Posted: March 12, 2010

Workshop in nano/bio-photonics discusses new trends for future medical research and development

(Nanowerk News) A UW-NCKU Bilateral Workshop in Nano/Bio-Photonics was held on March 1st and 2nd, in the Library B1 Conference Center, National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), Taiwan. The workshop not only focused on the two major research themes, nano-photonics and bio-photonics, but also discussed the future biomedical collaborations between University of Washington (UW) and National Cheng Kung University.
President Michael Ming-Chaio Lai, NCKU, started the event by delivering a speech at the opening ceremony. On behalf of NCKU, he first expressed his sincere welcome for guests who attended this event, particularly the visitors from University of Washington who traveled a long way to Tainan, Taiwan. “I believe nano-technology is certainly one of the most exciting and promising new technologies for science and technology and their related fields. Technology drives scientific progress, for example, X-Rays, DNA sequencing, MRI, etc. The new technology in nano-technology will advance and improve the diagnosis of diseases. It can also help scientists and engineers with their scientific discoveries and innovations in regarding to human health.”
The theme of the workshop on first day is “Bio-Photonics”, hosted by Dr. Shean-Jen Chen of Engineering Science, NCKU, Dr. Paul Campagnola of Cell Biology, UCHC, Dr. Xiaohu Gao of Bioengineering, UW, as well as Dr. Sheng-Hao Tseng of Electro-Optical Engineering, NCKU. The speech titles include “Photoacoustic Imaging: A View from the Ultrasonic Side of the House” of Dr. Matthew O’Donnell, Dean of Engineering, UW, “Fluorescence Imaging and Drug Delivery” of Dr. Suzie Hwang Pun, Associate Professor of Bioengineering, UW, “Second Harmonic Generation Imaging Microscopy of Cancer” of Dr. Paul Campagnola, Professor of Cell Biology, UCHC, “Biomedical Imaging with Intrinsic and Extrinsic Molecular Beacon” of Dr. Britton Chance and Shoko Nioka, Visiting Chair Professors, NCKU, etc.
The theme of the workshop on second day is “Bio/Nano Photonics”, hosted by Dr. Shean-Jen Chen of Engineering Science, NCKU, Dr. Lih Y. Lin of Electrical Engineering, UW, Dr. The-Lu Liao of Engineering Science, NCKU, as well as Senior Executive Vice-President Dr. Da-Hsuan Feng, NCKU. The speech titles include “Nanostructure-Enhanced Laser Tweezers” of Dr. Lih Y. Lin of Electrical Engineering, UW, “Imaging Cell-Substrate Contacts via Surface Plasmon Microscopy” of Dr. Shean-Jen Chen of Engineering Science, NCKU, and “Photodynamic Therapy for Dermatology” of M.D. Feng-Jie Lai of Chi Mei Medical Center, Taiwan, etc.
The workshop organizer, the Center for Micro/Nano Science and Technology (CMNST) Associate Director and the Department of Engineering Science Professor Shean-Jen Chen expressed, nano/bio-photonics combing nanotechnology, biomedicine, and optoelectronics is a significant research theme and a new trend in the future medical research and development. In the past, professors from both UW and NCKU have cooperated on different research fields, including Dr. Paul Liao who is the NCKU Outstanding Alumni and the graduate student of UW. Two years ago, NCKU Senior Executive Vice-President Da-Hsuan Feng has led a delegation of 10 professors to visit University of Washington. Last year, President Lai has also visited UW and participated in many conferences; both universities all look forward to intimate research collaborations.
Prof. Chen has also stated, because University of Washington is one of the best in the American medical engineering field and medical engineering is one of the major developments in National Cheng Kung University, NCKU has cooperated with NW in this bilateral workshop. “With this workshop as a starting point, we expect to build a “village” of National Cheng Kung University, Southern Taiwan University and Chi Mei Medical Center as well as University of Washington, Intel and Microsoft Corporation, and to have the opportunity for cross-pacific biomedical collaborations.”
Source: National Cheng Kung University