FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                               

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center

Communications and Marketing

Sheila Champlin – (901) 448-4957, schampli@uthsc.edu, or

Dena Owens – (901) 448-4072, dowens10@uthsc.edu

 

 

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center Hosts

 

2011 NanoDays Celebration

__________­­­­­­­­___________________________

 

Memphis, Tenn. (March 8, 2011) – On Tuesday, March 29, the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) will host a daylong NanoDays celebration.  NanoDays is an annual nationwide effort to inform and educate communities about the impact of nanoscience, an emerging discipline with the potential to transform society in future decades. 

UTHSC NanoDays will begin with an 8:30 a.m. presentation from Kattesh V. Katti, MSc Ed, PhD, DSC, FRSC, Director of the University of Missouri Cancer Nanotechnology Platform.  Dr. Katti’s keynote speech -- “Green Nanotechnology in Medicine and Engineering” -- will be delivered at the UT Hamilton Eye Institute, Freeman Auditorium, 930 Madison, 3^rd floor.  Following his presentation, a NanoMedicine Symposium will be held in the UTHSC Cancer Research Building, 19 S. Manassas Street from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.  UTHSC NanoDays events are open to the area scientific and research communities.

Nanotechnology focuses on materials or devices that are 1 to100 nanometers (one nanometer is one billionth of a meter).  This technology is now used to develop medical applications such as pregnancy tests, sunscreen lotions and athlete’s foot medications.

The nanoscale consists of particles smaller than cells but larger than atoms.  On the nanoscale, it takes 8,000 nanometers to equal the diameter of one red blood cell.  One human hair on the nanoscale is made up of roughly 50,000 to 100,000 nanometers.  Nanoscale solutions can potentially solve some of the major problems of our time.  To view the nanoscale versus the macro, micro and atomic scales, please visit: www.nisenet.org/sites/default/files_static/size_and_scale/FinalScreenLadder.pdf.

NanoDays outreach events are held nationwide each spring to inform communities about nanoscale science, technology and engineering.  The events involve community-based educational organizations and nanoscience partners.  The annual celebrations are supported by the Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network (www.NISENet.org), a section of the National Science Foundation. 

NanoDays are hosted at UTHSC by Pathology Chair and Professor Charles R. Handorf, MD, PhD, and Anand Kulkarni, MD, assistant professor.  Many scientists and health care professionals believe that nanoscience has yet untapped potential to produce numerous new jobs in the biotechnology field.

In more than 25 years of research work spanning the areas of chemistry, physics, materials science, biomedicine and nanotechnology, Dr. Katti has championed the development of new scientific approaches to minimize the risks of global catastrophic incidents. Dr. Katti has attained global recognition for his pioneering research on “green nanotechnology” as it relates to the development of biocompatible gold and silver nanoparticles.  His latest discovery, which describes the role of plants and plant species for the production of nanoparticles, is directly related to the creation of an important symbiosis between green nanotechnology and nature.  This discovery is cited as the editor’s choice in the October 2008 Issue of the Journal of Science (Volume 322, Number 5899, Issue of 10 October 2008; ©2008 by The American Association for the Advancement of Science).  Dr. Katti is the founding editor of the first International Journal of Green Nanotechnology.

Dr. Katti is a Curator’s Professor of Radiology and Physics, Margaret Proctor Mulligan Distinguished Professor of medical research and a senior research scientist at the University of Missouri Research Reactor.  In addition to being Director of NCI-funded University of Missouri Cancer Nanotechnology Platform, he is the founding Director of the University of Missouri Nanoparticle Production Core Facility.  

He attended Karnatak University, Dharwad, India, for his BS (1977) in chemistry, physics and mathematics and completed a master’s in science education in chemistry from the NCERT’s Regional College of Education, Mysore, India (1979).  He obtained his PhD in 1984 from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India, working in monomeric and polymeric phosphazenes.  In 1985, he was awarded the internationally prestigious fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt foundation Germany for his research work at the University of Gottingen, Germany (1985 -1987). 

Dr. Katti joined the University of Missouri in 1990 and has pioneered the fundamental science toward the design and applications of new hydroxymethyl phosphine chemical frameworks and ligand architectures to stabilize and engineer metals/radiometals and nanometals for biomedical, materials science and catalytic applications.  His discoveries on the development of biocompatible gold and silver nanoparticles for applications in nanomedicine and environmental protection have won him worldwide acclaims.  His latest work on the development of cancer specific hybrid nanoparticles has provided impetus for their utility as cancer therapeutic and X ray contrast agents for CT imaging/ultrasound in early detection and therapy of prostate and breast cancers.

The National Cancer Institute recently awarded Dr. Katti a cancer nanotechnology grant to establish and direct the Cancer Nanotechnology Platform at the University of Missouri with 12 other interdisciplinary faculty.  He has published more than 250 publications in peer-reviewed journals/refereed abstracts/reviews and is a principal inventor on more than 150 patents and invention disclosures in the chemical, biological, optical and nanotechnological aspects of cancer diagnostic/therapeutic agents and sensors.  He has delivered more than 300 invited lectures in some 25 countries.

As the flagship statewide academic health system, the mission of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center is to bring the benefits of the health sciences to the achievement and maintenance of human health, with a focus on the citizens of Tennessee and the region, by pursuing an integrated program of education, research, clinical care, and public service.  In 2011, UT Health Science Center celebrates its centennial: 100 years advancing the future of health care.  Offering a broad range of postgraduate training opportunities, the main UTHSC campus is located in Memphis and includes six colleges: Allied Health Sciences, Dentistry, Graduate Health Sciences, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy.  The UTHSC campus in Knoxville includes a College of Medicine, College of Pharmacy, and an Allied Health Sciences unit.  In addition, the UTHSC Chattanooga campus includes a College of Medicine and an Allied Health Sciences unit.  Since its founding in 1911, UTHSC has educated and trained more than 53,000 health care professionals on campuses and in health care facilities across the state.  For more information, visit www.uthsc.edu.

###