Over 150 scientists, students and health care professionals from throughout Virginia and as far away as Utah gathered at the Omni Hotel Monday and Tuesday for the Second Annual Conference on the Development of Technology in Medicine in Virginia.
"What we're trying to do is develop an advocacy for biotechnology in Virginia," Conference Coordinator Roberta Nixon said. "We want to encourage collaboration between universities, industry and government."
Faculty from the University, Virginia Tech and Virginia Commonwealth University jointly organized the Conference. Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology, a non-profit corporation whose purpose is to facilitate technology growth in Virginia, also sponsored the Conference.
Conference attendees were from both academia and industry, said Dr. Jen-Shih Lee, University biomedical engineering professor and Conference chair.
The keynote speeches and workshops Monday centered on the importance of cooperation between industry and academia. Topics included "Industry/University Interactions," "Needs and Collaboration Between Industry and Universities," and "Bioengineering Alliance."
Rotunda dinner keynote speaker Dr. John T. Watson, deputy director and head of the bioengineering research group at the National Institutes of Health, also spoke Monday night.
He discussed the future of biomedical engineering and also the need to recall the fundamental purpose of medicine.
"Many of our health care patients don't need a high-tech health care solution. Instead they may need the right solution," he added.
Watson explained in an interview with The Cavalier Daily that all treatments, regardless of price, should be publicized and available so that people from every socioeconomic background can benefit.
Engineering School Dean Richard Miksad also spoke, affirming the University's biomedical engineering program's and the other attending schools' programs' potential for success.
"We believe that the Commonwealth of Virginia will be at the forefront of biotechnology," Miksad said. "We believe we will do great things for the Commonwealth."
Medical School Dean Richard Carey spoke about biomedical engineering's need to provide a tool to comprehend the intricacies of the human body.
"Before we understand the workings of the human genome, we need to understand the complex workings of the proteins, Carey said. "We need biotechnology."
The Conference continued Tuesday with presentations of current medical technology research in areas such as medical imaging, medical devices and biomaterials.
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