Lecture Series

Lecture 27: Embryonic Stem Cells,what are they and what are they good for?

Date & Time: Thursday June 10, 2010 – 7:30 PM

Location: Montgomery Community College (Rockville Campus) – Humanity Building (HU), Conference Room 009 ( Get Directions, Campus Map )

Speaker: Ms. Tahereh Tavakoli

Synopsis:

Embryonic stem (ES) cells are derived from the undifferentiated cells of the inner cell mass (ICM) of a developing embryo. These cells can be grown in culture, have the capacity for virtually unlimited self-renewal and can differentiate under the proper conditions into various tissues such as muscles or nerves. However, the possible differences in proliferation and differentiation capabilities among independently-derived embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are not well-known. Since stem cells are new resource and essential for successful cell replacement therapies; it is also essential to understand how the inherited variation in the sex, stage, quality and genetic background of embryos. Also, the environmental influence such as derivation methods and passage procedures can affect the ability of ES cell lines to self-renew and to differentiate. To address this question, a side-by-side comparison between three hESC lines NIH registered hES cell lines I3 (TE03), I6 (TE06) and BG01V was made under the same culture conditions that may reduce influence from environmental and methodological factors to a minimum level. Then the differences we found between the three cell lines may be due to the genetic variation and epigenetically inherited alterations from previous culture history. 

 
About the Speaker:

Tahereh Tavakoli is a scientist who works for the American Type Culture Collection.  She has a master’s degree in science and she has worked in cell biology, developmental biology and molecular biology. Her main research interests have been focused on developmental biology, particularly in stem cell biology and stem cell-based tissue engineering. Over the last several years she accomplished several major research projects and published several papers such as the Role of ECM in directed neural differentiation of human ES cells, Stem Cell-based neural tissue engineering and the understand of how cells can be structurally organized into a functional tissue, Comparative analysis of proliferation and differentiation capabilities between hES cell lines, and identifying stomral factors such as dopaminergic Neuron in differentiation of human pluripotent stem cell.  She is a member of International Society for Stem Cell Research and neuroscience. During her free time, she reads, swims and hikes.

Fee (including dinner): $5 Students, $15 Public

Lecture 26: Patents/IP, A General Discussion and Introduction

Date & Time: Thursday May 13, 2010 – 7:30 PM

Location: Montgomery Community College (Rockville Campus) – Humanity Building (HU), Conference Room 009 ( Get Directions, Campus Map )

Speaker: Dr. Bijan Tadayon

Synopsis:

We will talk about IP/patents, in general.  We describe the difference between patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets.  We describe different types of patents and claims.  Then, we answer questions from the audience, in an open forum.  The session will be very interactive.

About the Speaker:

Dr. Bijan Tadayon, J.D., is a co-founder of MaxValueIP, LLC, an IP consulting firm, with experience in patent valuation, patent auction, patent pool, patent search, patent prosecution, patent validity, and patent litigation support. Their clients include some of the biggest corporations and some of the best hi-tech startups in the world.

For 5 years, he was the Director of Intellectual Properties for ContentGuard, Inc., a major DRM company, which is a Xerox-PARC spin-off, jointly owned by Microsoft, Time Warner, and Thomson, with Sony as one of the patent licensees. ContentGuard filed about 400 new applications, with 70 issued US and foreign patents, bringing a huge value for its investors.

He was a co-founder of an educational multi-media software company. He worked for the Naval Research Lab for more than 5 years, as a semiconductor researcher. He trained more than 100 patent examiners, while he was a patent examiner (for more than 5 years). He has given many invited technical and IP lectures at the US Patent Office. He was involved in the Patent Office Training Advisory Board. He has expertise in many diverse technical fields (Digital Rights Management (DRM), semiconductors, transistors, software, Internet, security, image processing, telecommunication, and data compression).

He has had about 80 publications and presentations (related to semiconductors and high-speed transistors), many pending or issued US and foreign patents related to Internet security, digital rights management (DRM), and semiconductors. He got his Ph.D. degree from Cornell University (related to semiconductors and circuits, with Prof. Lester Eastman), and in the early 1990s, he and his brother designed and fabricated the fastest GaAs-based Heterojunction Bipolar Transistor (MOCVD-grown) in the world. He got his BS degree in Applied Physics from Cornell, ranking second in his class. He is also a graduate of the Georgetown Law School.

Fee (including dinner): $5 Students, $15 Public

Lecture 25: Particle Accelerators for Discovery Science, Medicine, Energy and Industry

Date & Time: Thursday April 8, 2010 – 7:30 PM

Location: Montgomery Community College (Rockville Campus) – Humanity Building (HU), Conference Room 009 ( Get Directions, Campus Map )

Speaker: Dr. Manouchehr Farkhondeh

Synopsis:
Particle accelerators have been instrumental in discovery science and in establishment of current understan ding of building blocks of universe and material around us.  Basic research with particle accelerators includes elementary particle physics, nuclear, biological and material sciences. Increasingly, particle accelerators are used as important tools for medical diagnostics and treatment including generation of radioisotopes and cancer therapy. In energy sector, it is envisioned that future advanced nuclear reactors may use particle accelerators to minimize  nuclear proliferation threats. Particle accelerators can also be used for reducing nuclear wastes.

An introduction to fundamentals of charge particles and accelerators will be given followed with specific examples of applications of accelerators in discovery sciences. Presentation will also include applications of accelerators in medicine, industrial production, energy and environment.

About the Speaker:
Dr. Manouchehr Farkhondeh received a B.S degree in Physics from Tehran University and a Ph.D. degree in experimental nuclear physics from MIT in 1984. He conducted research for many years in experimental nuclear physics and accelerator science and technology using polarized electron beams from linear accelerators and storage rings.  In 2006, he joined U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Science as a Program Manager for Advanced Technology Research and Development for Office of Nuclear Physics. He is responsible for a portfolio including the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs and Accelerator R&D for the Office of Nuclear Physics.

 

Fee (including dinner): $5 Students, $15 Public