CIMIT Executive Director John Parrish, MD, said that the co-leaders are Augustine Choi, MD, of Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Jose Venegas, PhD, of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). Associate leader is Jussi Saukkonen, MD, of Boston Medical Center and the West Roxbury Veterans Administration Medical Center (VAMC).
This trio is developing an introductory presentation for the CIMIT Forum, on Tuesday, Feb. 3, from 4 to 6 p.m. The event will be at Simches Research Center, 185 Cambridge St., Boston. Admission is free, and registration is not required.Dr. Choi will be the point person for the Program. He is Chief of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Previously, he was at University of Pittsburgh, Yale University and Johns Hopkins University. His lab has made seminal observations that inhaled carbon monoxide can confer protection of cells in pre-clinical models of lung disease and severe infections. He will provide outstanding leadership and enthusiasm to this initiative.
Dr. Venegas brings a bioengineer's perspective to the program. He is an Associate Professor in Anesthesiology (Bio-engineering) at Harvard Medical School, and is with MGH in the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care. His career has been involved in developing an understanding of asthma and other conditions through single-isotope ventilation/perfusion PET scanning for quantitative assessment of topographical distributions of inflammation, ventilation, perfusion, intrapulmonary shunts and gas trapping. This knowledge will be critical in assessing new ventilation/perfusion technologies.
Dr. Saukkonen is the Director of the Pulmonary Clinics at the West Roxbury VAMC, is on staff at Boston Medical Center in the Department of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Allergy, with an academic appointment at Boston University. His background includes both basic immunology, and translational and clinical trials research. His experience will help the program when focusing on clinical applications of inhalation technology and in planning of clinical trials.
Respiratory infections are widespreadAcute respiratory infections rank as the third largest cause of death worldwide. Many of these diseases require chronic or lifelong treatment. Inhalation therapy utilizes the concept of the pulmonary "highway" as a rapid and highly effective route of drug delivery, maximizing dose to the diseased tissue while minimizing side effects in other parts of the body. Many conditions can benefit from the introduction of novel inhaled drugs for faster recovery and fewer side effects.
With more than 40,000 employees in 75 countries, Air Liquide is a world leader in industrial and medical gases and related services. The group offers innovative solutions based on constantly enhanced technologies and produces air gases (oxygen, nitrogen, argon, rare gases) and many other gases including hydrogen. Founded in 1902, Air Liquide had sales in 2007 of about $16 billion, with commerce outside France accounting for almost 80 percent.
CIMIT is the Center for Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology. A non-profit consortium of Boston-area teaching hospitals and engineering schools, CIMIT provides innovators with resources to explore, develop and implement novel technological solutions for today's most urgent healthcare problems.
Participants in the consortium are Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston Medical Center, Boston University, Brigham and Women's Hospital, the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Children's Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Newton-Wellesley Hospital, Partners HealthCare and VA Boston Healthcare System.
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