For four weeks in July 2010, the CIMIT Forum Summer Education Series offered attendees the opportunity to build an understanding of novel methods of drug delivery and drug/device combination therapy. Expert scientists, engineers, and clinical leaders who are developing new technologies and translating them into clinical solutions lectured weekly at the Boston University Photonics Center.  The goal was to link current and evolving technologies with unmet clinical needs.

On July 6th, Jeffrey Karp, PHD, spoke about the next generation of biomaterials and chemical approaches to control cellular response. Ying Mei, PHD discussed high throughput development of biomaterials for stem cell engineering. On July 13th, Omid Farokhzad, MA, MD spoke about multifunctional polymeric nanoparticles for medical applications, and Michael Cima, PHD discussed convergence products including drug delivery devices and devices for diagnostics. On July 20th, David Nathan, MD, PHD, spoke about the clinical importance of new methods of drug delivery focusing on the case for diabetes. Robert Langer, SCD, discussed the past, present, and future of drug delivery technology. On July 27th, Yolanda Colson, MD, PHD, spoke about novel drug delivery platforms for cancer, and Daniel Kohane, MD, PHD, discussed the applications of novel biomaterials and drug delivery technologies for anesthesia and critical care therapies.

Through the series, the speakers demonstrated the immense potential for impact on human health. Future applications could include molecules that silence genes, nanotechnology based systems that could target drugs to specific sites in the body, and new systems where the medicine is administered continuously based on the patients’ needs.  Novel drug delivery technology will optimize safety and effectiveness while reducing side effects.

DATE / LOCATION	TITLE	SPEAKERS
July 6, 2010 4:00 to 6:00 PM Boston University Photonics Center	CONTROLLING CELL RESPONSES Towards the Next Generation of Biomaterials and Chemical Approaches to Control Cellular Response High Throughput Development of Biomaterials for Stem Cell Engineering	Jeffrey Karp, PhD Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology/MIT Ying Mei, PhD MIT Moderator: Frederick Schoen, MD, PhD BWH
RELEVANT ARTICLES:
Nature Nanotechnology: Nanocarriers as an emerging platform for cancer therapy PubMed: Interplay of biomaterials and micro-scale technologies for advancing biomedical applications Technology Review: Nano RNA Delivery BioMedExperts: Lipid-like materials for low-dose, in vivo gene silencing - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
DATE / LOCATION	TITLE	SPEAKERS
July 13, 2010 4:00 to 6:00 PM Boston University Photonics Center	NOVEL DELIVERY METHODS Medicinal Nanoengineering: Multifunctional Polymeric Nanoparticles for Medical Applications Drug, Diagnostic, Device, or Procedure?	Omid Farokhzad, MD BWH Michael Cima, PhD MIT Moderator: Mark Grinstaff, PhD Boston University
RELEVANT ARTICLES:
ACS Nano: Impact of Nanotechnology on Drug Delivery PubMed: Nanotechnology for drug delivery: the perfect partnership PubMed: HER-2-targeted nanoparticle-affibody bioconjugates for cancer therapy SpringerLink: Application of Micro- and Nano-Electromechanical Devices to Drug Delivery PubMed: Resorbable polymer microchips releasing BCNU inhibit tumor growth in the rat 9L flank model
DATE / LOCATION	TITLE	SPEAKERS
July 20, 2010 4:00 to 6:00 PM Boston University Photonics Center	INTRODUCTION TO DRUG DELIVERY: CLINICAL NEED AND TECHNOLOGICAL SPECTRUM Clinical Importance of New Methods of Drug Delivery: The Case for Diabetes Drug Delivery Technology: Past, Present and Future	David Nathan, MD MGH Robert Langer, ScD MIT Moderator: Elazer Edelman, MD, PhD MIT
RELEVANT ARTICLES:
JAMA: Careers in Translational Clinical Research—Historical Perspectives, Future Challenges PubMed.gov: Poly(beta-amino esters): procedures for synthesis and gene delivery Nature Reviews: Knocking down barriers: advances in siRNA delivery
DATE / LOCATION	TITLE	SPEAKERS
July 27, 2010 4:00 to 6:00 PM Boston University Photonics Center	CLINICAL APPLICATIONS Novel Therapies for Cancer Anesthesia and Critical Care Therapies	Yolonda Colson, MD, PHD BWH Daniel Kohane, MD, PhD Children's Hospital Moderator: Jeffrey Borenstein, PhD Charles Stark Draper Laboratory
RELEVANT ARTICLES:
PubMed: Prevention of local tumor recurrence following surgery using low-dose chemotherapeutic polymer films PubMed: Expansile nanoparticles: synthesis, characterization, and in vivo efficacy of an acid-responsive polymeric drug delivery system PubMed: pH-triggered microparticles for peptide vaccination PubMed: In situ cross-linkable hyaluronan hydrogels containing polymeric nanoparticles for preventing postsurgical adhesions

• View the 2009 Inhalation Technology Education Series.
• View the 2008 Microfluidics and Microsystems Education Series.
• View the 2007 Neurotechnology Education Series
• View the 2006 Systems Biology and Bioinformatics Education Series
• View the 2005 Molecular Imaging Education Series
• View the 2004 Biomaterials Education Series
• View the 2003 Nanotechnology Education Series
• View the 2002 Genomics, Proteomics Education Series
• View the 2001 Optical Diagnostics Education Series