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   from the issue of July 14, 2005

     
 
UNL, UNMC join forces for Bio 2005 convention

While the Cornhusker baseball team competed at the College World Series last month, a second Nebraska team stormed the floor of the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia.

The team, made up of more than 20 representatives from UNL and the University of Nebraska Medical Center, traveled to the Bio 2005 International Convention, the world's largest biotechnology gathering with more than 18,000 biotech executives, investors, journalists, policymakers and scientists representing 60 countries.

The convention ran for four days, starting June 19. Don Leuenberger, vice chancellor for business and finance at UNMC said it was the place to be, "if you are serious about being a part of the biotechnology industry."

"We've been at the past six Bio conventions," Leuenberger said. "It is a great opportunity for us to make contacts and let people know what is happening in our state in biotechnology. This year's booth was the largest we've ever had, and it's also the largest contingent we've ever had from Nebraska."

For the first time, UNMC and UNL were equal partners for the convention. In the past, UNMC has always been the lead institution.

"There has been a lot of collaboration between UNL and UNMC," said Prem Paul, vice chancellor for research and dean of graduate studies at UNL. "The stars are lined up for us to capitalize on this. Things are really moving. We can accomplish a lot more through collaboration than individually."

He cited the recent development of Intuitool, a grasping tool that will be used by surgeons performing minimally invasive surgeries, as an example of the collaboration going on between UNL and UNMC. The tool was designed through the combined efforts of UNL's College of Engineering and UNMC's College of Medicine.

The Nebraska contingent at Bio 2005 was a blend of academic, business and government representatives. In addition to UNMC and UNL, other entities represented at the convention include the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce, the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce, the Nebraska Department of Economic Development, Omaha Public Power District and the University of Nebraska Technology Park, LLC.

UNMC's technology transfer company, UNeMed, was also represented at the convention along with several biotechnology companies in Nebraska - Albrecht GFX, Nature Technology Corp., Rieke Metals, Transgenomic, Inc., TriMed Research, Inc., and Ximerex, Inc.

"It is really important for Nebraska to gain an international presence and be recognized for what we're doing here in the state," said Darrell Ullman, development consultant for the Nebraska Department of Economic Development. "We're starting to gain both domestic and international presence in the area of bioscience."


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