2013 Microtechnologies in Medicine and Biology Conference, April 10-12, 2013, Marina Del Ray, CA

国际医学与生物微技术（MMB）会议的使命是通过促进生物学家、医学研究人员、化学家、物理学家和工程师之间的跨学科交流，推动革命性的微技术在医学和生物科学领域的应用。自2000年成立以来，第七届MMB会议将于2013年4月10日至12日在加利福尼亚州的Marina del Rey举行。mmb2000是第一个涵盖医学、生物学和工程学交叉领域微技术研究的国际会议，此后其他会议在形式和内容上都进行了模仿。然而，MMB仍然是该领域的首要会议，成功地吸引了高知名度的演讲者，促进了不同与会者之间高影响力的技术讨论，促进了跨学科社区之间持续互动的能力，以及培训和指导了年轻的研究人员。主要的技术主题包括微技术的进步、生物技术的应用、组织工程的应用以及细胞/分子生物学的应用。会议形式包括主题演讲、速写海报口头报告、海报会议、网络会议以及与主题演讲者的小组讨论。本次会议选择了5个特别研究主题（个体化医学、转化研究、神经工程、免疫学和组织工程），并将有5至7位国际知名的主讲人发表演讲。这些杰出的高级研究人员带来了一个全面的和历史的观点，以一种格式，将访问与会者从他们的直接学科以外。要求提供资金，以帮助美国的年轻研究人员支付旅费和注册费用，以便在MMB-13上展示他们的工作。部分资金将用于鼓励学生参与者与生物医学工程界知名领袖之间的面对面交流。知识价值：MMB会议是一个经过验证的多学科论坛，用于在各级培训中传播生物医学工程微技术的最新进展，并为跨越跨学科障碍分享知识提供基础。小型会议环境促进了不同社区对研究和教育新方向、新想法和新方法的公开讨论，否则这些社区不会在这样的场所（混合工业和学术界以及工程师与科学家和临床医生）进行互动。知识交流的多种途径将加强现有的联系，并促进新兴研究领域的新合作。正是这样的互动和交流，将导致微技术彻底改变医学和生物科学领域。多年来，MMB学生竞赛已被证明是一种有效的机制，可以在年轻的研究人员中发现、识别和指导顶尖人才。决赛选手将在国际会议上展示他们的最佳作品。他们将成为其他年轻参与者的榜样，提供进一步的灵感和智力刺激。MMB将为这些年轻的研究人员提供一个与生物医学工程领域的领军人物接触的渠道。比赛在一个友好和支持的环境中进行，使顶尖的学生能够与其他决赛选手和来自各种生物工程学科的其他学生建立联系。此外，比赛和会议总体上在承认妇女、少数民族和残疾人在生物医学微技术方面的才能方面发挥着至关重要的作用。入围者将能够在会议结束后在领先的同行评审期刊的特别会议期刊上展示他们的成就。更广泛的影响：MMB'13的性质、活动类型和规模为促进以微技术为重点的生物医学研究和跨学科团体之间的交流提供了一个支持性的环境和丰富的机会。会议有一个很好的记录，汇集了研究人员和教育工作者从众多学科在他们的职业生涯的不同阶段，以促进跨学科的新思想的施肥。因此，会议创造了一个由不同的青年和高级研究人员组成的有凝聚力的社区。一般来说，大约一半的与会者是学生。会议还吸引了一批年轻的研究人员，包括博士后学者和青年教师。因此，强调与先驱和领导者进行多次交流和互动的机会为这些成员提供了独特而宝贵的培训机会，并以这种方式培养下一代生物工程师。会议的技术内容和职业发展机会都将使MMB 2013实现并保持该系列会议在过去12年中所享有的深远影响。

1314901MengThe mission of the international Microtechnologies in Medicine and Biology (MMB) conference is to advance the application of revolutionary microtechnologies to the fields of medicine and biological sciences by fostering interdisciplinary exchanges between biologists, medical researchers, chemists, physicists, and engineers. The seventh MMB conference, since its founding in 2000, will be held in Marina del Rey, California from April 10-12, 2013. MMB 2000 was the first international conference to cover microtechnologies research at the intersection of medicine, biology, and engineering and has since been imitated both in form and content by other meetings. However, MMB continues to be the premier conference in the area as measured by the success in attracting high profile speakers, facilitation of high impact technical discussions among diverse conference participants, ability to promote sustained interactions among the interdisciplinary community, and training and mentoring of young investigators. The major technical themes include microtechnology advances, biotechnology applications, tissue engineering applications, and cell/molecular biology applications. The format includes keynote lectures, flash poster oral presentations, poster sessions, networking sessions, and small group discussions with keynote speakers. For this meeting, five special research themes were selected (Personalized Medicine, Translational Research, Neuro-engineering, Immunology, and Tissue Engineering) and will be covered by five to seven internationally renowned keynote speakers. These eminent senior investigators bring a comprehensive and historical view of the field in a format that will be accessible to attendees from outside their immediate disciplines. Funding is requested to help US based young investigators to defray the costs of travel and registration to present their work at MMB-13. Part of the funding will be used to encourage person-to-person interaction between student participants and established leaders in the biomedical engineering community.Intellectual Merit: The MMB meeting is a proven multidisciplinary forum for dissemination of the latest advances of microtechnology in biomedical engineering at all levels of training and a substrate for sharing of knowledge across interdisciplinary barriers. The small conference setting promotes open discussion of new directions, ideas, and approaches in both research and education by diverse communities that would otherwise not interact in such a venue (mixing industry and academia as well as engineers with scientists and clinicians). Multiple avenues for intellectual exchange will reinforce existing contacts and facilitate new collaborations in emerging research frontiers. It is such interactions and exchanges that will lead tomicrotechnologies to revolutionize the fields of medicine and biological sciences. The MMB Student Competition has proven over the years to be an effective mechanism for identifying, recognizing, and mentoring the top-tier talent among the pool of young investigators. Finalists will present their best work in the setting of an international conference. They will become role models for other young participants providing further inspiration and intellectual stimulation. MMB will provide a channel for these young investigators to be introduced to the leading figures in biomedical engineering. The competition is conducted in a friendly and supportive environment that allows top-notch students to network with fellow finalists and other students from a wide array of bioengineering disciplines. In addition, the competition and the conference in general play a crucial role in recognizing the talents of women, minorities, and disabled persons in biomedical microtechnologies. Finalists will be able to showcase their achievements following the conference in special conference issues of leading peer-reviewed journals.Broader Impacts: The nature, types of activities, and scale of MMB'13 provide a supportive environment and rich opportunities to promote microtechnology-focused biomedical research and exchanges between cross-disciplinary groups in intimate settings. The conference has an excellent track record of bringing together researchers and educators from numerous disciplines at various stages of their careers to promote cross-disciplinary fertilization of new ideas. Thus, the conference has created a cohesive community of diverse young and senior investigators. Generally, about half of the attendees are students. The conference also attracts a number of young investigators including postdoctoral scholars and junior faculty. Thus, the emphasis on multiple exchanges and opportunities to interact with pioneers and leaders offer unique and invaluable training opportunities for these constituents and in such a manner fosters the next generation of bioengineers. Both the technical content of the conference as well as the career development opportunities will allow MMB 2013 to achieve and sustain the far reaching impact that this conference series has enjoyed over the last twelve years.