The Center for Agricultural Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology (CABPN) will focus on developing nanotechnology platforms that can be applied to three substantially important topics requiring strong industry/academic partnerships: Agriculture, Pharmaceutical Research, and Biomedical Applications. The proposed center will be a single-university center located at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC).
The proposal touts advances in health care and agriculture at the confluence of biotechnology and nanotechnology in a "convergence of frontiers." The emphasis will be on taking bio-nanomedical developments from the bench to benefit agriculture and healthcare. Advances in this center are anticipated to enhance the development of vaccines for food animals, and safety of the food supply, monitoring patients in intensive care and tools to make pharmaceutical research more effective. The proposed center will enable assembly of a cohesive University0Industry alliance that will enable Industry participants to communicate their research needs to academia, to facilitate collaboration between companies in different market spaces, and to train graduate students as effective future leaders.
Fostering cooperation between the hard core nanotechnology practitioners (mostly coming out of electronics and materials departments) and those in agriculture, biomedicine, and pharma could provide a cross-discipline platform on which to stir the intellectual melting pot and generate innovative solutions. Should CABPN succeed in transitioning the tools of nanotechnology to commercial use in these unrelated fields while gaining synergies from their interaction at the center, it could be a real driver for commercial innovation. Success could produce jobs and improve the life of the nation. CABPN has planned an active role in mentoring students and has incorporated them into its overall plan. The proposed Center has a system for outreach to minorities to foster training in nanotechnology to the widest group of individuals possible, and plans to have meetings within the I/UCRC framework to widely disseminate the technologies within the staff of the I/UCRC as well as partnering organizations. Publication of works is also planned and the PI has a path to publication that takes into account the commercial interests of the partner organizations.
