Nanotechnology for Health Care Conference to be Held April 2-4
| LITTLE ROCK – The fifth annual Nanotechnology for Health Care Conference will be held April 2-4 at the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute atop Petit Jean Mountain near Morrilton.
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) is one of several partners of the event that brings together leading researchers in nanotechnology science and engineering with talent in the health and medical sciences to develop collaborations to improve health care.
“There is a lot of research in nanomedicine going on all over the world, and everyone agrees that its potential is the future of health care,” said Vladimir Zharov, Ph.D., a world-renowned senior scientist in the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, director of the Arkansas Nanomedicine Center, and professor in the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery in the UAMS College of Medicine. “We are always researching, but it’s time to move that research forward to the bedside to begin making an impact in diagnosis and treatment. That is our goal.”
Other conference partners include the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute; University of Arkansas at Little Rock; National Center for Toxicological Research; University of Arkansas, Fayetteville; University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff; and Arkansas State University.
Research presentations and discussions with internationally renowned nanotechnology and health care researchers will cover nanomaterials engineering for health care; nanomedicine applications such as disease diagnostics, therapeutics and prevention; and nanotechnology applications for agriculture.
“This conference displays the great work being done in Arkansas in the realm of nanomedicine, and it serves as a connecting point to leading research from around the world,” said Marta Loyd, Ed.D., executive director of the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute. “The ideas and research presented this week will spur advancements that, in the end, will contribute to producing a healthier society.”
Among the 14 speakers scheduled to address the conference are Lajos Balogh, Ph.D., editor-in-chief of the journal Nanomedicine; Peter Crooks, Ph.D., chair of the UAMS College of Pharmacy Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences; Kevin Parker, Ph.D., Harvard University; Jianghong Rao, Ph.D., Stanford University; Timo L.M. ten Hagen, Ph.D., Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, Netherlands and Banu Zolnik, Ph.D., U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
A Science as Art contest will celebrate the creativity of the regional research community with art from primary images generated by researchers. A selected panel will judge the submissions, and winners will receive the following prizes: first place — $250, second place — $150 and third place — $100.
Conference Committee co-chairmen are Michael Borrelli, Ph.D, professor of radiology and biophysics in the UAMS College of Medicine and associate director of the Arkansas Nanomedicine Center; Paul Howard, Ph.D., director of the Office of Scientific Coordination at the National Center for Toxicological Research in Jefferson; and Vladimir Zharov, Ph.D., senior scientist in the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute and director of the Phillips Classic Laser and Nanomedicine Laboratory.
The conference is made possible by a generous grant from the Winthrop Rockefeller Charitable Trust.
Corporate and institutional sponsors are PerkinElmer; Visual Sonics FujiFilm; Fisher Scientific; the University of Arkansas Materials and Manufacturing Research Laboratories; the University of Arkansas Nanomaterials Science and Engineering Institute; and the Arkansas Research Alliance.
UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a Northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and eight institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Psychiatric Research Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Translational Research Institute, Institute for Digital Health & Innovation and the Institute for Community Health Innovation. UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that encompasses all of UAMS’ clinical enterprise. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,485 students, 915 medical residents and fellows, and seven dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 11,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube or Instagram.###