THEME: "THE FUTURE OFBIOSCIENCES"
Friday, February 6, 2009
More than 100 people attended this year's ET Update speakers
which explored some of the most intriguing areas of science
and technology that are looming on the near horizon, drawing
examples from the “Edge of Medicine” which is the title of
the keynote speaker’s new book, to biobanks and biomarkers,
as well as fascinating research to develop “spray on” and
“printable” tissues and organs. The audience learned
about NASA’s plans for space travel and exploration, and
gained insights into the “space medicine” issues involved
for astronauts. New prospects for “eHealth” and
wireless healthcare were explored by one of the world’s top
wireless health analysts. The speakers described the
world of bio-imaging and the new field of resuscitation
medicine. In addition to the speaker presentations,
the audience had an opportunity to “eat and meet” with the
speakers during lunch and learned about a new "Strategic
Radar" bioscience monitoring project by the Mack Center and
DSi.
INNOVATIONS ON
THE NEAR HORIZON
Michael Tomczyk (left in photo)–
Managing Director, Mack Center for Technological Innovation,
who originated this event in 1998, presented examples of
emerging technologies on the near horizon. His examples
included electric cars that will be charged overnight in our
garages, netbooks that were introduced this year that are
making mobile computers even more powerful, and a portable
waste-to-energy conversion system that can be installed in a
company parking lot. He noted that India is working to
develop a $10 computer, and observed that the economic
downturn has opened entry points for companies outside of
traditional industries to become new competitors, especially
in the auto industry. For example, BYD, a Chinese
battery manufacturer, showed a prototype electric car at the
Auto Show in January 2009. Tomczyk also observed that
electric utilities and natural gas providers may become
major players in the transportation sector if car drivers
start using electricity and natural gas to fuel their
cars...which they can do at home at night when off-peak
electricity is cheaper and more readily available. Terry
Fadem (right)– Managing Director,
Corporate Alliances, University of Pennsylvania School of
Medicine co-organized the ET Update Day and moderated the
"eat and meet" lunch panel. Terry is the author of the new
book, The Art of Asking: Ask Better Questions, Get Better Answers (2009, Financial Times Press). Terry presented an
array of biomedical innovations being researched at the
University of Pennsylvania Medical School. At one
point in his presentation he asked the audience to sing the
lyrics to a song, then showed how brain imaging revealed
that men and women singing the same song used different
areas of the brain to perform the same task.
KEYNOTE PRESENTATION
THE EDGE OF MEDICINE:
THE TECHNOLOGY THAT WILL CHANGE OUR LIVES
C. William Hanson, MD – Professor of
Anesthesiology and Critical Care; University of Pennsylvania
School of Medicine is the author of an intriguing new book, THE EDGE OF MEDICINE: The Technology That Will Change Our
Lives (Palgrave Macmillan, 2008). His
presentation addressed such intriguing question as, can an
“electronic nose” be used to identify the chemical
fingerprints of cancer? Can proton beams destroy
tumors? Can “brain chips” read your mind? Dr. Hanson
also illustrated several emerging technologies that will
help define the "hospital of the future."
TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE: FROM BIOBANKS TO BIOMARKERS
Michael Hehenberger, Ph.D., Dr. Sc. - Life Sciences R&D
Solutions Executive,
IBM Global Life Sciences/Pharma; IBM Corporation
Leading Pharma and Medical Device companies are basing new
drug development on the Biomarker concept, to define patient
populations that will benefit from targeted treatments (or
exclude patients susceptible to adverse effects).
Biomarkers include new imaging technologies that can
diagnose/monitor cancer or detect Alzheimer’s disease years
before the occurrence of symptoms; as well as new
Genomic/Proteomic technologies to understand gene-disease
relationships and disease mechanisms on a molecular level.
IBM has taken a leadership role in developing technologies,
standards and solutions to support Biomarker enabled
development—through solutions such as the “i-SCORE” system
for managing bio-medical imaging data.
THE FUTURE OF REGENERATIVE MEDICINE
Colin E. Bishop, Ph.D. – Professor, Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine;
Wake Forest University Health Sciences
Researchers at Wake Forest University are working to grow
more than 22 different organs and tissues in the laboratory.
They have pioneered the use of a new class of
non-controversial stem cells derived from amniotic fluid and
placenta, among many “firsts” in the field of regenerative
medicine, focusing on creating human organs such as bladders
and blood vessels.
The Wake Forest team is working to adapt ink jet technology
to “bioprint” organs and tissues; and “spray on” skin to
treat burn patients, accident victims, wounded soldiers,
etc. The potential to “print” human cells, tissues and
organs has intriguing implications for the future of
biomedicine.
Dr. Bishop showed photos of a modified ink jet printer able
to spray stem cells onto a matrix to create a vein or
artery. Creating blood vessels is especially important
for applications such as replacing vessels damaged from
repeated kidney dialysis. It is also possible to
strengthen the vessels to make the vessels more robust to
tolerate dialysis. He emphasized that this research is
still experimental, but shows significant promise.
IMAGING, PHOTONICS AND NANOTECHNOLOGY:
LIGHTING UP THE FUTURE (OLYMPUS AMERICA)
Angela Goodacre – Manager, Confocal Application Development,
Life Sciences Group, Olympus America Inc.
Olympus America is using its imaging expertise to
pioneer emerging technologies at the convergence of
molecular biology, photonics and nanotechnology. Optical
microscope platforms are used to locate and track cells,
proteins and other biological structures, but can also use
light to stimulate cells and modulate their function in ways
that can be translated into therapeutic approaches for
cancer and neurodegenerative disease. Ms. Goodacre
presented a variety of impressive videos and images that
illustrated how imaging techniques such as fluorescence can
be used to identify and track cancer cells and other
biological structures. She discussed research projects
underway by universities and companies who are working with
Olympus imaging technologies.
LUNCH and PANEL DISCUSSION: “MONITORING THE FUTURE”
Moderated by Terry J. Fadem, Managing Director, Office of
Corporate Alliances, University of Pennsylvania School of
Medicine)
Future Scenarios for Biosciences: Where are we headed?” –
Scott Snyder
Informal lunch panel — our speakers “eat and meet” while
discussing the future of biomedicine, and answer questions
from the audience.
NASA: CHALLENGES OF TRAVELING, LIVNG AND WORKING IN SPACE
Jeffrey R. Davis, MD – Director, Space Life Sciences
Directorate, Johnson Space Center, NASA
What are NASA’s current space goals for human space
exploration? Are we really going to establish a
station on the moon? How will NASA keep space
travelers healthy during long space voyages, or while
working on the moon or Mars? What if a virus or
bacteria that is relatively harmless on Earth is more
virulent in zero gravity? How will the human body
tolerate zero gravity or microgravity? What physical
and health risks will future space travelers face, and how
is NASA working to identify and address the challenges of
traveling, working and living in space and on other planets?
Dr. Davis presented a short history of space exploration,
pointing out what we learned about the effects of space
travel on astronauts at each phase. He also noted that
NASA is studying astronauts before and after their space
trips, to try to understand the types of diseases future
space travelers might encounter during long space voyages.
Several areas where NASA would like to partner with
companies and universities were identified, such as
developing lighter, non-invasive systems for monitoring
various health indicators. He said the future of space
travel will result in a continuing stream of impressive
innovations that will offer benefits in many industries.
RESUSCITATION
MEDICINE: THE DAWN OF A NEW HEALTHCARE FIELD
Lance Becker, M.D. – Founder/Director, Penn Center for
Resuscitation Science; Professor of Emergency Medicine;
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
When
does life end? Can we resuscitate victims of heart
attacks and other fatal conditions, by cooling their
temperatures and administering life-restoring therapies?
This is a question posed by Dr. Lance Becker, who has
pioneered the field of "resuscitation science"--endeavoring
to improve how lives are saved by paramedics, hospitals, and
by ordinary citizens, using defibrillators and other
resuscitation technologies. He indicated that most
paramedics still do not have the equipment needed to
resuscitate people who experience cardiac arrest and other
fatal conditions.
This field of research has challenged science to consider
where are the boundaries between life and death? Does
death occur when the heart stops? But the heart can be
restarted. Does it end when the brain is declared
dead? But so-called "brain-dead" victims have been
brought back to life and restored to normal or nearly normal
lives. Is is when cells or mitochondria
"die?"--meaning death occurs at the cellular level?
These are some of the questions posed by Dr. Becker, who is
an ardent advocate of developing and deploying emerging
technologies that can help resuscitate medical patients and
save lives that would otherwise be lost.
