NJIT and NJII to Participate at BIO Innovation Theater
Newark, NJ (PRWEB) June 12, 2015 -- The New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) and the New Jersey Innovation Institute (NJII), an NJIT corporation, will participate at the 2015 BIO International Convention, the world’s largest biotechnology gathering. The conference, which takes place in Philadelphia June 15-18, will host thousands of organizations including the leading biotech companies, top 25 pharmaceutical companies and more than 300 academic institutions including the major research labs and government agencies.
To showcase New Jersey’s groundbreaking research, economic development organization Choose New Jersey is launching a new concept at the convention: the BIO Innovation Theater. On June 16 at 2 p.m. the theater will feature a series of panels and presentations by top professors and leaders from NJIT and NJII.
Tara Alvarez, professor of biomedical engineering and director of the Vision and Neural Engineering Laboratory (VNEL), will discuss “New Approaches in Vision Therapy.” Alvarez is conducting neuroscience research that could help stroke victims recover their vision but also lead to diagnosis of other visual diseases. Alvarez seeks to understand how the brain learns when visually locating objects in three-dimensional (3D) space. In 2005, the National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded Alvarez an NSF Career Award.
“A Composite Biomaterial for Bone Repair Applications” is the topic of discussion for Treena Livingston Arinzeh, professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. Arinzeh has earned national recognition for her commitment to making adult stem cell therapy a reality. In 2013 she received an Innovators Award from the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame (NJIHoF) in recognition of her research and inventions utilizing biomaterials and regenerative medicines for orthopedic and neural disorders.
Arinzeh also has been recognized with: the Outstanding Scientist Award from the NJ Association for Biomedical Research in 2004; “People to Watch in 2005” in the Star-Ledger; and the Coulter Foundation Translational Award in 2010. She was elected a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering in 2013.
Michael Jaffe, professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, will discuss “Isosorbide A Green, Enabling Building Block for Plastics and Biomaterials.” Jaffe’s work has focused on understanding the structure-property relationships of polymers and related materials, the application of biological paradigms to materials design and the translation of new technology to commercial reality. He has authored more than 70 technical publications, 10 book chapters and 15 patents. He is a fellow of IUPAC, AAAS, PMSE and NATAS and was the recipient of the 1995 Thomas Alva Edison Patent Award presented by the Research and Development Council of New Jersey.
“New Techniques for Field Diagnostic” will be presented by David Cohen, research professor at NJII. He will discuss how rapid and sensitive diagnostics have been developed for biohazards (Ebola, cholera, anthrax) and sexually-transmitted diseases (chlamydia, HIV, GC) for use in controlled settings such as hospitals and the military. However these diagnostics break down in the field owing to their complexity, expense and lack of patient compliance. Bioluminescence is a simple, inexpensive and rapid technology being investigated at NJIT that has promising applications in these diagnostic spaces.
Nikolaos Ioannidis, research engineer at the Polymer Processing Institute (PPI), will discuss “Hot Melt Extrusion in Pharmaceutical Manufacturing.” PPI is an independent research corporation headquartered at NJIT. Its main research focus is the modification of polymers through processing into special property, high-value products that are suitable for the medical, healthcare, automotive, electronics, construction and packaging industries.
On June 17, Don Sebastian, president of NJII, will be participating on the panel discussion “How to Work with New Jersey’s Research Universities” at 10 a.m. This interactive discussion, moderated by Debbie Hart, president and CEO of BioNJ, will focus on how to do business and build partnerships with New Jersey’s leading research institutions.
For more information on the BIO Innovation Theater, please visit http://www.choosenj.com/InnovationTheater.
About NJIT
One of the nation’s leading public technological universities, New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) is a top-tier research university that prepares students to become leaders in the technology-dependent economy of the 21st century. NJIT’s multidisciplinary curriculum and computing-intensive approach to education provide technological proficiency, business acumen and leadership skills. With an enrollment of more than 10,000 graduate and undergraduate students, NJIT offers small-campus intimacy with the resources of a major public research university. NJIT is a global leader in such fields as solar research, nanotechnology, resilient design, tissue engineering and cyber-security, in addition to others. NJIT ranks fifth among U.S. polytechnic universities in research expenditures, topping $110 million, and is among the top 1 percent of public colleges and universities in return on educational investment, according to Payscale.com.
About NJII
The New Jersey Innovation Institute (NJII) is an NJIT corporation that applies the intellectual and technological resources of the state’s science and technology university to challenges identified by industry partners. Through its Innovation Labs (iLabs), NJII brings NJIT expertise to key economic sectors, including healthcare delivery systems, bio-pharmaceutical production, civil infrastructure, defense and homeland security, and financial services.
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Tanya Klein, New Jersey Institute of Technology, http://www.njit.edu, +1 973 596-3433, [email protected]
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