BIOARTIFICIAL ORGANS III--TISSUE/IMMUNOISOLATION/TRIALS

United Engineering Foundation, Inc., New York NY

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

DESCRIPTION (taken from the application) A conference, "Bioartificial Organs III: Tissue Sourcing, Immunoisolation and Clinical Trials," is proposed for October 7-11, 2000 (to be held in Davos, Switzerland), to explore contemporary and emerging approaches of bioartificial organs as they interface with different fields. Biomedical applications and clinical trials will be highlighted. The intent is to make use of a fully interdisciplinary approach: chemistry, physical chemistry, materials science, polymer chemistry, cell culture, recombinant DNA technology, bioprocess engineering, and clinical sciences. Specifically, it will bring together three groups of professionals, who do not normally interact at a single conference: (1) materials and polymer scientists, (2) bioprocess engineers, and (3) medical professionals. The emphasis will be at the cross-section of these disciplines. The main coverage will be in the pancreas, liver, kidney, skin, dental and bone areas. The program will stress scientific fundamentals, evolve into applications and review the clinical status in each area. An attempt will be made to have approximately 2SM5/50 percentage split amongst the polymer, engineering and biological-medical categories. In addition, the organizers expect that the participants will come from academia, industry and clinical institutions on approximately even basis. The representation of a strong American contingency is critical to continue the multidisciplinary, which the bioartifical organ series has fostered. This is particularly acute In 2000 as a number of US universities, medical centers and firms am integrating with global partners or sponsors to move bioartificial organs from research to the clinic and marketplace as the parameters and metrics needed to evaluate new devices and therapies are being developed. The participation of regulators, executives and research directors from large small and medium sized enterprises and the inclusion of a pre-conference biotechnology investors summit complements the program. The conference will have a Gordon Conference style. The United Engineering Foundation (New York) will assume primary responsibilities for administration, logistics, mechanics, publicity, housing, and finance for the conference. The funding support is requested from NIH, NSF, Whitaker Fdn., Juvenile Diabetes Fdn., FNS (Switzerland), European Union and from other sources. The proceedings of the conference will be published as a peer reviewed volume (The New York Academy of Sciences).