FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE.

                                               

For more information, contact:

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center

Communications and Marketing

Anne W. Manning – (901) 448-4072

Sheila Champlin – (901) 448-4957

Memphis BioImaging Symposium

Draws Internationally Recognized Experts

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            Memphis, Tenn. (October 11, 2007) – World-renowned experts in the major fields of medical imaging will gather at the Fogelman Executive Conference Center at the University of Memphis for the Fourth Annual Memphis BioImaging Symposium (MemBIS) on Thursday evening, November 1, and  all day Friday, November 2. 

The event kicks off at 6 p.m. Thursday with an introduction to the Cancer Biomedical Informatics Grid by Eliot Siegel, MD, professor of radiology at the University of Maryland and the VA Maryland Health Care System.  A reception will follow featuring research posters and commercial exhibits.

Highlighting Friday’s all-day symposium will be presentations on Imaging Informatics trends from Steven Horii, MD, professor of radiology and clinical director of Medical Informatics at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, as well as Paul Chang, MD, professor and vice chairman, Radiology Informatics, and medical director Pathology Informatics at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine.

Experts from Johns Hopkins University, the University of Toronto, Northwestern University, Harvard Medical School and GE Healthcare will round out Friday’s program with presentations on the latest in high-tech bioimaging.

Chair of the symposium, M. Waleed Gaber, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, said, “Drs. Horii and Chang head the bill of a prestigious group of scientists we’ve attracted for our fourth annual conference. This event has now reached the status of a world-class event in the medical imaging field.”

“Every year since its inception, MemBIS has grown, attracting the top leaders in an increasingly critical medical field.  With that growth, Memphis also has gained a reputation as a major center for bioimaging development and training in the United States,” said Steven J. Bares, PhD, president and executive director of the Memphis Bioworks™ Foundation and symposium co-chairman.

Luminetx, GE Healthcare and Siemens lead the list of sponsors for the 2007 symposium, which also includes Hologic, Emageon, MedImage Systems, Inc., Medtronic, St. Francis Hospital, Smith & Nephew and Vital Images.  Additional conference funding has been provided by the National Cancer Institute.

An agenda and further details can be found at www.MemBIS.org and on-site registration will be accepted.

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the University of Memphis and the Memphis Bioworks Foundation are co-hosts for the symposium.

Attendees can earn a maximum of 8.25 AMA PRA Category 1 credit(s).

As the flagship statewide academic health system, the University of Tennessee Health Science Center is focused on a four-tier mission of education, research, clinical care and public service, all in support of a single goal: to improve the health of Tennesseans.  Offering a broad range of postgraduate training opportunities, the main campus, which includes six colleges, is located in Memphis.  UTHSC has additional College of Medicine and College of Pharmacy campuses in Knoxville and a College of Medicine campus in Chattanooga.  For more information, visit www.uthsc.edu.

The Memphis Bioworks Foundation, a not-for-profit organization, was formed to establish the Memphis region as an internationally recognized center for biomedical technology through education, research, job training, and commercialization.  The Foundation also is developing the UT-Baptist Research Park, which serves as the focal point of the city’s biomedical economic development.  For more information, visit www.memphisbioworks.org.

 

 

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