[Bioundgrd] Fwd: Distinguished Lecture Series

[Janice Chang]

>>>
>>>Dear colleagues and friends,
>>>
>>>The Boston chapter of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
>>>         (IEEE)-Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS)
>>>                                  &
>>>               the MIT Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES)
>>>                           proudly present:
>>>
>>>        *** The 2003-2004 EMBS-BMES Distinguished Lecture Series ***
>>>
>>>We invite you to join us for our new monthly lecture series in 
>>>which we explore
>>>recent developments and stimulating topics in the expanding field 
>>>of biomedical
>>>engineering.  In the fall, speakers from both academia and 
>>>industry will introduce such
>>>subjects as genes, genomics, proteomics, and systems biology.
>>>
>>>Our second lecture will be:
>>>
>>>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>>>Biological Engineering Adult Stem Cell Production
>>>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>>>
>>>James Sherley, Ph.D.
>>>Associate Professor
>>>Biological Engineering Division
>>>Massachusetts Institute of Technology
>>>
>>>Wednesday, October 8th, 2003
>>>7PM (Refreshments at 6:30PM)
>>>MIT Building 1, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Room 1-190
>>>         (For directions to MIT, please visit http://whereis.mit.edu)
>>>
>>>* This event is free and open to the public.*
>>>
>>>************************************************************************
>>>
>>>ABSTRACT:
>>>
>>>Because of their function in tissue renewal, regeneration, and 
>>>repair, adult stem cells have potential use for several biomedical 
>>>applications, including cell replacement therapy, gene therapy, 
>>>and tissue engineering.  However, so far, development of such 
>>>applications for adult stem cells has been precluded, because 
>>>their routine expansion in culture has proven an intractable 
>>>problem.  The challenge of this major problem in stem biology and 
>>>tissue engineering is compounded, because without a method to 
>>>expand adult stem cells to sufficient number for scientific 
>>>investigation, there has been little progress in acquiring 
>>>knowledge of their molecular functions that might inform efforts 
>>>to expand them.  We have taken a biological engineering approach 
>>>to the problem of adult stem cell expansion that is based on 
>>>studies with genetically-engineered cultured cells that model 
>>>specific adult stem cell properties.  Mathematical modeling of the 
>>>division kinetics of these model cell lines led to development of 
>>>a mathematical description of adult stem cell division in culture 
>>>that revealed a critical cell kinetics barrier to adult stem cell 
>>>expansion.  Biochemical and molecular analyses with the same 
>>>engineered model cells revealed cellular pathways that control 
>>>adult stem cell division kinetics and naturally-occurring 
>>>compounds that could be used to regulate these pathways to achieve 
>>>expansion of adult stem cells in culture.  This new approach to 
>>>expanding adult stem cells in culture will be presented along with 
>>>the latest developments in our program for biological engineering 
>>>adult stem cell production.
>>>
>>>
>>>SPEAKER BACKGROUND:
>>>
>>>James L. Sherley is Associate Professor of Biological Engineering 
>>>in the Biological Engineering Division at MIT.  He is also an 
>>>affiliated faculty member in three MIT Centers, the Center for 
>>>Environmental Health Sciences, the Biotechnology Process 
>>>Engineering Center, and the Center for Cancer Research.  In 
>>>addition, Prof. Sherley holds an adjunct appointment as Associate 
>>>Professor in the Department of Biochemistry at Meharry Medical 
>>>College in Nashville, Tennessee.  Prof. Sherley initiated formal 
>>>training in cancer research with a B. A. degree in biology from 
>>>Harvard College in 1980.  He then matriculated to the Johns 
>>>Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland and 
>>>in 1988 graduated with joint M.D./Ph.D. degrees, with an emphasis 
>>>in biochemistry and molecular and cellular biology from the 
>>>Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics. Thereafter, as a 
>>>post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Molecular Biology at 
>>>Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey, Prof. Sherley 
>>>developed model cell systems to investigate the cellular function 
>>>of the p53 cancer gene.  He left Princeton after 3 years of study 
>>>to establish his own research program in 1991 as a principal 
>>>investigator in the Division of Medical Science at the Fox Chase 
>>>Cancer Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  In 1998, he joined 
>>>the MIT Biological Engineering faculty as an assistant professor 
>>>and established a new research program in adult stem cell 
>>>biological engineering.  Prof. Sherley also has research interests 
>>>in environmental toxicology, in particular with regards to 
>>>evaluating presumed cause-effect relationships between 
>>>environmental contaminants and observed changes in population 
>>>health metrics.
>>>
>>>************************************************************************
>>>
>>>If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.  We look
>>>forward to seeing you!
>>>
>>>
>>>Best Regards,
>>>
>>>Mandy Yeung                                     Alexis DeSieno
>>>VP of Special Programs                  President
>>>BMES,MIT Chapter                                BMES, MIT Chapter
>>>mandyy at mit.edu                          alexisd at mit.edu