New Jersey Entrepreneur

New Jersey’s biomedical engineering community will come together on March 13 for the sixth annual statewide BioMedical Engineering showcase. The showcase is a joint effort by New Jersey’s research universities in partnership with state trade and industry associations. The day-long program will include scientific keynote presentations and business discussions on technology commercialization, New Jersey State support for the Bio/Life Sciences Cluster and success stories on translational research. There will be displays of student research posters, and an exhibit area where companies can present products and services, recruit new employees and network with colleagues.

This year the conference will be held at the NJIT campus in Newark. The theme of the showcase is "Explore the Leading Edge of the Biomedical Frontier: Neuroengineering, Imaging, Assistive Technologies".

Neural engineering is recognized as one of the premiere growth areas of the 21st century. The cross disciplinary field draws on engineering, biology, mathematical and clinical fields and encompasses several research areas, including basic research on the nervous system, development and application of specialized technologies for medical diagnosis and treatment of nervous system disorders, and rehabilitation applications to improve recovery from stroke and other neurological disorders.

Scientific presentations at the showcase will include work currently being done at NJIT, Princeton University, and Rutgers University. Several panel discussions are also planned. A panel of industry experts and clinicians will discuss "A Clinical Perspective - New Advances in Neurosurgery /Imaging." Also, a representative of the White Rose Health Innovation Partnership will discuss work that is taking place at the University of York in the United Kingdom. The White Rose University Consortium (the Universities of Leeds, Sheffield and York), together with the University of Bradford, two of the UK’s largest Hospital Trusts, global companies and university partners in New Jersey, have established the White Rose Health Innovation Partnership to provide a framework to dramatically accelerate innovation in technologies, methodologies and practices within the medical and healthcare sector. The project unifies commercialization processes that currently operate in three separate areas (clinical, industrial and academic) into a coherent supply chain to improve innovation throughout the Health Service. NJIT, Princeton, Rutgers and UMDNJ participated in the project, exploring similarities and differences in models of technology commercialization and participating in several proof of concept development projects.

The BME showcase gives start up companies an opportunity to explore technologies developed at New Jersey universities and look for development partners. As a result of participation in a previous BME showcase , one company, a participant at the NJIT high technology incubator the EDC, found a research partner at the university and is now pursuing a licensing and technology commercialization strategy. By collaborating with an academic partner the company was able to advance its base product.

The BME showcase has grown over the years to be one of the key events for the bio-medical community says Judith Sheft, associate vice president of Technology Development for the New Jersey Institute of Technology. "We have had excellent participation from academic, industry and government sectors. Venture capitalists and angel investors come to get an early look at university and start company technology. Students present a wide range of research topics in the poster sessions and have the opportunity to speak with companies that are especially interested in hiring BME engineers. A group of BME alums will also be on hand to speak with students about careers and answer questions. Based on the quality of the program in prior years we had student participation from the Mid Atlantic region and the Midwest."

This year the showcase will also explore the question of funding for translational research work. Various NJ state agencies that fund research projects – the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology, the New Jersey Commission on Brain Injury Research and the New Jersey Commission on Spinal Cord Research will participate in the discussion. For more information on the conference and to register as an attendee or exhibitor please visit the showcase web site http://bmeshowcase.njit.edu or contact Judith Sheft, associate vice president technology development, NJIT 973-596-5825 sheft@njit.edu.