The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering Marks Its First Five Years

This year, the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) celebrated a very successful first 5 years as a congressionally appropriated member institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The mission of the NIBIB, the newest member institute of the NIH, is to improve health by leading the development and accelerating the application of biomedical technologies. The NIBIB was created to provide a home for the discovery of new technologies, new techniques, and new approaches to solving the major challenges that we face in the health care system today. In particular, the Institute focuses on biomedical imaging, bioengineering, and the nexus of the quantitative sciences and the life sciences.

The fifth anniversary celebration

To highlight and celebrate the accomplishments of NIBIB-supported researchers and to inform the public about the present and future impact of technological innovation on health care in the 21st century, NIBIB held a day-long scientific symposium preceded by a kickoff dinner on May 31. Featured speakers at the dinner included former U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher and former U.S. Senator and Apollo astronaut Harrison Schmitt, the last man to have walked on the moon. The occasion also marked the first time that the NIBIB presented its Landmark Achievement Award, which was created to recognize watershed achievements in advancing health care through biomedical technology and to celebrate the scientists who made these contributions to the well-being of mankind. The 2007 award recognized the accomplishments of Paul Lauterbur, 2003 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine. Lauterbur received the Nobel Prize for his discoveries that enabled the development of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The posthumous award was presented to Lauterbur’s widow, M. Joan Dawson, PhD, following Lauterbur’s unexpected death in March 2007.

Advances in biomedical imaging and bioengineering highlighted the daylong symposium, held on June 1 in Bethesda, Maryland. The activities marked an important milestone in the Institute’s history and provided a unique opportunity for stakeholders and fellow scientists to hear and learn from many great minds. The symposium’s theme was “Changing the World’s Health care through Biomedical Technology.” It provided a platform for updating the public on the positive impact that technological innovation is having on health care, while recognizing the remarkable contributions of the physical science community to advancing medicine. In addition, it provided an opportunity for some of these scientists to share the personal stories behind these achievements. The symposium was opened with a stirring presentation by NIH Director Elias Zerhouni, who underscored the critical need for accurate and precisely defined biologic information across all spatial and temporal scales. Douglas Maynard, Stanley Baum, Shu Chien, and Robert Nerem recounted the historic struggle to create the Institute, as well as its achievements over the first 5 years.

Other distinguished speakers included Laser inventor and 1964 Nobel Laureate Charles H. Townes, MRI pioneer Waldo Hinshaw, and Institute of Medicine President Harvey Fineberg. Charles Townes captivated the audience as he recounted his discovery and development of the Laser and its antecedent, the Maser (microwave amplification through stimulated emission of radiation). Waldo Hinshaw delivered a Commemorative Lecture recognizing Lauterbur’s work in MRI and noted that Lauterbur not only contributed to the science of magnetic resonance but also served as its champion. Harvey Fienberg cited the changing landscape of medicine, with the shift from acute to chronic diseases, the emergence of new diseases, and the great expectations for advances toward personalized health care through technological innovation.

Highlighting key technical advances, Anthony Atala, Director of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Wake Forest University; Ralph Weissleder, Director of the Center for Molecular Imaging Research, Harvard Medical School; and Dennis Spencer, Chief of Neurosurgery, Yale University, and his collaborator James Duncan, Chair of the Biomedical Engineering Program at Yale, shared progress in their respective fields. Atala described new methods to successfully engineer hollow organs such as the trachea, vagina, and bladder. Weissleder and his group have developed nanoplatforms able to image multiple biological processes at the cellular level using NMR. Spencer and Duncan’s interdisciplinary team approach has improved epilepsy surgery outcomes and created new techniques to map the brain’s electrical network, investigate brain structure, function, and biochemistry, and present this in an integrated and interactive three-dimensional display to help guide surgery in the operating room.

A common thread throughout the symposium was the importance of integrating ideas across disciplines, a concept commonly known as interdisciplinary science . Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute President Shirley Ann Jackson stressed the importance of introducing interdisciplinary training at the undergraduate level and acknowledged that NIBIB provides a critical linkage between engineering, computer science, and the biological sciences. An important event for the Institute, the symposium highlighted the history, mission, and direction of the Institute and illustrated the outcome of the Institute’s work in leading the development of emerging technologies at the interface of the life and physical sciences.