July 2025
Welcome to the July Edition of the IIB Newsletter!
Summer has already proven to be a vibrant season for the International Institute for Biosensing (IIB), marked by interdisciplinary collaborations, thought-provoking panels, and the launch of our official YouTube channel. We explored topics ranging from wearable motion analysis to innovations in sustainable agriculture and medical technology.
Looking ahead, our summer lineup includes international workshops, equity-focused forums, and expert-led lectures on emerging biosensing applications. Whether you're attending in person or catching up online, we invite you to explore the highlights and stay connected to the latest in precision sensing.
IIB Continues to add to it's YouTube Channel
In IIB’s YouTube channel now you can watch the recordings of the lecture series and presentations, if you have missed them. You can watch the recordings of the lecture series and presentations, click the button below to learn more and subscribe.
CE Credits Now Offered Through IIB & IEEE Collaboration
IIB is proud to announce a new collaboration with IEEE to offer Continuing Education (CE) credits for most of its upcoming Lecture Series. This partnership reflects our shared commitment to advancing professional development and lifelong learning in the biomedical and engineering communities. Participants attending eligible lectures will now have the opportunity to earn CE credits that support their ongoing certification and career growth.
For More info contact IIB at [email protected]
Top News Stories
The News Stories section of the IIB newsletter features recent articles, announcements, and media coverage that spotlight the innovative work, collaborations, and achievements of the Institute for Integrative Biology community. It’s a quick way to stay informed on news that reflects the breadth and impact of our events, research and outreach.
Global Research in Focus: Strengthening Ties with SNU
On Friday June 20, 2025, Vice President for Research and Innovation Shashank Priya, College of Engineering Dean Andrew Alleyne, Research Computing Director Jim Wilgenbusch, International Institute for Biosensing Director Patricia Khashayar and Assistant Vice President JoonHyung Cho met with Seoul National University’s Vice President of International Affairs Jae W. Lee, Vice Dean of International Affairs Wontae Hwang, and Dean of the College of Engineering Young-Oh Kim.
Upcoming Events
Join us for insightful seminars that delve into the world of biosensing and its foundational principles as well as its wide-ranging applications.
2nd joint Precision Sensing workshop IIB-CAU
When: July 2 to July 4, 2025
Where: Seeburg, Germany
Kiel University will host the "2nd Joint Workshop on Precision Sensing" with the University of Minnesota and the International Institute for Biosensing (IIB). This hybrid event will explore biomedical, agricultural, and environmental applications of precision sensing through interactive sessions and research site visits.
ISTAART Immersives (AAIC25): Working Toward Gender and Health Equities in Healthcare
When: July 25, 2025
Where: Toronto, Canada
During the ISTAART's Immersives at AAIC25, Prof Arshia Khan, Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Computer Science and Prof. Patricia Khashayar, Director of International Institute for Biosensing (IIB) on July 25, 2025 will hold presented a workshop on, "Working Toward Gender and Health Equities in Healthcare”.
IEEE Women in Engineering (WIE) Leadership Summit
When: September 19, 2025
Where: Walter Library, UMN, US
The IEEE Women in Engineering (WIE) Leadership Summit seeks to provide a forum to women students, researchers, educators, engineers and leaders, innovators to discuss innovation, empowerment, entrepreneurship, leadership skills, and emerging/disruptive technology. Speakers will share real-life experiences, lessons learned and future outlook. This summit would provide a platform to identify opportunities for improvement, ways to tackle challenges, and networking. This event is not just limited to women, everyone is invited.
A Breakthrough in Colorimetric Lateral Flow Diagnostics: An LED-Based Handheld Thermal Contrast Reader
When: July 15th, 2025 at 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
Where: Walter Library
Professor John Bischof, a Distinguished McKnight University Professor and a faculty member in the Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering. He serves as Director of both the University of Minnesota Institute for Engineering in Medicine and the NSF Engineering Research Center for Advanced Technologies for Preservation of Biological Systems. In addition, Dr. Bischof currently holds the Medtronic-Bakken Endowed Chair for Engineering in Medicine.
Biosensors for point of care applications
When: August 5th, 2025 at 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
Where: Walter Library
In its Precision Sensing Lecture Series, International Institute for Biosensing (IIB) is proud to host Prof. T. G. Satheesh Babu. He currently serves as Professor in the Department of Chemistry, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore Campus. Prof. Babu leads the Biosensor Research group and Amrita Biomedical Engineering centre at the Coimbatore Campus and Heads the Amrita Biomedical Engineering (AMBE) centre. He also serves as the Research Head for the School of Physical Sciences at the Coimbatore campus.
Using Neural Signals to Optomize Neuromodulation Therapies to Treat Neurological Disease
When: September 8th, 2025 at 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
Where: Walter Library
Professor Tay Netoff, Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering. The Netoff lab is developing novel approaches for optimizing electrical stimulation to maximize outcomes for each patient.
AI at an Inflection Point: Catalyzing a New Era of Discovery
When: October 2nd, 2025 at 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
Where: Walter Library
Prof. Vipin Kumar is a Regents Professor and holds the William Norris Chair in the department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Minnesota. His research spans data mining, high- performance computing, and their applications in Climate/Ecosystems and health care. His research has resulted in the development of the concept of isoefficiency metric for evaluating the scalability of parallel algorithms, as well as highly efficient parallel algorithms and software for sparse matrix factorization (PSPASES) and graph partitioning (METIS, ParMetis, hMetis).
He has authored over 400 research articles, and co-edited or coauthored 11 books including two widely used text books ``Introduction to Parallel Computing "Introduction to Data Mining", and a recent edited collection, “Knowledge Guided Machine Learning”. Kumar's current major research focus is on knowledge-guided machine learning and its applications to understanding the impact of human induced changes on the Earth and its environment.. Kumar’s research on this topic has been funded by NSF’s AI Institute, BIGDATA, INFEWS, STC, GCR, and HDR programs, as well as ARPA-E, DARPA, and USGS. He also served as the Lead PI of a 5-year, $10 Million project, "Understanding Climate Change - A Data Driven Approach", funded by the NSF's Expeditions in Computing program (2010-2015).
Ethics of Robotics in Healthcare with Special Consideration for Women
When: November 10th, 2025 at 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
Where: Walter Library
Professor Catherine McCarty, Associate Dean for Research at the Medical School, Duluth campus, University of Minnesota. Professor McCarty started her research career as the Head of the Epidemiology Research Unit at the University of Melbourne. During her eight years in this position, she led population-based studies of vision impairment in Australia, India, and Hong Kong. Upon returning to the US, Professor McCarty was the Principal Investigator for the Marshfield Clinic Personalized Medicine Research Project and conducted research in the areas of genetic epidemiology, pharmacogenetics, and community engagement related to biobanking. Professor McCarty currently conducts mixed-methods research in bioethics and rural health.
Learning Resources
Discover valuable learning resources to enhance your knowledge and skills with tools, courses, and materials to support your growth.
Computer Basics for the Agri-food Sector (self paced)
Are you a field or bench scientist and always wanted to feel more comfortable with your computing skills? These self-paced online courses are designed for those who have never used the command line, but realize that the responsibilities they have or will soon take on require them to automate tasks. Learn basic UNIX command-line skills, enable participants to work remotely on more powerful machines, create and run scripts to automate complex workflows, and synchronize your scripts with the larger community with Github.
- Introducing the GEMS platform + Jupyter Lab
- Demystifying the UNIX command line
- Working Remotely and Scheduling Jobs on MSI’s systems
- Synching your work with the community
Explicitly Accounting for Location in Agriculture in Python (self paced)
Learn how to work with spatial data in Python, starting from importing different spatial datasets and creating simple maps, to conducting basic geocomputation on vector and raster data.
Links
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