IGERT Nanomedicine Distinguished Lecture

Date: 04/18/2008
Time: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Location: 320 Shillman
Speaker: Cynthia Bamdad, Founder & C.S.O. Minerva Biotechnologies

Title: “Smarticle Particles: Nanoparticles for Biomedical Applications”

Abstract: Minerva was first to develop methods to coat nanoparticles with highly reproducible self-assembled monolayers (SAMs). SAM-coated nanoparticles are designed to instantly capture and present any biological molecule. In fact, more than one biomolecule can be immobilized on the same nanoparticle and the relative concentrations of the immobilized species are controlled. For example, a protein and its encoding DNA can be attached to the same nanoparticle, which enables ultra sensitive diagnostics and massively parallel proteomics. In another application, a nanoparticle bears therapeutic siRNA and a tumor-targeting antibody. A number of biomedical applications of Minerva’s “Smarticle Particles” will be discussed, including: drug discovery, drug delivery and self-assembling nanostructures.

Biography: Chief Scientific Officer and founder of Minerva Biotechnologies, was a pioneer in the field of biochips. Dr. Bamdad holds a B.S. in Physics and a Ph.D. in Biophysics from Harvard. While a Ph.D. student at Harvard, Dr. Bamdad invented the first electronic DNA chip and the first universal protein chip. Intellectual property surrounding these inventions and extensions thereof, also developed by Bamdad, formed the cornerstone of a California startup company, which was sold within two years to Motorola for $300MM. Dr. Bamdad is the sole or co-inventor inventor of over 100 patent applications in the US and foreign for novel technologies, therapeutics and diagnostics. Dr. Bamdad is a recognized leader in the field of nanotechnology, having invented the first method to form biochip surfaces on nanoparticles and methods to use those particles in biomedical testing and drug discovery. Dr. Bamdad has been the Principal Investigator on grants and contracts from the National Cancer Institute, National Institute for Mental Health, National Science Foundation, The Huntington Foundation, National Institute of General Medicine, the Defense Advance Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and the Advanced Technology Program (ATP). Dr. Bamdad has served on special committees to advise research arms of the military on the technical challenges of detecting biological warfare agents (BWA). Dr. Bamdad has also given numerous invited talks to U.S. and foreign institutions on the topics of cancer research, neurodegenerative diseases, proteomics and biological warfare threat and detection.