Intellectual Merits: The emergence of micro- and nanotechnologies have changed much of what is possible in research today and have opened up new possibilities in exploring the surroundings and generating new ways of improving human life. Also they have become one of the most "game changing" fields in science over the past few decades. Given the increasing amount of interest in this area we aim to develop an educational workshop on the use of micro- and nanotechnologies and their applications and emerging research frontiers. This workshop will bring leading experts in the area of micro- and nanotechnology to present the latest work on the use of various types of technologies for addressing a range of different challenges that are of importance for biomedicine and education of engineers at the interface of engineering, medicine, and biological sciences.
The proposed workshop will be held in Boston, on July 29-Aug 2, 2013. The workshop will be held near MIT and Harvard Medical School at the center of some of the leading facilities in the world. The goal of the workshop is to provide a forum to discuss research at the interface between engineering, biology and medicine, to present a program that is highly rich in both intellectual merit as well as educational opportunities. In particular the workshop brings together students from various academic institutions with world leading experts in a small and intimate setting that will enable ample opportunities to network and learn. The workshop will focus on a number of unique areas that are highly inter-related yet not fully put together in a similar program. These areas include fundamental science of micro- and nanofluidics and small matter to applications in engineering the environment of cells using various small-scale? technologies, developing devices to detect and analyze molecules for biosensing and global health applications. Another unique aspect of the workshop is the involvement of people from companies. The proposed workshop will generate a range of opportunities for students and young investigators to learn about the process of developing and commercializing a technology from industry speakers.
Broader Impacts: The potential impact of this proposed workshop on micro and nanoengineering is far-reaching. Since this workshop combines fundamentals of micro and nano science and engineering with their applications in medicine, it will catalyz conversations between otherwise disparate fields. Various biomedical grand challenges facing our society and the world can be addressed in part or in whole by interfacing biology and medicine with nanotechnology. By drawing leaders from each of these fields together to discuss ways of addressing important medical issues with the most cutting edge technology in an intimate venue, it will enable progress at the interface of science, engineering, and medicine. To maximize the broader impact of such a promising workshop, we propose several approaches to raise awareness, with the larger scientific community as well as engage participation by under-represented minorities by hosting: 1) Opportunities for students to engage more intimately with thought leaders. Students can get to know leaders in the field through meetings to help guide and further their careers. Having access to mentors is a critical component for a successful education, and therefore providing a forum to engage mentor and student interactions would help facilitate this. 2) Encouraging women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine. With still so few women in engineering and science, it will encourage in which women can learn from established role models as well as open a dialogue on how to best attract and engage women in these burgeoning fields is needed. 3) Travel grants for US students. These grants will enable students who otherwise cannot afford to come to participate in this workshop. The grants will be distributed based on merit (quality of paper submission) with consideration for inclusion of under-represented minorities and women.
Micro and nanoscale technologies offer innovative and promising solutions to the current problems in medical and biomedical sciences. The ability to deliver precise and low cost solutions at a small foot print in point of care detection, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine as well as in vivo diagnostics are vital to our economic growth as well as result in better healthcare at lower costs. The challenges facing the translation of micro and nanoscale technologies to the marketplace include (i) transferring them from the research laboratories into a viable product, (ii) the use of acceptable and low cost manufacturing methods, and (iii) their simpleness and adaptability by the users at large. The goal of this workshop was to create a forum where the undergraduate and graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows learned about the latest advances in micro and nanotechnologies from the leaders in the field. The integration of these technologies with developments in biomaterials creates unique solutions where technologist and biomedical engineers can introduce novel solutions to the current biomedical problems. These goals were accomplished by bringing 23 established speakers from different states in the country and from different countries around the world. In addition, several speakers form industry who have started companies have been invited to give an overview of the business aspects of translating the discoveries from the research laboratories to the market place in the context of biomedical sciences. The interdisciplinary nature of the presentations, the quality of the speakers and the diversity of both the speakers and the participants made this a highly interactive, intellectual and educational workshop.
