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A rendering of Nebraska Pavilion 2453, which will be featured in exhibit space in the McCormick Place Convention Center. Nebraska’s colorful, multi-panel 16-foot tall pavilion takes up about 600 square feet (30 by 20 feet), and features photos, digital video screens and information racks. A rotating lit panel says “Bio’s Hot in Nebraska.” |
Among plenary session speakers expected to attend are former President Bill Clinton and Michael O. Leavitt, Secretary of Health and Human Services.
The world’s largest gathering of biotechnology executives, investors, journalists, policymakers and scientists from more than 60 countries will include Bio Nebraska Life Sciences Association, called “Bio Nebraska,” and its Nebraska biotechnology partners, which includes UNMC.
Formed in 2005, the goal of Bio Nebraska is to generate economic development for the state and create quality jobs and opportunities for the citizens of Nebraska. UNMC’s role in biotechnology innovation is related to health in humans and animals.
This is the sixth year UNMC has attended the BIO convention and the second year for a statewide presence at the convention, said Don Leuenberger, UNMC vice chancellor for business and finance.
“From the beginning, our goal has been to shine a light on the biotechnology expertise and opportunities for partnership that we have at UNMC and in Nebraska,” Leuenberger said. “Each year, we get more sophisticated in how we do that. Over the past six years, we’ve generated a lot of excitement about what’s happening at our university and in our state and have come away with a number of leads, many of which have turned into partnerships.”
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One of the UNMC inventions to be featured includes a computerized surgical system is being tested that tracks the bone and the surgeon’s hand-held instruments to guide them in knee replacement surgery. |
The Nebraska contingent includes representatives from the University of Nebraska, the Bio Nebraska Life Sciences Association, the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce, the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce, Omaha Public Power District and the Nebraska Department of Economic Development. The group also will include representatives from the University of Nebraska Technology Park and its Technology Development Corp., a number of life sciences businesses. UNeMed will be represented at the convention along with several Nebraska biotechnology companies – ProNutrient Technologies, Inc., GeneSeek Inc., LNK Chemsolutions, Nature Technology Corp., and PRIMUS Sterilizer Company Inc.
Nebraska will showcase inventions at its Nebraska pavilion. Lincoln and Omaha Chambers of Commerce, OPPD and state Department of Economic Development representatives will present Nebraska as a state with a highly educated workforce, economic opportunities and a cooperative, supportive business and industry climate.
Some of the biotechnology/industry research collaborations under way at the university that will be highlighted at BIO 2006 include the mini surgical robot designed by UNMC surgeons and UNL engineers, a navigated surgical system being developed by a UNMC team to guide bone replacement surgery, and creatine ethyl ester, a TAG for purifying recombinant proteins developed by ProNutrient Technologies, Inc. Also to be featured is UNL’s polymerase chain reaction tool to conduct rapid testing in molecular genetics, and a bioceramic bone, teeth and hard tissue replacement material.
Marsha Morien, administrator for advanced biomedical technologies at UNMC, said with so many exhibitors, the battle to attract people to one’s booth is highly competitive. People who stop by the Nebraska pavilion will have a chance to win Sonic, a robotic dog. Last year in Philadelphia, about 2,000 people visited Nebraska’s booth.
Exhibit space in the McCormick Place Convention Center covers 176,000 square feet and is about the size of three football fields. Nebraska’s colorful, multi-panel 16-foot tall pavilion takes up about 600 square feet (30 by 20 feet), and features photos, digital video screens and information racks, and a rotating lit panel, that says “Bio’s Hot in Nebraska.”
Morien said Dmitry Oleynikov, M.D., will make a poster presentation on the mini-robots at BIO’s Innovation Corridor. Dr. Oleynikov is director of the Center for Advanced Surgical Technology at UNMC, and medical director of the minimally invasive surgery center at The Nebraska Medical Center.
“It is a great opportunity for Nebraskans interested and invested in biotechnology to make contacts and let people know what is happening in our state in biotechnology,” said Julie Karavas, director of Bio Nebraska Life Sciences Association. “In Nebraska, the life sciences industry is thriving because its workforce has a flare for technology, and the state’s tax incentive programs make it profitable for internationally known companies to expand,” she said.
David Brown, president and CEO, Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce, said the BIO convention is an opportunity for the world to see Omaha as a vibrant community that supports the biotech and life sciences industries. “BIO is a great forum for reaching the companies and individuals who can bring the technologies and the highly skilled, high-paying jobs that will spur Greater Omaha’s continued growth, Brown said.
Some of the UNMC inventions to be featured at BIO 2006
Mini-robots
Surgeons at UNMC and engineers at UNL are testing miniature robots that would be placed in the abdominal cavity to assist surgeons during surgery. The remotely controlled in vivo robots provide the surgeon with an enhanced field of view from arbitrary angles as well as provide dexterous manipulators not constrained by small incisions in the abdominal wall.
Intuitool
Surgeons at UNMC and engineers at UNL have developed Intuitool which enables surgeons to easily work in areas that are either impossible to reach or require awkward arm and wrist postures with current tools.
Computerized surgical navigation system
A computerized surgical system is being tested that tracks the bone and the surgeon’s hand-held instruments to guide them in knee replacement surgery. The surgeon’s hand movements are tracked and “image-guided” to allow for faster, more accurate bone cutting and alignment of implants, with less trauma to soft tissue.
ProNutrient Technologies, Inc.
ProNutrient Technologies, Inc., has developed a new form of creatine, a
nutritional supplement taken by athletes that boost performance. The ProNutrient supplement is more soluble in water, better absorbed and is better tolerated by the body, which means minimal side effects. The product is sold at GNC stores as CE2.
Kelly Bartling of UNL also contributed to this report.