With the approval of the Office of Graduate Studies and Research, the WIBE established a new Project for Glucose Monitoring and Control as a unit within the Institute. David Gough, Chair of the Department of Bioengineering, was appointed as the Director of the Project. The Project for Glucose Monitoring and Control will involve UCSD researchers and clinicians, as well as extramural collaborators, industrial affiliates, and advisors. The Project will serve as a nucleus for: information exchange, development of promising new sensor approaches, evaluation of control strategies, pilot clinical trials of sensors and related technologies, and interaction between academia and industry. As part of the Project for Glucose Monitoring and Control, the WIBE will sponsor the first ever Conference on Glucose Monitoring and Control on February 15-17, 2001, in La Jolla, California. The Conference will include keynote addresses from experts in the field, research presentations, panel discussions and poster sessions. We invite you to attend this new conference (page 5).

On August 9, 2000, the University of California, San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering broke ground for the Powell-Focht Bioengineering Hall. The day’s events began with a Colloquium on Perspectives in Bioengineering, followed by the formal groundbreaking ceremony on the future site of the new Powell-Focht Bioengineering Hall. Thank you to all who attended these momentous events to support the growth of the Department of Bioengineering.

The Bioengineering Graduate Students Group is organizing the annual Breakfast with Industry to be held on Friday, November 3, 2000, beginning at 7:30 am (page 5). I hope many of our industrial colleagues will participate in this meaningful event that provides a precious opportunity for fruitful exchange with our graduate students.

On November 10, 2000, the WIBE in conjunction with UCSD CONNECT will hold the first meeting of the Meet the Researchers Series (page 5). Drs. John Dobak and Juan Lasheras will present their research, technology and product, which came to form INNERCOOL therapies, Inc. of San Diego.

We are pleased to feature Kenneth Chien, Professor of Medicine, in this issue’s Faculty Profile (page 4). Dr. Kenneth Chien has been a member of the WIBE since its creation and has made important contributions to the Institute’s activities and programs.

Our Industrial Affiliates continue to provide most valuable support to our education and research programs. The newest member to our WIBE Industrial Affiliates Program, Edwards Lifesciences Corporation, is featured in the Industry Profile on page 2. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved their Carpentier-Edwards mitral PERIMOUNT Pericardial Bioprosthesis (picture page 3), the country's only bovine pericardial tissue heart valve designed specifically for the mitral position.

-Shu Chien, Director, WIBE

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) is a global leader in providing a comprehensive line of products and services to treat late-stage cardiovascular disease. Edwards is the worldwide leader in the design, development, manufacture and marketing of tissue heart valves and heart valve repair products. Many products manufactured by Edwards occupy leading positions around the world, and the company’s engineers and scientists work closely with leading clinicians worldwide, which has allowed Edwards to develop and commercialize new products and to pioneer new treatment techniques.

Edwards’ sales are categorized in four main product areas: cardiac surgery, critical care, vascular, and perfusion products and services. Edwards is headquartered in Irvine, California, and supplies its products and services to customers in more than 80 countries, both through direct sales and distributor relationships. Edwards’ products are manufactured in locations throughout the world, including Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Japan, The Netherlands, Puerto Rico, Switzerland and the United States. The company is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "EW."

Cardiovascular Disease: Leading Cause of Death Expected to Continue Growing

Cardiovascular disease is the No. 1 cause of death in the world, and is among the top three diseases in terms of healthcare spending in nearly every country in the world. Around the world, more than $180 billion is spent each year for the treatment of cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular disease is both progressive and pervasive -- progressive, in that it tends to worsen over time, and pervasive because it often affects an individual’s entire circulatory system. In its later stages, surgery frequently becomes the preferred treatment option.

In 1998, more than 1 million open heart surgeries were performed worldwide; of these, approximately 64 percent were coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) procedures, approximately 24 percent were heart valve replacement or repair procedures, and approximately 12 percent were related to the repair of congenital heart defects.

Edwards expects many factors to contribute to the growth in the number of patients being treated for advanced late-stage cardiovascular disease, including:

• an increasing and aging population;
• the progressive nature of the disease; and
• continued economic development around the world, which permits more resources to be dedicated to treating chronic health conditions.

If a patient undergoes other types of open-heart surgery, such as a CABG procedure, the functions of their heart and lungs may be managed through the use of disposable products and equipment offered in Edwards’ Bentley or Research Medical product lines. The perfusion procedure may be performed by a clinical perfusionist from Edwards’ Lifesciences Cardiovascular Resources, the largest organization of contract cardiovascular specialists in the world. If the circulatory problems are in the limbs rather than in the heart, the patient’s procedure may involve some of Edwards’ Fogarty vascular products, which include various types of balloon-tipped catheters that are used to remove blood clots. Finally, virtually all high-risk patients in the operating room or cardiac-care unit are candidates for having their cardiac function monitored by Edwards’ Swan-Ganz line of critical care products.

Edwards Lifesciences' comprehensive line of cardiovascular products and services are categorized into four main areas:

1. Cardiac Surgery, encompassing heart valve implantables, and cannulae and cardioplegia, which are used to access and support the heart during open-hospital surgery;
2. Critical Care, featuring cardiac monitoring systems and disposables used to evaluate cardiac output and measure blood pressure;
3. Vascular, which includes products used in peripheral vascular surgery, surgical accessories, implantable grafts, and endovascular graft systems for treating aortic aneurysms; and
4. Perfusion Products and Services, comprised of oxygenators and related disposables used during cardiopulmonary bypass, cardiopulmonary bypass hardware and perfusion services.

Mitral PERIMOUNT Valve Ò

# # #

Bentley, Carpentier-Edwards, Cosgrove-Edwards, Duraflo, Edwards Lifesciences Cardiovascular Resources, Fogarty, Perimount, Research Medical, Starr-Edwards and Swan-Ganz are trademarks of Edwards Lifesciences Corporation.

Dr. Kenneth R. Chien is a world-recognized leader in cardiovascular science and medicine. He received his B.A. from Harvard College and the M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from Temple University. Subsequently, he completed his Internship and Residency in Internal Medicine and Clinical Cardiology Fellowship at UT Southwestern in Dallas. In 1988 he joined UCSD to initiate a Program in Molecular Cardiology. In 1991, he became Director of the American Heart Association Bugher Foundation Center for Molecular Biology at UCSD, one of only five national Bugher Foundation Sites in the nation. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 1995 Walter B. Cannon Memorial Award and Lectureship (American Physiological Society), the 1995 Kaiser Foundation Award and Lectureship, the 1996 Pasarow Foundation Medical Research Award (S. Prusiner and A. Knudsen; Co-recipients), and the 1998 Robert M. Berne Award and Distinguished Lectureship. In 1999, was named the recipient of the Calabresi Visiting Professorship and lectureship (Yale University), the Bloomfield Lectureship (Case Western), and the Stubenbord Visiting Professorship (Cornell-Rockefeller M.D. Ph.D. Program). Dr. Chien has served as a member of the Board of Scientific Counselors for the National Heart, Lung, and Blood institute of the National Institutes of Health, and currently is on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Biotechnology Investment Fund of Pictet et Cie Banquiers (Geneva), a Board member of the Pasarow Medical Foundation, and serves as an advisor to multiple biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies including, Genentech, SmithKline Beecham, Roche and Eli Lilly. In 1998, the NIH established a $1.2 million dollar Joint Program, The UCSD-Salk Institute Program in Molecular Medicine (K. R. Chien, Director), to train the next generation of leaders in the field of Molecular Cardiology. The Program also recently received a $6 million dollar award from the Jean Leducq Foundation to establish a leading center in heart failure research.

Dr. Chien has been a pioneer in applying the techniques of molecular cardiology to cardiovascular disease, and has developed new therapeutic strategies for heart failure that have led to numerous patents. These include the discovery of Cardiotrophin-1, the most potent survival factor for heart muscle cells that plays a critical role in preventing the onset of heart failure. In addition, his lab recently identified a defect in SR Ca++ cycling as critical for heart failure progression through the generation of novel double knockout mice. This result has led to the identification of phospholamban inhibition as a novel therapeutic strategy in preventing heart failure progression.

Craig Clark, Allan Farrow, Adam Hsieh, Pin-Pin Hsu, Joe Lin and Sara Weis successfully defended their Ph.D. in Bioengineering during the summer.

Aaron Wang, undergraduate student in Bioengineering, was selected to receive a scholarship from the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation for the 2000-2001 academic year. The scholarship program was designed to encourage outstanding students to pursue careers in the fields of mathematics, natural sciences and engineering. The Goldwater Scholarship is a premier undergraduate award of its type in these fields.

Richard L. Lieber, Professor of Orthopaedics and Bioengineering, and Jan Fridén from Göteborg University in Sweden recently installed a laser diffraction system for measurement of muscle sarcomere length in children undergoing limb-lengthening procedures at the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital in Dallas, Texas. Dr. Lieber’s research and this fantastic new surgical procedure will be profiled in the next issue of the WIBE Newsletter.

Beckman Scholars award for Undergraduate Research: UCSD was one of 18 schools selected out of 76 applicants to receive a Beckman Scholars award for Undergraduate Research. The UCSD proposal was a joint application from Bioengineering, Biology, and Chemistry.

Breakfast with Industry: On November 3, 2000, the UCSD Bioengineering Graduate Students Group will be holding their Fifth Annual Breakfast with Industry. This outstanding professional event, sponsored by the Department of Bioengineering and the Whitaker Institute of Biomedical Engineering, offers a distinct opportunity for industrial representatives to interact on a one-to-one level with graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and UCSD faculty to discuss current and future research goals. Paul Citron, Vice President of Science & Technology at Medtronic, Inc., will deliver this year’s keynote address. For registration information visit http://www-bioeng.ucsd.edu/student/student_groups/bwi/.

Industrial Advisory Board Meeting: The next meeting of the WIBE Industrial Advisory Board is scheduled for February 22, 2000 from 7:30am — 9:00am in Room 232 of the Science and Engineering Research Facility at UCSD. For more information contact Elizabeth Hickman, WIBE Industry Relations, at (858) 822-4278 or by email at mehickman@ucsd.edu.

Meet the Researchers Series: This event, sponsored by the Whitaker Institute of Biomedical Engineering in conjunction with UCSD CONNECT, is a series of seminars showcasing both academic and industry research. This series will feature three newly formed companies, which have very close links to the WIBE. At each seminar, a faculty researcher will be paired with a company executive and both will present their technologies, products and ideas. On November 10, our speakers are the co-founders of INNERCOOL therapies, Inc., Juan Lasheras, Chair of the Department Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, and John Dobak, President and CEO of INNERCOOL therapies, Inc. For more information, visit http://www.connect.org.

WIBE Glucose Monitoring and Control Conference: The first ever Conference on Glucose Monitoring and Control, sponsored by the Whitaker Institute of Biomedical Engineering, will be held on February 15—17, 2001 in La Jolla, California. The Conference will include presentations, poster sessions, and a discussion panel. For more information, visit http://www-bioeng.ucsd.edu/dept/announcements.html.

A major goal of the WIBE is to enhance industry-academia collaboration and interaction. The WIBE Industrial Affiliates Program was created to further this cooperation. The mission of the Affiliates Program is to provide an interface between industry and the WIBE. To carry out this mission, the Affiliates Program with the WIBE co-sponsors several activities to facilitate interaction among its members. The WIBE is committed to making the Affiliates Program a valuable resource for industry. Currently we are soliciting new industry members to this unique and meaningful program. Benefits of the program include access to WIBE faculty and research members, invitation to research symposia and seminars, direct access to students and the Industrial Internship Program, subscription to the WIBE Newsletter and representation on the Industrial Advisory Board. For more information on becoming a member of the Industrial Affiliates Program contact Elizabeth Hickman, WIBE Industry Relations, at (858) 822-4278 or by email at mehickman@ucsd.edu.

On August 9, 2000, the UCSD Jacobs School of Engineering hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for the Powell-Focht Bioengineering Hall. The building, which is named in honor of the late San Diego Superior Court Judge, James L. Focht, and the Charles Lee Powell Foundation, was made possible by the Whitaker Foundation’s Leadership Award of $18.2 million and the Charles Lee Powell Foundation’s gift of $8 million, as well as many other generous contributions from supporters of UCSD Bioengineering. The Powell-Focht Bioengineering Hall marks the birth of a dynamic new scientific complex for the Jacobs School of Engineering. The Powell-Focht Hall will be completed in 2002 and will help accommodate growth in the Department.
 
 

The building is designed to promote an environment in which research, education, and technology transfer are intimately linked. With its modern facilities, this building will enable faculty and students to pursue innovative, cutting-edge research and apply emerging technologies to advance out understanding, treatment and prevention of human disease. Unique features include core technology laboratories to foster collaboration across all engineering and biomedical disciplines, state-of-the-art teaching laboratories for hands-on education, and facilities and programs to facilitate technology transfer.

The Powell-Focht Bioengineering Hall will be equipped for the most modern form of bioengineering. Designed by Anshen & Allen of Los Angeles, the building will include five shared core technology facilities including nanotechnology, information technology, in vivo technology, biotechnology, and biofabrication. It will also include instructional design laboratories allowing faculty to incorporate hands-on education into the curriculum.

An integral part of the Powell-Focht Bioengineering Hall will be the Y.C. Fung Auditorium, which is named in recognition of Dr. Fung, for his extraordinary achievements in the field of Bioengineering. The Auditorium will be located on the first floor, where students learn advances in bioengineering, scientists exchange their latest research results, and the university and industry partners explore new avenues to diagnose, treat and prevent disease. The auditorium will seat 150 people and will be equipped with the latest audio-visual capabilities to support distance learning, multimedia and Internet-based instruction.

In addition to the state-of-the-are Fung Lecture Hall, the B.W. Zweifach Library, which is named in honor of the late Professor B.W. Zweifach for his pioneering contributions in microcirculation, will also be located in the new building. The Zweifach Library will be a place where Zweifach’s contributions will be documented and on display, where students, faculty, and other scientists will exchange knowledge and information in bioengineering. It will serve as a data bank of knowledge in bioengineering and microcirculation and house a combination of classical research records and the latest internet-based electronic medical library.
 
 

The day’s events began with a Colloquium on Perspectives in Bioengineering in the UCSD Price Center. Wendy Baldwin, Deputy Director for Extramural Research at the National Institutes of Health and Chair of the Bioengineering Consortium (BNCON); Duane Roth, CEO of Alliance Pharmaceuticals; and Shu Chien,

Professor and Director of the Whitaker Institute of Biomedical Engineering, spoke at the Colloquium. Each gave their perspective on the field of bioengineering from the views of government, industry, and academia, respectively. The Colloquium was well attended by students, faculty, staff, and San Diego industry representatives.
 
 

Following the colloquium, attendees moved to Pryatel Field, the construction site of the Powell-Focht Bioengineering Hall, for the formal groundbreaking ceremony. Speakers included Robert C. Dynes, Chancellor of UCSD; David Gough, Professor and Chair of Bioengineering; Shu Chien, Wendy Baldwin, Robert Conn, Dean of the Jacobs School of Engineering; Duane Roth, Joel Holliday, President of the Charles Lee Powell Foundation, and Peter Katona, President of the Whitaker Foundation. Following the brief formal ceremony, attendees formed a human outline of the building, while the platform representatives and speakers grabbed shovels and broke the first ground.
 
 

Dirk-Uwe Bartsch, Assistant Professor in Research at the UCSD Shiley Eye Center, was chosen to serve as a member of the Biomedical Engineering Review Panel at the National Science Foundation. The panel is charged with reviewing grant proposals in biomedical engineering.

Sangeeta Bhatia, Assistant Professor of Bioengineering, was selected to participate in the 2000 Frontiers of Engineering Symposium, which was held in Irvine, CA on September 14-16, 2000. Each year the National Academy of Engineering hosts this symposium, to bring together outstanding engineers from industry and academia to discuss pioneering technical work and leading edge research in various engineering fields.

Andrew McCammon, Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, has been appointed to the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) as one of 12 leading scientists who will become HHMI investigators in the emerging field of computational biology. Dr. McCammon was selected for his research in computational biology, which parallels a new initiative by HHMI. The initiative focuses on the growing opportunities to solve important biological problems with new computational tools in areas such as cognitive neuroscience and genomics.

Roger Tsien, Professor of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmacology, was awarded the Herbert A. Sober Lectureship by the American Society of Biochemistry ad Molecular Biology. The Lectureship recognizes outstanding contributions to biochemical and molecular biological research, with particular emphasis on the development of methods and techniques to aid in research.

Ajit Varki, Professor of Medicine and Director of the Glycobiology Research and Training Center (GRTC), was awarded one of the first "glue grants" from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), entitled "Nucleotide Donors Affecting Glycosylation Pathways." This 4-year $1.15 million grant will primarily support the development of new capabilities in the Glycotechnology Core Resource. This is the first grant of its kind to be funded by the NIGMS. Other participating investigators include: Jeffrey D. Esko, Ph.D., Professor of Cellular and Molecular Medicine and Associate Director of the GRTC; Nathaniel S. Finney, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry; Hudson Freeze, Ph.D., Burnham Institute; Frances D. Gillin, Ph.D., Professor of Pathology; Herman van Halbeek, Ph.D., Project Scientist of Medicine; Vivek Malhotra, Ph.D., Professor of Biology; and Robert Tukey, Ph.D., Professor of Pharmacology.