Symposium on BIOTECHNOLOGY

MIM proudly invites you to
MIM Symposium on BIOTECHNOLOGY: RECENT ADVANCES AND IMPACTS ON HUMAN LIVES

Date: December 10, 2005 Saturday
Time: 1:00-4:00 pm
Place: Turkish House, 3rd Floor Conference Room, (Corner of 1st Ave. & 46th St.), New York City

Recent advances in life sciences and technologies leading us to an era where the quality, and success rate of health care services and procedures will be dramatically improved. It is expected that the quality of human lives will be significantly impacted by these emerging medical solutions and methodologies in the coming years. These scientific and technological developments span many fields including molecular biology, smart materials and biomedical engineering systems. This symposium hosts three distinguished scholars presenting their most recent state-of-the-art research and development activities in their respective fields.

MIM also takes this opportunity to recognize the election of Prof. Aziz Sancar to the Membership of the American National Academy of Sciences in 2005.

Academicians, practicing engineers and researchers, medical doctors and researchers, graduate students and fellows working in relevant fields are invited. The Symposium is open to the public and free of charge. Seats are limited. Please pre-register at MIM Website http://www.m-i-m.org

PROGRAM

1:00-1:45 PM Refreshments
1:45-2:00 PM Welcoming Remarks & Recognition of Speakers
2:00-2:30 PM Prof. Aziz Sancar, University of North Carolina, Biochemical Mechanism of the Human Biological Clock
2:30-3:00 PM Prof. Banu Onaral, Drexel University, Functional Near-Infrared (fNIR) Spectroscopy to Monitor Human Brain Functions
3:00-3:30 PM Dr. Deger Tunc, Stryker Orthopaedics, Three-Year Follow-up of Bioabsorbable PLLA Cages for Lumbar Interbody Fusion, In Vitro and In Vivo Degradation
3:30-4:00 PM Q&A and Wrap-up Session

ABSTRACTS & BIOS OF SPEAKERS:

PROF. AZIZ SANCAR, University of North Carolina, Biochemical Mechanism of the Human Biological Clock

ABSTRACT: The physiology and behavior of organisms ranging from bacteria to human exhibit cyclic pattern with a periodicity of about 24 hrs. This rhythmic behavior is called biological clock or circadian clock (Latin circa=about and dies=day). They rhythm is generated by an endogenous molecular clock composed of 4 proteins. One of these 4 proteins called CRYPTOCHROME was discovered in our lab. The molecular mechanism of the circadian rhythm, based on feedback regulation, by cryptochrome and the other 3 clock proteins will be presented. Circadian clock disruption causes jet lag, seasonal depression, sleep disorders, and may predispose women to increased risk of breast cancer. Elucidation of the mechanistic basis of the circadian rhythms should help in rational drug design for clock-controlled illnesses, and in development of rational behavioral approaches to enhance optimize health, well-being, and physical and intellectual performance.

BIO: Prof.Aziz Sancar is Sarah Graham Kenan Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. He was Born in Savur-Mardin, Turkey in 1946. He obtained his primary and secondary education in Savur and Mardin, and then received an M.D. degree in 1969 from the Istanbul University School of Medicine. After practicing medicine in Savur for two years he attended the University of Texas at Dallas and obtained a Ph.D. degree in Molecular Biology in 1977 with his work on a DNA repair enzyme called "photolyase". Dr.Sancar conducted postdoctoral work at Yale university on another DNA repair enzyme called "excinuclease" in the period 1977-1982. He joined the Department of Biocemistry and Biophysics at UNC as an Associate Professor where he rose through the ranks to his current position in 1997. Dr. Sancar is currently conducting research on DNA Repair, Cell Cycle Checkpoints, Cryptochrome and the Circadian Clock. He has published 279 research articles and 32 book chapters. Prof. Sancar is a Member of the National Academy of Sciences, USA.

PROF. BANU ONARAL, Drexel University, Functional Near-Infrared (fNIR) Spectroscopy to Monitor Human Brain Functions

ABSTRACT: Functional near-infrared (fNIR) spectroscopy is an emerging neuroimaging modality that enables the continuous, non-invasive, and portable monitoring of changes in blood oxygenation and blood volume related to human brain function. Recent findings indicate that fNIR can effectively monitor cognitive tasks such as attention, working memory and problem solving. These experimental outcomes compare favorably with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies, and in particular, with the blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) signal. The capacity to monitor brain hemodynamics using a wearable and minimally intrusive device holds promise for the use of fNIR in real-life situations. Moreover, the fNIR system is amenable to integration with other established physiological and neurobehavioral measures, including electroencephalogram (EEG), eye tracking, pupil reflex, heart rate variability, respiration, and electrodermal activity. Potential application areas range from human performance studies, training and education, to clinical applications in neurology, neurorehabilitation and mental health.

BIO: Prof. Banu Onaral is H. H. Sun Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Electrical Engineering at Drexel University. She holds a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and BSEE and MSEE in Electrical Engineering from Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey. Dr. Onaral joined the faculty of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department and the Biomedical Engineering and Science Institute in 1981. She has served as the founding Director of the School of Biomedical Engineering Science and Health Systems since 1997.

DR. DEGER TUNC, Three-Year Follow-up of Bio-absorbable PLLA Cages for Lumbar Interbody Fusion, In Vitro and In Vivo Degradation

ABSTRACT: Back pain affects about 70%-95% of the population at some point in their life, and it is generally agreed that most people are best treated conservatively. However, in patients with degenerative disk disease, spinal canal stenosis in which non-surgical therapies fail, spinal fusion procedures may be considered. In 1995 the number of spinal fusion procedures in the US increased to approximately 160,000. Currently more than 350,000 spinal fusion surgeries are performed annually in the US, of which 75,000 involve inter-body constructs. Inter-body cages provide stability to the motion segment until inter-body fusion is obtained. The rapidly gained popularity of these cage devices may be attributed to not only the increase in number of patients but also to advancement in surgical techniques, technical developments and improvements in the cages and instrumentations. However there are some shortcomings of the presently used cages, specifically in stress shielding, migration of the cage and pseudo-arthrosis primarily due to their high modulus. This presentation is on the invention, development and testing of Bio-absorbable Spinal Fusion Cages and their comparison with the currently used devices.

BIO: Dr. Deger Tunc has recently retired from Stryker Orthopaedics as the Global Senior Research Manager. During his 42 year long R&D career at Johnson and Johnson , Pfizer/Howmedica and at Stryker he directed as well as personally conducted research in Pharmaceutical controlled drug release systems, Bioabsorbable Polymers, Orthopaedics Implants, Craniomaxillofacial Implants, Spinal and, Sports Medicine Implants. He has numerous inventions and was granted 22 US patents , over 300 International patents and authored 36 publications. He was proclaimed as the Inventor of the Year 1989 and inducted into The New Jersey Inventors Congress and Hall of Fame. He holds a Ph.D. from Rutgers, in Physical Chemistry, MS from Fairleigh Dickinson University and BS from Columbia University in Chemistry. He has given invited lectures at American Chemical Society, The Society for Biomaterials, Oxford University, Cornell University, Yale University Medical School, UMDNJ- Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, US patentOffice, NATO-Advanced Study, Middle East Technical University, Ege University, and Tubitak.
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