“A Unique Theme to Combine Infectious Diseases with Bionanotechnology”

Due to Some Circumstances this has been Cancelled

Michael J. Grusby, PhD. Professor of Molecular Immunology Harvard School of Public Health Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases 651 Huntington Avenue Boston, MA 02115 Title: Stopping STAT Signaling

John V. Frangioni, M.D., Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Medicine & Radiology Harvard Medical School Attending Physician, Division of Hematology/Oncology Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center 330 Brookline Avenue, SL-B05 Boston, MA 02215 Title: Near-Infrared Fluorescent Quantum Dots for Intraoperative Imaging

Nanoparticle Arrays on Open Nanoscaffolding
Edward B. Goldberg, PhD.
Professor of Molecular Biology, Tufts University Medical School, Boston, MA

Large-scale, multiplexed electrical detection of proteins and viruses by ultrasensitive nanowire sensor arrays
Gengfeng Zheng, (Professor Charles M. Lieber’s Lab)
Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

RNAi therapeutic for pandemic flu
Zachary Zimmerman, Ph.D.
Director, External Alliances, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, MA

TBA
Gregory Milman, PhD.
Director, Office for Innovation and Special Programs, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, Rockville, MD

Harnessing Innate Immune Defenses
Monisha G. Scott, PhD.
Director of Biology, Inimex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Vancouver, BC, Canada

BioMEMS
G. Tayhas R. Palmore, PhD.
Associate Professor of Materials Science, Brown University, Providence, RI

Innate Immunity
Alan B. Ezekowitz, MBChB., DPhil.
Charles Wilder Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School
Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, Boston, MA

Successful Utilization of the Integrator Approach in Development of Biodefense Vaccines
Robert House, PhD.
Chief Scientific Officer, DynPort Vaccine Company LLC, Frederick, MD

Microdevices for biomolecular detection
Scott Manalis, PhD.
Associate Professor of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA

Continuous Immunity to Smallpox Vaccine
Luzheng Liu, MD., PhD.
Instructor of Dermatology, Harvard Skin Disease Research Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA

A chemical inhibitor of EBNA1 dependent transcription inhibits EBNA1 binding to cognate DNA
Elliott Kieff M.D., Ph.D.
Harriet Ryan Albee Professor Medicine, Harvard Medical School &
Co-Director, Channing Laboratory, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA

Multiplexed molecular detections with fluorescence nanobarcodes: from nucleic acid engineering to nucleic acid engineered materials
Dan Luo, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor Biological Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853

The challenge of biodefense-how to improve potency and specificity of vaccines
Alexander von Gabain, PhD.
Chief Executive Officer, Intercell AG, Vienna, Austria

Viral and Immunological Mechanisms in Dengue Disease Pathogenesis
Alan L. Rothman, MD.
Professor at the Center for Infectious Disease & Vaccine Research
University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA

Clonable DNA Nanotechnology
William M. Shih, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Biological Chemistry, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA


TBA
Paul D. Biddinger, M.D.
Director of Prehospital Care and Disaster Medicine
Department of Emergency Medicine , Massachusetts General Hospital
Director of the Scientific Core, Harvard School of Public Health Center for Public Health Preparedness & Instructor in Surgery, Harvard Medical School and Instructor in Public Health Practice, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02114

And many more speakers from industry…

Panel Discussion on November 8th with experts from:
- Venture Capital Firm
- Technology Transfer Office
- Professional Science/Business Journalists
- Patent Attorney from a Law Firm
and selected speakers from the conference.

All Abstracts

Large-scale, multiplexed electrical detection of proteins and viruses by ultrasensitive nanowire sensor arrays
Gengfeng Zheng, Fernando Patolsky and Charles M. Lieber
Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138

We reported large-scale, label-free, real-time multiplexed electrical detection of proteins and viruses by silicon nanowire field-effect transistor arrays. Receptor-functionalized nanowire arrays show discrete conductance changes characteristic of highly selective binding and unbinding of multiple target biomolecules, providing a general and powerful tool for parallel real-time detection and screening of libraries of biomolecules. Arrays of both p-type and n-type silicon nanowire devices enable discrimination against false signals, and fluorescence labeling was used to verify electrical responses down to the single particle level. The integrated nanowire sensor arrays open up substantial opportunities for diagnosis and treatment of diseases and fundamental biophysical studies.

Successful Utilization of the Integrator Approach in Development of Biodefense Vaccines
Robert House, PhD. Chief Scientific Officer, DynPort Vaccine Company LLC, Frederick, MD

A rapid and effective development of vaccines (and other therapeutics) against the offensive use of biological agents requires the implementation of novel strategies. One such strategy utilized successfully by DVC is the integrator approach. This approach utilizes an integrated development team comprising expertise in program management, scientific management, clinical research, preclinical/nonclinical development, manufacturing/testing, risk management, quality assurance, and regulatory guidance. Key to the success of this approach is the successful management of subcontracted work, as well as the seamless integration of multiple data inputs into a coherent development plan. This presentation will describe this approach in both design and implementation, highlighting both the successes and the remaining challenges in this strategy.

Clonable DNA Nanotechnology
William M. Shih, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Biological Chemistry, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA

A key property of DNA — its ability to be amplified exponentially by polymerases — facilitates the large-scale clonal production of individual sequences. This property also makes possible the directed evolution of sequence lineages toward optimized behaviors. Previous examples of three-dimensional geometric DNA objects, however, were built using architectures that are not amenable to copying by polymerases. We have developed a strategy for encoding DNA cages as single strands that are amplifiable by polymerases and that can be folded into a target structure by a simple denaturation-renaturation procedure. Our demonstration of a clonable DNA octahedron represents a large step toward making the use of DNA scaffolds more practical and more versatile.

A perspective on infectious diseases at the dawn of the 21st century
Michael Dunne, MD. Therapeutic Head for Anti-Infectives, Pfizer

The steady forward march of civilization has been driven by an ability to identify, contain and eliminate threats to our survival. Successful civilizations have done this well while those less successful have been lost to obscurity. Among the most pervasive threats to be managed have been those due to infectious diseases. As we move into an era with ever greater technologies at our disposal, we have an unprecented opportunity to further decrease morbidity and increase longevity. Our ability to direct these technologies to identify new infectious diseases while containing and eliminating present threats will underscore our generation’s contribution to the history of human civilization.

Near-Infrared Fluorescent Quantum Dots for Intraoperative Imaging
John V. Frangioni, M.D., Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Medicine & Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Attending Physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA

Our laboratory is focused on the application of imaging technology to clinical medicine. Human surgery is presently performed "blindly", without the ability to see tissue pathology with high sensitivity and high resolution in the operating room. For example, cancer resection is performed without real-time assessment of margin status and sentinel lymph node mapping is performed without real-time image guidance. We have developed an intraoperative imaging system that permits anatomy (color video) and function (near-infrared or infrared fluorescence) to be acquired and displayed simultaneously, and in real-time. We have also developed several families of contrast agents for intraoperative use, including inorganic/organic hybrid quantum dots. This talk will focus on the application of nanotechnology, including near-infrared and infrared fluorescent quantum dots, to important problems in human surgery.

Viral and Immunological Mechanisms in Dengue Disease Pathogenesis
Alan L. Rothman, MD. Professor at the Center for Infectious Disease & Vaccine Research, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA

Dengue is caused by four closely related dengue virus serotypes. Any of these four viruses can produce a wide spectrum of clinical illness, the most severe form of which is characterized by increased vascular permeability and hemorrhage. Although all current experimental systems have significant limitations, through a combination of in vitro, laboratory animal, and clinical studies a number of viral and host immunologic mechanisms have been defined that appear to contribute to disease severity. This knowledge needs to be applied to the development of vaccines and therapeutics against dengue.

Microdevices for biomolecular detection
Scott Manalis, PhD. Associate Professor of Biological and Mechanical Engineering, The Media Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA

Our research focuses on using silicon microfabrication to develop quantitative, high throughput and real-time techniques for measuring biomolecular interactions. Over the last year, we have developed a new detection method where specific biomolecules adsorb to the walls of a suspended microchannel resonator and thereby lower its resonant frequency. Confining the fluid to the inside of the resonator significantly increases sensitivity by eliminating high damping and viscous drag. It also enables direct integration with conventional microfluidic systems and
allows the resonator to be actuated by electrostatic forces.

In this presentation, I will introduce the resonator, show recent progress towards achieving its fundamental limit of detection, and discuss applications for real-time biomolecular detection.