2024-2026 Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering (CMBE) Conference

Summary/Abstract The goal of this application is to support travel awards for students, postdoctoral fellows, and early-stage investigators (ESI) to attend the 2024-26 Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering (CMBE) Conferences. Broadly the goal of CMBE Conference is to catalyze 1) the development of new molecular, cellular, bioimaging, synthetic biology, and single-cell technologies for probing and manipulating cellular dynamics and function, 2) the application and transition of these cutting edge approaches for understanding the organizing principles of complex cellular and tissue systems across scales, and 3) the translation of these advancements in ways that ultimately benefit humanity, such as actionable models of biological processes, drug screening systems, and cellular biosensors to sense and respond to environment cues. The theme of the 2024 BMES CMBE Conference is “Systems Bioengineering: From Molecules to Cells to Tissues”. With the 2024 conference, we aim to focus on an integrated viewpoint of complex biological systems using “Systems Bioengineering” as a framework. Speakers will describe their engineering approaches to deconvolve the complex molecular, cellular, and tissue systems within the human body through quantitative and modeling approaches. We have recruited several established and emerging research leaders in key defining research areas with strong focus on understanding cell states in development and diseases, with particular focus on Immune Systems, and their applications in cellular and molecular bioengineering. The outcome of the conference will be increased technology sharing amongst researchers, as well as a new vision and strategic plan for engineering biological systems for basic science and clinical translation. The specific objectives of this R13 application are two-fold. The first is to provide support to eight ESI junior investigators and twelve postdoctoral fellows or graduate students, whose submitted abstracts will be selected for podium presentation based on scientific merit, with a focus on promoting women and underrepresented minorities. The meeting will provide these investigators with essential exposure and mentoring to launch or expand their academic research careers. The second objective is to foster adoption of new technologies to the CMBE research community and promote the interdisciplinary collaboration. The meeting will provide a platform to expose researchers in engineering, chemistry, biology, and data science to the latest techniques and develop a pathway to increase the impact of CMBE research in human disease. Outcomes will be described in a white paper summary in the Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering Journal.