UCI Nanotechnology Conference Focuses on Growth Opportunities in Biotech and Medical Device Sectors
By Anna Lynn Spitzer
4.21.04 -- Orange County, California is home to the nation's largest medical devices' industry and San Diego has the nation's third largest biotech industry with a high percentage of the companies being relatively new high tech startups.
Capitalizing on the region’s strengths, a two-day forum held at UC Irvine’s Beckman Center drew more than 200 researchers, students and industry representatives interested in the latest biomedical nanotechnology developments.
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The conference, organized by UCI’s Integrated Nanosystems Research Facility (INRF) and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Nanotechnology Insitute, explored funding and investment opportunities as well as the latest in research and development.
“We wanted this forum to provide solutions for both the biotech and medical devices industry on how to capitalize on the next wave of new technology that will boost their existing market shares and open up new markets and opportunities,” said Abraham Lee, UCI professor of biomedical engineering and Calit² Irvine division researcher. Lee, who is ASME Nanotechnology Institute Advisory Board member, served as the forum chair.
Those in attendance learned how biotechnology and biomedical device sectors can benefit from nanotechnology. A range of highly-respected industry leaders and academic researchers offered nanotechnology solutions that will be transforming healthcare in the coming decade.
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“Developments on the nano-scale will enable pathologists, for instance, to see unprecedented amounts of information on the cellular level,” said Andy Watson, Vice President of business development for San Francisco Bay area based Quantum Dot Corporation. “This will be extremely important and beneficial in the diagnosis of diseases such as cancer.”
Watson was one of several presenters who stressed that among the major challenges facing nanotechnology growth is the design, synthesis and integration of nanostructures to develop functional nanosystems.
Organizers felt the Irvine conference gave participants a better understanding of the breakthroughs and solutions designed to address these challenges. The conference concluded with a tour of UCI’s INRF lab facilites (http://www.inrf.uci.edu/index.asp) conducted by Calit² research participant Goran Matijasevic.
A complete list of presenters and sessions can be found at http://www.asme.org/events/nanobio/.
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