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Archive for the ‘Interviews with Scientific Leaders’ Category

Newly Elect President of Technion, Professor Uri Sivan: Key Contributions to Scientific Innovations

Posted in Intellectual Property, Interviews with Scientific Leaders, Scientist: Career considerations on February 11, 2019| Leave a Comment »


Newly Elect President of Technion, Professor Uri Sivan: Key Contributions to Scientific Innovations

 

Reporter: Aviva Lev-Ari, PhD, RN

 

February 7, 2019
By: Office of the Technion Spokesperson

The Technion Council, headed by Mr. Gideon Frank, has elected Professor Uri Sivan of the Faculty of Physics as the next president of Technion. The Council’s decision was based on the recommendation of the Search Committee for the Technion President and received sweeping support from the Academic Assembly. The appointment is subject to the final approval of the International Board of Governors, which is set to convene in June.

Professor Uri Sivan

Prof. Sivan will commence his term as President of Technion on October 1 2019, and will replace the outgoing President Prof. Peretz Lavie, who will complete his term after a decade in office.

Prof. Sivan, 64, a resident of Haifa, is married and the father of three. He served as a pilot in the Israeli Air Force. He has a BSc in Physics and Mathematics, an MSc and PhD in Physics, all with honors from Tel Aviv University.

In 1991, after three years at IBM’s T. J. Watson Research Center in New York, Prof. Sivan joined the Faculty of Physics at Technion.

SOURCE

https://ats.org/news/professor-uri-sivan-elected-new-president-of-the-technion/

 

Key Contributions to Scientific Innovations

  • His research has covered a wide range of fields including quantum mesoscopic physics and the harnessing of molecular and cellular biology for the self-assembly of miniature electronic devices. Prof. Sivan, along with colleagues Profs. Erez Braun and Yoav Eichen, demonstrated for the first time how to harness molecular recognition by DNA molecules for wiring an electric circuit. This study gained considerable resonance and helped pave the way for a new field in nanotechnology using the self-assembly properties of biological molecules to construct miniature engineering systems.
  • His research has focused on the way water orders next to molecules and the effect of this ordering on inter-molecular interactions in biologically relevant solutions. Within this framework, Prof. Sivan’s group designs and builds unique, ultra-high-resolution atomic force microscopes.
  • His research has led to patents and industrial applications. Recently, an Israeli start-up company was established in the field of single cell analysis for cancer diagnostics, based on the technology developed in Prof. Sivan’s lab.
  •  Prof. Sivan is the founding director of the Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute (RBNI), which he headed between 2005 and 2010.  RBNI has led the scientific revolution in nanotechnology at Technion and has placed the university at the forefront of global research in the field. RBNI made headlines when Prof. Sivan and Dr. Ohad Zohar engraved the entire Hebrew Bible onto a tiny silicon chip. The Nano Bible was written as part of an educational program developed by the Institute to increase young people’s interest in science and especially in nanotechnology. In 2009, President Shimon Peres presented the Nano Bible to Pope Benedict XVI during his official visit to Israel. Today, there are three copies of the chip worldwide: at the Vatican Library, the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C., and the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. The establishment of RBNI spearheaded the development of Israel’s national nanotechnology program, and together with centers established in other Israeli universities, has positioned the country as a world leader in nanotechnology.

APPOINTMENTS

Recently, Prof. Sivan was appointed to head the National Advisory Committee in Quantum Science and Technology of the Council for Higher Education’s Planning and Budgeting Committee (PBC). The committee outlined the national quantum academic program, which was adopted and launched last year.

Prof. Sivan has served as a member of the Israeli National Committee for Research and Development (MOLMOP) and the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Batsheva de Rothschild Foundation. He currently serves on the Advisory Committee of the Maof Fellowships Committee for advancing Arab faculty and is a member of the Israeli Wolfson Foundation Advisory Board.

AWARDS

Prof. Sivan is a renowned lecturer in Israel and abroad. He was awarded with numerous prizes including

  • the Mifal Hapais Landau Prize for the Sciences and Research,
  • the Rothschild Foundation Bruno Prize,
  • the Israel Academy of Sciences Bergmann Prize,
  • the Technion’s Hershel Rich Innovation Award, and
  • the Taub Award for Excellence in Research.

 

SOURCE

https://ats.org/news/professor-uri-sivan-elected-new-president-of-the-technion/

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@Amazon.com @pharma_BI BUNDLES for $274 #Patients #Voices #Precision #Medicine #Physiology #Genomics #Therapeutics #3D #BioPrinting: Series E: Volumes 1,2,3,4 by Editors:  Larry H Bernstein @bernstein_h   Gail Thornton @GailThornt  Aviva Lev-Ari @AVIVA1950 ‏

Posted in 3D Printing for Medical Application, Genome Biology, Interviews with Scientific Leaders, Personalized and Precision Medicine & Genomic Research on January 20, 2019| Leave a Comment »


@Amazon.com @pharma_BI BUNDLES for $274 #Patients #Voices #Precision #Medicine #Physiology #Genomics #Therapeutics #3D #BioPrinting: Series E: Volumes 1,2,3,4 by Editors:

Larry H Bernstein @bernstein_h  

Gail Thornton @GailThornt 

Aviva Lev-Ari @AVIVA1950 ‏

 

BioMed e-Series

 

Series E: Patient-Centered Medicine – LINKS to e-Books & Cover Pages for Volumes 1,2,3,4

 

  • Volume 1: The VOICES of Patients, Hospitals CEOs, Health Care Providers, Caregivers and Families: Personal Experience with Critical Care and Invasive Medical Procedures. On Amazon.com  since 10/16/2017

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076HGB6MZ

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  • Volume 2: Medical Scientific Discoveries for the 21st Century & Interviews with Scientific Leaders. On Amazon.com since12/9/2017

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078313281

 

 

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  • Volume 3: Milestones in Physiology: Discoveries in Medicine, Genomics and Therapeutics. On Amazon.com since 12/27/2015

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  • Volume 4: Medical 3D BioPrinting – The Revolution in Medicine, Technologies for Patient-centered Medicine: From R&D in Biologics to New Medical Devices. On Amazon.com  since 12/30/2017

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078QVDV2W

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Palmaz, Pinchuk, Schatz, Simpson and Yock are the 10th recipients of the Russ Prize for innovations leading to the widespread adoption of PCI at NAE Gala Ceremony, 2/20/2019, WashDC

Posted in Cardiac and Cardiovascular Surgical Procedures, Frontiers in Cardiology and Cardiovascular Disorders, Interviews with Scientific Leaders, PCI, Russ Prize recognizes bioengineering achievements worldwide, Stents & Tools on January 16, 2019| Leave a Comment »


Palmaz, Pinchuk, Schatz, Simpson and Yock are the 10th recipients of the Russ Prize for innovations leading to the widespread adoption of PCI at NAE Gala Ceremony, 2/20/2019, WashDC

 

Reporter: Aviva Lev-Ari, PhD, RN

 

National Academy of Engineering, Ohio University Award 2019 Russ Prize

Five interventional cardiologists awarded biennial $500,000 prize for innovations leading to the widespread adoption of PCI

National Academy of Engineering, Ohio University Award 2019 Russ Prize

January 3, 2019 — Ohio University and the National Academy of Engineering announced the 2019 Fritz J. and Dolores H. Russ Prize will be given to Julio Palmaz, Leonard Pinchuk, John Simpson, Richard Schatz and Paul Yock for innovations leading to the widespread adoption of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), also known as angioplasty with stent or coronary angioplasty. The $500,000 biennial prize, which recognizes a bioengineering achievement that significantly improves the human condition, cites PCI for “seminal contributions to coronary angioplasty, enabling minimally invasive treatment of advanced coronary artery disease.”

“The Russ Prize recipients personify engineering creations that advance health and healthcare every day,” said NAE President C. D. Mote, Jr.  “The PCI makes a remarkable contribution to patient well-being, helping millions afflicted with advanced coronary artery disease and significant angina. “

Ohio University alumnus and esteemed engineer Fritz Russ, BSEE ’42, HON ‘75, and his wife, Dolores Russ, established the biennial prize in 1999 with a multimillion dollar gift to Ohio University. They modeled it after the Nobel Prize, with the goal of recognizing bioengineering achievements worldwide that are in widespread use.

“This innovation — truly, sets of innovations — enables the treatment of coronary artery disease without the complexities, cost and risk of open heart surgery. Most of us have a friend or relative who has benefited greatly from angioplasty treatment,” said Russ College Dean Dennis Irwin. “These contributions have truly improved the human condition. Rewarding such innovations was the Russes’ intent.”

Percutaneous coronary intervention, also referred to as percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), is a minimally invasive procedure that uses a catheter to place a small structure called a stent to open up blood vessels in the heart that have been narrowed by plaque buildup. PCI improves blood flow, thus decreasing heart-related chest pain, making patients feel better and increasing their ability to be active. Ten of millions of patients have benefited from PCI worldwide, and this procedure has replaced or significantly delayed the need for open heart coronary bypass surgery.

Julio C. Palmaz, inventor of the first U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved balloon-expandable vascular stent (1990), is Ashbel Smith Professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio and scientific adviser of Vactronix Scientific. The Palmaz stent is on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. In 1994 he and Richard Schatz created a modified coronary stent — two Palmaz stents joined by a single connector — approved by the FDA as the first stent indicated for the treatment of failure of coronary balloon angioplasty. The Palmaz-Schatz stent became the gold standard for every subsequent stent submitted for FDA approval.

Leonard Pinchuk is an inventor and entrepreneur in biomedical engineering, with 128 U.S. patents and 90 publications. He has co-founded 10 companies where his major accomplishments include invention of the Nylon 12 angioplasty balloon, helical wire stent, modular stent-graft, a drug-eluting stent (Taxus), several biomaterials (Bionate and polystyrene-block-isobutylene-block-styrene [SIBS]), a novel glaucoma tube (InnFocus MicroShunt), and the next-generation intraocular lens. He is a Distinguished Research Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Miami.

John Simpson has helped revolutionize the field of cardiology through innovations that fundamentally altered how physicians treat cardiovascular disease. In 1981 he created a new catheter system for coronary angioplasty with an independently steerable guidewire in the central lumen of the balloon catheter, patented as the over-the-wire balloon angioplasty catheter. He now focuses his efforts on the treatment of vascular disease through the development of new technologies combined with a new approach to optical imaging.

Read the related article “Requirements for Interventional Echocardiographers”

Richard Schatz is research director of cardiovascular interventions at the Scripps Heart, Lung and Vascular Center, and director of gene and stem cell therapy. He is a recognized international expert in interventional cardiology and has published and lectured extensively. His seminal work in coronary stents spurred a revolution in the treatment of coronary artery disease — over 2 million of them are placed annually worldwide, with an immeasurable impact on relieving mortality and morbidity, improving patients’ lives, and reducing healthcare costs.

Paul Yock is the Martha Meier Weiland Professor of Medicine and founding co-chair of Stanford’s Department of Bioengineering, with courtesy appointments in the Graduate School of Business and the Department of Mechanical Engineering. He is also founder and director of the Stanford Byers Center for Biodesign. He has authored over 300 peer-reviewed publications, chapters, and editorials and two textbooks, and holds over 50 U.S. patents. Yock is internationally known for his work in inventing, developing and testing new devices, including the Rapid Exchange stenting and balloon angioplasty system, which is now the primary system in use worldwide. He also invented the fundamental approach to intravascular ultrasound imaging and founded Cardiovascular Imaging Systems (CVIS), later acquired by Boston Scientific.

“Ohio University is honored to join the National Academy of Engineering in recognizing these accomplished individuals, who have contributed to a bioengineering advancement that has enabled better health for heart patients across the world,” said Ohio University President M. Duane Nellis. “Their multi-disciplinary collaboration that lead to the development of PCI, a technology that has revolutionized coronary health, truly embraces the vision that Fritz and Dolores Russ had when creating the Russ Prize.”

Palmaz, Pinchuk, Schatz, Simpson and Yock are the 10th recipients of the Russ Prize. They will receive the award at a National Academy of Engineering gala ceremony in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 20, 2019

For more information: www.nae.edu

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The Arrow Lecture Series on Ethics and Leadership @Stanford University

Posted in Ethics and Leadership, Interviews with Scientific Leaders on January 16, 2019| Leave a Comment »


The Arrow Lecture Series on Ethics and Leadership @Stanford University

Reporter: Aviva Lev-Ari, PhD, RN

Personal memories from attending the Decision Theory Colloquium @Stanford University, 1985 – 1988

The Colloquium was led by Prof. Kenneth Arrow, Economics, Prof. Amos Tversky, Psychology and Prof. Abernethy, Healthcare System expert at Graduate School of Business.

These years, I worked at SRI, International in Menlo Park, CA. The Monthly meetings were on WEDs at 4PM.

I learned a lot and was most privileged to be inspired by the Colloquium leaders, students, postdocs and to attend Prof. Kenneth Arrow Class on An Economics Approach to Information Theory in Fall 1988.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Decision+Theory+Colloquium+@Stanford+University,+led+by+Prof.+Kenneth+Arrow,+Economics,+Prof.+Amos+Tversky,+Psychology,&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi9tu6N1PLfAhXjYN8KHQ35BFIQsAR6BAgDEAE&biw=811&bih=380

 

Arrow Lectures

The Arrow Lecture Series on Ethics and Leadership honors the late Nobel Laureate Kenneth Arrow, the Joan Kenney Professor of Economics and Professor of Operations Research, Emeritus.

Professor Arrow made many contributions to welfare economics, social choice theory and collective decision-making. He was also a founding member of the Ethics in Society Undergraduate Honors program. Ken passed away in 2017.

Kenneth Arrow, one of the greatest economists of the twentieth century, died last month at the age of ninety-five. He was of the generation of economists whose ideas were formed by the dislocation and turmoil of the Great Depression and World War II, a generation that includes John Nash, Paul Samuelson, Harold Hotelling, and Milton Friedman. Now when so much of economics is straightjacketed by a failure to take account of ethical considerations, Arrow’s work demonstrates that economics is fundamentally a moral science. Whether tackling climate change, international security, healthcare provision, inequality, or racial prejudice, for Ken, economics was first and foremost a means to help improve human well-being. Indeed, his focus on well-being led him to consider the importance of trust and moral codes, as well as government regulations, for market behavior. Homo economicus cannot be out for himself alone. Read more of Debra Satz’s tribute to Ken.

In 2005, Patrick Byrne endowed the Arrow Lecture Series in Ethics and Leadership. Byrne is the founder and CEO of Internet retailer Overstock.com and he holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from Stanford.

 

 

Upcoming Events

Opportunities and Ethics of Editing Genomes: A CRISPR-Inspired Conversation

THURSDAY, JANUARY 24, 2019 – 7:00PM
CEMEX AUDITORIUM, GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

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Mourning the Loss of NIAMS Director Stephen Katz, M.D., Ph.D. – A Leader in Immunology of Skin Diseases

Posted in Mourning the Loss of a Scientific Leader on December 22, 2018| Leave a Comment »


Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., Director, NIH mourns NIAMS Director, Stephen Katz, M.D., Ph.D.

Reporter: Aviva Lev-Ari, PhD, RN

 

 

December 20, 2018

Mourning the Loss of NIAMS Director Stephen Katz, M.D., Ph.D. – A Leader in Immunology of Skin Diseases

Dr. Stephen Katz.Stephen Katz, M.D., Ph.D., Director, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)NIH

It is with a profoundly heavy heart that I share with you the sad news that we have lost one of our most beloved leaders at NIH. Steve Katz, M.D., Ph.D., the long-time Director of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), died early this morning after suffering a catastrophic stroke. Just yesterday he was working on a presentation for this morning’s Steering Committee, and now he is gone. I am still reeling from this sudden, tragic turn of events. But I want to reflect on who Steve was and what he meant to NIH, the biomedical research enterprise, and to me personally, as a close friend.

Steve was born in New York, grew up in Bethesda, trained in internal medicine and dermatology, and came to NIH in 1974 as a Senior Investigator in the Dermatology Branch at the National Cancer Institute, initiating a highly productive research program in the immunology of skin diseases. Six years later he was Branch Chief. And when a Director for NIAMS was sought in 1995, it was Steve who emerged as the ideal candidate. Over these years he has ably led an Institute that has made major contributions to research across a broad portfolio of disorders that affect millions of Americans. As just one example, it has been my personal privilege to work closely with him on the Accelerated Medicines Partnership (AMP) project that is shedding dramatic new light on the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. Steve was also a remarkable nurturer of his staff, always striving to give them the credit for progress.

But I would claim that there is no Institute Director who has done more over the last two decades to help the entire NIH enterprise flourish. When Harold Varmus, Elias Zerhouni, Raynard Kington, Larry Tabak, or I needed someone to wrestle a difficult budget issue to the ground, we called Steve. When we needed someone to provide wise advice on a complex topic (most recently, Big Data), we called Steve. When we wanted someone to mentor to new member of NIH leadership, we called Steve. And he always said yes. His legacy is simply profound.

I am also fortunate to claim Steve as a friend. It was a gift to be in his orbit of wisdom, warmth, and humor. It was a joy to see how he immediately fell in love with a grandchild just a month ago. He was also a fellow musician, and he taught me a song that is now a favorite. There is a verse of this song (B’Shana Ha’ba’a) for which the words now seem particularly appropriate. Here they are in English, though Steve also taught me the Hebrew version:

Men have dreams, men have died
To make a bright tomorrow,
And their vision remains in our hearts.
Now the torch must be passed
With hope and not in sorrow,
And a promise to make a new start.

The torch has been passed. May we strive to live up to the example of dedication and wisdom set by our dear friend Steve, even as we convey our deep condolences to his wife Linda and his children.

With sorrow for our shared loss, but gratitude for Steve’s many gifts to us,

Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D.
Director

SOURCE

https://www.nih.gov/about-nih/who-we-are/nih-director/statements/mourning-loss-niams-director-stephen-katz-md-phd

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Science luminaries speak at Breakthrough Symposium -Winners of 2019 Breakthrough Prize Will Lead Discussions on Cutting-Edge Research with Inspiring TED-Style Talks

Posted in Annual Breakthrough Prize on November 6, 2018| Leave a Comment »


Science luminaries speak at Breakthrough Symposium – Livestream available

 

UPDATED on 11/7/2018

Angelika Amon wins 2019 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences

Four other MIT researchers to receive New Horizons Prizes in math and physics; two alumni win Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics.

Anne Trafton | MIT News Office
October 17, 2018

Angelika Amon, an MIT professor of biology, is one of five scientists who will receive a 2019 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, given for transformative advances toward understanding living systems and extending human life.

Amon, the Kathleen and Curtis Marble Professor in Cancer Research and a member of MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, was honored for her work in determining the consequences of aneuploidy, an abnormal chromosome number that results from mis-segregation of chromosomes during cell division.

The award, announced this morning, comes with a $3 million prize.

“Angelika Amon is an outstanding choice to receive the Breakthrough Prize,” says Tyler Jacks, director of the Koch Institute and the David H. Koch Professor of Biology. “Her work on understanding how cells control the decisions to divide and the effects of imbalances in chromosome number has helped shape how we think about normal development and disease. Angelika is a fearless investigator and a true scientist’s scientist. All of us in the Koch Institute and across MIT are thrilled by this news.”

Two MIT alumni, Charles Kane PhD ’89 and Eugene Mele PhD ’78, both professors at the University of Pennsylvania, will share a Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics. Kane and Mele are being recognized for their new ideas about topology and symmetry in physics, leading to the prediction of a new class of materials that conduct electricity only on their surface.

SOURCE

http://news.mit.edu/2018/angelika-amon-breakthrough-prize-life-sciences-1017

 

Complete List of 2019 Winners Breakthrough Prize

 

Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences Breakthrough Prize

  • C. Frank Bennett and Adrian R. Krainer – Ionis Pharmaceuticals and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
    Citation: For the development of an effective antisense oligonucleotide therapy for children with the neurodegenerative disease spinal muscular atrophy.
  • Angelika Amon – Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Howard Hughes Medical Institute
    Citation: For determining the consequences of aneuploidy, an abnormal chromosome number resulting from chromosome mis-segregation.
  • Xiaowei Zhuang – Harvard University and Howard Hughes Medical Institute
    Citation: For discovering hidden structures in cells by developing super-resolution imaging, a method that transcends the fundamental spatial resolution limit of light microscopy.
  • Zhijian “James” Chen – University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and Howard Hughes Medical Institute
    Citation: For elucidating how DNA triggers immune and autoimmune responses from the interior of a cell through the discovery of the DNA-sensing enzyme cGAS.

Breakthrough Prize In Fundamental Physics

  • Charles Kane and Eugene Mele – University of Pennsylvania
    Citation: For new ideas about topology and symmetry in physics, leading to the prediction of a new class of materials that conduct electricity only on their surface.

Breakthrough Prize In Mathematics

  • Vincent Lafforgue – CNRS (National Center for Scientific Research, France) and Institut Fourier, Université Grenoble Alpes
    Citation: For ground breaking contributions to several areas of mathematics, in particular to the Langlands program in the function field case.

Special Breakthrough Prize In Fundamental Physics

  • Jocelyn Bell Burnell – University of Dundee and University of Oxford
    Citation: For fundamental contributions to the discovery of pulsars, and a lifetime of inspiring leadership in the scientific community.

 

Press Release From: Breakthrough Prize Foundation
Posted: Sunday, November 4, 2018

Winners of 2019 Breakthrough Prize Will Lead Discussions on Cutting-Edge Research with Inspiring TED-Style Talks

 

WHAT:          The 2019 Breakthrough Prize Symposium, held the day after the Breakthrough

Prize Awards ceremony, will feature both current and former laureates leading TED-style talks on cutting-edge science research initiatives and the significance and future of scientific discovery.

Topics include abnormal chromosomes and their role in cancer and potential use as a therapeutic target; exploring radio bursts and what’s going on in the stars; algebraic geometry and the Langlands Program; and discussing RNA splicing as a target for the next generation of precision medicines.

Dr. Jennifer Doudna, 2015 Breakthrough Prize Laureate and leader in the CRISPR revolution, will present “Recoding Life: The Future of Genome Editing.”

The event will conclude with three cross-disciplinary panel discussions between laureates past and present, about broad philosophical subjects around science and technology.  The topics of this year’s discussions include: ‘Is there (intelligent) life in the Universe?’; ‘What are the limits of science?’; and ‘Is time travel possible?’.

For a detailed schedule of the program, visit https://breakthroughprize2019.berkeley.edu/  

WHEN:        Monday, November 5, 2018

                     Pauley Ballroom, MLK Student Union

UC Berkeley

The presentations will be streamed live via YouTube (see program for URLs) and Facebook Live. 

Breakthrough Prize Laureate Talks

9:30AM – 5:00PM PST

Evening Cross-Disciplinary Panel

5:30PM – 7:00 PM PST

 

SCHEDULE

 

BREAKTHROUGH PRIZE LAUREATE TALKS

 (9:30AM – 5:00PM PST)

10:30 AM – Abnormal Chromosome Number: it’s Role in Cancer and Potential as a Therapeutic

Angelika Amon, 2019 Laureate

10:55 AM – Envisaging the Emergence of Quantum Topological Matter     

Charles Kane, 2019 Laureate

 

11:20 AM – Recoding Life: The Future of Genome Editing              

Jennifer Doudna, 2015 Laureate

11:45 AM – Some Open Problems in Algebraic Geometry and the Langlands Program

Vincent Lafforgue, 2019 Laureate

12:10 PM – RNA Splicing as a Target for the Next Generation of Precision Medicines       

Adrian R. Krainer, 2019 Laureate

1:35 PM – Biomaterials and How They Will Change our Lives        

Robert Langer, 2014 Laureate

2:00 PM – Imaging the Invisible in Living Organisms –– Current State of the Art and Future         

Xiaowei Zhuang, 2019 Laureate

2:25 PM – The Winding Road from Topological Insulators  

Gene Mele, 2019 Laureate

2:50 PM – Inflammation 2030 – Modern Disease Caused by an Old Flame 

James Chen, 2019 Laureate

3:45 PM – Seeking a Computer-free Proof of the 4-Color Theorem

Ian Agol, 2016 Laureate

4:10 PM – Genetic Medicines: Present and Future   

Frank Bennett, 2019 Laureate

5:00 PM – Radio Bursts!  What’s Going on Amongst the Stars?

Jocelyn Bell Burnell, 2018 Laureate

BREAKTHROUGH PRIZE PANEL DISCUSSIONS

(5:30 – 7:00PM PST)

Is there (intelligent) life in the Universe?

Featuring Jocelyn Bell, Astronomy, 2018 Laureate; John Hardy, Neuroscience, 2017 Laureate; and Kim Nasmyth, Molecular Biology, 2018 Laureate

Astronomers have been looking for life beyond Earth for decades, but have so far found nothing. But the recent discovery that almost all stars probably host planets may have changed the game. How likely are we to find primitive life? How hard is it to get from cells to brains? And why have we not seen evidence of civilizations?

What are the limits of science?

Featuring Andrei Linde, Theoretical Physics, Cosmology – 2012 Laureate; Gary Ruvkun, Molecular Biology, Genetics, 2015 Laureate; and  Xiaowei Zhuang, Biophysics, 2019 Laureate

 

Science has shown us a universe more and more distant from our familiar world: at microscopic and cosmic scales, at the dawn of time and remote stages of evolutionary history. But is this process limitless? What are the furthest and smallest physical and biological objects we can see? Can we ever know what happened at the moment of the Big Bang? And how far back can we retrace the origin of life on Earth?

Is time travel possible?

Nima Arkani-Hamed, Theoretical Physics, 2012 Laureate; Daniel Harlow, Theoretical Physics,  2019 Laureate; Daniel Jafferis, Theoretical Physics,  2019 Laureate; and Aron Wall, Theoretical Physics, 2019 Laureate

 

Time travel is a staple of science fiction, but how does mainstream science see it? Is it forbidden by the laws of physics? And if not, could it ever be a practical possibility? And do scientists even agree about what time is?

MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES: All events are free and open to the media, but seating is limited. Please RSVP to Kristen Bothwell /kbothwell@rubenstein.com / 212-843-9227; or Emily Gest / egest@rubenstein.com / 917-690-7823.

The Breakthrough Prize Symposium partners include Stanford University, the University of California, San Francisco, and the University of California, Berkeley.

The Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences honors transformative advances toward understanding living systems and extending human life. The Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics honors the world’s best mathematicians who have contributed to major advances in the field. The Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics recognizes major insights into the deepest questions of the Universe.

For more information on the Breakthrough Prize, visit https://breakthroughprize.org.

// end //

SOURCE

http://spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=53322

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Cardiac Medical Devices Pioneer, Earl E. Bakken, Medtronic Co-founder, the developer of the first external, battery-powered, transistorized pacemaker, died at 94 on 10/21/2018 in Hawaii

Posted in Awards in Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine, Cardiac and Cardiovascular Surgical Procedures, Electrophysiology, Frontiers in Cardiology and Cardiovascular Disorders, implantable pacemaker, Interviews with Scientific Leaders, Investment in Technological Breakthrough, tagged on October 22, 2018| 2 Comments »


Cardiac Medical Devices Pioneer, Earl E. Bakken, Medtronic Co-founder, the developer of the first external, battery-powered, transistorized pacemaker, died at 94 on 10/21/2018 in Hawaii

Reporter: Aviva Lev-Ari, PhD, RN

 

Earl Bakken was born to Florence and Osval Bakken on January 10, 1924, in Minneapolis. After serving as a radar instructor in World War II, Bakken earned a degree in electrical engineering at the University of Minnesota.

In the late 1950’s, Bakken developed the first external, wearable, battery-powered, transistorized heart pacemaker, and commercialized the first implantable pacemaker in 1960. Medtronic grew rapidly from there; today its medical products and devices improve the lives of two people every second.

Earl with five-year-old pacemaker recipient Lyla Koch in 1984

Image Source: http://www.medtronic.com/us-en/about/news/celebrating-earl-bakken.html

CELEBRATING EARL BAKKEN

Legendary Medtronic co-founder passes away in Hawaii.

Earl Bakken, Co-founder, Medtronic, died at 94

Image Source: http://www.medtronic.com/us-en/about/news/celebrating-earl-bakken.html

The business struggled, but while servicing medical equipment, Bakken and Hermundslie built relationships with doctors at university hospitals in Minneapolis. There they met C. Walton Lillehei, a young staff surgeon who would later become famous for pioneering open-heart surgery. Following a blackout in the Twin Cities that caused the death of an infant, Lillehei asked Bakken to come up with a solution. He responded by adapting a circuit described in Popular Electronics magazine to create the first external wearable, battery-powered pacemaker, replacing the large, alternating current-powered pacemakers that were in use at the time.

The original Medtronic "Garage Gang" poses in front of Medtronic Operational Headquarters in Fridley, Minnesota.

The Garage Gang

Standing: Dale Blosberg, Norman Hagfors, Earl Hatten. Seated: John Bravis, Earl Bakken, Louis Leisch

They expanded services to other medical technology. Then in 1960, the first implantable pacemaker was implanted in a human patient. Bakken and Hermundslie reached a licensing agreement with the inventors, giving their small company exclusive manufacturing and marketing rights to the device, and Medtronic took off.

“Earl always had a vision of healthcare of not being about devices, about drugs, but about restoring people to full health,” said former Medtronic CEO Bill George. “And so from the very start he was focused on not implanting a device, but enabling people to live a full active life and he delivered that point of view to all Medtronic employees through The Mission.

A lifelong aspiration came true for Bakken in 2013, when Medtronic Philanthropy launched The Bakken Invitation to honor people who received medical devices, and who made an impact on the lives of others, through service and volunteerism. Bakken, who in his later years became a medical device patient, with a pacemaker, coronary stents and insulin pump, was fond of asking patients what they planned to do with their gift of “extra life.” Each year Bakken met with the honorees. “Their stories are a powerful reminder that we can all give back-no matter our current situation,” he said after meeting them in 2014.

Earl poses with recipients of the Bakken Invitation in 2013.Earl with Bakken Invitation recipients in 2013

Every year in December, Medtronic employees gather to mark another Bakken inspiration — the employee holiday program. The company invites patients from all over the world to share their stories of how medical technology has improved their lives. Hundreds of employees fill the Medtronic conservatory for the event, while thousands of others listen or watch via Medtronic TV.

SOURCE

http://www.medtronic.com/us-en/about/news/celebrating-earl-bakken.html

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