An IUSSTF sponsored event on "Nano-engineering in Medicine Workshop" in New Delhi, India.
Indian PI - Amit Kumar Dinda, Department of Pathology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi
US PI - Rupak Banerjee, Department of Mechanical & Materials Engineering, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
The long-term goal of this nano-engineering in medicine workshop is to foster research and educational collaboration in the interdisciplinary field of nano-engineering and medicine. Transport of engineered nano-particles loaded with drugs or bio-molecules to the site of the disease in pathophysiologic states in humans plays a critical role in determining the efficacy of therapeutic management. There has been increased interest in experimental, computational and theoretical research in this complex field due to exciting new potential applications in treating diseases, such as cancer. While on one hand, there is significant potential in the application of nanoparticles in enhancing heat transfer for tumor ablation and targeted drug delivery, there is also much promise in improving imaging and diagnostic protocols using them. As this field progresses in both the US and India, there is a developing interest in bringing together the researchers and practitioners from both the countries. Thus, there is a need for bridging the existing gap between the research communities in India and the US by providing a forum for researchers from the two countries to present and discuss recent advances in this emerging field and to identify possible directions for common collaborative research. The objective of this workshop is to organize a joint US-India event to bring researchers from the leading institutions of the two countries under a common forum and facilitate discussions on successful application of nano-engineering in medicine. The hypothesis is that such workshop is an effective platform for efficient exchange of research ideas between diverse institutions involving complex topics, such as transport of nano-particles in biological systems. This will allow in determining the unmet needs and central challenges while identifying synergies between the two nations in this field. To address the hypothesis, the three specific agendas are: 1) Pre-conference agenda: We will create a data-base, develop a network, and invite nano-engineering experts, who have conducted research in the field of medicine; 2) Conference agenda: This workshop will feature invited talks from leading researchers and a poster session with participation from graduate students and postdoctoral scholars. We will exchange ideas on nano-engineering research by having experts share their own successes and failures and by permitting questions from the audience. Invited speakers will be asked to nominate students from underrepresented groups to attend the workshop. Participation from women and other under-represented minorities will be particularly
encouraged; and 3) Post-conference agenda: We will develop a repository of conference outcomes through a journal publication related to the proposed topic. The rationale is that synergistic collaboration in the field of nano-medicine is expected to lead to creative interdisciplinary research with a high translational potential that benefits research communities from both countries to carry the research outcome from "bench to bedside." It is expected that the proposed workshop will catalyze closer research relationships between institutions from US and India, leading to joint research proposals, publications and exchange of researchers for visits, sabbaticals, etc.
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