On October 22nd, Suzanne presented her research at the main campus of the National Institute of Health (NIH) via both a poster and a talk. Her talk on “Engineering Hydrogels to Investigate the Role of Extracellular Matrix Cues on Natural Killer Cell Functions” was featured in the Cancer Therapies and Technologies session.
NIH is the largest funder of biomedical research in the world, and it is also houses its own intramural research program investigators. The BETA Center was conceived by Dr. Bruce Tromberg, Director of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), as an NIH-wide resource housed within the NIBIB Intramural Research Program to serve as a new model for facilitating interdisciplinary, technology-driven research and clinical impact across NIH and beyond. The goal is to bring together researchers with engineering and imaging expertise, including biomedical imaging, biosensing, biomechanics, engineered/synthetic biology, nano/biomaterials, artificial intelligence, modeling, computation, and informatics, and help make these tools available to researchers at the NIH.
The conference involved inspiring discussions and opportunities for new partnerships that leverage engineering, technology, and biomedical research. Each session was designed to mix academic and NIH researchers in thematic areas so that each can be exposed to new ideas of how engineering solutions can drive new avenues of healthcare and clinical impact.