Schedule
January 14 - The Structure and Dynamics of the 2008 Presidential Election
Charles Franklin, Professor - Law School, Political Science
January 21 - Growing Tissue in the Laboratory - Tissue Engineering based Orthopedic Regenerative Medicine
Wan-ju Li, Assistant Professor - Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation and the Department of Biomedical Engineering
Annually, millions of Americans suffer tissue loss or end-stage organ failure at a health care cost exceeding $400 billion, representing nearly one-half of all medical related costs in the United States. Tissue engineering has emerged as a promising alternative for the reconstitution of lost or damaged organs and tissues, circumventing the secondary complications associated with autografts, allografts, and alloplasts. Tissue engineering strategy typically requires some sort of carrier in the form of a biomaterial scaffold to guide the delivery of cells, inductive agents, or a combination of the two to the area of interest. In the same capacity, this biomaterial scaffold can also facilitate the growth and regeneration of new tissue. Particularly, nanofibrous scaffolds produced by electrospinning serve as a three-dimensional matrix for in vitro culture or function as a template to recruit surrounding host cells to conduct the repair process. The feature of morphological similarity to natural extracellular matrix makes nanofibrous scaffolds a favorable scaffold for tissue engineering. For orthopedic applications, bone and cartilage now can be tissue-engineered in the laboratory using the nanofiber and stem cell technologies. The promising experimental results show that the regenerative musculoskeletal tissues are morphologically, genetically, and biochemically similar to the native tissues and may be used clinically to treat orthopedic problems in the near future.
Annually, millions of Americans suffer tissue loss or end-stage organ failure at a health care cost exceeding $400 billion, representing nearly one-half of all medical related costs in the United States. Tissue engineering has emerged as a promising alternative for the reconstitution of lost or damaged organs and tissues, circumventing the secondary complications associated with autografts, allografts, and alloplasts. Tissue engineering strategy typically requires some sort of carrier in the form of a biomaterial scaffold to guide the delivery of cells, inductive agents, or a combination of the two to the area of interest. In the same capacity, this biomaterial scaffold can also facilitate the growth and regeneration of new tissue. Particularly, nanofibrous scaffolds produced by electrospinning serve as a three-dimensional matrix for in vitro culture or function as a template to recruit surrounding host cells to conduct the repair process. The feature of morphological similarity to natural extracellular matrix makes nanofibrous scaffolds a favorable scaffold for tissue engineering. For orthopedic applications, bone and cartilage now can be tissue-engineered in the laboratory using the nanofiber and stem cell technologies. The promising experimental results show that the regenerative musculoskeletal tissues are morphologically, genetically, and biochemically similar to the native tissues and may be used clinically to treat orthopedic problems in the near future.
January 28 - Wildlife Disease and Why You Should Care
Milt Friend, Emeritus Scientist - National Wildlife Center, Professor - Animal Health and Biomedical Sciences
Cris Marsh, Content Manager - NBII-Wildlife Disease Information Node
Infectious disease emergence and resurgence has been a hallmark of the later part of this 21st century. This global wave of disease has carried into the 21st century and its undertow is imposing high costs for society. Wildlife are prominent as the origin for the majority of emerging and resurging infectious diseases of humans themselves being impacted at unprecedented levels. Created in January 1975, Madison's National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) is at the forefront of wildlife disease investigation and education relative to disease events and their management. This presentation highlights biological and other impacts for society associated with wildlife disease and adjustments needed if society is to dampen the global wave of infectious disease. In the presentation conclusion, an overview will be provided describing where more information can be found on the topic of wildlife disease through the Wildlife Disease Information Node (WDIN), an active partner with the Center.
Cris Marsh, Content Manager - NBII-Wildlife Disease Information Node
Infectious disease emergence and resurgence has been a hallmark of the later part of this 21st century. This global wave of disease has carried into the 21st century and its undertow is imposing high costs for society. Wildlife are prominent as the origin for the majority of emerging and resurging infectious diseases of humans themselves being impacted at unprecedented levels. Created in January 1975, Madison's National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) is at the forefront of wildlife disease investigation and education relative to disease events and their management. This presentation highlights biological and other impacts for society associated with wildlife disease and adjustments needed if society is to dampen the global wave of infectious disease. In the presentation conclusion, an overview will be provided describing where more information can be found on the topic of wildlife disease through the Wildlife Disease Information Node (WDIN), an active partner with the Center.
February 11 - Wisconsin Newborn Screening Program: Starting Babies Out on the Right Foot
The Wisconsin Newborn Screening Program tests every baby born in Wisconsin for 47 heritable disorders. These disorders if not detected in the first couple of days of life cause very severe medical complications that include mental retardation, neurological damage, or even early death. Early detection and treatment can save these affected children so they can lead healthy and productive lives. The testing begins at the hospital when a blood sample is collected before discharge. The sample is then sent to the State Laboratory of Hygiene on the UW campus, the testing is performed within 48 hours and the doctor is immediately notified of any abnormal findings. This presentation will focus on the history of newborn screening, the disorders that are screened, the laboratory technology and the screening results.
February 18 - Building a Better Environment by Doing Things “Porely”
Our program focuses its attention on the production and use of micro and nanoporous materials for a variety of environmentally friendly applications. This talk is divided into the material science of building nanoporous materials and to their practical use in environmental technologies - especially those focusing on photocatalytic and electrochemical applications. The first part of the talk will be devoted to the sol-gel chemistry of producing nanoparticles and getting them into a given form-factors which is dictated by given applications. The various physical chemical steps in the sol-gel process are discussed: sol-preparation, coating, gelation, drying and final firing of the materials. Some interesting optical and physical properties of nanoparticles and their aggregates are discussed. The second and larger portion of the talk will touch on a variety of environmental technologies but with particular attention devoted to the use of with these nanoparticulate films in photo-catalytic air treatment, self-cleaning windows, ultra capacitors, and electronic water treatment systems.
Events Coming Up
- Online Marathon Training - January 20
- Passport Series: French Language and Culture - February 3
- Campus Founders Day: The Press and Politics since 1960 - February 5
- Online Course: German-American Heritage - February 16
