The Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute will host a national summit in October to explore innovative strategies for translating nanotechnology, the field of tiny technology, into biomedical research and clinical devices to benefit patient care.
The Cleveland Clinic NanoMedicine Summit 2004 will take place Oct. 25-26 at the InterContinental Hotel and MBNA Conference Center Cleveland. The event will kickoff Cleveland NANO Week and is being presented in collaboration with Case Western Reserve University, Cornell University and the Maple Fund. The summit will offer insight from top nanotechnology experts and draw biomedical researchers and leading practitioners in the fields of cardiology, neurology, oncology and orthopaedics.
Derek Raghavan, M.D., Ph.D., chairman of The Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Center, and Harold Craighead, co-director of the Nanotechnology Center at Cornell University, are the event's plenary speakers. The two-day event will include two lunchtime forums highlighting the perspective of high-profile industry experts on the role of nanotechnology in their fields.
"This summit will bring together top nanoscientists from around the country and leading biomedical researchers and clinician investigators to explore the feasibility of applying nanotechnology solutions to fill unmet clinical needs," said Shuvo Roy, Ph.D., a biomedical engineer and researcher at The Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute. Dr. Roy is leading the summit's organizing committee. "This is a great show of the capabilities of nanotechnology at The Cleveland Clinic and throughout the biotech world."
Nanotechnology combines chemistry, physics, and engineering to develop new materials and devices by manipulating matter at the molecular scale to produce the precise structures needed. The materials and devices have dimensions that are smaller than a few hundred nanometers, or billionths of a meter. The field promises to offer revolutionary new opportunities in healthcare technology.
The Oct. 25 lunchtime panel will cover nanotechnology in relation to medical devices. Panelists will include Youseph Yazdi, corporate director of science and technology for Johnson & Johnson; Joseph Smith, chief medical officer of cardiac rhythm management for Guidant Corp.; Michael Helmus, vice president of advanced biomaterials and corporate research for Boston Scientific Corp.; and Paul Citron, vice president of science and technology for Medtronic Inc.
"The Cleveland Clinic NanoMedicine Summit is unique in focusing more closely on the clinical applications and clinicians than other nanotechnology meetings," said Mr. Yazdi of Johnson & Johnson. "This focus is critical in providing a reality check in this rapidly developing field."
The Oct. 26 lunchtime panel will focus on nanotechnology in relation to the pharmaceutical industry. In addition to Mr. Yazdi, panelists will include Mostafa Analoui, senior director and global head of computational medicine and clinical technology for Pfizer Global Research and Development; Stephen de Laszlo, director of strategic platform technologies and external scientific affairs for Merck Research Laboratories; and Margaret Blohm of GE Medical.
Expert presentations and panel forums at the summit will highlight state- of-the-art biomedical nanotechnology, discuss specifications for nanoscale tools for biomedical research, and identify unmet clinical needs ripe for nanobiotechnology solutions. Attendees will have opportunities to network at two receptions where exhibitors will also demonstrate the latest nanotechnoloqy equipment for biomedical research and clinical applications.
Topics to be covered at the summit include:
- Nanotechnology concepts relevant to clinical medicine and biomedical research.
- Current research tools for molecular biology -- noninvasive imaging, tissue engineering, neuroscience, clinical pathology and molecular diagnostics.
- Unmet clinical needs in neurological, cardiovascular, orthopaedic and oncologic medicine.
- Nanoscale technologies including quantum dots, biosensors, cell sorters, drug delivery, biomimetic scaffolds, AFM manipulation, genetic sequencing, carbon nanotubes, nanopatterned substrates and cell encapsulation.
Upon attending the summit, attendees will be able to:
- Recognize terms and concepts that characterize current nanotechnology research.
- Distinguish between top-down and bottom-up nanofabrication strategies.
- Identify nanoscale tools under development that will enhance biomedical research.
- Understand potential of nanobiotechnology to address unmet clinical needs.
- Determine high-impact opportunities for nanotechnology in medicine.
- Develop strategies to translate nanotechnology into clinical practice.
Physicians attending the summit will be able to earn up to 15 Type 1 CME (continuing medical education) credits towards the AMA Physicians Recognition Award. Category 2 CME credits for the American Osteopathic Association are also available.
The Lerner Research Institute is home to The Cleveland Clinic's basic research departments comprising approximately 130 principal investigators. With total annual research expenditures exceeding $150 million from federal agencies, non-federal societies and associations and endowment funds, the Lerner Research Institute is the fifth largest research institute in the United States.
The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, located in Cleveland, Ohio, is a not-for-profit multispecialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. The Cleveland Clinic was founded in 1921 by four renowned physicians with a vision of providing outstanding patient care based upon the principles of cooperation, compassion and innovation. U.S. News & World Report consistently names The Cleveland Clinic as one of the nation's best hospitals in its annual "America's Best Hospitals" survey. Approximately 1,200 full-time salaried physicians at The Cleveland Clinic and Cleveland Clinic Florida represent more than 100 medical specialties and subspecialties. In 2003, patients came for treatment from every state and from nearly 90 countries. The Cleveland Clinic website address is http://www.clevelandclinic.org .
