Construction and Single Molecule Analysis of phi29 DNA-Packaging Motor for Applications in Nanotechnology and Delivery of Therapeutics

DATE: Thursday, March 26, 2009
PLACE : Raffel’s – 10160 Reading Road (see below for directions)
TIME : 5:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. –  Social Time
            6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. –  Dinner
            7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. –  Presentation
 
COST FOR DINNER:  $10.00 per person – REGARDLESS OF MEMBERSHIP OR MEMBERSHIP GRADE!

NOTE:  DINNERS ARE ALWAYS OPTIONAL – YOU MAY ATTEND THE PROGRAM ONLY. 

ABOUT THE MEETING:  Our speaker this month, Dr. Peixuan Guo, received his Ph.D. from University of Minnesota in 1987.  After completing his postdoctoral training at NIH, he joined Purdue University in 1990, was tenured in 1993, became a full Professor of Molecular Virology in 1997, and was honored as Purdue Faculty Scholar in 1998.  Currently, he is Dane and Mary Louise Miller Endowed Chair in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Cincinnati and the Director of one NIH Nanomedicine Development Center (NDC). He constructed the phi29 DNA packaging motor (PNAS, 1986), discovered the motor pRNA (Science, 1987), elucidated the formation of the pRNA hexamer (Molecular Cell, 1998), and pioneered the RNA nanotechnology (Nano Letters, 2004, 2005).  His recent contribution is the use of phi29 pRNA as a polyvalent vector for siRNA or drug delivery to specific cancer or viral infected cells.  His laboratory has assembled a customized dual viewing system to detect single-fluorophores (EMBOJ, 2007; RNA, 2007).  Dr. Guo received the Pfizer Distinguished Faculty Award in 1995, the Purdue Faculty Scholar award in 1998, the Seed Award in 2004, 2005, and 2007, and the Lions Club Cancer Research Award in 2006.  Dr. Guo was also selected by Foresight Nanotech Institute as one of the Finalist for a Feynman Prize in 2005.  He is an editor/editorial board member of four nanotech journals.  His work has been reported hundreds of times over the radio, TV (such as ABC, NBC, and WLFI), and as well as important websites including NCI, NIH, NSF, MSNBC, and Science. He was a member of two prominent national nanotechnology initiatives sponsored by NIST, NIH, NSF, and the National Council of Nanotechnology. Currently, Dr. Guo is a member of the NIH steering committee for the eight Nanomedicine Development Centers located throughout the US.  You can learn more about Dr. Guo’s scientific research at:
http://www.eng.uc.edu/nanomedicine/peixuanguo.html
http://www.eng.uc.edu/nanomedicine/

MENU SELECTIONS:   Stuffed Pasta Shells, BBQ’d Ribs, Marinated Char-Grilled Chicken Breast, Au Gratin Potatoes, Buttered Corn, Cole Slaw, Tossed Salad, Dinner Rolls and Butter, Assorted Cheese & Fruit Filled Tarts, Coffee, Tea, Iced Tea, Soft Drinks. There is also a bar available for the purchase of alcoholic drinks.

LOCATION:  Raffel’s is located at 10160 Reading Road, south of Glendale-Milford Road on the east side of Reading. Take I-75 to the Glendale-Milford Rd. Exit, go east on Glendale-Milford Road approximately ¾ of a mile to Reading Rd. and turn right on Reading.

RESERVATIONS:  Please email Fred Nadeau for reservations at mailto:fnadeau1@earthlink.net (preferred) or call the Section Voice Mail at 513-629-9380 by Noon, Tuesday, March 24, 2009 if you plan to attend. Please leave your Name, IEEE Member Number, and a daytime telephone number.

PE CREDITS: Depending on the subject matter, attendance at IEEE Cincinnati Section Meetings now qualifies the attendee for Professional Development Hours towards renewal of Professional Engineers Licenses. Required documentation will be available following the meeting!  The Section Meetings also provide a great opportunity to network with fellow engineers in the area.