been named a fellow by the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) for outstanding contributions to the field of cell and molecular biomechanics and bioengineering (read more).
Prof. Ge Yang has been appointed as an Associate Editor for the IEEE Signal Processing Letters. He was also elected to the IEEE Signal Processing Society BISP Technical Committee, bringing the total representation to three among CMU Biomedical Engineering faculty members.
Associate Business Manager Vanessa Calvin received the CIT Burritt Education Award for her efforts in finishing a Master's degree while excelling at her duties in the BME Department.
Prof. Chris Bettinger is the recipient of the prestigious National Academy of Sciences Award for Initiatives in Research for his innovative work on advanced materials for next-generation implanted medical devices (read more).
Graduate student Portia Taylor will demonstrate her project, entitled Exercise Coach, at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show. The project is to use sensor-based system to motivate knee osteoarthritis patients to perform rehab exercises regularly and correctly (read more).
   

Previous News
Graduate student Mary Beth Wilson, together with her advisor Prof. Phil LeDuc, received a Grand Challenge Exploration grant from the Gates Foundation entitled "Cell Mechanics to Increase Nutrition of Vegetable-Based Fare". The project is to use mechanical processing of the plant cells to improve palatability as well as nutrient bioavailability.
Prof. Byron Yu, together with Prof. Aaron Batista at the University of Pittsburgh, received a 5-year R01 grant from NIH entitled "Dissecting brain-computer interfaces: a manifold & feedback-control approach". The goal of the project is to combine experimental and computational approaches to understand brain function.

(Updated 3/29/2012)

 

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