Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) 2018 Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering (CMBE) Conference; Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo, Florida; January 2-6, 2018

This award will support travel awards for students, postdoctoral fellows, and independent junior investigators (Rising Stars) for the 2018 Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES)-Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering (CMBE) Conference on January 2-6, 2018. The goal of this meeting is to foster interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary collaboration and to integrate cutting-edge discoveries in mechanobiology across multiple physiological systems and length scales. The meeting is intended to address the key problem of understanding how the field of mechanobiology can continue to transform our understanding of pathophysiology as well as translate new discoveries in ways that ultimately benefit human health. There are two specific aims associated with this meeting: (1) Promote adoption of new technologies and strategies to achieve transformative discoveries in mechanobiology and (2) Facilitate close interaction of junior investigators, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students with leaders in this burgeoning sub-field of CMBE. Twelve graduate students/postdoctoral fellows will be selected by the organizing committee to receive Student/Fellow Awards and present short talks, which will be integrated into the themed sessions. In addition, eight junior, independent faculty investigators will be selected for the special 'Rising Star' awards and session, which will take place on the first day of the meeting in order to showcase their work.

The theme of the 2018 CMBE conference is 'Discovering the Keys: Transformative and Translational Mechanobiology.' It's goal is to broaden the boundaries of our current capabilities in mechanobiology through pursuit of fundamental research, development of novel techniques and biological models, and translation of these discoveries into real-world technology and medical applications. The conference will introduce and integrate a diverse group of engineers and basic scientists possessing clinical and/or entrepreneurial experience. Invited speakers and keynotes have been encouraged to discuss how they bridge the gap between fundamental research and translation in their specific fields. The CMBE field is experiencing exponential growth, with the subfield of mechanobiology being a significant driver. The 2018 Conference will bring together leaders in the field of biology, medicine, and engineering to address how mechanobiology is being applied innovatively in CMBE research and education.