MADISON – Through Lab on a Chip journal, the European-based Royal Society of
Chemistry and Corning Inc. have awarded the first-ever Pioneers of Miniaturization
prize to David J. Beebe, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor of biomedical
engineering.
An award for young to mid-career scientists, the prize recognizes Beebe’s
outstanding contributions to the understanding and development of miniaturized
systems. Beebe, who holds more than 20 patents or patents pending for microfluidic
devices and related applications, received the award in early November at the 10th
International Conference on Miniaturized Systems for Chemistry and Life Sciences in
Tokyo.
Beebe develops and applies microtechnology to solve problems in biology and
medicine. Among his recent projects are a patch for delivering large-molecule drugs
– for example, a time-release overnight dose of insulin for juvenile diabetes
sufferers – and a family of microfluidic-based tools for studying basic cell biology
questions related to cancer, developmental biology and stem cells.
In addition to his patents in microfluidics and miniature systems, Beebe also has
co-founded three biotechnology companies – Vitae LLC, Ratio Inc. and Salus Discovery
LLC – that are commercializing his technologies.
Learn more about Beebe and his work at
http://www.engr.wisc.edu/news/headlines/2005/Sep29_extra.html or
http://www.engr.wisc.edu/news/headlines/2006/Aug02.html.
