美國留學：耶魯大學將成立生物設(shè)計研究所

耶魯大學最近對外宣稱成立生物設(shè)計研究所,這將充分利用生物學家,工程師和其他學科的研究人員的專業(yè)知識,探討生物和物質(zhì)如何在納米級系統(tǒng)運作,發(fā)揮作用。

james e. rothman,生物醫(yī)學科學研究所的教授,同時也是醫(yī)學院細胞生物學系的主席,被任命為位于西校區(qū)新學院的主任。t. kyle vanderlick,耶魯大學工程和應(yīng)用科學學院院長,將擔任副主任。

按照工程設(shè)計系統(tǒng)的第一原理,到更小尺度,rothman說, 生物學家是逆向的工程師,追求并推導(dǎo)出自然的設(shè)計,在生物學家的思維中,存在逆向的意見交集,相互豐富彼此的內(nèi)容。

該研究所將設(shè)在西校區(qū)b - 24,將新雇用多達10位研究科學家。rothman和vanderlick還將聘請現(xiàn)有跨學科的耶魯大學教師在研究所進行研究。

這項工作將是多樣化的,并且工作的重點是rothman呼吁創(chuàng)造的自然機器。例如,科學家建立納米機器,可以在活細胞內(nèi)發(fā)揮功能,生產(chǎn)新材料,從而協(xié)助組織工程,甚至創(chuàng)造dna機器人來進行編程的任務(wù)。

新學院的建立體現(xiàn)了西校區(qū)成立之初的使命---匯集來自不同背景的科學家,以解決科學的基礎(chǔ)問題, 西校區(qū)規(guī)劃和計劃發(fā)展副校長scott strobe說,研究所將使耶魯成為幾個重要領(lǐng)域的世界領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者,包括發(fā)現(xiàn)研究細胞的納米機器,合成生物學,活性物質(zhì)和動態(tài)光學顯微鏡在納米尺度的生物激勵設(shè)計等。

西校區(qū)將至少擁有5個的跨學科研究機構(gòu)和3個科學技術(shù)的核心研究設(shè)施。西校區(qū)于2007年被并購,校園擁有160萬的科研,辦公和倉庫空間,這些空間為擴大學校的科學,醫(yī)學和工程學研究及其他學術(shù)活動提供了可能的機會。

該生物設(shè)計研究所被高度譽為作為在校園展開跨學科研究工作的標志和極好的例子。

由于工程在醫(yī)學和生命科學的普及,我們希望在大部分的研究所發(fā)揮最關(guān)鍵的作用,vanderlick說。毫無疑問,多學科的孵化器式研究機構(gòu)所帶來的工作環(huán)境類型,可以促使工程業(yè)的蓬勃發(fā)展。

編輯信息來源：耶魯大學官網(wǎng)

the university has announced the creation of the biodesign institute, which will leverage the expertise of biologists, engineers and researchers in other disciplines to explore how living and material systems operate at the nanoscale.
james e. rothman, the fergus f wallace professor of biomedical sciences and chair of the department of cell biology at the school of medicine, has been named director of the new institute, to be located at west campus. t. kyle vanderlick, dean of the yale school of engineering and applied science, will serve as deputy director.

"engineers design systems from first principles, and do so on ever-smaller scales," says rothman. "biologists are reverse engineers, and seek to deduce the design that nature provides. there is a profound intersection between these oppositely-oriented views that enriches both."

the institute, to be housed in the b-24 building at west campus, will be home initially to laboratories of up to 10 newly hired research scientists. a faculty advisory committee will be appointed to help oversee the institute, which is expected to open in early 2012. rothman and vanderlick are also recruiting existing yale faculty across a wide array of disciplines to conduct research at the institute.

the work will be diverse and focus on the creation of what rothman calls "natural machines." for instance, scientists there will help build nano-machines that can function inside living cells, produce new materials that can assist in tissue engineering, or even create dna "robots to carry out programmed tasks.

"the new institute embodies the mission of west campus — to bring together scientists from diverse backgrounds to tackle fundamental issues in science," said scott strobel, vice president for west campus planning and program development. "the institute will position yale to be a world leader in several exciting areas, including the discovery and analysis of cellular nano-machines, synthetic biology, bio-inspired design of active materials and dynamic optical microscopy on the nanoscale."

west campus will host at least five cross-disciplinary institutes and three scientific technology core facilities. acquired in 2007, the campus boasts 1.6 million square feet of research, office and warehouse space that provides opportunities to enhance the universitys science, medicine and engineering research and other academic programs.

the biodesign institute is hailed as an example of cross-disciplinary research efforts that are the hallmark of the campus and its institutes.

"given the pervasiveness of engineering in medicine and the life sciences, we expect to play a critical role in most, if not all, of the institutes," vanderlick says. "without question, the multidisciplinary incubators the institutes provide are the type of working environment in which engineers flourish."