April 2012

BMES News

Abstract-submission deadline EXTENDED for 2012 BMES Annual Meeting

The Technical Program Committee has extended the deadline for abstract submissions for the 2012 BMES Annual Meeting in Atlanta. Abstracts are now due by Monday, April 23 @ 11:59 pm EDT.

This is the second year full, one-page abstracts are required to be submitted for consideration to present at the meeting. The Committee received a significant number of requests for an extension to allow submitters to complete the one-page abstracts. READ MORE

BMES acquires BME Career Alliance

The Biomedical Engineering Society acquired the BME Career Alliance, an organization dedicated to bringing biomedical engineering /bioengineering programs and industry together for internships, co-ops, research opportunities and jobs, the two groups announced.

BMES staff will develop, manage and expand BME Career Alliance's mission of organizing regional meetings and creating career resources for students. The new division of BMES will be known as BMES Career Connections. READ MORE

BMES welcomes Edwards as membership director

Jennifer Edwards joined the BMES family recently as the new Membership Director.  Jen has spent nearly 12 years in association management, nearly all with her recent employer, the American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM). 

While at ACPM, Jen served as the Membership Director and Education Manager.  READ MORE

BMES forming Early Career Member focus group

The BMES Membership Department is looking for a few volunteers from the Early Career membership level to serve on a focus group.  The focus group will consider the idea of formally establishing a leadership tract within the Early Career membership. READ MORE

Collaboration is key to solving daunting challenges, experts say at Minority Faculty Development Workshop

Faculty members at the United States’ universities have the challenge of both educating students and producing scientific breakthrough to address the world’s most daunting challenges, said Gary May, Dean of Georgia Institute of Technology’s College of Engineering at the opening of the 2012 Minority Faculty Development Workshop.

It will be difficult solve those challenges without a diverse environment, May said at the four-day event on the Georgia Institute of Technology campus. READ MORE

Wanted: Blogger/Moderator

Do you love reading the biomedical engineering literature?  Are you a fan of blogging and social media?  We are looking for you to share your love of the engineering literature with your BMES colleagues.

BMES Spotlight is a new, Society-led hub for posting high-impact, innovative and exciting work by your colleagues in BMES.  We are looking for energetic and engaged hub moderators to represent specialty topic areas and will provide compensation for this activity. READ MORE

News

Student projects tackle global health problems

A project designed to help infants with sleep apnea was awarded top honors at the second annual National Undergraduate Global Health Technologies Design Competition hosted by Rice 360°: Institute for Global Health Technologies and the Beyond Traditional Borders initiative. READ MORE

New cancer treatment approach shows promise for treating brain tumors

A new treatment approach for brain tumors might be able to halt the spread of cancer cells into normal brain tissue, according to researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University. The treatment was tested in animal models, according to an article on the Georgia Tech website.

The researchers treated animals possessing an invasive tumor with a vesicle carrying a molecule called imipramine blue, followed by conventional doxorubicin chemotherapy. The tumors ceased their invasion of healthy tissue and the animals survived longer than animals treated with chemotherapy alone, according to the article. READ MORE

Biomedical industry is important to keeping the US economy thriving

Nationally, 1.2 million Americans are directly employed by the biomedical industry. The average salary of $118,690 is significantly more than the average American job. All told, the sector is directly and indirectly responsible for 5.3 million American jobs — 4 percent of U.S. non-farm employment.

So says a column that appeared in the Statesman, an Austin, Texas newspaper.

The column goes on to say, “Both the Texas economy and that of the entire country rely on these jobs. And yet, America's biomedical industry is facing the prospect of losing its three-decade-old status as the dominant player in the sector. READ MORE