| January 5, 2001
B.E.N.@Penn Links
Researchers across Disciplines
See the New Face of Biomedicine at: www.upenn.edu/ben-penn
(Philadelphia, PA) - The
links between researchers on Penn's campus have just
become a little more visible with the launch of B.E.N.@Penn,
the Web site for the Biological Engineering Network
(B.E.N.) at the University of Pennsylvania. The site,
based on a server at the Institute for Medicine and
Engineering (IME), a B.E.N. member, connects researchers
and clinicians at the University of Pennsylvania School
of Medicine with researchers at Penn's schools of Engineering
and Arts and Sciences.
The site gives a public face to the interdisciplinary
infrastructure already in place and operating on the
Penn campus. This perspective promotes the interactions
of biomedical researchers, such as engineers, physicists,
and chemists, to provide fresh insight into some of
the most intractable problems in the life sciences.
B.E.N.@PENN serves as a gateway to centralized information
on interdisciplinary research, training, and education,
where researchers can keep each other appraised of their
work, and inspire further research and collaboration.
"B.E.N.@PENN describes, in a real way, how truly interconnected
the life sciences and the physical sciences are," said
Professor of Pathology Peter F. Davies, PhD, IME Director
and lead coordinator for B.E.N.@PENN. "Through these
efforts, we're building a new way of looking at the
biology of living organisms - from the molecular level
upward."
According to Davies, the ongoing scientific investigations
are of an immense scope. They range from manipulations
of single proteins to tissue engineering, via areas
as diverse as structural biology, quantitative genomics,
condensed matter physics, and material sciences. The
research also goes beyond the laboratory to the operating
room and clinical practice, as network members delve
into new materials and systems for developing cutting
edge techniques, such as minimally invasive surgery,
medical imaging, and advanced prosthetics.
"We are making leaps in biomedical research that we
did not even think possible 20, even 10, years ago,"
said Davies. "And this is entirely due to the collaborative
efforts of individuals from traditionally separate areas
of research."
In a sense, B.E.N.@PENN is a meta-network that has
brought together the shared goals and practices of an
array of different efforts at the crossroads of the
life and physical sciences. "We are all on the same
campus," said Davies, "so we are fortunate to have an
incredible resource - each other - and our facilities
are all within walking distance of one another."
A decade ago, Penn recognized the potential for interdisciplinary
research and led the nation by establishing major interdisciplinary
resources on a single urban campus. As one of the first
universities in America to seek the interdisciplinary
approach, Penn's efforts have had a lasting impact on
how academic researchers study biomedicine, and today's
interdisciplinary frontier is recognized as the mainstream
of the future with quantitative sciences fully integrated
into biomedicine. The research investment has continued
to be successful - B.E.N.@PENN members have annual grant
revenue in excess of $100 million.
B.E.N@ PENN members include: Institute for Medicine
and Engineering, Department of Bioengineering, Center
for Bioinformatics, Center for Human Modeling and Simulation,
Institute for Environmental Medicine, Johnson Research
Foundation, Laboratory for Research on the Structure
of Matter, Pennsylvania Muscle Institute, TraumaLink,
Central Nervous Systems Injury Laboratory, Neuroengineering
Research Laboratory, The McKay Orthopaedic Research
Laboratory, Pennsylvania Regional Laser and Biotechnology
Laboratories, Center for Minimally Invasive Therapy,
Center for Health Informatics at Penn, Department of
Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Department of Physics,
and the Department of Cardiology at the Children's Hospital
of Philadelphia. In addition, B.E.N.@PENN members have
ties to, and collaborate extensively with, many other
departments, centers, and institutes throughout Penn.
Editors Note: Explore the site, at
www.upenn.edu/ben-penn/
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