The organisers will be organising several symposia and workshops during the congress.

The 13th International Symposium of NanoBME
Organized by: Tohoku University Global COE at Singapore
Chair: Takami Yamaguchi, The Tohoku University Global COE Programme, Global Nano-Biomedical Engineering Education & Research Network Centre

The 13th International Symposium of NanoBME aims to promote nano-biomedical engineering education and research.

Started in 2007 as one of the Global COE Programmes of the Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports Science and Technology, this Symposium reports the progress with regard to research and education in the field of nanobiomedical engineering at Tohoku University. The programme comprises 22 leading scientists from various departments and institutions at Tohoku University of Japan.

Tohoku University has a long history of biomedical engineering studies, starting from the early 20th century. This long-term collaboration among engineers of various fields and medical researchers has resulted in numerous cutting-edge technologies, such as the world’s first ultrasound cardiac imaging device, the development of the principle of X-ray tomography, and the real-world application of functional electrical stimulation.

Current studies in the programme cover a wide variety of nanobiomedical engineering fields, as discussed at this symposium. This symposium is not simply an accumulation of the results of independent studies carried out throughout the university; rather, it should be noted, they are connected, as parts of a well-designed framework. This research is part of an integrated collaboration of groups engaged in research ranging from fundamental studies to clinical applications. The nanobiomechanics group implements studies that combine experimental and computational methods to analyse nano- to micro-scale biomechanical phenomena. Another fundamental study group integrates molecular-level imaging into these mechanical studies. These groundbreaking studies are leading to the development of nanodevices using novel technologies. Finally, devices and systems developed in the current programme have been applied to clinical medicine by the nanobiointervention group.

In the three years since the Japanese Government approved our programme, we have established and consolidated the infrastructure of the programme. The next two years will see an extension of the results of this education and research. The organiser believes that this symposium will be an important milestone in the progress to extend our relationship to the researcher of the East Asian countries.

A new Research Centre of Excellence (RCE) on Mechanobiology, which aims to break new ground in studying diseases through the mechanisms of molecule, cell and tissue mechanics was set up at the NUS in 2009. This S$150 million RCE on Mechanobiology is funded by the National Research Foundation and the Ministry of Education. Leveraging on existing strengths in Biology, Bioengineering, Nanotechnology and Computational Biology, this Centre has assembled a world-class team of international and local faculty to conduct high-quality multi-disciplinary research. Led by Director Prof Michael Sheetz from the Department of Biological Sciences at Columbia University and co-Director Prof Paul Matsudaira, Head of the NUS Department of Biological Sciences, the Centre will have three integrated inter-disciplinary teams working on cellular, molecular and tissue.

Emphasizing the importance of biomechanics in the basic processes of cell signaling, adhesion, and morphogenesis, as well as in the development of novel therapeutic approaches, this Centre will organize the RCE Symposium on Mechanobiology and will consist the following topics: Cell Migration & Actin Cytoskeleton; Cell Adhesion to Extracellular Matrix & other cells; Microtubules & Molecular Motors; Chromatin, Nucleus &Cell Division; Signaling in Cell Mechanosensing, Polarization & Migration and Mechanics of Embryo Development. This 1-day symposium will comprise a series of keynote lectures and invited talks.

It has been 5 years since Global Enterprise for MicroMechanics and Molecular Medicine (GEM4) was launched in Fall of 2005. In the past 5 years, many high impact activities have been initiated and organized by GEM4. In particular the organization has played an important role in educating the next generation of research and education leaders in the emergent field of cellular and molecular mechanics with focus on diseases such as infectious disease, cancer, cardiovascular systems as well as enabling technologies. In addition, many GEM4 affiliated researchers have been doing pioneer research in this area. The proposed GEM4 Symposium will highlight the accomplishments of GEM4 in the past 5 years in research and education to celebrate this anniversary. We plan to invite several key participants of GEM4 to present current state of research and education achievements in the area of cellular and molecular mechanics.