IEEE Life Sciences

IEEE Life Sciences
Founded February 2011[1]
Type Professional Organization
Focus Life Sciences
Location
Origins Global initiative launched by IEEE
Area served
 Worldwide
Method Industry standards, Conferences, Publications, Education, and Web Portal, Marketing
Key people
 Moshe Kam, Initiative Champion
Bin He, Co-Chair
Mathukumalli Vidyasagar, Co-Chair
Bichlien Hoang, Program Director
Website lifesciences.ieee.org

IEEE Life Sciences is an initiative launched by IEEE to promote the advancement of life sciences and supporting technologies, and to provide expertise and resources to individuals and enterprises involved in the various disciplines falling under the life sciences umbrella. IEEE Life Sciences provides access to a range of resources, including professional conferences, continuing education courses, publications, and standards.[2] It is based in Piscataway, New Jersey.

History

In February 2011, the IEEE Board of Directors approved the formation of the Life Sciences Initiative with Moshe Kam, IEEE Fellow, and then IEEE President, as the Initiative Champion.[1] The Initiative was led by two Co-Chairs, Mathukumalli Vidyasagar, an IEEE Fellow and Professor of Systems Biology Science at the University of Texas at Dallas and Bin He, Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Neuroscience; Director of Center for Neuroengineering at the University of Minnesota; and IEEE Fellow.[3] It sought to increase interest in and participation of individuals and organizations working at the intersection of life sciences, technology, and engineering.[4] The Initiative was also tasked with serving as a global resource for life sciences technologies, information, and activities, and to create new opportunities to introduce technology to new and different audiences and disciplines.[5]

Said Co-Chair Vidyasagar of the drivers behind the launch of the IEEE Life Sciences Initiative, "There was a need to develop a coherent IEEE life sciences strategy that would guide volunteers and staff on how to expand activities in this field. Without such a strategy, the opportunity to get the word out that the organization is a great resource for those in life sciences would have passed us by.”[4]

This was echoed by Co-Chair He: "Though we have a lot to do already, it is important for us to unite with others involved with life sciences and put our efforts together.”[4]

Mission and goals

The primary mission of the IEEE Life Sciences Initiative is three-fold: to coordinate all technical activities among participating IEEE Societies and Councils, to promote the technical leadership of IEEE in life sciences and engineering disciplines and applications, and serve as a resource for life sciences professional community as a whole.[6]

Among the Initiative's stated goals are to stimulate development and dissemination of new meaningful and useful research and project results; to attract researchers of diverse background to present and discuss their new work in IEEE forums; and to increase cross-discipline interest in targeted communities.[6]

Current work

Life sciences have historically been defined as the study of living organisms through disciplines such as biology, medicine, anthropology, and ecology,[7] that describe living organisms and their organization, life processes, and their relationships to each other and their environment. By contrast, engineering is conventionally defined as the application of scientific and mathematical principles to practical ends such as the design, manufacture, and operation of efficient and economical structures, machines, processes, and systems.[8]

Historically, life sciences and engineering did not intersect, however, the life sciences have now reached a point where engineering, physics, chemistry, biology, and clinical medicine are ready to be brought together. Additionally, the rise of new interdisciplinary areas like bioinformatics, computational biology, and nanotechnology have helped accelerate the growing convergence of these discrete disciplines.[9] This convergence is important for achieving continued advancement in multiple areas like biomedicine, and development of the next generation of devices capable of improving the quality of life.[10]

The IEEE Life Sciences Initiative leads or participates in a variety of activities, including the development of new standards, organizing conferences and events, and publication of new research. Individuals and organizations taking part in the Initiative are also often quoted or have works published in third-party trade journals and magazines, such as Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News.[11] Work currently being performed as part of the IEEE Life Sciences Initiative includes:

IEEE Life Sciences Portal

As part of its efforts to serve the life sciences community, the IEEE Life Sciences portal was launched in June 2011.[12] Serving as a single point of access, the IEEE Life Sciences portal provides news, links to key journals, discussion boards, commentary, event information, and videos to diverse audiences that include engineers, scientists, consumers, business and industry, academic, and government users. It is also the online home of the monthly IEEE Life Sciences Newsletter.[13]

Standards

The convergence technology, engineering, and life sciences is giving rise to new opportunities for standards development and application. Among the numerous life science areas where standardization will play a role include electronic medical records, large-scale life sciences data sharing,[14] personal medical devices,[15] body area networks,[16] and bioinformatics.[17]

Sampling of Approved IEEE Life Sciences Standards

Sampling of Proposed IEEE Life Sciences Standards

Sampling of IEEE Life Sciences Standards Under Development

Conferences and events

The IEEE Life Sciences Initiative promotes numerous conferences, symposiums, and other events organized and sponsored by its participating societies.[25] These events are designed to promote discussion of critical issues in the life sciences arena, educate participants on the latest technology developments, and facilitate idea and knowledge-sharing about life sciences concepts, deployments, and technology advancement. Conference programs generally consist of educational tracks with keynote speeches, panel discussions, and roundtables led by researchers, engineers, academics, policymakers, and other key stakeholders.

The initiative's flagship event is the annual IEEE Life Sciences Grand Challenges Conference (IEEE LSGCC), which aims to provide a public forum for discussions and debates of grand challenges in engineering life sciences and healthcare, and reviews of applications and advancements of engineering in biomedicine. The inaugural IEEE LSGCC, chaired by Bin He, was held at the National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C. on October 4–5, 2012, and attracted scientists and technologists like Nobel Prize winner Phillip Sharp from countries around the world.[26] Proceedings of this first-ever IEEE LSGCC were presented in a paper entitled Grand Challenges in Interfacing Engineering With Life Sciences and Medicine.[27]

The IEEE Life Sciences Initiative also participates in or is a sponsor of other life sciences conferences and events, including BIO, Bio-IT World,[28] the International Conference on System Biology,[29] and IEEE Smart Tech Metro Area Workshops.[30]

Publications

As part of the IEEE Life Sciences Initiative, IEEE societies, working groups, committees and sub-committees publish papers, manuscripts, journals and magazines, and other documents addressing a variety of topics. These publications touch nearly every aspect of the engineering, life sciences, and technology disciplines, and include titles like IEEE Nanotechnology Magazine, IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, IEEE Transactions on Information Technology in Biomedicine, and IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering.[31]

IEEE Life Sciences Newsletter

In April 2012, IEEE unveiled the IEEE Life Sciences Newsletter, a monthly electronic digest providing news, analysis and expert views about emerging trends, latest innovations, and the results of practical, real-world life sciences applications.[13] Contributors include industry leaders, researchers, and academics from around the world. Nitish Thakor, Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, and Director of the Singapore Institute for Neurotechnology (SiNAPSE),[32] at the National University of Singapore is editor-in-chief of the newsletter.[33]

IEEE Life Sciences Community

The IEEE Life Sciences Community is a virtual community of more than 2,000 people interested in the application of technology and engineering principles to the life sciences discipline. The community supplies news and event information from those societies and councils taking part in the IEEE Life Sciences Initiative.[34]

Related IEEE societies

The IEEE Life Sciences Initiative is home to numerous societies, technical councils and communities, and other organizational units that are active in life sciences-related work. Among the disciplines or specialized fields of interest covered by these groups are electronic systems, medicine and biology engineering, and robotics.[35]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 IEEE (August 25, 2012). 2011 IEEE Annual Report: Innovative Solutions Through Global Collaboration (PDF) (Report). IEEE. p. 14. Retrieved August 30, 2013.
  2. ↑ "About IEEE Life Sciences". IEEE Life Sciences. Retrieved 2013-07-30.
  3. ↑ Kam, Moshe. Life Sciences Spark IEEE Interest, The Institute, March 7, 2011.
  4. 1 2 3 Kowalenko, Kathy. IEEE's Ample Life Sciences Efforts to Get More Exposure, The Institute, July 27, 2011.
  5. ↑ Pretz, Kathy. Delving Deeper Into Life Sciences, The Institute, December 7, 2012.
  6. 1 2 Dr. Peter Staecker (October 4, 2012). IEEE Life Sciences Initiative (PDF) (Report). IEEE. Retrieved August 30, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Definition of Life Sciences in English". Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2013-07-26.
  8. ↑ "Definition of Engineering in English". Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2013-07-26.
  9. ↑ "The Third Revolution: The Convergence of the Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, and Engineering" (PDF). Massachusetts Institute of Technology. January 2011. Retrieved 2013-07-18.
  10. ↑ "‘Convergence’ may lead to revolutionary advances in biomedicine, other sciences". MKurzweilAINetwork, Inc. January 5, 2011. Retrieved 2013-07-29.
  11. ↑ Vidyasagar, Mathukumalli (2012). "What Engineers Can Bring to Biotechnology". Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News (Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.) 32 (16). Retrieved August 30, 2013.
  12. ↑ "New IEEE Web Portal Provides Access to the Latest Developments in Life Sciences" (Press release). IEEE. June 22, 2011. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  13. 1 2 Kowalenko, Kathy. Newsletter Explores Convergence of Life Sciences and Engineering, The Institute, July 16, 2012.
  14. ↑ Lord; MacDonald; Sinnott; Ecklund; Westhead; Jones (2005). "Large-scale data sharing in the life sciences: Data standards, incentives, barriers and funding models (The "Joint Data Standards Study")" (PDF). UK e-Science Technical Report Series.
  15. ↑ Floyd, Allison. IEEE working on new standards for medical device communication, FierceHealthIT, July 26, 2012.
  16. ↑ Ullah, Sana; Mohaisen, Manar; Alnuem, Mohammed A. (March 12, 2013). "A Review of IEEE 802.15.6 MAC, PHY, and Security Specifications". International Journal of Distributed Sensor Networks (Hindawi Publication Corp.) 2013. doi:10.1155/2013/950704.
  17. ↑ Baker, M.L. Committee Aims to Develop Bioinformatics Standards, eWeek, August 20, 2004.
  18. ↑ "1547-2003 - IEEE 11073-10441-2013 Standard for Health Informatics, Personal Health Device Communication, Part 10441, Device Specialization: Cardiovascular Fitness and Activity Monitor". IEEE Standards Association. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
  19. ↑ "1802.15.6-2012 - IEEE Standard for Local and Metropolitan Area Networks - Part 15.6: Wireless Body Area Network". IEEE Standards Association. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
  20. ↑ "11073-10417-2011 - Health Informatics - Personal Health Device Communication Part 10417: Device Specialization: Glucose Meter". IEEE Standards Association. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
  21. ↑ "1902.1-2009 Standard for Long Wavelength Wireless Network Protocol". IEEE Standards Association. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
  22. ↑ "P11073-10419 Draft Standard for Health informatics - Personal Health Device Communication - Device Specialization - Insulin Pump". IEEE Standards Association. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
  23. ↑ "P11073-10413 Draft Standard for Health Informatics, Personal Health Device Communication, Device Specialization: Respiration Rate Monitor". IEEE Standards Association. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
  24. ↑ "Standard for Three-Dimensional Model Creation Using Unprocessed 3D Medical Data". IEEE Standards Association. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
  25. ↑ "IEEE Life Sciences Conferences". IEEE Life Sciences. Retrieved 2013-07-31.
  26. ↑ Fogel, Gary B. (2013). "A Report on the IEEE Life Sciences Grand Challenges Conference". IEEE Computational Intelligence Magazine (IEEE Computational Intelligence Society) 8 (3): 15. doi:10.1109/MCI.2013.2247821. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  27. ↑ He, Bin; Baird, Richard; Butera, Robert; et al. (2013). "Grand Challenges in Interfacing Engineering With Life Sciences and Medicine". IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering (IEEE) 60 (3): 589–598. doi:10.1109/TBME.2013.2244886. Retrieved August 30, 2013.
  28. ↑ "Bio-IT World 2013 Sponsors". Bio-IT World Conference & Exposition. Retrieved 2013-08-21.
  29. ↑ "Exhibitor and Sponsor Information". International Conference on System Biology (ICSB). Retrieved 2013-08-21.
  30. ↑ "IEEE Smart Tech Metro Area Workshop: Boston". Retrieved 2013-09-09.
  31. ↑ "IEEE Life Sciences Highlighted Publications". IEEE Life Sciences. Retrieved 2013-07-31.
  32. ↑ "SINAPSE Members: Nitish V. Thakor, Ph.D.". IEEE Life Sciences. Retrieved 2013-07-31.
  33. ↑ "Welcome to the IEEE Life Sciences Newsletter". SiNAPSE. Retrieved 2013-07-31.
  34. ↑ "IEEE Life Sciences Community". IEEE. Retrieved 2013-08-19.
  35. ↑ "Societies". IEEE Life Sciences. Retrieved 2013-08-21.

External links

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