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Plenary Speaker The top 10 Questions for the Future of Neural Interfaces |
Joseph J. Pancrazio earned a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana, in 1984, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Virginia (UVa), Charlottesville, in 1988 and 1990, respectively, where his training focused on the characterization of voltage-dependent ion channels using the patch clamp technique. After postdoctoral training in pharmacology in the Department of Anesthesiology at UVa as a recipient of a National Research Service Award, he received a joint appointment in the Departments of Anesthesiology and Biomedical Engineering as an assistant professor of research at the University of Virginia in 1991. In 1997, he joined Georgetown University Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology as an Assistant Professor working at the US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in Washington, DC. In 1998, he joined the NRL as a Principal Investigator at the Center for Bio/Molecular Science and Engineering, becoming the Head of Code 6920, the Laboratory of Biomolecular Dynamics, in 2002. At the NRL, Dr. Pancrazio led an extramurally supported project including biologists and engineers for the development and demonstration of a biosensor system based cultured neuronal networks for environmental threat detection. In addition, he initiated programs in high-performance computational modeling of neuronal networks, microarray-based toxicogenomics, and cellular microarrays for biodetection. Dr. Pancrazio joined the Repair and Plasticity Cluster of NINDS in January of 2004, where his research interests include: 1) neural engineering and neuroprosthesis; 2) novel neural repair technologies and biomaterials, and 3) neural information processing and control.
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Plenary
Speaker Talking directly to the brain: Implantable microscale
neural interfaces for neuroprostheses and neuromodulation |
Dr. Daryl R. Kipke heads the Neural Engineering Laboratory (http://nelab.engin.umich.edu) at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan. He is also the Director of the National Center for Neural Communication Technology at Michigan. Dr. Kipke's research is in the areas of neural interfaces, neuroprostheses, and neuromodulation. Dr. Kipke received the Ph.D. degree in Bioengineering in 1991 from Michigan. In 1991-1992, he was a Research Associate in the Department of Bioengineering and the Institute for Sensory Research at Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York. From 1992 to 2001, he was on the Bioengineering faculty at Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona. Since 2001, Dr. Kipke has been on the faculty in the Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Michigan. He teaches in the areas of biomedical instrumentation and neural engineering. He is an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering. Dr. Kipke founded and currently leads NeuroNexus Technologies Inc. (http://neuronexustech.com), an early-stage commercial neurotechnology company focused on the neuromodulation, neurosurgery and neuroscience research markets. He founded an earlier neurotechnology company that was acquired in 2006 by W.L. Gore, Inc. Dr. Kipke is a Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering.
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Plenary
Speaker Brain on a Chip |
Bruce Wheeler is the Interim Head of the new (Dec 2003) Department of Bioengineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is also a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and the Beckman Insitute, and a member and former chair of the Neuroscience Program. In January 2007 he assumes the duties of Editor in Chief of the IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering. He received the B.S. degree from MIT and later the M.S. and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University and has been with the University of Illinois since 1980. He has also served as Associate Head of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Illinois. Prof. Wheeler's research interests lie in the application of electrical engineering methodologies, signal processing and microfabrication, to the study of the nervous system, including the microlithographic control of the patterns of growth of neurons in vitro and stimulation and recording with microelectrode arrays. This work is aimed at basic science understanding of the behavior of small populations of neurons, in hopes of creating better insights into the functioning of the brain.
Collaborator: Dr. GJ Brewer, SIU School of Medicine, Springfield IL. Support: NIH: (R01 NS052233 and subcontract to R01 EB000786 at Georgia Tech); NSF (EIA 0130828).
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Plenary
Speaker Concurrent Optical Imaging and Computational Modeling: a Path to Reverse Neural Engineering |
Dr. Saggau holds degrees from the School of Engineering of the Technical University Munich, and the Medical School of the Ludwig-Maximillians University, Munich, Germany. His research interest is focused on information processing in the brain.
In 1990, Prof. Saggau joined the faculty of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, where he is a Principal Investigator and Lab Director in the Department of Neuroscience. He also holds appointments in the Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics at Baylor, and in the Department of Bioengineering at Rice University.
The Saggau Lab studies the fast synaptic communication between nerve cells as well as the information processing that occurs on the level of individual neurons. Research is carried out with combined experimental and theoretical approaches, using advanced optical imaging and computational techniques. His group is developing novel optical and computational tools in order to overcome the technical difficulties inherent to imaging structure and function of living nerve cells in brain tissue.
Prof. Saggau’s research is funded by both the NIH and the NSF, and has been published in numerous journal articles, book chapters, and conference proceedings. He serves as grant reviewer of national and international funding agencies, and is on the editorial board of the Journal of Neural Engineering (IOP), and Brain Structure and Function (Springer). He is a member of many professional organizations including the EMBS, and is an Elected Fellow of the Institute of Physics. He has trained many pre- and postdoctoral students as well as numerous undergraduate students and research interns.
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Plenary
Speaker Integration of information in neuroscience : a multivariate, multiorgan and multiscale approach |
Professor in Biomedical Signal and Data Processing at the Department of Bioengineering of the Polytechnic University in Milano, Italy. In the period 2000-2006 he has been the Chairman of the same Department. His research interests are mainly in the following topics: biomedical signal processing (ECG, blood pressure signal and respiration, cardiovascular variability signals, EEG and evoked potentials), neurosciences and cardiovascular modelling. In his research activity he has put emphasis on the integration of information at different modalities, at different sources and at different scales in various physiological systems. Since 1983 he has taught a course at a graduate and a doc level on Biomedical Signal Processing and Modelling at Engineering Faculties (Milano and Roma) as well as at Specialisation Schools of Medical Faculties (Milano and Roma). He has been Elected Member of IEEE-EMBS AdCom (Region 8) in the period 1993-1996. He is actually Fellow Member of IEEE and of EAMBES and Associate Editor of IEEE Trans BME. He is a member of the Steering Committee of the IEEE-EMBS Summer School on Biomedical Signal Processing: he was the local organiser of four Summer Schools held in Siena. He has been Visiting Professor at Harvard-MIT Division Health Science and Technology, Boston, USA for an overall period of 1 year. He is the Author of more than 400 international scientific contributions (more than 180 on indexed scientific journals).
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Plenary Speaker Dr. Demir will present an overview of NSF, NSF’s current priority areas, NSF funding opportunities, and the outlook for the job growth in research and development. |
Dr. Demir has 17 years experience in academic research, 10 years experience in teaching in academia, 2 years experience in medical industry and 2.5 years experience in research funding administration in the US federal government.
Dr. Demir is the Program Director for Biomedical Engineering at NSF. She participates in 7 other NSF Programs (CRCNS, DDDAS, NIRT, NER, IGERT, ERC, and Obesity) She has been the solicitation coordinator for the Interagency Opportunities in Multi-Scale Modeling in Biomedical, Biological, and Behavioral Systems for NSF, NIH, NASA and DOE. She initiated and sponsored an international benchmarking study called “Brain Computer Interface”. She was a sponsoring program director for the Systems Biology Study and Simulation-based Science Engineering Study. She is an NSF representative on the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Subcommittee on Biometrics and Identity Management. She represents NSF Engineering Directorate in the NSF Cyberinfrastructure Learning and Workforce Development Team and NSF Neuroscience and Cognition Initiative. She co-chairs Bioengineering Consortium (BECON) Bridges Team. She has been a Science Officer on the NIH Roadmap National Center for Biomedical Computing “Physics-based Simulation of Biological Structures” at Stanford University. Dr. Demir received Program Officer Excellence Award and Director’s Award for Collaborative Integration at NSF (2006).
Dr. Demir is an Honorary Research Professor, School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems, Drexel University and an Adjunct Professor of Joint Biomedical Engineering Program in Memphis, TN. Before joining NSF, Dr. Demir held the positions of professor of Biomedical Engineering at the Joint Biomedical Engineering Program of University of Memphis and University of Tennessee; Technical Manager and Medical Laser Engineer for Messerschmidt Bolkow Blohm and Rodenstock in Turkey; and research and development engineer in the X-Ray Division of the Medical Engineering Center of Siemens Company in Erlangen, Germany. She was also a visiting professor at Istanbul Technical University, Bogazici University (former Robert College) and Isik University in Turkey.Semahat Demir received her BS degree in electronics engineering from Istanbul Technical University, MS degree in biomedical engineering from Bosphorous University, and second MS degree and PhD degree in electrical and computer engineering from Rice University. She did her postdoctoral training at Biomedical Engineering Department, Johns Hopkins University.
Her own academic research program integrates research, education and training, and emphasizes mathematical modeling and computer simulations in both cardiac electrophysiology and neuroscience. She is an internationally published expert in the topic bioelectricity of subcellular, cellular and multi-cellular systems and also in the development of simulation-based teaching and learning resources. Her interactive cell modeling resource, iCell (http://ssd1.bme.memphis.edu/icell/) is one of them. She gave 169 invited keynotes, presentations, lectures, talks and seminars in over 15 countries. She is a reviewer for 10 journals and book publishers. Dr. Demir serves on the editorial board of the International Journal of Biomedical Engineering and Technology (IJBET). She has been an Associate Editor for EMB Magazine since 2001.
Dr. Demir participates in American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMB), and Society of Women Engineers (SWE) as a leader with elected, assigned or volunteer positions on boards, committees or taskforces. She is an elected Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE). She has served on the governing boards of IEEE EMB AdCom and SWE.
Currently, Dr. Demir is the SWE Director of External Affairs (2006-2008) on the SWE Board. She is responsible for SWE’s strategy development, public policy, international participation, E-Week and partnerships. As a board member, she is a key player for talent management and succession planning for SWE leadership pipeline. On her own personal time, Dr. Demir works for SWE’s public policy development and chairs the congressional briefings and roundtables for SWE at the Capital Hill (Washington DC) and at the National Academies; the goals of these congressional briefings and roundtables are to educate the attendees on the need for more women and diversity in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Fields.
Recently Dr. Demir received Special Recognition Award at the Women of Color in Health, Science and Technology Award Conference (2002), Distinguished New Engineer Award at SWE National Conference (2003), the Fifth Annual Daughters of Ataturk, Women of Distinction Award (2003), and Behram Kursunoglu Science Award (2006). She was selected as 2004 Featured Engineer by IEEE for “Exemplary Leadership to IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society and the Biomedical Engineering Community” and received the Achievement Award of Memphis Joint Engineers Council on February 23, 2004. She is the inaugural recipient of the Emerging Leader Award in the Academia at SWE National Conference (2005) and the citation reads “Dr. Demir is receiving this award for her demonstrated leadership in engineering academia, her ability to inspire others as a role model and her excellence as a scientist and educator.” She received Director’s Award for Program Management Excellence and Director’s Award for Collaborative Integration at NSF (2006).