Nanotechnology and nanomedicine course online
10 January 2006
The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) has
launched its first online course, "Nanotechnology and Nanomedicine:
Applications for Vision".
The course was presented at ARVO’s 2005 Annual Meeting and was sponsored
by a grant from the US National Eye Institute (NEI) of the National
Institutes of Health (NIH). The course is available for viewing free of
charge at www.arvo.org/nano
This online course, organized by Drs. Paul Sieving and Richard Fisher of
the NEI, features streaming video of the course speakers with their
corresponding PowerPoint presentation slides. In addition, a transcript of
the course is available online. The seven-presentation course runs
approximately three hours. Each presentation can be viewed separately and
ranges from seven to 35 minutes in length.
This online course introduces fundamental concepts, including changes in
the properties of materials at the nanoscale, and the potential of
nanotechnology and its application to biomedical sciences. The underlying
physical sciences, conveyed by renowned experts in nanoscience, are
emphasized and the course includes examples of NEI-funded studies of either
applied or fundamental nanoscience in vision research.
The course’s speakers are Mark Grinstaff, Boston University; Milan
Mrksich, University of Chicago; Chris Murphy, University of Wisconsin; Mark
Ratner, Northwestern University; Paul Sieving, National Eye Institute;
Samuel Stupp, Northwestern University; and Karen Wooley, Washington
University.
Nanotechnology is a broad scientific field that involves the creation and
use of materials and devices at the level of molecules and atoms.
Nanomedicine is an emerging field that is expected to yield highly specific
medical treatments for damaged or diseased tissue at the level of single
molecules or molecular assemblies within living cells, i.e., at the "nano"
scale of about 100 nanometres or less.
Dr. Sieving, director of the NEI, said, “This course provides an
excellent introduction to the scientific basis of nanotechnology and
nanomedicine and conveys a sense of the exciting potential of these new
fields for preventing disease and improving health.”
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