New Innovations in Medical Robotics
MIT Enterprise Forum of Texas Flagship Event The Methodist Hospital Research Institute
With Special Guest from NASA Johnson Space Center
June 13, 2012 5:15 PM – 8:30 PM Networking with hors d'oeuvres at 5:15-6PM. Program starts at 6PM
The Methodist Hospital Research Institute Auditorium (2nd Floor)
6670 Bertner Ave, Houston, TX 77030
Abstract
New innovations in robotic technologies are making it possible for surgical procedures and medical treatments to be less invasive and more precise for patients and may be controlled remotely by the operator for execution in extreme environments. In addition to performing routine abdominal procedures, research in robotics is making it possible for paralyzed patients to walk and making cardiovascular operations more precise and efficient. These new technologies also show great potential as new ventures for commercialization. Join the MIT Enterprise Forum of Texas in introducing The Methodist Hospital Research Institute’s new Surgical Robotics Institute and hear about technologies developed at Johnson Space Center’s Robonaut Project with ready medical applications.
Moderator
Mauro Ferrari
Mauro Ferrari, Ph.D., President and CEO
The Methodist Hospital Research Institute
Panelists
Barbara Bass Tim Boone M. Valderrabano J. L. Contreras-Vidal Myron Diftler
Barbara Bass, M.D., Chair of Surgery and Founder
Methodist Institute for Technology, Innovation and Education
Tim Boone, M.D., Ph.D., Chairman, The Methodist Hospital Dept. of Urology The Methodist Hospital Research Institute.
Robotic Surgery: A Revolution in Urology
Miguel Valderrabano, M.D., Chief, Division of Cardiac Electrophysiology The Methodist Hospital
Interventional Cardiology
Dr. Jose L. (Pepe) Contreras-Vidal, Electrical and Computer Engineering Department University of Houston
NeuroRex lower-limb smart Exoskeleton (Recently featured in The Economist)
Myron Diftler, Ph.D., Robonaut Project Manager NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston
A Dexterous Humanoid Robot for Space and Terrestrial Applications
Registration and Fee
$15 Students and Medical Residents $20 MITEF Members, South Texas MIT alumni club $20 Members and employees of The Methodist Hospital and TMHRI $30 General Admission $40 For any registrants after 5PM June 11 and walkups. For more information call Dale Wilkins 713.839.0808, [email protected] Media contact: David Bricker, Methodist Hospital Public Relations, 832.667.5811, [email protected]
Click here to REGISTER
Map of The Methodist Hospital Research Institute and suggested parking areas
Please use McGovern Commons Parking Garage or the Parking Garage 7
EVENT SPONSORS
Biography of the Moderator and Speakers
Mauro Ferrari, Ph.D.
Mauro Ferrari, Ph.D.
President and CEO
Ernest Cockrell Jr. Distinguished Endowed Chair
The Methodist Hospital Research Institute
President
The Alliance for NanoHealth
Education
Dottore Mathematics, Universita' di Padova, Italy
Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley
Biography
Dr. Ferrari serves as President and CEO of The Methodist Hospital Research Institute, where
he holds the Ernest Cockrell Jr. Distinguished Endowed Chair, and is President of The
Alliance for NanoHealth in Houston.
Dr. Mauro Ferrari is a founder of biomedical nano/micro-technology, especially in their
applications to drug delivery, cell transplantation, implantable bioreactors, and other
innovative therapeutic modalities. In these fields, he has published more than 200 peer-
reviewed journal articles and six books. He is the inventor of more than 30 issued patents,
with about thirty more pending in the US and internationally. His contributions have been
recognized by a variety of accolades, including: the Presidential Young Investigator Award
of the National Science Foundation; the Shannon Director's Award of the National Institutes
of Health; the Wallace H. Coulter Award for Biomedical Innovation and Entrepreneurship;
and the Italiani nel Mondo Award from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His career
research and development portfolio totals over $50 million, including support from the NCI,
NIH, DoD, NASA, NSF, DARPA, DoE, the State of Texas, and the State of Ohio, The Ohio
State University, and several private enterprises. He began his academic career at the
University of California, Berkeley, where he tenured in Material Science, Civil Engineering,
and Bioengineering. Upon recruitment to the Ohio State University, he served as the Edgar
Hendrickson Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Professor of Internal Medicine,
Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science and Associate Vice President, Health Sciences
Technology and Commercialization, Associate Director of the Dorothy M. Davis Heart and
Lung Research Institute and Director of the Biomedical Engineering Center. Upon
recruitment to Houston, he served as Professor and Chair of the Department of
Nanomedicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center.
Dr. Ferrari also served as Special Expert on Nanotechnology at the National Cancer Institute
in 2003-2005, providing leadership into the formulation, refinement, and approval of the
NCI's Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer, currently the world's largest program in
medical nanotechnology.
Dr. Ferrari's degrees are in Mathematics (Padova, 1985, Italy), and Mechanical Engineering
(U.C. Berkeley, M.S. 1987, & Ph.D. 1989). He attended medical school at the Ohio State
University (2002-03).
Dr. Ferrari is an academic- entrepreneur, with several companies that originated from his
laboratory. He currently serves on the Board of Director three companies: Nanomedical
Systems of Austin TX; Leonardo Biosystems of Houston TX, and NASDAQ-traded
Arrowhead Research Corporation (NASDAQ:ARWR).
Research Interests
• Nanomedicine for oncology, traumatic injury, cardiovascular disease, infectious
pathologies, and diabetes
• Nanofluidics
• Biomedical Microtechnology (BioMEMS)
• Drug delivery
• Proteomics and peptidomics for early detection and therapeutic monitoring
• Cell transplantation, regenerative medicine, and tissue engineering
• Biosensors and bioseparation technology
• Multiscale discrete/continuum mechanics and biomechanics
• Bioethics
Major Areas of Research
Nanotechnology, Biomechanics, Microtechnology, Bioengineering, Biomaterials
Links
The Alliance for NanoHealth
Discovery Health: Nanotechnology-Enabled Medicine
National Cancer Institute Physical Sciences in Oncology
Recent Publications
de Ven AL, Mack A, Dunner K Jr, Ferrari M, Serda RE.Preparation, characterization, and
cellular associations of silicon logic-embedded vectors.Methods Enzymol. 2012;508:1-16.
PMID: 22449918
van de Ven AL, Kim P, Haley O, Fakhoury JR, Adriani G, Schmulen J, Moloney P, Hussain
F, Ferrari M, Liu X, Yun SH, Decuzzi P.Rapid tumoritropic accumulation of systemically
injected plateloid particles and their biodistribution.J Control Release. 2012 Feb
28;158(1):148-55. PMID: 22062689
Blanco E, Hsiao A, Ruiz-Esparza GU, Landry MG, Meric-Bernstam F, Ferrari M. Molecular-
targeted nanotherapies in cancer: enabling treatment specificity.Mol Oncol. 2011
Dec;5(6):492-503. PMID: 22071376
Grattoni A, Fine D, Zabre E, Ziemys A, Gill J, Mackeyev Y, Cheney MA, Danila DC, Hosali
S, Wilson LJ, Hussain F, Ferrari M. Gated and near-surface diffusion of charged fullerenes in
nanochannels. ACS Nano. 2011 Dec 27;5(12):9382-91. PMID: 22032773
Godin B, Tasciotti E, Liu X, Serda RE, Ferrari M. Multistage nanovectors: from concept to
novel imaging contrast agents and therapeutics. Acc Chem Res. 2011 Oct 18;44(10):979-89.
PMID: 21902173
Mann AP, Tanaka T, Somasunderam A, Liu X, Gorenstein DG, Ferrari M. E-selectin-
targeted porous silicon particle for nanoparticle delivery to the bone marrow. Adv Mater.
2011 Sep 22;23(36):H278-82. doi: 10.1002/adma.201101541. PMID: 21833996
Fine D, Grattoni A, Zabre E, Hussein F, Ferrari M, Liu X. A low-voltage electrokinetic
nanochannel drug delivery system. Lab Chip. 2011 Aug 7;11(15):2526-34. PMID: 21677944
Fan D, De Rosa E, Murphy M, Peng Y, Smid C, Chiappini C, Liu X, Simmons P, Weiner D,
Tasciotti E, Ferrari M. Mesoporous silicon-PLGA composite microspheres for the double
controlled release of biomolecules for orthopedic tissue engineering. Adv Functional Mat.
Accepted 2011 Jul 20.
Ranganathan SI, Ostoja-Starzewski M, Ferrari M. Quantifying the anisotropy in biological
materials. ASME J Appl Mech. 2011 Nov;78:064501-064504.
doi: 10.1115/1.4004553
Gentile F, Sakamoto J, Righetti R, Decuzzi P, Ferrari M. A doublet mechanics model for the
ultrasound characterization of malignant tissues. J Biomed Sci Eng. 2011;4:362-374.
doi:10.4236/jbise.2011.45046.
Murphy MB, Blashki D, Buchanan R, Dongmei F, De Rosa E, Shah R, Stupp S, Weiner B,
Simmons P, Ferrari M, Tasciotti E. Multi-composite bioactive osteogenic sponges featuring
mesenchymal stem cells, platelet-rich plasma, nanoporous silicon enclosures, and peptide
amphiphiles for rapid bone regeneration. J Funct Biomater. 2011;2:39-66. doi:
10.3390/jfb2202003.
De Rosa E, Chiappini C, Fan D, Liu X, Ferrari M, Tasciotti E. Agarose Surface Coating
Influences Intracellular Accumulation and Enhances Payload Stability of a Nano-delivery
System. Pharm Res. 2011 May 24. PMID: 21607779
Grattoni A, Gill J, Zabre E, Fine D, Hussain F, Ferrari M.
Device for rapid and agile measurement of diffusivity in micro- and nanochannels. Anal
Chem. 2011 Apr 15;83(8):3096-103. Epub 2011 Mar 24. PMID: 21434670
Refuerzo JS, Godin B, Bishop K, Srinivasan S, Shah SK, Amra S, Ramin SM, Ferrari M.
Size of the nanovectors determines the transplacental passage in pregnancy: study in rats. Am
J Obstet Gynecol. 2011 Apr 7. PMID: 21481834
Hu Y, Gopal A, Lin K, Peng Y, Tasciotti E, Zhang XJ, Ferrari M. Microfluidic enrichment of
small proteins from complex biological mixture on nanoporous silica chip. Biomicrofluidics.
2011 Mar 30;5(1):13410. PMID: 21522500
Blanco E, Hsiao A, Mann AP, Landry MG, Meric-Bernstam F, Ferrari M. Nanomedicine in
cancer therapy: Innovative trends and prospects. Cancer Sci. 2011 Mar 29. PMID: 21447010
Tasciotti E, Godin B, Martinez JO, Chiappini C, Bhavane R, Liu X, Ferrari M. Near-infrared
imaging method for the in vivo assessment of the biodistribution of nanoporous silicon
particles. Mol Imaging. 2011 Feb;10(1):56-68. PMID: 21303615
Lee SY, Zaske AM, Novellino T, Danila D, Ferrari M, Conyers J, Decuzzi P. Probing the
mechanical properties of TNF-α stimulated endothelial cell with atomic force microscopy.
Int J Nanomedicine. 2011;6:179-95. Epub 2011 Jan 24. PMID: 21499414
Tanaka T, Godin B, Bhavane R, Nieves-Alicea R, Gu J, Liu X, Chiappini C, Fakhoury JR,
Amra S, Ewing A, Li Q, Fidler IJ, Ferrari M. In vivo evaluation of safety of nanoporous
silicon carriers following single and multiple dose intravenous administrations in mice. Int J
Pharm. 2010 Dec 15;402(1-2):190-197. PMID: 20883755
Serda RE, Mack A, van de Ven AL, Ferrati S, Dunner K Jr, Godin B, Chiappini C, Landry
M, Brousseau L, Liu X, Bean AJ, Ferrari M. Logic-embedded vectors for intracellular
partitioning, endosomal escape, and exocytosis of nanoparticles. Small. 2010 Dec 6;
6(23):2691-2700. PMID: 20957619
Fine D, Grattoni A, Hosali S, Ziemys A, De Rosa E, Gill J, Medema R, Hudson L, Kojic M,
Milosevic M, Brousseau L, III, Goodall R, Ferrari M, Liu X. A robust nanofluidic membrane
with tunable zero-order release for implantable dose specific drug delivery. Lab Chip. 2010
Nov 21;10(22):3074-3083. PMID: 20697650
Ananta JS, Godin B, Sethi R, Moriggi L, Liu X, Serda RE, Krishnamurthy R, Muthupillai R,
Bolskar RD, Helm L, Ferrari M, Wilson LJ, Decuzzi P. Geometrical confinement of
gadolinium-based contrast agents in nanoporous particles enhances T1 contrast. Nat
Nanotechnol. 2010 Nov;5(11):815-21. PMID: 20972435
Ziemys A, Grattoni A, Fine D, Hussain F, Ferrari M. Confinement effects on
monosaccharide transport in nanochannels. [cover] J Phys Chem B. 2010;114(34):11117-
11126.
Hu Y, Peng Y, Brousseau L, Bouamrani A, Liu X, Ferrari M. Nanotexture optimization by
oxygen plasma of mesoporous silica thin film for enrichment of low molecular weight
peptides captured from human serum. Sci China B. 2010;53(11):1-8.
Godin B, Driessen WH, Proneth B, Lee S-Y, Srinivasan S, Rumbaut R, Arap W, Pasqualini
R, Ferrari M, Decuzzi P. An integrated approach for the rational design of nanovectors for
biomedical imaging and therapy. [Invited] Adv Genet. 2010;69:31-64. PMID: 20807601
Somasunderam A, Thiviyanathan V, Tanaka T, Li X, Neerathilingam M, Lokesh G, Mann A,
Peng Y, Ferrari M, Kostergaard J, Gorenstein DG. Combinatorial selection of DNA
thioaptamers targeted to the HA binding doman of human CD44. Biochemistry. 2010 Oct
26;49(42):9106-9112. PMID: 20843027
Blinka E, Loeffler K, Hu Y, Gopal A, Hoshino K, Lin K, Liu X, Ferrari M, Zhang JXJ.
Enhanced microcontact printing of proteins on nanoporous silica surface. Nanotechnology.
2010 Oct 15;21(41):415302. PMID: 20834118
Mann AP, Somasunderam A, Nieves-Alicea R, Li X, Hu A, Sod AK, Ferrari M, Gorenstein
DG, Tanaka T. Identification of thioaptamer ligand against E-selectin: Potential application
for inflamed vasculature targeting. PLoS One. 2010 Sep 30;5(9). pii: e13050. PMID:
20927342
Godin B, Gu J, Serda RE, Bhavane R, Tasciotti E, Chiappini C, Liu X, Tanaka T, Decuzzi P,
Ferrari M. Tailoring the degradation kinetics of mesoporous silicon structures through
PEGylation. J Biomed Mater Res A. 2010 Sep 15;94(4):1236-1243. PMID: 20694990
Ferrari M. Vectoring siRNA therapeutics into the clinic. [news] Nat Rev Clin Oncol.
2010;7(9):485-486. PMID: 20798696
Parmar BJ, Longsine W, Sabonghy EP, Han A, Tasciotti E, Weiner BK, Ferrari M, Righetti
R. Characterization of controlled bone defects using 2D and 3D ultrasound imaging
techniques. Phys Med Biol. 2010 Aug 21;55(16):4839-4859. PMID 20679698
Klopp AH, Lacerda L, Gupta A, Debeb BG, Solley T, Li L, Spaeth E, Xu W, Zhang X,
Lewis MT, Reuben JM, Krishnamurthy S, Ferrari M, Gaspar R, Buchholz TA, Crisofanilli
M, Marini F, Andreeff M, Woodward WA. Mesencymal stem cells promote mammosphere
formation and decrease E-cadherin in normal and malignant breast cells. PLoS One. 2010
Aug 16.doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0012180
Ferrati S, Mack A, Chiappini C, Liu X, Bean AJ, Ferrari M, Serda RE. Intracellular
trafficking of silicon particles and logic-embedded vectors [cover]. Nanoscale. 2010
Aug;2(8):1512-1520. doi: 10:1039/c0nr00227e
Sakamoto JH, van de Ven AL, Godin B, Blanco E, Serda RE, Grattoni A, Ziemys A,
Bouamrani A, Hu T, Ranganathan SI, DeRosa E, Martinez JO, Smid CA, Buchanan RM, Lee
S-Y, Srinivasan S, Landry M, Meyn A, Tasciotti E, Liu X, Decuzzi P, Ferrari M. Enabling
individualized therapy through nanotechnology [review]. Pharmacol Res. 2010
Aug;62(2):57-89. PMID: 20045055
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Barbara Lee Bass M.D., F.A.C.S.
Barbara Lee Bass M.D., F.A.C.S.
Senior Member
The Methodist Hospital Research Institute
John F. and Carolyn Bookout Distinguished Endowed Chair
of Surgery
The Methodist Hospital
Director, Methodist Institute for Technology, Innovation
and Education (MITIE)
Professor of Surgery
Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University
Education
B.S.c. Tufts University M.D. University of Virginia Medical School, Charlottesville, VA
Postdoctoral Training
Gastrointestinal Surgical Research Fellowship - Division of Surgery, Walter Reed Army
Institute of Research, Washington, DC
General Surgery Residency - George Washington University, Washington, DC
Biography
Barbara Lee Bass, MD, FACS is the John F. and Carolyn Bookout Distinguished Endowed
Chair, Department of Surgery, at The Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas, and Professor of
Surgery at Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York. In addition to her clinical
practice in gastrointestinal and endocrine surgery, Dr. Bass has led a funded laboratory program
in gastrointestinal epithelial injury and repair for 19 years. More recently, she has held leadership
roles in the development of surgical quality initiatives at the national level in both the Veteran
Affairs Health Care System and at the American College of Surgeons. A recognized leader in
surgical education, Dr. Bass recently completed a 7-year term as a Director and Chair of the
American Board of Surgery. Dr. Bass is immediate past president for the Society for Surgery of
the Alimentary Tract, and recipient of the Nina Starr Braunwald Award from the Association of
Women Surgeons. Most recently, Dr. Bass was appointed to the Strategic Planning Group of the
NIH National Commission on Digestive Diseases. She serves on the editorial boards of Annals
of Surgery, SURGERY, the Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery, and The World Journal of
Surgery. Dr. Bass is a graduate of Tufts University and the University of Virginia School of
Medicine. She completed general surgery training at George Washington University Hospital
and during her residency completed a fellowship in gastrointestinal physiology at the Walter
Reed Army Institute of Research, while serving as a Captain in the U.S. Army Medical Corps.
She has held faculty positions at George Washington University School of Medicine and the
University of Maryland School of Medicine, where she served as Professor of Surgery and
Associate Chair for Research and Academic Affairs.
Description of Research
Dr. Bass’ current practice is primarily in surgical oncology, including pancreatic,
gastrointestinal, breast, and endocrine disorders. Practicing in an academic medical center, she
enjoys the opportunity to train surgical residents at all levels and to incorporate medical students
into her clinical practice.
Major Areas of Research
Breast cancer, Surgical quality and outcomes research
Recent Publications
Lyons C, Joseph R, Salas N, Reardon PR, Bass BL, Dunkin BJ.Mesh fixation with a barbed
anchor suture results in significantly less strangulation of the abdominal wall. Surg Endosc. 2011
Nov 15. PMID: 22083327
Joseph RA, Salas NA, Donovan MA, Reardon PR, Bass BL, Dunkin BJ.Single-site laparoscopic
(SSL) cholecystectomy in human cadavers using a novel percutaneous instrument platform and a
magnetic anchoring and guidance system (MAGS): reestablishing the "critical view". Surg
Endosc. 2012 Jan;26(1):149-53. PMID: 21789639
Fahy BN, Todd SR, Paukert JL, Johnson ML, Bass BL. How accurate is the Accreditation
Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Resident survey? Comparison between
ACGME and in-house GME survey. J Surg Educ. 2010 Nov-Dec;67(6):387-92. PMID:
21156296
Todd SR, Fahy BN, Paukert JL, Mersinger D, Johnson ML, Bass BL. How accurate are self-
reported resident duty hours? J Surg Educ. 2010 Mar-Apr;67(2):103-7. PMID: 20656607
Moore LJ, Moore FA, Todd SR, Jones SL, Turner KL, Bass BL. Sepsis in general surgery: the
2005-2007 national surgical quality improvement program perspective. Arch Surg. 2010
Jul;145(7):695-700. PMID: 20644134
Joseph RA, Salas NA, Johnson C, Goh A, Cuevas SP, Donovan MA, Kaufman MG, Miles B,
Reardon PR, Bass BL, Dunkin BJ. Video. Chopstick surgery: a novel technique enables use of
the Da Vinci Robot to perform single-incision laparoscopic surgery. Surg Endosc. 2010
Dec;24(12):3224. PMID: 20574857
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Timothy B. Boone, M.D., Ph.D.
Timothy B. Boone, M.D., Ph.D.
Senior Member
The Methodist Hospital Research Institute
Chairman, Department of Urology
The Methodist Hospital
Professor of Urology
Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University
Clinical Professor of Urology, Scott Department of Urology
Baylor College of Medicine
Education
B.S. Southwestern University, Georgetown, Texas (Biology) Ph.D. University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences,
Houston, Texas (Neuroscience) M.D. University of Texas Medical School at Houston, Houston, Texas
Postdoctoral Training
Internship, General Surgery, University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Dallas,
Texas
Residency, General Urology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Dallas,
Texas
Biography
Dr Timothy B. Boone is the Chair of Urology at the Methodist Hospital and a member of the
Methodist Neurological Institute. He is Professor of Urology at Weill Cornell Medical College
and holds appointments as Professor of Urology at Texas A&M College of Medicine and Baylor
College of Medicine where he is a Clinical Professor of Urology. Dr Boone earned his Master of
Science in physiology and Ph.D. in neuroscience at the University of Texas Graduate School of
Biomedical Sciences at Houston. He completed his M.D./Ph.D. at the University of Texas
Medical School at Houston and urology residency training at the University of Texas
Southwestern Medical School in Dallas. In 1991 he joined the faculty in the Department of
Urology at UT Southwestern for two years and then moved to Baylor College of Medicine where
he joined the Scott Department of Urology. In 2000 Dr. Boone was named Professor and Chair
of the Scott Department of Urology where he served until 2008. For over 20 years he has
actively participated in the care of spinal cord injured veterans with neurogenic bladder
dysfunction with the VA Spinal Cord Injury Units in Dallas and now in Houston.
Dr. Boone specializes in the treatment of patients with incontinence following prostatectomy,
women with complex voiding disorders, and bladder problems related to neurologic disease
including spinal cord injury, stroke, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson's disease. He maintains
active participation in research with the Neurourology Laboratory at Baylor, focusing on
mechanisms of sensory control and dysfunction in the bladder and urethra that are related to
spinal cord injury, diabetes or obstruction.
Throughout his career Dr. Boone has written over 100 publications and given hundreds of
lectures regionally and nationally while serving as a visiting professor for many departments of
urology. He is a member of the American Association of Genitourinary Surgeons, Clinical
Society of GU Surgeons, American Urological Association, Texas Urological Society, Society
for Neuroscience, Society for Urodynamics and Female Urology, and the AOA Honor Medical
Society. He serves as consultant reviewer for several scientific journals including Neurourology
and Urodynamics, Journal of Urology, British Journal of Urology, Urology, Spinal Cord, and the
New England Journal of Medicine. He is on the editorial board of Nature Reviews in Urology,
Neurourology, and Urodynamics, and Current Bladder Dysfunction Reports. Dr. Boone was
elected as a Trustee to the American Board of Urology in 2006 and will serve as President of the
American Board of Urology from 2011 - 2012.
Major Areas of Research
Incontinence, Neurourology, Neurogenic Bladder, Urinary Diversion and Urinary
Reconstruction
Recent Publications
Lai HH, Boone TB. Complex artificial urinary sphincter revision and reimplantation cases--how
do they fare compared to virgin cases? J Urol. 2012 Mar;187(3):951-5. PMID: 22264456
Munoz A, Somogyi GT, Boone TB, Smith CP. Lumbosacral sensory neuronal activity is
enhanced by activation of urothelial purinergic receptors. Brain Res Bull. 2011 Nov 25;86(5-
6):380-4. PMID: 21924327
Lai HH, Munoz A, Smith CP, Boone TB, Somogyi GT. Plasticity of non-adrenergic non-
cholinergic bladder contractions in rats after chronic spinal cord injury. Brain Res Bull. 2011
Aug 10;86(1-2):91-6. PMID: 21689735
Munoz A, Somogyi GT, Boone TB, Smith CP. Central inhibitory effect of intravesically applied
botulinum toxin A in chronic spinal cord injury. Neurourol Urodyn. 2011 Sep;30(7):1376-81.
doi: 10.1002/nau.21068. PMID: 21509809
Lai HH, Boone TB. Implantation of artificial urinary sphincter in patients with post-
prostatectomy incontinence, and preoperative overactive bladder and mixed symptoms. J Urol.
2011 Jun;185(6):2254-9. PMID: 21497853
Munoz A, Smith CP, Boone TB, Somogyi GT. Overactive and underactive bladder dysfunction
is reflected by alterations in urothelial ATP and NO release. Neurochem Int. 2011
Feb;58(3):295-300. PMID: 21145365
Munoz A, Gangitano DA, Smith CP, Boone TB, Somogyi GT. Removal of urothelium affects
bladder contractility and release of ATP but not release of NO in rat urinary bladder. BMC Urol.
2010 May 24;10(1):10.
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Miguel Valderrábano, M.D.
Miguel Valderrábano, M.D.
Associate Member
The Methodist Hospital Research Institute
Chief, Division of Cardiac Electrophysiology
Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center
Methodist DeBakey Cardiology Associates
Associate Professor of Medicine
Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University
Education
M.D. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM) School of Medicine, Madrid, Spain
Postdoctoral Training
Residency, UCLA-West Los Angeles VA Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA
Chief Fellow, Cardiology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA
Biography
Dr. Valderrábano came to Houston from Los Angeles where he was director of the Implanted
Devices Clinic at the UCLA Cardiac Arrhythmia Center and assistant professor of medicine at
UCLA Medical Center.
Dr. Valderrábano received his medical degree from Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM)
School of Medicine in Madrid, Spain, and internal medicine training at UCLA. He completed his
cardiology and electrophysiology training at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, where
he was chief cardiology fellow. He then joined the faculty at the David Geffen School of
Medicine at UCLA.
Description of Research
Dr. Valderrábano’s research and clinical interests focus on finding new and more effective
treatments for atrial fibrillation, including epicardial mapping and ablation. His research has been
funded by grants from the American Heart Association and the National Institutes of Health
(NIH).
Major Areas of Research
Atrial fibrillation, epicardial mapping, ablation
Recent Publications
Dave AS, Báez-Escudero JL, Sasaridis C, Hong TE, Rami T, Valderrábano M. Role of the Vein
of Marshall in Atrial Fibrillation Recurrences After Catheter Ablation:: Therapeutic Effect of
Ethanol Infusion. J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol. 2012 Mar 19. PMID: 22429895
Wang S, Chen J, Valderrábano M. Nutrient restriction preserves calcium cycling and
mitochondrial function in cardiac myocytes during ischemia and reperfusion. Cell Calcium.
PMID: 22424693
Báez-Escudero JL, Morales PF, Dave AS, Sasaridis CM, Kim YH, Okishige K, Valderrábano M.
Ethanol Infusion the Vein of Marshall Facilitates Mitral Isthmus Ablation. Heart Rhythm. 2012
Mar 6. PMID: 22406143
Valderrábano M, Dave AS, Báez-Escudero JL, Rami T. Robotic catheter ablation of left
ventricular tachycardia: initial experience. Heart Rhythm. 2011 Dec;8(12):1837-46. PMID:
21802391
Lumsden AB, Anaya-Ayala JE, Birnbaum I, Davies MG, Bismuth J, Cheema ZF, El Sayed HF,
Seethamraju H, Loebe M, Valderrabano M. Robot-assisted stenting of a high-grade anastomotic
pulmonary artery stenosis following single lung transplantation. J Endovasc Ther. 2010
Oct;17(5):612-6. Erratum in: J Endovasc Ther. 2010 Dec;17(6):A6. PMID: 20939718
<Go to Top>
Jose Luis (PePe) Contreras-Vidal, Ph.D.
Jose Luis (PePe) Contreras-Vidal, Ph.D.
Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
University of Houston
Education
Engineer's Degree in Electronics & Communications, Monterrey Institute of Technology
(ITESM), Monterrey, Mexico
M.S. in Electrical Engineering, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO
Ph.D. in Cognitive and Neural Systems, Boston University, Boston, MA
Postdoctoral Fellow in Computational Motor Neuroscience, Arizona State University,
Tempe, AZ
Awards and Honors
Research and Development Award, School of Public Health, University of Maryland, 2011
President-Elect, International Graphonomics Society, 2011-2013
National Science Foundation Review Panel (Ad-hoc)
NIH 2011/10 ZRG1 BBBP-V (10) B: Small Business: Biobehavioral and Behavioral
Processes across the Lifespan Study Section
NIH MFSR: Motor function, Speech and Rehabilitation Study section, 2006-2010
Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (IEEE), Senior Member , 2008
Senior Research Scholar, City of Paris, France, 2006
International Brain Research Organization-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche
Médicale (IBRO-INSERM; Fellow, 2000
Human Frontier Science Program (Fellow), 1995
Instituto Iberoamericano, Spain (Fellow), 1993
Editorial Boards
Computers in Biology and Medicine (Associate Editor)
Neural Networks (Action Editor)
Frontiers in Neuroprosthetics (Review Editor)
International Journal of Mobile Human Computer Interaction (Editorial Review Board)
Human Movement Science (Guest Editor), 2012 Special Issue on Neuroscience of Fine Motor
Control Across the Lifespan
Computers in Biology and Medicine (Guest Editor), 2012 Special Issue on Brain-Mind-Machine
Interfaces
Research Interests
Reverse engineering the brain
Designing non-invasive brain-machine interface to robotic systems for rehabilitation,
enhancement or repair of the motor system after brain or body injury, neurological insults, or
advanced aging
Utilizing neural interfaces as tools for reverse-translational studies of brain plasticity and brain-
machine interaction/confluence
Bio-robotics and powered wearable exoskeletons
Fast, reliable, non-invasive brain-smartphone/device interfaces
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Ron Diftler, Ph.D.
Ron Diftler, Ph.D.
Robonaut Project Manager
NASA Johnson Space Center
Biography
Dr. Diftler serves as the Robonaut Project Leader at the NASA Johnson Space Center. Robonaut
is a human scale space robotic system designed to assist astronauts, before, during and after
space walks. The Robonaut Team’s latest robot, Robonaut 2 (R2) is the culmination of 15 years
of NASA Robonaut development and a highly successful partnership with General Motors. One
of the R2 units was launched on Space Shuttle Discovery in February, 2011 and is currently
undergoing testing onboard the International Space Station. R2 was designed for safe human
interaction, human work speeds and human strength, responsive force control (bandwidth),
assembly task autonomy and a simplified human machine interface (HMI). Dr. Diftler has led
this team through the R2 collaboration with GM as NASA’s industrial partner, as well as
previous collaborations with DARPA, Johns Hopkins, Vanderbilt, MIT, UMass, USC, Rice and
the Institute for Human-Machine Cognition. He is also a member of the International
Architecture Working Group, which has representation from China, Europe, Canada, and Japan.
The focus of this group is on evaluating robotic systems for future space applications.
Dr. Diftler holds a B.S.E. Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University, a
M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Yale University and a Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering from
Rice University. Dr. Diftler has published more than 50 peer reviewed technical papers in
robotic systems and helicopter dynamics. He has 11 patents currently in process or awarded in
the field of robotics. Dr. Diftler is a recipient of a 2009 NASA Exceptional Engineering
Achievement Award, a 2004 NASA Public Service Medal, and the 2005 IEEE Humanoids
Conference Best Paper Award.
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