Scientists to discuss innovative technologies at UMDNJ Symposium

Advances in technology have accelerated the effectiveness of scientific and medical research, producing rapid advances that were unthinkable even a decade ago. At its Third Annual Inter-School Technology Symposium, the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) will bring together scientists from throughout the University who are at the forefront of this revolution. They will describe how their work, and the technology that propels it, promise to enhance the lives and health of people worldwide.

The Symposium, to be held on Tuesday April 12 at UMDNJ in Piscataway, N.J., will be an all-day event. "As the nation's largest public health sciences university and the leading institution in biomedical research in New Jersey, UMDNJ is especially proud to showcase a sampling of our researchers' innovative use of imaging and genomics technologies at our Third Annual Technology Symposium," says Denise V. Rodgers, MD, Executive Vice President of UMDNJ.

Subjects covered will include the molecular. Sanjay Tyagi, Ph.D., of UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School in Newark will describe unprecedented methods being used to track individual molecules in the genetic material known as messenger RNA, as they move within cells to orchestrate production of proteins that govern the cells' behavior and ultimately conditions that might lead to abnormalities such as cancers.

The brain will receive special attention. Dennis Carmody, Ph.D., of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School will describe his use of functional MRI technology to image the brains of adolescents who were exposed in the womb to drugs, in order to determine any lasting effects of that exposure. Functional MRI is a way to test anatomical structures within the brain and their response to stimuli such as emotions, memories and learning.

Presentations will also include the potential use of virtual reality to chart pathways within the brain through which a person debilitated by a stroke might recover function in ways never before imagined. Eugene Tunik, PT, Ph.D., of UMDNJ-School of Health Related Professions will deliver that talk.

In all, a dozen leading UMDNJ researchers will describe the ways in which they and the University are blazing trails in the area of research technology. These researchers have attracted registrants from higher education institutions and biopharma companies across the state, who want to learn about their research. In addition, the symposium will feature a morning keynote address by Barbara Alving, MD, director of the National Center for Research Resources at the National Institutes of Health; and an afternoon keynote by Heidi Rehm, Ph.D., FACMG, director of the Harvard Laboratory for Molecular Medicine at Partners Healthcare Center of Personalized Genetic Medicine.

What: Third Annual UMDNJ Inter-School Technology Symposium

When: Tuesday April 12, 2011, 9am - 5pm

Where:UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Kessler Teaching Building, First Floor. 675 Hoes Lane, Piscataway, N.J.