News
PhD Fellowship to study Cells and their Nanoenvironment
Friday 23rd 2010f July, 2010
A PhD Fellowship is available in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Otago, Christchurch campus funded by the MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology. The project requires an outstanding candidate who is interested in the linkage between the mechanical forces that operate on cells in tissues via the extracellular matrix and the gene and protein expression profiles of the cell. The project thus will investigate the relationship between cell structure and function.
The project will involve incubating pituitary cells or cancer cells in a variety of conditions in which there will be distinct effects on the cytoskeleton and peptide expression. This may include culturing cells on engineered surfaces or in nonadherent conditions. The biochemical and physical responses of the cells will be determined. The results will have implications for tissue repair, medical implants and treatment of cancers. We have a very active collaboration with the internationally-recognised nanoengineering group, led by Associate Professor Maan Alkaisi, at the University of Canterbury, and there are currently three PhD students under our co-supervision. A similar situation is likely to operate during this project. The project will suit a student with an excellent background in cell biology, and a strong interest in physics or nanoengineering may be an advantage. Interested persons should in the first instance contact; Associate Professor John Evans, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Otago, Christchurch, 2 Riccarton Avenue, Christchurch, 8011 New Zealand Email: john.evans@otago.ac.nz phone: + 64-3-3641698 Download project description: http://www.elec.canterbury.ac.nz/nanocamp/files/MacDiarmid PhD1.pdfJoint 6th BNN meeting and NZ-Taiwan Symposium on Bio nanotechnologies - Photos
Monday 03rd 2010f May, 2010
Dear BNN members,
photos of the event can be found here: http://macdiarmid.ac.nz/news/stories/NZ-T.phpJoint 6th BNN meeting and NZ-Taiwan Symposium on Bio nanotechnologies - Program
Monday 26th 2010f April, 2010
Dear BNN members,
the programs for the joint New Zealand-Taiwan Symposium on Bio-nanotechnologies and our annual BioNanoNetwork (BNN) meeting in Wellington and Christchurch are now available for download. Wellington (28th/29th April 2010): http://www.elec.canterbury.ac.nz/nanocamp/files/NZ-TaiwanSymposium28April2010-1.pdf Christchurch (30th April 2010): http://www.elec.canterbury.ac.nz/nanocamp/files/NZ-TaiwanWorkshop30April2010-1.pdf Regards,Maan Alkaisi
Joint 6th BNN meeting and NZ-Taiwan Symposium on Bio nanotechnologies
Tuesday 23rd 2010f March, 2010
Dear BNN members,
this year we will be running a joint New Zealand-Taiwan Symposium on Bio-nanotechnologies and our annual BioNanoNetwork (BNN) meeting on Wednesday, April 28th , 2010. The meeting will be held in Wellington for two days, Wed 28th and Thursday 29th of April. The Taiwanese delegates will travel to Christchurch on April 30th for laboratory visits and a workshop at Canterbury University. There will be six researches from Taiwan presenting their work at the symposium. We have visited their laboratories and research institutions back in Nov 2008 and they are very impressive, so I expect very interesting and high standard talks. The aims of this joint BNN meeting and the symposium are to explore interactions and collaborations on research areas of common interest. The New Zealand -Taiwan symposium is sponsored by the Royal Society of New Zealand. We are aiming to start the symposium on Wed, 28th at 9:30: am and concludes on Thursday 29th at 5:00 pm. Details of the program will be sent to you in due time. Would you please forward a brief abstract (one page including figures, font 12 points, Times New Roman style) giving a title for your talk, authors and their affiliations and your contact details. Deadline for abstract submission is Tuesday 23 March 2010. I would be grateful if you send me your abstract as soon as possible and your intention of participation as it will help in preparing the program. An abstract book will be distributed to all participants. The MacDiarmid Institute BNN will fund BNN member’s flights expenses. Please contact Rebekah Hunt on (rebekah.hunt@canterbury.ac.nz) to arrange your flights. For accommodation please make your own arrangement. Regards Maan AlkaisiNanocamp 2010 at the University of Canterbury
Wednesday 12th 2009f August, 2009
Nanocamp for high school students
Come and join other high school students to learn about the exciting world of nanotechnology. Through hands-on laboratory investigations and stimulating lectures and discussions of the latest developments in nanoscience technology you will investigate structures and devices that are less than 100nm in size.
All this takes place at the University of Canterbury campus and is complemented by laboratory work and interactions with researchers from the MacDiarmid Institute who are working on cutting edge of this field.
For more information go to
http://www.elec.canterbury.ac.nz/nanocamp/
5th BNN meeting -April 2009
Monday 23rd 2009f March, 2009
Dear BNN members
Thank you for your positive response to take part in our fifth BNN meeting. Our meeting will be organised on Monday, April 20th, 2009 (the majority preferred this date). The meeting will be held at the Chateau on the Park, 189 Deans Avenue, Riccarton, (opposite to Hagely Park), Christchurch. The venue is about 15 minutes drive from the Airport.
The format of the meeting will be a 10 to 15 minutes presentation followed by 3 - 5 minutes of discussion (depending on number of participants). This is the opportunity where we introduce our self and talk about our work and explore potential collaborations. I therefore, would encourage all new members to take this opportunity and give a presentation.The meeting will start at 9:30: am and conclude at 5:00 pm.
At the end of the meeting we will have a general discussion/conclusions and suggestions for actions required.
Would you please forward a brief abstract (one page is fine including pictures) indicating a title for your talk and a brief description of your presentation. An abstract book will be prepared for participants.
Please let me know if you have any other items you would like to see included in the agenda
The MacDiarmid Institute BNN will sponsor the meeting. Those travelling from outside Christchurch should contact Rebekah Hunt on ( rebekah.hunt@canterbury.ac.nz ) to arrange your flights.
Regards
Maan Alkaisi
PhD scholarship available
Wednesday 02nd 2008f July, 2008
Development of Lab on Chip for Single Cell Analysis and Imaging (Bionanotechnology, PhD project)
The development of microarrays for analysis and manipulation of cells or viruses has attracted considerable interest from both researchers and industry.
We have recently developed a novel technique for replicating biological cellular and sub cellular structures [1-4]. This method facilitates imaging individual cells at high resolution and offers a snap shot record of cell response to stimulus. Termed Bioimprint, it has enabled us to detect features of fusion pores in cells at unprecedented resolution down to the nanometer scale (nanobioimaging). In combination with our BioChip platform [5], which traps individual cells in its cavities, we are creating a very powerful tool for single cell analysis. Single cell analysis is utilised to provide unique understanding of important biological mechanisms as it enables us to look at the response of individual cells to different stimulation conditions.
We are looking for a candidate with micro fabrication/ bioengineering background to carryout this exciting work and extend the biochip to new designs by integrating the biochip and bioimprint technologies to facilitate studying living cells and help in early detection and diagnosis of cell deformation. Successful candidate will receive NZ$25,000 per annum plus university fees. This project is in collaborations with Christchurch School of Medicine/Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Christchurch Women’s Hospital.
Contact Maan Alkaisi:
maan.alkaisi@canterbury.ac.nz
Download project description:
http://www.mediafire.com/?cxqmhtxq4so
Postdoc position wanted
Tuesday 10th 2008f June, 2008
Looking for a postdoc/research fellow position:
Xianming Liu received his PhD degree in chemistry from Victoria University of Wellington in 2006. Prior to this (from October 2005), he was employed as a research scientist by Industrial research limited (IRL) as part of their Nanotechnology Platform. In 2006 Xianming took up a post doctoral fellowship at The University of Canterbury (UC), Chemistry Department.
His current research interests include: synthesis of carbon nanotubes, electrochemistry, nanofabrication and microfluidic devices. He is playing a key supervisory role in a major project that relies on fabrication of carbon nanotube based micro/nano devices. And more recently, he was involved in a project of three-dimensional fabrication of a self-addressable dielectrohoretic microfluidic device using vertically aligned carbon nanotubes.
His research skills include: nanolithography / characterization, chemical vapour deposition, electron microscopy, plasma chemistry / physics, fabrication of microelectrode arrays and microfluidic devices, electrochemical measurement, dielectrophoresis / electrophoresis and high frequency impedance measurements of one-dimensional materials.
You may contact Xianming Liu on:
xianming.liu@canterbury.ac.nz
PhD research opportunity
Monday 09th 2008f June, 2008
An exciting PhD research opportunity in cutting-edge bio-related fields
Micro-Nano-Robotic Biomanipulation and BioMEMS/NEMS
Project Description
Micro-nano-robots with high positioning accuracy (~ 40nm) and bioMEMS/NEMS devices with small size (um-cm) are widely used to manipulate micron-sized objects such as biological cells. They largely facilitate high-throughput investigation and allow better understanding of cell migration, cell proliferation, cell signaling pathway, cell biomechanics, and intercellular/intracellular events. Recently, we have developed a fully automated zebrafish embryo injection system, semi-automated adherent cell injection system, and a PDMS elastic device for cell mechanics characterization.
More information can be found at: http://www.mech.canterbury.ac.nz/people/Wang.shtml. Currently, we are working towards creative micro-nano-robotic systems and bioMEMS/NEMS devices for biomedicine research.
Download project description:
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?vagjzyntduo
Bionano network launched
Monday 28th 2005f February, 2005
The Bionanotechnology Network was launched on this day to coordinate the research activities within the MacDiarmid Institute, forming a suitable communication environment for research personal involved in activities related to the application of physical science techniques to biological systems, including the areas of biotechnology and bio-nanomedical engineering.
