UM faculty members were part of a CREF panel discussion at the Miller School. From left, Cherie Stabler, assistant professor of biomedical engineering; Ozcan Ozdamar, professor and chair of biomedical engineering; Norma Kenyon, director of the Coulter Center for Translational Research; Joshua Hare, director of the Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute; Richard Cote, professor and chair of pathology; Na Li, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering; and Michael Wang, professor of electrical and computer engineering.

Personalized medicine for everyone. Medical devices that, thanks to nanotechnology, are so small they are nearly undetectable. Ergonomically enhanced medicine containers. Innovative ideas like these–some still in early stages of development, others closer to realization–make it clear that the future of medicine is closely linked with the future of biotechnology engineering.

The University of Miami’s enthusiastic embrace of this interdisciplinary future was highlighted in the third session of the Collaborative Research Exchange Forum (CREF), cosponsored by the Miller School of Medicine and the College of Engineering.

The forums—this year’s was titled “Medical Devices and Biomaterials”—are hosted by Miller School Dean Pascal J. Goldschmidt and College of Engineering Dean James M. Tien, and are designed to enhance collaborative research between medical and engineering faculty.

“By putting our expertise together we can achieve great advancements that allow better medicine to reach more people in more parts of the world,” Dean Goldschmidt said on January 14 as he welcomed the group and congratulated many of the physicians and scientists for their recent success in obtaining NIH stimulus grants. “It takes two to tango. What we have here is a perfect recipe for progress. There is an amazing future for this University.”

Dean Tien also welcomed the gathering at the medical school’s Clinical Research Building. He discussed how the collaborative efforts could concentrate more on “systems biology” and touted UM’s hosting of a prestigious meeting of leaders of the National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine. The February 25 meeting will discuss “Engineering Innovations in Health Care.”

The “Medical Devices” event was coordinated by Richard Bookman, executive dean for research and research training and vice provost for research, and Jennifer McCafferty-Cepero, assistant dean for research, both from the Miller School, and Helena Solo-Gabriele, associate dean for research at the College of Engineering.

The event also featured a panel of speakers that featured faculty from both schools, and a keynote presentation, “Evolution of Medical Innovation,” by Bart Chernow, vice president for special programs and vice provost for technology.