SBE
September 2010
 
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arrow Biotech News
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  • Researchers at MIT lead by Bob Langer and colleagues develop a synthetic surface, free of foreign animal material, which allows stem cells to stay alive and reproduce, making this the first synthetic material that allows single cells to form colonies of identical cells.
    http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2010/stem-cells-0823.html

  • Researchers develop a new strategy to enhance cell therapy via the conjugation of adjuvant drug-loaded nanoparticles to the surfaces of therapeutic cells. These studies also suggest that therapeutic cells are promising vectors for actively targeted drug delivery.
    http://www.nature.com/nm/journal/vaop/ncurrent/abs/nm.2198.html

  • Engineers at RPI create a nanoscale coating (carbon nanotubes withlysostaphin) for surgical equipment, hospital walls, and other surfaces which safely eradicates the bacteria responsible for antibiotic resistant infections (methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus.)
    http://news.rpi.edu/update.do?artcenterkey=2759

  • A study led by researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory discover that new and unclassified microbes are degrading oil in the Gulf of Mexico much faster than anticipated without a significant level of oxygen depletion.
    http://newscenter.lbl.gov/news-releases/2010/08/24/deepwater-oil-plume-microbes/

  • Engineers develop artificial cells that communicate, cooperate, and self-organize. These cells interact by secreting nanoparticles that are then sensed by other cells, making this a significant step towards producing synthetic cells that behave like natural organisms.
    http://www.news.pitt.edu/news/pitt-team-designs-artificial-cells
 
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Register now for September's Webinar:
Algae to Bioproducts and Biofuels, Challenges and Promising Technologies —
Tuesday, September 28, 2010 at 2pm EDT. Professor Ogden will provide an overview of the cultivation test beds, harvesting technology development, modeling, and potential co-products of algae in its use in bioproducts and biofuels.
 
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Register now! The 2010 AIChE Annual Meeting will take place in Salt Lake City, UT from
November 7-12. The AIChE Annual Meeting is a leading educational forum for chemical
engineers interested in innovation and professional growth. Click here to learn more.

Special SBE Events include:
•
 The SBE James E. Bailey Award Lecture will take place on Tuesday, November
9th from 6:00-7:0 EST.
•
 The Pfizer Hospitality Suite will take place on the same evening as the award reception, at 9-11pm. We hope to see you there!
•
 Due to popular demand, SBE will once again offer its Biology for Chemical Engineers
course, designed for professionals who would like to learn more about biotechnology in medicine.

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SBE is proud to announce the recipient of its James E. Bailey Award, Professor Harvey Blanch of UC Berkeley for his research and advancements in transport, kinetics, and thermodynamics in enzymatic and microbial processes. Professor Blanch will give his award lecture at the American Institute of Chemical Engineers' Annual meeting on Tuesday, November 9th at 6pm. The title of his talk is "Evolving Biological Engineering."
 
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Register now! At this year's AIChE Annual Meeting, Dr. Michael Amos of the National Institute of Standards and Technology will be presenting a course on basic biology, biotechnology, and pathology. This course is suited for both the novice biologist and the practicing engineer. The Biology for Chemical Engineers course will take place on Sunday, November 7, 8am-5pm. For more info, click here.
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SBE would like to thank and welcome our newest corporate sponsors: Pfizer and BTEC. Corporate partners enable SBE to facilitate the development of new initiatives designed to promote excellence in biological engineering education, research, and practice. For more info on how to become a corporate sponsor, please email us at bio@aiche.org.
 
SBE Join Now
 
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Last Call! Call for Papers deadline is fast approaching- September 22nd. SBE's 3rd International Conference on Biomolecular Engineering (ICBE) co-chaired by Jeff Varner (Cornell University) and Kurt Deshayes (Genentech) will be held at the Grand Hyatt San Francisco on January 16-19, 2011. Keynote speakers include: Lee Hood, Roger Tsien, Vishva Dixit and Frances Arnold. For more info, click here.
 
ICBE Call for Papers
 
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Congratulations to Michael Zakrewsky at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for correctly solving Augusts' "What Protein Am I?" puzzle. The correct answer was ATP Synthase, a protein that stores energy in cells by forming ATP from ADP and a phosphate group. Be the first to solve the September protein at: http://www.aiche.org/sbe/education/wpai.aspx!
 
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Interested in creating a student chapter at your institution, email us at bio@aiche.org.
 
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SBE's e-Connections is edited by Adrian Andrew Fay, Web Science Editor, with input from SBE staff. Contact us at bio@aiche.org.
 
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Not a current SBE member? It's never too late to join or renew. Costs are $75 for regular members, $25 for graduate students, $10 for AIChE, ACS and IBE members, or free for undergraduates. Join now at http://www.aiche.org/apps/ecommerce/bio/index.asp.

Member benefits include:
  • Subscription to SBE's semi-annual BioSupplement to Chemical Engineering Progress.

  • Discounts on leading biological engineering conferences including SBE and SBE cosponsored meetings and courses.

  • Access to online membership directory.

  • A voice in education, employment and technology advancement topics.
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The Society for Biological Engineering (SBE) is a new technological community of AIChE
Its mission is to promote the integration of biology with engineering and realize its benefits
through bioprocessing, biomedical, and biomolecular applications.
For comments and contributions to SBE Connections, email bio@aiche.org.

AIChE © 2010 American Institute of Chemical Engineers