2014 IEM News

A recent product of collaborations facilitated through the Institute for Engineering in Medicine (IEM) was highlighted in an article published by Cell Stem Cell titled, “Cardiac Repair in a Porcine Model of Acute Myocardial Infarction with Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cardiovascular Cells”. Brought together through IEM’s Cardiovascular Engineering theme group, the article’s co-authorship includes three IEM Members; Dr. Lei Ye, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Dr. James R. Dutton, Assistant Professor of Genetics, Cell Biology & Development, and Dr. Jianyi Zhang, Professor of Medicine (Cardiology), Engdahl Family Foundation Chair in Cardiovascular Regenerative Therapies, and Co-Chair of IEM Cardiovascular Engineering Theme. Theme groups have been developed at IEM in order for faculty to better collaborate, and focus their efforts to develop projects such as this. Cell Stem Cell publishes research reports describing novel results of unusual significance in all areas of stem cell research.

Dr. Amy Skubitz, Professor of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology and IEM member, recently spoke to CBS Minnesota about her life’s work in the study of ovarian cancer and research at the University of Minnesota. Driven into research as a graduate student when her mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1982, Skubitz works hard to help women increase their survival rates. Currently one of Dr. Skubitz’s goals is to identify ovarian cancer biomarkers by using normal pap tests. Dr. Skubitz’s research over the last ten years has received over $700,000 from the Minnesota Ovarian Cancer Alliance (MOCA), she believes that with the work being performed today, can lead to better diagnostic tests allowing patients be helped earlier on the process.

CBS - MOCA Fundraising Furthers U of M Ovarian Cancer Research

Dr. J. Jeffrey McCullough, Professor of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, American Red Cross Professor of Transfusion Medicine, and IEM Member, was awarded a 2014 Outstanding Achievement by the Ohio State University College of Medicine. Graduating in 1963, Dr. McCullough received this award in recognition of his contributions to organized medicine including being the founding President of the National Marrow Donor Program, which identifies volunteers for stem cell transplant, as well as manages the largest and most diverse stem cell donor registry in the world. Dr. McCullough has also served as the Editor-in-Chief of the journal Transfusion and is a Life Trustee of the American Board of Pathology and served as its President. He has authored more than 300 reports in the medical literature including his own textbook Transfusion Medicine, been the recipient of multiple NIH grants and advised the National Blood Programs in Italy, England, Singapore, Canada, Tanzania, and Afghanistan.

Dr. David Largaespada, IEM Member, and Professor of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development, was recently featured in an interview by the Pioneer Press covering his is research team sponsored by the Zach Sobiech Osteosarcoma Fund at the Children’s Cancer Research Fund. Zach Sobiech, a Stillwater Minnesota high school student whose family founded the charity, passed away in May 2013 due to Osteoscarcoma. Before his death Zach had written the number 1 hit song “Clouds” whose proceeds raised nearly $900,000 for his cause. Dr. Largaespada explained the research team’s significant progress made in the identification of causes and the developing treatments of osteosarcoma in the article.

Pioneer Press – Zach Sobiech Passed Away in 2013, but in Many Ways He’s Still Here

Dr. Daniel Duprez, Professor of Medicine and IEM Member, received the 2014 American Heart Association Hero Award at the 20th Heart and Stroke Gala held in Minneapolis on November 8th. Every year the American Heart and the American Stroke Association honors researchers, health care providers, and survivors every year at their gala. During the 20th Anniversary event, Dr. Duprez was recognized for his work providing outstanding comprehensive care to patients with cardiovascular disease.

The Minnesota Heart Health Program is working to reduce heart attacks and strokes in Minnesota through a campaign called “Ask About Aspirin”. Dr. Alan Hirsch, IEM Member and Professor of Medicine, commented on the program in an article by the St. Cloud Times. The program trains health care professions in the appropriate use of aspirin and aims to increase awareness of the benefits of regular low-dose aspirin use to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke among those who have the greatest risk; women aged 55 – 76 and men aged 45-79.

In the article Dr. Hirsch explains how much easier it is for adult patients to take 81 milligrams of aspirin per day as compared to the other recommended risk reductions: losing weight, quitting smoking, and taking a statin for cholesterol. There is also a higher percentage of reduction risk by taking an aspirin than compared to the other methods. The campaign’s aim is to encourage patients to discuss aspirin with their physicians and to encourage physicians to consider recommending aspirin to help prevent heart attacks and strokes in their patients.This campaign is sponsored by the Lillehei Heart Institute and University of Minnesota School of Public Health.

SCTimes – Campaign asks Patients to Consider Aspirin Use

IEM Member, and Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Neurosciences, Dr. Dara Koozekanani, spoke of the collaborative efforts in the study of a species of translucent, eyeless cave fish in a recent article published by the University of Minnesota. The study examines the genetic makeup of Astyanaz mexicanus, a species of blind cave fish in an effort to better understand certain aspects of humanity such as sleep disorders, degenerative eye diseases, and albinism. Dr. Koozekanani states in the article that this study could play a pivotal role in eye disease research. This is the first ever genomic sequence of Astyanaz mexicanus. Dr. Koozekanani hopes that further knowledge of the complex genetics of eye degeneration in this species will lead to the development of effective treatments for eye disease in humans.

Minnesota Daily - Genetics of Blind Cave Fish Lays Ground for Treating Eye Disease

On September 15, 2014 IEM Director, and Distinguished McKnight Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Dr. Bin He, delivered the Integrative Medicine Lecture at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, which was attended by a large group of NIH officials and researchers. Focusing on “How to Map the Dynamics of your Brain – From EEG to BCI,” Dr. He discussed his research and the importance of engineering innovation to map brain dynamics for understanding brain functions and aiding communication between the mind and an external device. Dr. He’s lecture was later highlighted in the October 24, 2014 issue of NIH RECORD.

Dr. Art Erdman, IEM Member, and Director of the Medical Devices Center, presented a keynote address at the Medical Devices Summit Midwest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on October 1, 2014, titled “The Innovation Center Wave - but are they working?” Discussions at the summit focused on cutting edge software and devices on the market. Attendees there were given the opportunity to work closely with thought leaders to share ideas, experiences, and strategies toward the goal of revolutionizing the medical devices industry.

Prof. Erdman presented a second keynote lecture on October 11, 2014 at the 1st Global Conference on Biomedical Engineering (GCBME 2014), held in conjunction with the 9th Asian-Pacific Conference on Medical and Biological Engineering (APCMBE 2014) at National Cheng Kung University in Tainan, Taiwan. This lecture, “The University of Minnesota’s Medical Devices Center, Its Goals, Fellows Program and Accomplishments,” was presented to researchers, students, and communities from around the world seeking to share the latest research and innovative developments in biomedical engineering.

A team from the University of Minnesota led by Prof. Jian-Ping Wang, IEM Member and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has been selected as one of five Distinguished Award Prize winners, valued at $120,000, at the 2014 Nokia Sensing XCHALLENGE, a global competition to develop breakthrough medical sensing technologies that will ultimately enable faster diagnoses and easier personal health monitoring.

The Golden Gopher Magnetic Biosensing Team developed a handheld device, named “Z-Lab,” designed to detect various ailments using indicators, or biomarkers, found in bodily fluids at the earliest stages of disease, often when symptoms are not even present. A drop of fluid is placed on a small biochip (~10 millimeters by 10 millimeters). Results of up to 10 health indicators are displayed within 15 minutes on a smartphone, tablet, or other mobile device. The sensor can also be used for monitoring other factors that can impact one’s health, such as the mercury concentration in water.

“The high sensitivity of this device allows it to detect various ailments—including infections, heart disease and even cancer—faster, easier and earlier than ever before,” said Dr. Wang. “We see this as a prevention-based device that will ultimately save lives.”

The Team includes professors and students from the University of Minnesota, doctors from the Mayo Clinic and engineers from several corporate partners, including Zepto Life Technology, a University startup company commercializing this technology.

Golden Gopher Magnetic Biosensing

IEM member and Electrical and Computer Engineering Professor Keshab Parhi, along with his graduate student Zisheng Zhang (team KPZZ), finished 6th out of 506 entries in the International Seizure Prediction Challenge, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NIH-NINDS), the Epilepsy Foundation, and the American Epilepsy Society. The contest was organized by the University of Pennsylvania and the Mayo Clinic. The competition included interictal and preictal data from five dogs and two humans. Prof. Parhi's research on seizure prediction has been funded in part by the Institute for Engineering in Medicine.

Additional details about the American Epilepsy Society Seizure Prediction Challenge can be found through the following link:
American Epilepsy Society Seizure Prediction Challenge

Pain is one of the most debilitating outcomes of sickle cell disease (SCD). Individuals with SCD can suffer with chronic pain and unpredictable intermittent pain throughout life. Even though pain in SCD is difficult to treat and requires high dose of opioids and hospitalization, its mechanisms remained unknown. IEM member and Co-Chair of Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering Theme, and Professor of Medicine, Dr. Kalpna Gupta started examining the mechanisms of this pain few years ago.

In a recent issue of Nature Highlights (Sickle cell disease, Nature Vol 515, No. 7526_supp ppS1-S49) Gupta’s work is highlighted for its contribution to understanding the mechanisms of pain and why higher doses of opioids are required. In the article, “Life Beyond the pain” it says, “Another of Gupta’s findings may help to explain why the effects of opioid drugs fade so quickly for people with sickle cell, and why they need higher doses than people with other condi­tions who have similar levels of pain. Nerves in the skin and spinal cords of the sickle-cell mice showed a reduced level of the μ-opioid recep­tor, which enables opioid painkillers such as morphine to take effect.” Accompanying figures in the article show abnormalities in peripheral nerve fibers in the skin of sickle mice that may contribute to chronic pain in SCD. These studies laid down the foundation of pain research in SCD.

Nature Outlook - Neurobiology: Life Beyond the Pain 

J. Thomas Vaughan, IEM member and Professor of Radiology, and Jianping Wang, IEM member and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, have been named an IEEE Fellow for contributions to high field magnetic resonance imaging technology and for contributions to magnetic material and spintronic devices for magnetic recording, information processing and biomedical applications, respectively.

The IEEE Grade of Fellow is conferred by the IEEE Board of Directors upon a person with an outstanding record of accomplishments in any of the IEEE fields of interest. The total number selected in any one year cannot exceed one-tenth of one- percent of the total voting membership. IEEE Fellow is the highest grade of membership and is recognized by the technical community as a prestigious honor and an important career achievement. The IEEE is the world’s leading professional association for advancing technology for humanity. Through its 400,000 members in 160 countries, the IEEE is a leading authority on a wide variety of areas in ranging from aerospace systems, computers and telecommunications to biomedical engineering, electric power and consumer electronics.

Golden Gopher Magnetic Biosening, the University of Minnesota team led by Dr. Jianping Wang, Distinguished McKnight University Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and IEM Theme Co-Chair for Medical Devices, was chosen as one of 12 groups to advance to the final round of competition at the Nokia Sensing XCHALLENGE, a $2.25 million global competition to accelerate the availability of hardware sensors and software sensing technology individuals use to access, understand, and improve their health and well-being. One of only two university teams from United States entering the final round on November 1, 2014, Dr. Wang’s group will compete by showcasing a broad range of new sensing and sensor technologies that will help accelerate a mobile health revolution.

Information about the competition can be found here

IEM Member and Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Dr. Lazaros Kochilas, created a pilot study in six hospitals to see how easily a test could be implemented that could save the lives of newborns in Minnesota. Recently featured on WCCO TV, Dr. Kochilas’ study began in the aftermath of informing a Minnesota family, the Saarinens, about a murmur that was detected in their seemingly healthy baby daughter due to a heart defect. This simple screening done before discharging a newborn is noninvasive, takes less than a minute, but is sometimes not performed by physicians.

After her daughter’s recovery in the wake of a successful emergency surgery the child’s mother, Annamarie Saarinen was an advocate for change. She brought an idea of using pulse oximetry screening to screen all newborns to her daughter’s doctor, Dr. Kochilas. His study has led to a new state law that requires Minnesota hospitals to use the pulse oximetry screening test to screen every newborn before they are discharged.

CBS Minnesota (WCCO-TV)

Several members of the Institute for Engineering in Medicine (IEM) were recently awarded funds for the BRAIN (Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Technologies) initiative to map the brain. Announced by the Obama administration in 2013, the initiative aims to develop new technologies for basic neuroscience, generate ways to classify and analyze the brain’s trillions of connections, and create new ways to map brain circuits, among other goals. In all, over $100M in research grants have been initially awarded across multiple federal agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and National Science Foundation (NSF), and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

IEM members were awarded three BRAIN projects from NIH and NSF. Dr. Wei Chen, Professor of Radiology and IEM Medical Imaging Theme Chair, will lead an NIH grant to develop MRIs capable of mapping brains at the cellular level. Dr. Mike Garwood and Dr. Tommy Vaughan, Professors of Radiology and IEM Members, will lead an NIH grant for their work to produce high-quality images from a portable magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine that can be worn like a helmet. Dr. Bin He, Professor of Biomedical Engineering and IEM director, will lead a NSF BRAIN EAGER grant researching high-resolution imaging of brain activity through multi-modal acousto-electromagnetic technology, in which Drs. Emad Ebbini (Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering), Wei Chen and Jianping Wang (Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering) are participating.

“There is a tremendous momentum being built up in federal agencies on BRAIN initiative which promises to lead to a better understanding of the brain and enhance US leadership in brain related neurotechnology,” said Dr. Bin He, who serves in the NIH BRAIN Multi-Council Working Group, and was recently invited to the White House to discuss the BRAIN initiative.

Wall Street Journal
StarTribune
NSF News

Eddie Vedder, front man for the rock band Pearl Jam, introduced Dr. Jakub Tolar, Director of Stem Cell Institute and an IEM Member, to the crowd at their October 19th concert in St. Paul, Minnesota. Vedder, co-founder of the non-profit organization, EB Research Partnership, wanted to honor Dr. Tolar and the University of Minnesota’s Stem Cell Institute for their work in finding a cure for Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB), a painful skin and internal condition that prevents patients with it to anchor a connection between their dermis and epidermis, resulting in painful blisters covering their bodies from daily activity.

NBC News – Today.com

IEM Members Drs. Andrew Grand, Stephen Haines, Matthew Hunt, and Cornelius Lam of the University of Minnesota’s Department of Neurology, were featured in an article by the Star Tribune and NEWS Medical, an online medical information provider for healthcare professions, on whether or not it is a good idea to shorten training time when it comes to brain surgery. This controversial idea of shortening schedules for neurosurgery residents from more than 120 hours a week to around 80 hours a week could create a major shift the way future medical practitioners are trained.

Star Tribune

News Medical

The Annual Institute for Engineering in Medicine Conference and Retreat took place this year on September 22rd at the McNamara Alumni Center on the University of Minnesota’s Twin Cities Campus. Featuring keynote talks from world recognized leaders in medical and engineering research, this year’s conference attracted a sold out crowd of over 370 participants from the community, including members of industry. Following plenary talks, there were breakout sessions, and a career panel held where faculty groups and other interested parties engaged in strategic discussions on how to further enhance research collaboration between engineering and biomedicine, and between the University and industry.

During the evening was a highly engaged poster session featuring work of 136 University of Minnesota faculty, research centers, and students. Posters were divided into one of IEM’s five research themes – Cardiovascular Engineering, Neuroengineering, Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering, Medical and Biological Imaging, Medical Devices, and also into a separate group, Postdoctoral Posters. Students involved in each session were judged by a panel of UMN faculty on the quality of their presentations. Awards went to the top presentations in each category. Click here to see the list of winners of this year’s student and postdoc poster competition.

The Institute for Engineering in Medicine would like to thank all of you who were able to join us at this year’s conference and retreat. We look forward to seeing you Monday, September 21, 2015. Please save the date.

The American Society of Hematology awarded Dr. Robert Hebbel, IEM Member, Regents Professor, and George Clark Professor of Medicine, with the 2014 Ernest Beutler Lecture and Prize for his significant research advances in the area of sickle cell disease. Dr. Hebbel will present his lecture with joint awardee Dr. Michael DeBaun of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine on December 2014 at the 56th ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition in San Francisco California. Dr. Hebbel received the 2014 Ernest Beutler Prize for Basic Science, is credited with redefining the study of sickle cell disease, and has brought about multiple distinct areas of sickle cell research and numerous opportunities for new research careers.

A new study from the University of Minnesota shows how long term participation in yoga and meditation activities may help train the brain to better and more quickly control a computer with their minds. Dr. Bin He, IEM Director, leads this research study which was recently published in TECHNOLOGY, a new journal that features the development of cutting-edge new technologies in the fields of science and engineering. This study’s ultimate goal is to assist individuals who have brain diseases or who are paralyzed regain their independence and mobility.

Read Fox news report and the article for additional information: FOX NEWS and Technology

IEM Members Dr. Noam Harel, Associate Professor of Radiology and Neurosurgery, and Dr. Jerrold Vitek, Professor and Chair of the Department of Neurology are collaborating efforts to improve the accuracy of current targeting approaches and placement of deep brain stimulation (DBS) leads in the brain. DBS is a procedure that uses electrical impulses (stimulation) and has been shown to have a positive effect and improves symptoms associated with movement disorders. Drs. Harel and Vitek, along with a team of researchers at the Center for Magnetic Resonance Research (CMRR) at the University of Minnesota are using an MRI with the strength of 7 Tesla which results in more distinctive images. Additionally, they are completing cutting-edge research in microelectrode recording (MER) mapping. Their joint efforts are moving them closer to their goal of alleviating patients with severe movement disorders.

Dr. Bin He, IEM Director and Professor of Biomedical Engineering, recently delivered the Theme Keynote Lecture “Dynamic Mapping and Interfacing with the Human Brain” at the 2014 Annual International Conference of IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS) held in Chicago. The lecture covers research advancements made in Dr. He’s lab on human brain mapping and brain-computer interface. EMBS is one of the largest professional societies in biomedical engineering with about 3000 participants from all over the world in its annual conference.

Dr. Art Erdman, IEM Member and Director of the Medical Devices Center, was an invited keynote speaker at the 26th International Conference of the Society for Medical Innovation and Technology (SMIT) on September 20, 2014 in Shanghai, China. He delivered the Gerhard Buess Lecture on "Helping Solve Our Health Care Dilemma-Physical and Virtual Medical Device Prototyping". SMIT is an international society that is dedicated to the multidisciplinary advancement of minimally invasive therapy as well as instrument manufacturing, bioengineering, and research.

Dr. David R. Jacobs, Jr., IEM Member, and Professor in the school of Public Health’s Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, was inducted into the Academic Health Center’s Academy for Excellence in Health Research. Dr. Jacobs Jr. is being honored for his enhancement of research identity for the University of Minnesota through his nationally and internationally recognized biomedical/health related work. Dr. Jacobs Jr.’s portrait will be added to the second floor of Moos Tower Academy display in honor of his achievement.

Dr. Kelvin Lim, IEM Member, Professor and Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Psychiatry, and Drs. T.J. and Ella M. Arneson Land-Grant Chair in Human Behavior, was named 2014 Mentor of the Year by the Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI). CTSI recognized Dr. Lim as an outstanding research mentor and awarded him $1,500 at the CTSI Reception and Poster session this month. Dr. Lim’s research interests include neuroimaging and novel treatments for psychiatric disorders and he currently teaches medical students, residents, and fellows with emphasis on neuroimaging and neuromodulation research.

Each year the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal honors outstanding technology professionals and their supporters as part of their annual Titans of Technology award program. This year IEM Members Dr. Arthur Erdman and Dr. Jian-ping Wang of the University of Minnesota were among the honorees.

The Technology Advocate Award was given to Dr. Erdman, Director of the Medical Devices Center, and Richard C. Jordan Professor of Mechanical Engineering as recognition for his outstanding leadership in assisting, advancing, or accelerating the performance of technology companies and/or the technology community.

The Technology Inventor Award was given to Dr. Wang, Distinguished McKnight University Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. The Technology Inventor Award recognizes the accomplishments of people who are responsible for the creation of breakthrough ideas, processes or products.

2014 Titans of Technology Honorees

Dr. Bin He, IEM director and McKnight Distinguished University Professor of Biomedical Engineering, has been appointed to the NIH BRAIN multi-council working group (MCWG), which is co-chaired by Dr. Thomas Insel, Director of National Institute of Mental Health, and Dr. Story Landis, Director of National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. The MCWG will provide advice to the NIH BRAIN Initiative.

Dr. Jakub Tolar, IEM Member and Director of Stem Cell Institute, and Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant Physician at the University of Minnesota, recently had his pioneered treatment methods for Epidermolysis bullosa (EB) featured by NBC News. EB, a genetic disorder which prevents skin layers from attaching properly causes patients to have painful lesions, blisters, and sections of skin subject to constant detachment from the body. Ranging from mild to severe there are thought to be approximately 25,000 to 50,000 people living in the United States with EB today. The clinical trial and study led by Dr. Tolar focuses on treating EB by replacing the bone marrow from healthy persons which heals the symptoms of EB.

Untreated, EB will lead to painful disfigurement and in most cases an early death before the age of 30. Before Dr. Tolar’s study, treatment methods that would change the outcome of EB patients were not available. Dr. Tolar’s study and clinical trials are still experimental, but the treatment method he has pioneered has been the treatment of choice by patients with the most severe cases of EB.

Treating Epidermolysis Bullosa

Dr. David Redish, IEM Member and Distinguished McKnight Professor of Neuroscience recently sat down with Sports Illustrated to shed light on how truly complex it is for football players to master the playbook, on a neurologic level -- “It’s like trying to play a musical instrument that’s scheming against you.”

What Dr. Redish explains in the article is that not only do players need to memorize hundreds of distinct plays, but also to translate that memorization into the correct action, sometimes with only seconds of warning, a process called consolidation. In addition, players need to perpetually anticipate plays the opposite team is attempting to conceal, all while working to elude the other team from anticipating their team’s moves. Dr. Redish explains that the decision-making of the procedural system is located in different parts of the brain which can account for some of this complexity. “Memorization can only take a player so far during game situations.”

Sports Illustrated – Brain Games: A Top Neuroscientist explains how Difficult it is to Master an NFL Playbook

IEM Members Dr. Allison Hubel and Dr. Jian-Ping Wang have been recognized by the University of Minnesota for the startup companies they have launched this year. Dr. Hubel, Director of the Biopreservation Core Resource, and Professor Mechanical Engineering, developed a company, MesoFlow, with the participation of BioCoR faculty.

MesoFlow offers a disposable device for cleaning and storing blood cells used in transplants and other medical procedures. Dr. Wang, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, created Zepto Life Technology, to bring to market an inexpensive and portable device that verifies if human samples have traces of more than sixty diseases. Dr. Wang has also been recognized for the technology he developed, the fabrication of a powerful new type of magnet used by the startup company Niron Magnetics.

Patients suffering from cryptococcal meningitis, an AIDS-related brain infection affecting 300,000 patients worldwide annually, usually have a six month prognosis for survival. A recent study by Dr. David Boulware, IEM Member and Associate Director of Global Health Programs in Internal Medicine, shows that patients with this AIDS-related infection should start HIV therapy later than normally expected, four to six weeks after diagnosis. The result is a 15% better survival rate. Published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the study was conducted in Cape Town, South Africa and Uganda in collaboration with the University of Cape Town, Makerere University, and the Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) with a $6.3 million grant from the NIH.

Timing of Antiretroviral Therapy after Diagnosis of Crypococcal Meningitis

Dr. Daniel Saltzman, IEM Member and Associate Professor of Surgery, along with Dr. Arnold Leonard, Professor of Surgery, have pioneered the research of raspberry, black cumin, and Chardonnay grape seed oils to create an anti-oxidant rich beverage with powerful anti-inflammatory properties. The research was featured in an article by Dr. Saltzman, Dr. Leonard, and Mark Mueller, founder of company Botanic Oil Innovation, on Weeks MD, a Health News website.

Clinical trials are currently underway to evaluate the role of black cumin oil, also black raspberry oil in the modulation of the immune response in a colon cancer model at the University of Minnesota.

Seed Research in Minnesota

Dr. Kamil Ugurbil, Director of the Center for Magnetic Resonance Research (CMRR), Professor of Radiology, and IEM Member was awarded the 2014 Richard R. Ernst Medal by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich (ETH). Dr. Ugurbil was recognized for his work in increasing the understanding and relationships between the sciences, society, and politics. His 2014 Richard R. Ernst Lecture entitled “Towards understanding the Human Brain: A marriage between Physics and Neuroscience” was given at the ETH in Zürich Switzerland.

Richard R. Ernst, for whom the award is named, is a Swiss physical chemist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1991 for contributions and development of Fourier Transform nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Additional information about Dr. Ugurbil's presentation can be found through the following link.

The Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) awarded five IEM Members and their teams funding from the CTSI’s Translational 2014 Grant Program. The program’s funding drives early stage translational research into patient benefit.

Dr. Conrado Aparicio, Department of Restorative Sciences
Project Title: GL13K Antimicrobial Peptide Coatings with Strong Resistance to Degradation and Sustained Activity for Preventing Dental Peri-implant Infection

Dr. Shai Ashkenazi, Department of Biomedical Engineering
Project Title: Depth-resolved Tissue Oxygen Needle Sensor

Dr. Arthur Erdman, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Project Title: Acoustic Modulation of the Phrenic Nerve for Treatment of Ventilator Induced Diaphragmatic Dysfunction

Dr. Benjamin Hackel, Department of Chemical Engineering/Material Science
Project Title: Molecular PET Imaging of MET with Small Protein Ligands

Dr. Jayanth Panyam, Department of Pharmaceutics
Project Title: A Novel Marker for Isolation and Characterization of Circulating Tumor Cells from Patients with Metastatic Cancer

Dr. Jerrold Vitek, Professor, Head of the Department of Neurology, and IEM Member is leading a study along with Dr. Philip Star of the University of California Surgical Movement Disorder’s Clinic. This clinical study entitled “INTREPID” is sponsored by Boston Scientific and consists of twenty sites across the United States. The study’s aim is to investigate the efficacy and safety of Boston Scientific’s Vercise DBS System which uses deep brain stimulation (DBS) to decrease Parkinson’s symptoms such as slurred speech, involuntary shaking, and bodily stiffness. As part of the study, a node will be surgically inserted into the brain of close to 310 patients. The node will direct electrical current to stimulate certain areas of the brain. The INTREPID study is expected to be completed by the year 2021.

After Dr. Jakub Tolar met with Majority Leader of the Minnesota House Erin Murphy, a new law was put into motion and passed. This legislation will provide $50 million dollars over the course of the next ten years toward the study of treatment for chronic illness. Dr. Tolar, director of the University of Minnesota Stem Cell Institute and IEM Member, met with Representative Murphy and expressed how necessary it is for there to be a concerted Minnesota research effort on stem cell therapy. With the help of Murphy, Governor Dayton signed the legislation that will provide seed money to Minnesota scientists for regenerative medicine research.

Dr. Tolar was interviewed by the Star Tribune, where the proposal process was explained. The article explains that a committee of outside experts will evaluate proposals followed by a final decision by a five member board including representatives from the U of MN, Mayo Clinic, and private industry in combination with two other stakeholder groups, one of which may be a patient representative. This new law will provide $4.35 million in grant funds in 2015.

StarTribune

Each year the American Heart Association names one individual to be the George E. Brown Memorial Lecturer for that year. This year this honor went to Dr. Jianyi Jay Zhang, IEM Theme Co-Chair on Cardiovascular Engineering and Professor of Medicine (Cardiology).

Established in 1935 by friends to honor the memory of Dr. George E. Brown, the first lecture was given in 1937 and in each consecutive year since. Dr. Brown was chairman of a group responsible for the formation of the Section for the Study of Peripheral Circulation of the American Heart Association.

Dr. Zhang will present his lecture at the national conference held in Chicago, IL on November 15-19, 2014.

Featured in National Geographic, BBC, Wired Magazine, The Washington Post, PBS, Huffington Post, among others is the study by Dr. David Redish on how rats show regret. Dr. Redish, IEM Member and Professor of Neuroscience, led the study and together with colleague Dr. Adam Steiner found that rats expressed regret through both behavior and neural activity. This behavior was expressed in specific situations set up by researchers to illicit regret. The study also examined how regret will affect future decisions and how the study can be used to take a further look into human feelings and behavior.

Wired, Huffington Post, PBS, Washington Post

Dr. Andrew Grande, IEM Member and Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery, emphasizes the life-saving importance of quick action when you notice someone who shows the signs and symptoms of a stroke. The key is to act F.A.S.T. As Dr. Grande explains in a YouTube video created by the University of Minnesota's Academic Health Center, F.A.S.T stands for: Face drooping, Arm weakness, Speech difficulty or slurring of words, and the action you need to take when you notice these symptoms- Time to call 911 and get the victim to the hospital.

In the video Dr. Grande stresses the importance of recognizing the symptoms and of taking action because the only thing that we can do for someone who is having a stroke is to reopen the blood vessels and we need to do that fast, within three hours of when the symptoms first occur. Dr. Grande advises to call 911 immediately if you see signs that indicate someone may be having a stroke.

Dr. Gerald Timm, IEM Member and Professor of Urology delivered the presentation Creating Value in Urology through Innovation at the American Urological Association (AUA) Annual Meeting on May 16-21, 2014 in Orlando, Florida. Dr. Timm's session focused on the importance of the connection of innovation and value when it comes to moving Urologic innovations into commerce.

Dr. Timm who is currently in the process of creating his fifth urologic device company, GT Urological, and who already has a device in clinical trials, has a substantial background on the topic. Funding is an innovator's largest problem, stated Dr. Timm in AUA Daily News, and the greater the value of an innovation can bring to practice, the more interest financial backers have. The AUA Annual Meeting, in its 109th year, is noted as the largest gathering of Urologists in the world. This year's meeting provided access to groundbreaking research, new guidelines, and the latest advances in urologic medicine.

On the weekends a special hospital volunteer at the University of Minnesota Medical Center can be seen walking the halls, on all fours. This volunteer, a Bernese mountain dog mix named Sonja, is brought by Dr. Andrade, Thoracic and Foregut Surgeon, and IEM Member, to visit with patients. On these visits Dr. Andrade focuses on the patients healthcare while Sonja uses her bedside manner to help patients relax and to provide a therapy for the soul.

Minnesota CBS affiliate, WCCO, recently produced a video and associated article on the importance of this therapy for Dr. Andrade's patients. It explains the importance of spirituality and mental health to the physical healing process.

WCCO 4 News

Parkinson’s disease is the most common movement disorder in the US affecting over 1.5 million citizens. In order to address the needs of afflicted patients, and provide treatments addressing their conditions, a team of researchers at the University of Minnesota are working together to learn more about the disorder from the molecular level through clinical trials. Featured in a May article of the Star Tribune, IEM Members Dr. Jerrold Vitek, Professor and Department Chair of Neurology, and Dr. Paul Tuite, Associate Professor of Neurology, discuss their Parkinson’s disease research. Dr. Vitek is leading the interdisciplinary team study and hopes to create a Parkinson’s disease research program at a national stature. Dr. Paul Tuite is the co-investigator of BioFIND, a Michael J. Fox Foundation study to identify biomarkers track and diagnose the disease as it progresses in the body. IEM Member Dr. Colum MacKinnon and his lab’s work studying freezing-of-gait, an unfortunate symptom of Parkinson’s disease, is also featured.

StarTribune

“Our goal is to help people restore the quality and functionality of life after a stroke,” Dr. Andrew Grande, IEM Member and Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery recently stated in regards to the study he is leading with Dr. Masato Nakafuku, Professor of Department of Pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati. The ongoing study, recently published in the Journal Nature Communications, examines the role of stem cells in the process of direct reprogramming of the brain after a stroke has occurred. Developing new neurons that are region-specific is one of the major obstacles Dr. Grande and his team have experienced. The next step in the research process is the development of translational studies for larger animal models and ultimately in the not so distant future, human trials.

Nature Communications

Dr. Paul Iaizzo, IEM Associate Director, Director of the Visible Heart Lab, and Professor of Surgery, is featured in the May issue of New Magazine published online through Worrell Design, an industrial design and product development company. The magazine features Dr. Iaizzo’s work with transplants and the reanimation process of hearts at the University of Minnesota’s Visible Heart Lab. Dr. Iaizzo expresses his views on the value of hands-on learning in order to gain insight into the function and anatomy of the heart and how the lives of patients can benefit from this first-hand experience. The Visible Heart Lab’s cardiovascular research, free and public educational tool Atlas of Human Cardiac Anatomy, 3D printers, and collection of over 400 heart specimens are also highlighted.

Dr. John Foker, IEM Member and Professor of Surgery, has had a patent issued in the United States for an invention relating to compositions and methods for reducing progression to heart failure as a consequence of cardiac stress. The Methods and Compositions for Inhibiting Progression to Chronic Cardiac Failure patent has broad implications and high interest in regards to providing, “Methods and formulations for preventing of ameliorating progression to chronic heart failure subsequent to cardiac stress, including as a consequence to myocardial infarction (MI), coronary artery disease, hypertension, cardiomyopathy, myocarditis, valvular regurgitation, severe lung disease, by the administration of one or more rate-limiting precursors to the synthesis of ATP.”

Patent by Inventor Dr. John E. Foker

IEM Member and Professor of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology Dr. Amy Skubitz received a third renewal for $100,000 from the Minnesota Ovarian Cancer Alliance (MOCA) for her project: “Verification of ovarian cancer protein biomarkers in routine Pap tests.” In 2013 $425,000 in grants were awarded to multiple researchers to study varying issues relating to ovarian cancer. Dr. Skubitz’s 2014 grant will allow her to further study ways for clinicians to identify cancer in patients. The Minnesota Ovarian Cancer Alliance has awarded more than $4 Million in grants since 2001 to professional researchers who are investigating the various aspects of ovarian cancer at Minnesota Institutions. Special consideration is given to proposals that involve clinical trials and those that may lead to improvements in the treatment for women with ovarian cancer.

MOCA Promotes Research

IEM Member and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Dr. Keshab Parhi presented a stimulating Keynote talk on "VLSI Systems for Neurocomputing and Health Informatics" at the 2014 ACM Great Lakes Symposium on VLSI held at Houston, Texas May 21-23, 2014. This annual event brings together researchers from around the world to discuss issues relating to VLSI systems, or ‘very large scale integration systems’, which is the process of creating a single circuit out of thousands and thousands of transistors.

Dr. Parhi’s current research interests include concurrent algorithm and architecture designs for communications, signal and image processing systems, digital integrated circuits, VLSI digital filters, computer arithmetic, finite field arithmetic architectures and their applications in error control coding and cryptography, high-level DSP synthesis, low-power digital systems, multiprocessor prototyping and task scheduling for programmable software systems, biomedical signal processing and signal classification, and molecular signal processing and computing. 

To learn more about Dr. Parhi's research at the University of Minnesota or Great Lakes Symposium, please visit: Keshab K. Parhi

IEM Member, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, and Director of the University of Minnesota Stem Cell Institute, Dr. Jakub Tolar recently spoke with WCCO 4 News about research at the University of Minnesota Children’s Hospital where he is an attending physician. “The University allows you to experiment, ask a question you could not possibly ask in a private industry space,” Dr. Tolar told WCCO. “Everything I know in medicine, any kind of medicine, came from basic research.” Dr. Tolar spoke of the importance of attracting good researchers to Minnesota in order to continue invaluable and groundbreaking biomedical research.

WCCO 4 News

IEM Director, Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Dr. Bin He recently participated in an international study on neuroimaging, together with five other experts from Harvard University, Stanford University, NIH, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), and State University of New York (SUNY). The international study is commissioned by the National Science Foundation, organized by the World Technology Evaluation Center (WTEC) and co-sponsored by NIH and ONR. The delegate visited centers of excellence in neuroimaging in Australia, China, Japan, and Korea, and presented their findings in a Workshop held in Arlington VA on May 23, 2014. The final report will be published by WTEC and will be used by the government to aid science policy on neuroimaging and brain mapping. It will also be made available to the public.

IEM Member Hubert Lim, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in Biomedical Engineering, adjunct faculty in Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, and an Institute for Translational Neuroscience Scholar. He was recently awarded a 5-year U01 grant from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders to perform a Phase I clinical study testing the safety and efficacy of a new deep brain stimulation array for hearing restoration, known as the auditory midbrain implant (AMI).

The project is an international collaboration with leading clinicians and researchers from Hannover Medical University in Germany (led by Co-PI Thomas Lenarz, Chair of Otorhinolaryngology) and scientists and engineers from Cochlear Limited in Australia (led by Co-PI James Patrick, Chief Scientist & Senior Vice President).

For the past 10 years, Dr. Lim and colleagues have developed new deep brain stimulation technologies for restoring hearing in deaf patients who cannot benefit from the standard cochlear implant. Through a series of animal and cadaver studies, they obtained sufficient data and approvals to implant five patients during 2006-2008 with the first generation AMI device, which consists of 20 electrodes along a single shank that is implanted into the main auditory region of the midbrain. Although the initial results were encouraging in the ability of the AMI to restore useful hearing on a daily basis, the performance levels had not yet reached those of the cochlear implant. Through further research in animals and the five AMI subjects, a second generation AMI device was developed that consists of two shanks with a total of 22 electrodes.

In addition to the large number of sites, this AMI device has a fast processor, high stimulation rates, current steering options, multi-site neural recording capabilities, and a wireless interface. Five patients will be implanted with this new AMI device from 2014-2016 and evaluated over a two-year period to demonstrate the safety of the AMI and its improved function compared to the first generation device. The success of this project will lead to a larger clinical study across multiple implant centers worldwide to justify its use as a standard hearing alternative for those who cannot sufficiently benefit from a cochlear implant. This AMI technology can potentially be used for other deep brain stimulation and clinical applications.

Hubert Lim Laboratory

IEM Member and Professor of Epidemiology, Dr. David R. Jacobs, recently spoke with NBC news about a study he designed and led showing the correlation between fitness levels of individuals in their 20’s to their mental fitness levels twenty-five years later. Dr. Jacobs and his colleagues found that one who is physically fit at a younger age is more likely to have better mental fitness in middle age. The study began with the administration of a treadmill test in 1985 to a group of around 5,000 people. Of that group, around 2,700 took the treadmill test again in their middle age. Five years after the most recent treadmill test the study participants underwent three different kinds of memory tests. Dr. Jacobs and his colleagues found that those who received a high score on the 1985 treadmill test also received a high score on the memory tests in middle age.

This study, published in the Journal of Neurology, illustrates the benefits of brain health through good heart health. Dr. Jacobs encourages people to actively engage in life as this has been shown to better preserve brain function.

NBC News

Over half of all who are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease also experience terrifying and debilitating episodes of ‘freezing of gait’. Whether these episodes of inability to begin or continue walking forward are frequent or not it is continually frustrating and potentially dangerous to the patient. Current treatment options for these episodes include Dopamine replacement therapy and the presentation of visual cues or signals that have been shown to break up the freezing episode.

Using high-speed cameras and electronic sensors Dr. Colum MacKinnon, IEM Member and Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurology, is working to uncover the source of why some visual cues work and others do not. Dr. MacKinnon is researching new methods and strategies of how to present visual cues in order to allow patients to overcome or avoid the ‘freezing of gait’ altogether, and to better design more reliable treatments to release Parkinson’s disease patients from their episodes of immobility.

A vaccine to treat canine brain and bone cancers using the canine’s own tumor cells, a method originated with Dr. Elizabeth Pluhar, IEM Member and Associate Professor of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, and immunologist Dr. John Ohlfest, was recently featured on an Australian Show called Bench to Bedside, and featured in a story on KARE11 and by University News.

In their research Dr. Pluhar and Dr. Ohlfest came up with the idea to maintain the same low-oxygen environment for cells as the tumors themselves grow in. This made the cells seem less artificial to the immune system. This insight led the FDA to give the research accelerated approval to test on humans.

After tallying recent voting by members of the Institute for Engineering in Medicine, IEM is pleased to announce the 2014 class of the Academy of Medical Device Innovators. This year only one member of the University was admitted into the academy, Dr. Gerald Timm, for his contributions to the development of diagnostic instrumentation and implantable therapeutic devices for urinary incontinence and male erectile disorders. Dr. Timm is an awardee of 23 patents as well as international counterparts for various Urological devices, author of 83 academic publications, and contributor to four textbooks. As a cornerstone of his body of work, Dr. Timm’s seminal paper on inflatable penile implants is one of the three most frequently cited articles in medical urology literature. In addition, his pioneering research on electrical bladder stimulation and fluid energy transfer systems has led directly to development of a variety of medical devices for diagnosing and treating urinary control and male erectile disorders. In the process, he and his associates essentially started an entire new industry in urological medical devices.

The IEM Academy of Medical Device Innovators was established in 2012 through the University of Minnesota's Medical School and College of Science and Engineering, to honor and promote researchers who have had great impact on patients' lives through their work while at the University. Dr. Timm’s addition to the academy complements the existing class of world renowned researchers who have been a part of keeping us healthy longer, and with a higher standard of living through work performed at the University of Minnesota. The Institute for Engineering in Medicine would like to extend congratulations to Dr. Timm, and welcome him into the academy.

The 2nd Annual Minnesota Neuromodulation Symposium took place on April 10-11, 2014 at The Commons Hotel immediately following the Design of Medical Devices Conference. Selling out early, the symposium attracted an international crowd of over 300 participants from various academic institutes and industries. Sessions this year featured plenary talks by world class distinguished scientists in Neuromodulation, and invited talks by thought leaders in academia, industry and government. There were also lively panel discussions on deep brain stimulation (DBS), federal funding, and noninvasive neuromodulation. A career panel was also included to help students learn about strategies to support their job search.

As part of the program, a stimulating poster session highlighting work by both established researchers in Neuromodulation and the next generation of up and coming students was included. Awards were provided to top performing students through a secretive and highly competitive process, where presenters were judged by a committee of undisclosed 12 judges. Results of the voting were close, but at the end of the day the following student presenters were selected for awards (In alphabetical order):

1st Place:
Simon Danner (Vienna University of Technology)
Sarah Offutt (University of Minnesota)

2nd Place:
Seungwoo Lee (Harvard Medical School)
Abhrajeet Roy (U of Minnesota)
Tiwalade Sobayo (Illinois Institute of Technology)

3rd Place:
Rebekah L. Schmidt (U of Minnesota)

This year’s symposium was organized by the Institute for Engineering in Medicine, cosponsored by MN Drive Brain Conditions and Medtronic Inc. Technical co-sponsoring was provided by IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biological Society (EMBS), and an endorsement was given by the International Federation of Medical and Biological Engineering (IFMBE).

The 2015 3rd Annual Neuromodulation Symposium will be held April 16-17, 2015, immediately following the Design of Medical Devices Conference.

On April 22, 2014 in 3-100 Mayo Memorial Building ,the Institute for Engineering in Medicine (IEM) held a special seminar by Dr. Athanassios Sambanis, “Enabling Technologies in Cell-Based Therapies: The Case of the Pancreatic Substitute”. Dr. Sambanis’ seminar highlighted brain-related research funded by the Biomedical Engineering Program focusing on an overview of the Biomedical Engineering (BME) Program at NSF. The overall objectives of the program, thrust areas, funding opportunities, and activities in BME were presented and discussed.

Dr. Sambanis received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota. Following his post-doctoral appointment at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Biotechnology Process Engineering Center, he joined the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1989, where he is currently Professor in the School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering and in the Emory/Georgia Tech Department of Biomedical Engineering. As of September 2013, he is a rotator at the National Science Foundation, where he serves as Director of the Biomedical Engineering Program.

His research interests are in cellular and tissue engineering, and specifically in developing cell and tissue-based therapies for diabetes, including cell encapsulation, genetic engineering of cells for tissue engineering applications, monitoring of tissue constructs in vitro and post-transplantation in vivo, cell and tissue cryopreservation, cell and tissue functional evaluation, and mathematical modeling at the tissue, cell, and intracellular levels. He has authored or co-authored more than 85 book chapters and journal publications. He is a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. His research is currently supported by NIH and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

IEM members John Bischof and Raj Rajamani and their colleagues received grants from the Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology and Medical Genomics, a collaboration among the University of Minnesota, Mayo Clinic and the state of Minnesota.

John Bischof, Ph.D., IEM Associate Director for Development and Professor of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering, is PI of a recently awarded Minnesota Partnership grant of $578,339 to develop a series of laser prototypes that can be used to enhance rapid diagnostic tests for malaria. Still a problem around the world, malaria cases have dropped by nearly a third in the last decade thanks to rapid diagnostic tests. But those tests, while fast, are not sensitive enough to detect lower levels of malaria or all strains of the disease. The goal of this project is to develop a series of laser prototypes that can be used to enhance rapid diagnostic tests for malaria. The laser work will be done at the University of Minnesota and a new reference lab measurement technique will be developed at Mayo Clinic. Other team members include Bobbi Pritt, M.D., the PI at Mayo Clinic and David Boulware, IEM Member, Assistant Professor of Medicine and the Co-PI of the project at the University of Minnesota.

Raj Rajamani, PhD, IEM member and Professor of Mechanical Engineering, together with Mayo Co-PI Bruce Johnson received a new Minnesota Partnership grant of $559,777 to develop smart socks tracking heart failure. The feet offer telltale symptoms of heart failure and obesity. These researchers will be developing and testing a pair of sensor-socks that people at risk for problems can wear so physicians can monitor subtle changes in body weight, water gain, edema and variations in heart rate. The goal is to have a marketable product that will detect early signs of trouble and prevent heart attacks before they happen. The University is engineering the socks; Mayo will do the physiological tests.

Matteo Convertino, Ph.D., IEM Member, Assistant Professor in Environmental Health Sciences, is named a 2014 Resident Fellow of the Institute on the Environment. Dr. Convertino will join the 58 Institute on the Environment fellows to conduct interdisciplinary projects that seek to understand and address environmental problems.

Dr. Convertino plans to identify common epidemiological, social and environmental processes that are physically and functionally responsible for the occurrence of communicable and non-communicable syndemics in socio-ecological systems. Dr. Convertino’s HumNat Lab (Laboratory for the Analysis, Modeling, and Management of Complex Human-Natural System) aims to analyze big data, develop multi-scale theoretical and computational models for understanding and managing coupled human-natural systems, apply models for solving real-world issues, and communicating research findings to stakeholders via scientific publications and artistic forms.

Jianyi (Jay) Zhang, MD, Ph.D., IEM Cardiovascular Engineering Theme Co-Chair and Professor of Medicine, was recently awarded a new R01 grant of $1.95 million from the NIH, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to investigate myocardial repair using human iPS cells derived trilineage cardiac cells.

The R01 grant proposal, based upon pilot data supported in part by an IEM group grant, received score of 1.0 and 1 percentile, will enable Prof. Zhang and his team to examine myocardial ATP turnover rate of in vivo heart in a super high field large bore magnet with previously unattainable levels of sensitivity and spatial localization. The set of experiments seeks to develop a "human cardiac muscle patch (hcMP)", formed by entrapping human cardiac myocytes (CM), endothelial cells (EC) and smooth muscle cells (SMC) that derived from patient specific induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) in a modified 3D porous fibrin biomaterial. Using a porcine model of postinfarction LV remodeling, this research project will examine whether the transplantation of a prefabricated hcMP could result in better functional outcomes in reductions in LV scar bulging and wall stress, and improvements in myocardial, perfusion, bioenergetics and contractile function. The success of this project will enable identify methods to be readily applied in a clinical setting and, consequently, provide an entirely new and valuable method for treatment and monitoring myocardial function, metabolism, and perfusion in the human heart.

Daniel Duprez M.D., Ph.D., IEM Member and Professor of Medicine, was featured in an article and news piece by WCCO 4 News in which he discussed the importance of people as young as 30 receiving heart screenings in order to prevent a heart attack.

These heart screenings consist of a series of nine tests and a blood draw and are done by the University of Minnesota Rasmussen Center. A Blood Pressure test is administered along with other tests such as a special heart rate test, an exam to monitor the blood vessels in the eye, an ultrasound to check the arteries and the heart, and a written enjoyment of life scan, among others. Each patient receives immediate feedback after each test is complete and also receives a complete analysis and personalized heath plan at the conclusion of the screening.

This heart screening is done to anticipate and manage heart and artery disease by checking for early markers of cardiovascular risk. Prevention is key, because as Dr. Duprez stated, once you have a heart attack, the damage is done.

WCCO 4 News - Dr. Daniel Duprez

The Interdisciplinary Doctoral Fellowship (IDF) awards outstanding graduate students with interdisciplinary dissertation topics who would benefit from interaction with faculty at one of the University of Minnesota’s interdisciplinary research centers or institutes. The fellowship provides a unique study opportunity for students with research and scholarly interests that complement those of the host center or institute and its faculty. The Institute for Engineering in Medicine (IEM) is pleased to be one of the host sites for the Graduate School’s IDF. In addition to the stipend awards through the Graduate School, IEM offers additional funds to support professional development as well as space to accommodate the needs of research projects.

The IDF recipients for 2014 are:

Garret Nelson: "Enabling Auscultation in High Noise Environments"
Mr. Nelson has a Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of St. Thomas, and is currently pursuing a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Minnesota. His research addresses improving the usability of stethoscopes by use of active noise cancellation techniques.

Tingting Xu: "Biomarkers for Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) from fMRI"
Ms. Xu has a Master of Engineering in Signal Processing from Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, and is currently pursuing a PhD in Electrical Engineering at the University of Minnesota. Her research is focused on identifying biomarkers for borderline personality disorder (BPD) and pediatric obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).

Inventors Dr. Ryan Buesseler, Dr. David B. Hom, and Dr. Arthur Erdman, IEM Theme Co-Chair of Medical Devices and Director of the Medical Devices Center at the University of Minnesota, received a US patent for their Fastener Deployment System for use in nasal septal surgery. The apparatus was built to deliver a fastener during surgery to the nasal cavity or other locations in the body that have limited access. The Fastener Deployment System works by first releasing a fastener body from a first linear member followed by the release of a fastener retainer that supports the placement of the fastener on the body, by a second linear member. The Institute for Engineering in Medicine (IEM) provided seed funding to the project. The objective of the program is to stimulate and facilitate novel ideas to address significant clinical problems with engineering solutions while fostering interdisciplinary collaboration.

BioCoR, Institute for Engineering in Medicine Affiliated Center is a centralized resource for preservation protocol development, advancing preservation science through cutting-edge research, and educating individuals in the best practices for biospecimen preservation.

A small startup company, MesoFlow has been developed with the participation of BioCoR faculty. The company competed in the MN cup (a small business plan competition) and placed second in the medical device division. Seed funding for MesoFlow has been obtained as well. As research progresses in different research projects in BioCoR, additional opportunities for small company development or licensing of intellectual property is anticipated.

Individual BioCoR faculty have had success in attracting new funding from both NSF and NIH and publications related to preservation. Preservation is a translational field and BioCoR is committed to translation of research into clinical use or commercial application. To that end, BioCoR faculty are involved in the commercialization of a microfluidic device for the removal of specialized solutions used in preservation.

A seed grant from the Institute for Engineering in Medicine (IEM) assisted in funding the research of Dr. Jonathan Sachs, Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering and IEM member, to study the protein α-Synuclein. The Sachs Research Group was recently awarded an NIH R01 Grant to study this protein. Dr. Sachs’ laboratory studies the protein α-Synuclein, whose aggregation into insoluble Lewy bodies is commonly associated with Parkinson’s disease (PD). While the connection between α-Synuclein and PD has been recognized for some time, the normal function of αS remains a mystery. The goal of Sachs Research Groupis to develop a mechanistic understanding of the inhibition of synaptic vesicle fusion by α-Synuclein. A precise understanding of the native interactions between α-Synuclein and synaptic vesicle membranes will position the Sachs Research Group to evaluate the protein’s role in vesicle trafficking defects as they relate to PD. Their approach involves quantitative studies of the biophysical and mechanical properties of synaptic vesicle membranes. The lab will combine state-of-the-art computational molecular simulations (utilizing the highly powerful machines in the Minnesota Supercomputer Institute) with a panel of complementary biophysical experiments (including atomic force microscopy—to be performed at the University’s Characterization Facility). Led by a brilliant graduate student, Anthony Braun, the lab aims to establish the foundation for new therapeutic strategies in the treatment of PD, namely to exploit the native function of the protein (i.e., restoring proper vesicle trafficking).

David Odde, Ph.D., IEM Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering Theme Co-Chair and Professor of Biomedical Engineering, was recently awarded a new R01 grant from the National Cancer Institute to develop an integrated modeling and microsystems approach to glioma invasion. The $2.3M grant will involve researchers from Neurosurgery, the Masonic Cancer Center, the College of Science & Engineering and a collaboration with the Cleveland Clinic. A major goal will be to develop a "flight simulator" to simulate the mechanics of brain cancer cell migration in the brain, and use the simulator to identify possible therapeutic targets. In this study, Prof. Odde and colleagues will be using a combination of advanced genetics, mouse models, and confocal light microscopy imaging to quantitatively measure glioma cell migration and force generation dynamics in live mouse brain slices. In parallel, they are developing advanced in vitro systems with controlled chemical and mechanical properties that more closely mimic normal and diseased brain tissue. Finally, these advanced experimental systems will be used to develop the "flight simulator" for the migrating cancer cells. This computer model will then be used to screen in silico for the most vulnerable nodes, and node combinations, in the mechanochemical network. Ultimately, they hope to find drug target combinations that strongly and selectively disable glioma cell migration, leading to new and more effective therapies. 

During the first two weeks of December 2013 Jeffrey McCullough, M.D., led a group of four engineers from the Terumo Medical Corporation to Tanzania and Uganda to observe blood collection, handling, and storage. Dr. McCullough, Professor of Lab Medicine and Pathology and IEM member, teamed up with Termo Medical Corporation, which develops, manufactures, exports, imports, markets, distributes, and sells a diverse portfolio of medical devices, supplies, and accessories. This collaboration was formed in order to develop the next generation of their technology for treating blood to inactivate any contaminating infectious agents leading to disease free blood transfusion in parts of the world where it is most needed.

The laboratory of neurologist and IEM member Dr. William R. Kennedy has been keeping a secret of its success. The Kennedy lab (KLAB) was awarded a Phase I STTR grant for the invention of the "Bumps" device that quantifies tactile touch sensation of the finger pad at the low micrometer level in diabetic and chemotherapy patients. KLAB was also awarded a Phase 1 STTR grant for the invention of the Sensitive Sweat Test (SST). The SST quantifies function of the sudomotor nerves that stimulate sweat glands (SGs) by measuring sweat rate and volume with SG number of each one of >200 SGs plus their distribution in skin and how they are affected by chemotherapy in cancer patients and in diabetes. Recently KLAB was awarded two large STTR Phase 2 awards for the SST device and for the Bumps device. The work was jump started by early grants from the Institute for Engineering in Medicine. Dr. Kennedy credits these successes to the skills and diligence of Gwen Crabb, Brian McAdams, Shawn Foster, Rose Throldahl and Dr. Mona Selim and recently Patrick Camillari and Steve Glennon. He is grateful to Professors Steve Campbell and Greg Cibuzar and personnel at the University Nanotechnology center.

Dr. Paul Iaizzo, Professor of Surgery, IEM Associate Director, and Director of the Visible Heart Lab, was recently interviewed by KSTP to discuss his black bear research and its possible translation to human heart health. Dr. Iaizzo explained that during hibernation the heart rate of a black bear significantly increases during inhalation and drops to only a few breathes per minute during exhalation. This adaptive cardiac physiology may have broad implications for human medicine and possibly space travel, since it would allow for prolonged periods of inactivity while maintaining both cardiac capacity and alertness. NASA has shown interest in the research.