Schedule and Speakers
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Charles W. Sorensen Dr. Charles W. Sorensen is Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Stout. He has served as a teacher, historian, academic dean and academic vice president prior to joining the University of Wisconsin-Stout staff in 1988 as the sixth person to head this century-old institution. He holds a Ph.D. in History from Michigan State University and has over 25 years of experience as an administrator.
Dr. Sorensen promotes program development, distance education efforts, the use of technology in the classroom, private fundraising, and a strong quality program at UW-Stout. Beginning in the fall of 2002, UW-Stout became the first public university in the state of Wisconsin to initiate a digital learning environment, requiring all new freshmen to lease a laptop.
Since coming to Wisconsin in 1988, Dr. Sorensen has been actively promoting economic development, developing partnerships with companies and corporations, and supporting a strong technology transfer program on the UW-Stout campus. He has served on several statewide commissions studying the role of the University of Wisconsin System in identifying and solving workforce issues, technology initiatives and developing a climate to attract high technology businesses.
UW-Stout was selected by the U.S. Department of Commerce for the prestigious 2001 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in the education category.
In October 2002, Dr. Sorensen received the Michigan State Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumni Award, and also received the Eagle Management Leadership Award from the Wisconsin Technical College System in recognition of his leadership that has produced significant results for the WTCS.
In February 2006, Dr. Sorensen also received the “2005 Citizen of the Year Award” from the Menomonie Area Chamber of Commerce.
Moderator: Research Presentations 1
Carl E. Gulbrandsen
Carl E. Gulbrandsen Mr. Gulbrandsen is the Managing Director of Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, the patent management organization for the University of Wisconsin Madison. He is also President of WiCell™ Research Institute. Mr. Gulbrandsen received his B.A. degree from St.Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota. He received a Ph.D degree in physiology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a J.D. degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School. He is admitted to practice law in the State of Wisconsin and before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
From 1981 until 1992 he was in the private practice of law. Mr. Gulbrandsen’s law practice concentrated on intellectual property with a specialty in patent prosecution and litigation. In 1992 Mr. Gulbrandsen became General Counsel of Lunar Corporation and Bone Care International, Inc. Lunar Corporation is a medical device company. Bone Care International, Inc. is a pharmaceutical company. Both companies are located in Madison, Wisconsin and sell products based on technology arising from research conducted at the University of Wisconsin - Madison.
Mr. Gulbrandsen has been with WARF since 1997. Prior to becoming its Managing Director, Mr. Gulbrandsen was WARF’s Director of Patents & Licensing. Mr. Gulbrandsen is an adjunct professor in the Department of Physiology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is on the faculty of the Masters of Biotechnology program that is resident in the Department of Physiology
Mr. Gulbrandsen is a member of the Licensing Executive Society, the American Intellectual Property Law Association, the Wisconsin State Bar and the American Bar Association. He is also a member of the Executive Committee of the Wisconsin Technology Council. He is a past member of the Patent Public Advisory Council for the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
James Hamilton Jim Hamilton was raised in New England and did undergraduate and graduate work at the University of Maine-Orono in Chemistry and Surface Science. His 1994 PhD in Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison allowed him to specialize in Physical and Analytical Chemistry, Nonlinear Optics and AMO Physics. He has worked since that time in all these areas specializing in contamination control on precision optical and aerospace surfaces, nanotube solution thermodynamics and nanotube composite materials. He continues to work in laser spectroscopy and works in Ireland and Germany on an alkaline fuel cell team. He is currently Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Engineering Physics at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. He has lectured on his research all over the US and Europe and has collaborations with Fermilab, Argonne National Lab, NASA, LIGO and in Ireland, Norway and Germany. He is also Co-Founder, Chairman and Chief Technical Officer of Photonic Cleaning Technologies,LLC the manufacturer of First Contact Polymer, a cleaning and protection coating that is used on the W.M. Keck Telescope in Hawaii and on the Hope Diamond. Photonic Cleaning has sales in 55 countries. He is currently in the process of starting another nanotechnology spinoff, Graphene Solutions, LLC, the world's only provider of graphene and high purity nanotubes for the next generation of carbon based electronics.
Phil Jackson Philip Jackson is the President, CEO and co-founder of Graphene Solutions and Photonic Cleaning Technologies, both nanotechnology companies headquartered in Platteville, WI. A successful businessman, he held a variety of positions, including Vice-President of Operations, with Madison area companies. He earned both a BS degree in Chemistry and a MBA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Jackson authored or co-authored several papers about First Contact Polymer Solution. He traveled in the United States and Europe to consult and train engineers and scientists in the use of these novel nanotechnology cleaning solutions at major research institutions and leading optics manufacturing companies.
Graphene Soluability and Next Generation Electronic Materials
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and related materials (called graphenes) are one of the fundamental building blocks of all nanotechnology and have 1000 times the conductivity of copper and are 350 times stronger than steel. Major uses for these materials are for the next generation of electronic displays, computer memory, and advanced structural composites (like graphite military aircraft and sports equipment). Flat panel displays made with CNTs, which already exist as prototypes, will be bigger, brighter, thinner, and even cheaper than current-generation displays once the CNT manufacturing problems can be worked out. Carbon nanomaterials, offer great advantages in performance and will be used to produce transparent conducting films and nanoconnections that will, for example, replace the indium tin oxide transparent electrodes in current display products and solar cells.
At present, however, fundamental and limiting problems prevent the widespread use of these cutting edge nanomaterials because they cannot be produced with uniform properties, sufficient consistency. Although some new carbon based display products are on the verge of commercialization, several technical problems have hampered the release of this technology into the market.
My lab has developed a new enabling technology that solves these manufacturing problems so that researchers and engineers can harness the true potential of CNTs and graphene. The proprietary technology dissolves CNTs and graphene into true solution (a process previously thought impossible). This allows engineers to apply tried and true, conventional production technologies to CNT applications. With uniformly dissolved, pure graphene solutions, my lab is working to uniquely create perfectly consistent, pure graphenes and CNTs such that every single individual CNT performs exactly as desired.
Bill Gregory Bill Gregory is a native of Pittsburgh, Pa. He received a BS in Physics, minors in mathematics and philosophy, from Georgetown University in 1961, and a PhD in Physics from MIT in 1966. He has been a faculty member at Georgetown University and Clarkson University, and a faculty member and Dean at Gannon University, West Virginia University and UW Milwaukee. He has published over 100 peer reviewed publications. Bill has been a licensed patent agent since 1980 and is an inventor on approximately 50 US and foreign patents. In 2003 he was one of the co-founders of NovaScan, LLC, a start-up company that is commercializing breast cancer detection technology licensed from WiSys.
Towards an Improved Method for Breast Cancer Detection:
EPET I & II
W. D. Gregory, PhD, PE, Prof of Health Sciences & Electrical Engineering, UWM; CSO, NovaScan, LLC and C W Gregory, Raytheon Corporation, Tucson, AZ
Disclosure: NovaScan, LLC, is the licensee for technology developed by the authors at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, and West Virginia University. Both authors are principals in NovaScan.
There is considerable evidence in the scientific literature1 that the electrical properties of tissues are related to the type of tissue and the tissue health. For the past 5 years we have acquired data on the electrical properties of breast tissue in vitro (tissue extracted during surgery) at St. Mary’s Hospital, Madison and the Aurora Hospitals (St. Luke’s and Sinai) in Milwaukee. Using the in vitro information we developed criteria for the detection of breast cancer and have applied that knowledge to the development of an improved screening device, essentially an “electrical mammogram” machine, using technology described in a seminal patent for Electrical Property Enhanced Tomography (EPET)2 licensed from WiSys by NovaScan, LLC.
In this talk we will review the current status of this work for both the in vitro study (EPET I) and the in vivo “electrical mammogram” study (EPET II). Both studies indicate a high level of confidence in the discrimination between benign and diseased breast tissue. The EPET II results show that there is a direct correlation between the histology of the scanned tissue and the pathology reports from subsequent biopsies, with Chi-square values for the data indicating that these results are unlikely due to random error. The EPET I results also exhibit an effect that might be an indicator of a pre-cancerous condition that cannot be seen under a microscope.
We will end this presentation with a discussion of the possible applications of these technologies to the detection of cancerous tissue in the radiology clinic, the operating room and in the pathology laboratory.
- S. Grimmes and O.G. Martinsen, Bioimpedance & Bioelectricity Basics, Academic Press (London), 2000
- William D Gregory, “Electrical Property Enhanced Tomography (EPET) Apparatus and Method, US Patent No. 6.522,910 B1, Feb. 18, 2003
James Cook Dr. James Cook is a University Distinguished Professor in the chemistry department at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Dr. Cook has been a chemistry professor at UWM for 35 years and has trained over 50 graduate students in his lab and published over 300 research papers. His major research interests include medicinal chemistry, synthetic organic chemistry, and natural products chemistry. His work developing new therapeutics to treat anxiety, pain, and epilepsy has resulted in several pending US and international patents. Prior to UWM, Dr. Cook was an NIH postdoctoral fellow at the University of British Columbia. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan and B.S. from West Virginia University both in Chemistry.
New Treatments for Anxiety Without Sedation
Non-selective benzodiazepine drugs, such as Xanax, act by enhancing the inhibitory effects of GABA at GABAA receptors in the CNS. These drugs broadly target GABAA receptors containing a1, a2, a3, or a5 subunits. Although current benzodiazepines on the market haven proven anti-anxiety efficacy, they also produce sedation and hypnosis. Recently, it has been shown that the sedative effects of non-selective benzodiazepines are mediated through a1 containing GABAA receptors, whereas the anti-anxiety activity works mainly through a2 and a3 receptors. My lab has produced new benzodiazepine analogs that exhibit selective efficacy for a2, a3, and a5 GABAA receptors and not a1 receptors. These compounds are potential new therapeutics to treat a variety of medical conditions including anxiety and pain without producing side effects such as sedation or hypnosis. In addition to these selective agonists, my lab has also produced an inverse agonist specific for a5 receptors. Since a5 receptors are mainly expressed in the hippocampus, this compound may increase memory function and be used to treat age-related dementia (i.e. Alzheimer’s disease) without causing over-activity and convulsions in the other parts of the brain. We are working with several collaborators around the world to continue preclinical testing of these new therapeutics.
Tim Lyden Dr. Timothy Lyden relocated to UW-River Falls from The Ohio State University Medical School in 2001. During the previous 10 years, Dr. Lyden had worked as a biomedical researcher focused on the normal human placenta at both Ohio State and Wright State University Medical Schools. During that time he held positions as a Senior Post-Doctoral Fellow, Research Scientist and Research Assistant Professor serving as a co-investigator for nearly $4 million in NIH research grant projects. In 2001, Dr. Lyden relocated to UWRF in order to balance his scholarship with more teaching as well as to develop an ongoing independent research program and engage in community service. Following several successful smaller projects focused on various aspects of placental cell biology during 2001-03, Dr. Lyden shifted his research focus in 2004 to modeling aspects of developmental biology using tissue engineering methods. This shift followed an overall interest in cellular differentiation and tissue/organ development that had always been a part of his work. However, as a direct result of his teaching activities and involvement of those students in research questions, Dr. Lyden undertook this new direction. The work quickly developed into a full-scale set of projects and successfully attracted funding from the state level through the UW System IP organization, WiSys. Current projects in the lab include the development of tissue engineering methods for pharmaceutical applications as well as the study of cancer stem cell and human embryonic stem cell biology in 3- dimensional cultures. This work has attracted new collaborative interactions with UW-Stout and Marshfield Clinic and is expected to generate significant IP within the coming years.
The development of 3D “artificial tissue” models and applications using cell lines as well as fetal and embryonic stem cells.
Since 2004, my lab at UW-RF has been actively involved in a series of research projects directed toward development and application of complex 3D “artificial tissues” or ATs. To date, we have successfully applied natural matrix materials together with standard cell lines, primary avian fetal tissues and human embryonic stem cells to produce and test a large number of complex tissue-like structures in culture. These ATs display unique features which include evidence of differentiation, developmental processes with resulting tissue features and self-renewal leading to long-term maintenance of the ATs. Cell line ATs have been developed from more than 10 lines, including Hela, BeWo, JEG-3, HEK-293, CHO, MDBK, HFF-1 and others. Primary cell/tissue ATs have been developed from several early developmental stages of chicken embryos and have included brain (fore, mid and hind), heart, lungs, liver, eye, bone rudiment, mid thoracic region mixed tissues and the blood islands of yolk sac. Most recently, these studies have also moved to the development of 3D ATs of human embryonic stem cells. In all cases, the ATs developed have shown “cell-of-origin” related macroscopic details consistent with in-vitro developmental processes and produce very complex tissue-like arrangements of cells. In addition to forming complex structures, these ATs are also extremely long lived, with many samples being continuously maintained for in excess of 1 year. In a few cases, samples have also been maintained to 2 years (yolk sac, liver and lung). This implies a tissue-like self renewal and maintenance of the cell populations and directly illustrates the presence of stem/progenitor populations within the ATs. Work is continuing to develop both research and potential commercial applications beyond the simple modeling of developmental processes that are clearly possible with these methods.
Moderator: Research Presentations 2
Maliyakal John, WiSys
Maliyakal E. John, Ph.D, Managing Director, WiSys Technology Foundation, Inc. M. John received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry (Poona University, India) and has extensive industrial research experience in molecular biology, plant sciences and mammalian genetics. He also has several years technology transfer experience, including evaluation of intellectual property, development of business plans and patenting of technologies. M. John currently manages the operations of the WiSys Technology Foundation, a non-profit subsidiary of WARF that serves the UW System by patenting System inventions, licensing the technologies to industry for commercial development and returning the revenues to the UW System to fund research and educational programs. WiSys is also leading the efforts to facilitate collaborations among industry, private research organizations and UW campuses.
Tim Donohue Tim Donohue is a Professor of Bacteriology, who has been a faculty member at UW-Madison for over 20 years. During this time his research program has focused on solar energy utilization by photosynthetic bacteria, studying the process and control of photosynthesis and how cells divert the energy captured from sunlight into different pathways. He has been an member of various federal research panels, has served on several editorial boards and advisory committees in microbiology, and helped author reports for the Department of Energy of solar energy generation and the conversion of plant biomass into biofuels. He was experience in leading cross-disciplinary research programs like the NIGMS Biotechnology Training Program. More recently he has been named head of the Wisconsin Bioenergy Initiative and the new DOE-funded Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center.
The Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) and Developing New Bioenergy Technologies in Wisconsin
The GLBRC is an emerging leader in using interdisciplinary, genomics-based methods to build a biofuels economy. The GLBRC is housed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison; working with university, national laboratory and corporate partners. The GLBRC goals are to:
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Improve biomass plants. GLBRC research programs will improve the energy density of crops by increasing the amount of easily degraded plant polymers and boosting levels of hydrocarbons.
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Improve plant biomass processing. The GLBRC will develop new physical and biological treatments to economically process the plant biomass needed for a bioenergy pipeline.
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Improved conversion of plant biomass into fuels. The GLBRC will improve chemical and biological methods for converting biomass into ethanol, H2, electricity, or chemical feedstocks that can replace fossil fuels.
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Improve sustainability of the biomass to biofuel pipeline. The GLBRC will monitor agricultural, industrial, and behavioral systems and develop economically and environmentally responsive practices for a biomass-to-bioenergy pipeline.
To function as a center of excellence, the GLBRC will develop programs to bring bioenergy breakthroughs to members of the agricultural and private sector; stakeholders in the scientific, business, or academic community; and the public.
Janis Eells Dr. Janis Eells is a professor in the Health Sciences department at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She is the author of several peer-reviewed scientific papers investigating the beneficial effects of infrared light during the wound healing process. Dr. Eells received her Ph.D. in Pharmacology and Toxicology from the University of Iowa. Prior to her graduate studies, she obtained her M.S. and B.S. degrees from Idaho State University.
Shining Light on Wound Healing
Mitochondrial dysfunction plays a pivotal role in neurodegenerative diseases and in cellular aging. Research in my laboratory is directed at understanding mitochondrial signaling mechanisms involved in mediating cellular toxicity and protection. One component of my research program focuses on the molecular mechanisms of toxicity associated with the actions of environmental chemicals that act as mitochondrial poisons and disease states that produce mitochondrial dysfunction. My laboratory has developed a rodent model of acquired mitochondrial dysfunction that manifests many features of clinically relevant diseases of the retina and optic nerve. Using this animal model we have begun to define the relationships between mitochondrial toxicity and cellular dysfunction. A second project is directed at understanding the mechanisms by which low energy photon irradiation by light in the far red to near infrared spectral range (630-1000 nm) stimulates mitochondrial energy metabolism and promotes cell repair following injury.
Charles Gibson Dr. Gibson grew up in the suburban NYC community of Long Branch, NJ. He attended Monmouth College (NJ) and graduated with a BS in Chemistry in 1978. After a brief career in the metal powder industry, Dr. Gibson returned to school and studied Physical/Inorganic Chemistry with Dr. Lawrence Dahl at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. After earning his PhD in 1985, he accepted a postdoctoral position at AT&T Bell Laboratories, and subsequently entered the world of academia and ended up at the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh. Dr. Gibson’s research program is in the general area of nanophase materials. Currently, he is synthesizing and studying the properties of new nanophase phosphors with the goal of developing improved phosphors for solid-state lighting devices. Among Dr. Gibson’s accomplishments are two patents (assigned to WiSys) and several publications in the field of materials and nanophase materials.
Advancing the Promise of Solid State Lighting
Phosphors have a variety of practical applications. For example, phosphors are used in energy-efficient lighting devices, radiation detection, and optical displays. For these applications, conventional phosphors are generally made by high-temperature methods that produce powers containing relatively large (>1 micron) particles. However, there is reason to believe that the properties of nanophase phosphors, which contain very small (<100 nm) particles, might be substantially different than conventional phosphors. This talk will be a progress report describing our synthesis of some new nanophase phosphors, and some of their properties.
Catherine McCarty, Ph.D., M.P.H. Catherine McCarty, PhD, MPH is a Senior Research Scientist and Interim Director of the Center for Human Genetics at the Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation. She is the Principal Investigator of the Personalized Medicine Research Project, a population-based biobank with nearly 20,000 adult participants, with ongoing pharmacogenetics and genetic epidemiology studies.
Transforming Health Care through personalized Medicine
Dr. McCarty will present an overview of the Marshfield Clinic Personalized Medicine Research Project (PMRP), the largest population-based biobank in the US. The PMRP has nearly 20,000 adults enrolled, with DNA, plasma and serum samples, access to medical records to classify case and control status, and the ability to recontact subjects for additional information. Many research projects are underway using the biobank, including pharmacogenetic studies of topical beta-blockers used for glaucoma, statins used to lower blood cholesterol levels, Tamoxifen used to treat breast cancer; and genetic epidemiology studies of Alzheimer's Disease, osteoporosis, hypertensive heart disease, low HDL and cataract. Dr. McCarty will describe the biobank and the process to access samples.
Thomas Rockwell Mackie Dr. Mackie is a professor in the departments of Medical Physics, Human Oncology, Biomedical Engineering and Engineering Physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has been at the UW for 21 years, has mentored 30 Ph.D. students and published about 150 peer-reviewed papers. Dr. Mackie was a founder of Geometrics Corporation (now owned by Philips Medical Systems) that developed the PinnacleTM treatment planning system. He is also a founder and Chairman of the Board of TomoTherapy, Inc. that is a NASDAQ public company, employs about 700 people and is also based in Madison. He is on the Board of BioIonix a Madison-based company commercializing electromagnetic technology for water treatment and Cellectar a company developing a radiopharmaceutical anti-cancer drug.
Moderator: Company Presentations
Lorrie Keating Heinemann
Lorrie Keating Heinemann Ms. Keating Heinemann has served as the Secretary of the Department of Financial Institutions since her appointment by Governor Jim Doyle in 2003. She is responsible for coordinating the state regulation of the banking and securities industries, the licensing of financial service providers, maintaining corporate filings and administering the Wisconsin Consumer Act. She oversees 140 employees and a $32 million agency budget. Prior to her tenure at DFI Secretary Heinemann enjoyed an 18 year career in the banking and securities industries. She has her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, and her Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from UW-Oshkosh.
Dave Somers Dr. Dave Somers currently serves as Site Director of the Monsanto Agracetus Campus in Middleton, WI and as Sponsor of the Soy Pipeline.
Dave received his M.S. and Ph.D. in Agronomy from Washington State University and was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Plant Genetic Manipulation Lab at the University of Nottingham, UK. In 1984, Dave became an Assistant Professor in the Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, University of Minnesota. He was promoted to Full Professor in 1994 and became an Endowed Chair in “Applications of Molecular Genetics to Crop Improvement.” During his tenure at the University of Minnesota, Dave’s lab investigated crop transformation system development in corn, soy and oat; mechanisms of transgene locus formation; and molecular genetics of quality, agronomic and bioenergy traits. Dave joined Monsanto in 2005.
Dave serves as an associate editor for Molecular Breeding, Transgenic Research and Plant Cell Reports.
Elizabeth L. R. Donley, J.D., M.B.A., M.S. Elizabeth Donley is Chief Executive Officer of Stemina Biomarker Discovery. Ms. Donley is a patent attorney who served as General Counsel and Director of Business Development for the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation for more than eight years.
During her tenure at WARF, Ms. Donley also served as Managing Director of both WARF subsidiaries: WiSys Technology Foundation (WiSys) and WiCell Research Institute (WiCell). WiSys provides patenting and licensing services to all of the UW System. WiCell distributes Human Embryonic Stem (HES) cells, trains researchers worldwide and conducts important research involving many aspects of HES cell research.
Prior to joining WARF in 1998, Ms. Donley practiced law with the law firm of Quarles & Brady in the areas of intellectual property law, business transactions, securities and corporate law.
Ms. Donley has a law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School, an M.B.A. in finance from the UW-Whitewater and an M.S. in bacteriology from the UW-Madison.
Chandra Shekara A.C Dr. Chandra Shekara A.C is currently working as Research and Development Lead Scientist at BioDiagnostics Inc, River Falls, WI. He received his B.S and M.S from University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, India and PhD degree in Genetics from Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India. He worked as Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Department of Plant Pathology, University of Kentucky, KY.
His present research is aimed at developing new DNA based markers in various agricultural crops that can bring additional testing services to the company. Chandra-Shekara’s postdoctoral research focussed on understanding the host resistance signaling in Arabidopsis against turnip crinkle virus. His work centered on dissecting the role of light, fatty acid, several anti-microbial compounds such as salicylic acid, nitric oxide and camelexin in modulating host resistance signaling. He is the lead author of many scientific papers in peer reviewed journals such as Proceedings in National Academy of Sciences of USA, Plant Journal, Molecular Plant Microbe Interaction, Euphytica etc. His major scientific contributions include the discovery of a novel oleic acid mediated resistance mechanism conferring resistance to multiple plant pathogens in Arabidopsis and mapping of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) conferring super-high-oil trait in corn.
Moderator: Research Presentation 3
Tom Still Tom Still is president of the Wisconsin Technology Council and its membership subsidiary, the Wisconsin Innovation Network, which has chapters in Madison, Milwaukee, Northeast Wisconsin, Central Wisconsin, the Chippewa Valley and the Lake Superior region. The Tech Council is the independent, non-profit science and technology advisor to the governor and the Legislature. Its work centers on policy formation, economic development and network creation.
Still has served on the Industrial Advisory Board to the UW-Madison College of Engineering, the Board of Visitors of the UW Extension, the Governor’s Economic Growth Council, the Diabetes and Wellness Foundation, the We the People/Wisconsin civic journalism project and other civic and business groups. He is the former associate editor of the Wisconsin State Journal in Madison and continues to write a weekly column, “Inside Wisconsin.” He recently co-authored “Hands-On Environmentalism,” published by Encounter Books, New York. Still is a lecturer in the UW-Madison Department of Life Sciences Communication.
Bertram Ezenwa Dr. Bertram Ezenwa is an associate professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. His research in biomedical engineering has lead to new potential mechanical treatments for osteoporosis and new prosthetic devices. He holds several patents for these inventions. Dr. Ezenwa received his Ph.D. and M.S. degrees from the University of Saskatchewan in Canada. His B.S. degree is from the University of Nigeria.
Bill Hambleton Dr. Hambleton is a native of western Wisconsin with a BS in mathematics, MS in mechanics, and PhD in aerospace engineering and mechanics from the University of Minnesota in the field of experimental and theoretical fluid mechanics. Dr. Hambleton has taught several basic engineering courses at the University of Minnesota and was a research fellow at the Saint Anthony Falls Laboratory. Currently, Dr. Hambleton manages the efforts of OEM's Midwest Mechanics division, a group that provides experimental facilities and test and measurement support to clients in academia and industry throughout the world.
Multiple Vibration Intensities and Frequencies For Bone Mineral Density and Muscle Strength Improvement
Devices that deliver controlled quantum vibration intensities at multiple frequencies (QVIMF) provide optimal stress to the musculoskeletal system for improved bone mineral density and muscle strength. We will present development of a QVIMF system and pilot study to determine device performance. Development is centered on specially-designed actuators that comprise multiple nodes of controlled and smooth, but variable rates of contact on a telescoping platform through sets of damping subsystems. The combination of specially-designed actuators and damping subsystems, powered by a DC controlled motor, delivers quantum busts of vibration at multiple frequencies resulting in whole body vibration.
We postulate that QVIMF systems provide optimal stress to the musculoskeletal system for improving bone mineral density and muscle strength, irrespective of an individual’s age. This hypothesis is based on three factors: 1) multiple frequency vibration modality would facilitate the recruitment of more muscle groups than single frequency modality during any given vibration session; 2) overall stress from multiple muscle groups combined with multiple vibration intensities from the device provide a better environment for influx of calcium and vitamin D nutrients into the bone matrix; and 3) adequate stress to the bones for efficient delivery of bone mineral nutrients would result in a shorter vibration application time to get the same degree of benefit. This would make such a method more acceptable and tolerable over sustained periods of time for people of all ages. These factors were the primary considerations behind the development of the QVIMF systems.
An initial feasibility study involved a 79 year old adult male. After IRB approval from both the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) and the Zablocki VA Medical Center, Milwaukee, the subject’s bone mineral density (BMD) was measured by dual x-ray absorptimetry (DXA) at baseline. The subject then visited the UWM laboratory for two fifteen-minute vibration sessions per visit, three times a week for a total of 60 visits. Post-vibration BMD was again measured by DXA. Comparison pre- and post- vibration test results showed increases in BMD at the femoral neck, trochanter, total hip, forearm and lower lumbar spine (L1-4).
Throughout the duration of the pilot study, the subject had no complaints of muscle or joint pain or any adverse reaction. He enjoyed what he called a sense of “Gentle Vibration Creep” up along his body. He also reported feeling able to get about more easily, feeling more limber, and other comments of improved well-being. Our next step will be to validate the findings and claims with a larger number of subjects (derived through power analysis), quantify the effect on BMD, other physiological markers of bone metabolism, participant well-being and over-all function.
Douglas McNeel Douglas McNeel, MD PhD, is Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Wisconsin Paul P. Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center. He is a medical oncologist with a clinical and translational research focus in genitourinary malignancies, and prostate cancer in particular. Since 1997 he and his laboratory have studied vaccines for prostate cancer, specifically identifying antigens to target in vaccines, testing the ability of vaccines to eliminate prostate cancer cells, and translating these studies to human clinical trials.
Developing Vaccines for Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related death in men, in the United States. Our group has been seeking to develop anti-tumor vaccines as a treatment for prostate cancer, with the goal of using vaccines to elicit a prostate-specific cellular immune response that can eradicate residual tumor cells remaining after definitive therapy. To do this, we have been evaluating existing immune responses in patients with prostate cancer to prostate tissue-associated proteins in order to define possible targets for anti-tumor vaccines. We have then been developing preclinical rodent models to test the efficacy of vaccines in vivo, with the goal of translating these findings to human clinical trials. We have chosen prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP) as a model antigen because it is a prostate-specific gene for which there is a rodent homolog, permitting preclinical, prostate-specific immunological studies in rats. In published studies we have demonstrated that a DNA vaccine encoding PAP can elicit PAP-specific CD8+ T cells in rats, and we have demonstrated that this can have anti-tumor efficacy. We have recently completed a phase I clinical trial using a DNA vaccine encoding PAP in patients with early recurrent prostate cancer. We report here the findings from this clinical trial, and discuss future directions targeting this and other prostate cancer target antigens by means of DNA vaccines.
David Lewis David E. Lewis was born and educated in South Australia, taking his Ph.D. in organic chemistry under Massy-Westropp at the University of Adelaide. In December 1976 he came to the U.S. as a research associate at the University of Arkansas, where he became Lecturer in Chemistry in 1979. Following a year as Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, he moved to a tenure track Assistant Professorship at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, in 1981; he received tenure and promotion in 1988. In 1989, he moved as Associate Professor to South Dakota State University, where he was promoted to Professor in 1993. In 1997, he came to the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire as Professor and Chair; he stepped down from the chair in 1999. Lewis' research background is in natural products chemistry and physical organic chemistry, and his most recent research work has been in the area of heterocycle synthesis and the synthesis of novel fluorophores for use in microscopy. Lewis became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2004.
Michael Caldwell Dr. Caldwell is currently Director of the Wound Healing Program at Marshfield Clinic in Marshfield, Wisconsin. He received his BS in Chemistry from the University of South Carolina and his MD from the Medical University of South Carolina. He then completed a one-year Surgical Internship, a two-year Surgical Residency, and a one-year Neonatal Fellowship at the Medical University of South Carolina. From 1972-1976, Dr Caldwell had a Clinical Nutrition Post-Doctoral Fellowship at Vanderbilt University while he attended graduate school in Physiology. From 1976-1980, he was a Lieutenant Colonel in the US Army Military Corps. In 1980, he received his PhD in Physiology from Vanderbilt University, followed by a two-year Clinical Nutrition Fellowship at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania where he also completed a two-year Surgical Residency (Chief Resident, 1981-1982).
Dr Caldwell began his career as Chief, Division of Surgical Metabolism at the Letterman Army Institute of Research from 1976-1978; from 1977-1980, he was also Chief of the Nutritional Support Service there. Beginning as an Associate Professor from 1982-1990, he rose to Professor of Surgery at Brown University and was the Director of Nutritional Support Service and Director of the Surgical Metabolism Laboratory at Rhode Island Hospital. From 1986-1990, he was Surgeon-in Chief of the Division of Surgical Research and from 1988-1990, he was Acting Surgeon-In-Chief at Rhode Island Hospital. Dr Caldwell then spent ten years as Director of the Center for Wound Healing and Reparative Medicine, University of Minnesota and was a Professor of Surgery and Biochemistry at the University of Minnesota for those years. From 2000-2004, he was Director of the Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation, a Division of the Marshfield Clinic. He has also been Director of the Wound Healing Clinic at the Marshfield Clinic since 2000.
Recipient of numerous honors and awards and a member of many professional organizations, Dr Caldwell has been a frequent Invited Speaker at international and national conferences. He has been involved in local and national administrative service, has sat on numerous committees and editorial boards, and is an active member in several societies. A prolific writer, Dr Caldwell has published 94 articles, five books, 27 book chapters, and 83 abstracts. He is presently working on one federally funded grant but has completed 19 other grants. He has been involved in 13 clinical studies and has four patents issued.
Partnerships in Drug Discovery: Marshfield Clinic and UW-Eau Claire
The process of modern drug discovery requires teams of researchers with wide ranging areas of expertise, from medical expertise to expertise in the synthesis of organic compounds. While these assets are available to large Pharma companies, and to large research universities with associated medical schools, we are following an alternative pathway to assembling the expertise required. We have formed a collaboration between Marshfield Clinic, which has a large database of human genotype data available for use in studies, and UW-Eau Claire, whose Chemistry Department has access to the full range of modern instrumentation for the synthesis and characterization of novel organic compounds. Our first joint project is in the area of oral anticoagulants.
Mike Zach Mike Zach (Ph.D. University of California, Irvine, 2002; Miller Postdoctoral Fellow at UC, Berkeley & Glenn Seaborg Postdoctoral Fellow at Argonne National Laboratory) is an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point. Before his Ph.D., he was and artist/goldsmith/jewelry store owner in Monroe, Wisconsin. His academic interest is in encouraging students to believe they have a future in science and to consider careers in scientific research by emphasizing participation in undergraduate research projects. His research interests are in expanding the range of materials that can be deposited as nanowires using simple bench-top techniques such as electrodeposition/chemical vapor deposition and using such nanostructures to develop chemical sensors. He has numerous recognitions for his research including a Micro/NANO 25 Award, an R&D 100 Award and had his nanowire research featured on the cover of Science magazine.
Building Nanoscale Electronics
My lab has been a leading pioneer in the growth of nanowires by electrochemical step edge decoration (ESED). This technique exploits tiny differences of reactivity between the edges and surfaces of single atom layers of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG). Under certain conditions, the edges of the graphite sheet are the only active electrode area of the HOPG crystal. ESED has been used to grow millions of wires that are as small as 2 nm in diameter with lengths up to a millimeter. The wires have many potential applications such as sensors, thermoelectric devices, providing electrical contacts to nanoparticles of other materials for circuit components, and thermocouples. The simple equipment, easy deposition, and high yields of uniform nanowires all suggest that this could be a very important technique for mass production of nanowires for use in future, next-generation electronic devices.
Moderator: Research Presentations 4
Robert A. Carlson MD Dr. Carlson is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Medical School where he also completed a pathology residency. He is a Diplomate of The American Board of Pathology in anatomic and clinical pathology. Dr. Carlson has been with Marshfield Clinic since 1987. He has served in a number of positions at Marshfield Clinic, including Chairman of the Department of Pathology, Medical Director of Corporate Communications, Section Head of Clinical Chemistry, Section Head of the Reference
Laboratory and Director of the Division of Laboratory Medicine.
Dr. Carlson has had oversight not only of clinical laboratory services, but also has been responsible for the coordination of Molecular Diagnostic Services and for DNA storage in the Personalized Medicine Research Project. Currently he is Director of Applied Sciences at Marshfield Clinic and is committee chair of Marshfield Clinic’s Technology Transfer Committee.
In addition to these responsibilities, Dr. Carlson currently serves as President of the Wisconsin Security Research Consortium, Inc. (WSRC); Executive Board Member of Wisconsin Technology Council, Inc. (WTC); and Board Member of Wisconsin Biotechnology & Medical Device Association (WBMA).
Eric Singsaas Dr. Singsaas is a plant physiologist, ecologist, and biochemist who studies biological hydrocarbon production and plant-atmosphere gas exchange, working on scales ranging from the cell to the ecosystem. He received his Ph.D. in botany from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1997 studying the production of isoprene from oak and kudzu leaves. He went on to investigate the impact of increasing greenhouse gases on forest ecosystems in North Carolina and Wisconsin. Currently an assistant professor of biology at the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point, Eric teaches introductory biology, tree and forest function, plant physiology, and seminars in climate change biology and plant-environment interactions. He applies his scientific training to research in biofuel and bioproduct production, phytoremediation of groundwater using hybrid poplar trees, and the limits of plant responses to climate change.
Don Guay Dr. Guay is an assistant professor at UW-Stevens Point in the Paper Science & Engineering department 2004. His research interests include biofuels, pulping, bleaching, and fiber management. He received his BS degree in Paper Science from UW-Stevens Point and a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Maine in Orono, Maine.
Abstract: Creating a Bio-refinery Based on Pulping Technology
The state of Wisconsin has existing pulp mill infrastructure capable of converting wood into biofuel and value-added products such as lumber, pulp and paper. One of the largest hurdles preventing the use of wood for biofuel is the difficulty of converting cellulose to fermentable sugar. Current research at UW-Stevens Point suggests that the presence of lignin inhibits enzymatic saccharification of cellulose. The pulp and paper industry has developed processes to separate wood into its three main components, cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. Our research uses chemical pulping technologies to improve enzymatic saccharification of cellulose.
A second goal of our research program is to develop biological systems for the production of the hemiterpenoids isoprene (2-methyl 1,3 butadiene) and methyl butenol (MBO; 2-methyl-3-buten-2-ol) from biomass. Enzymatic saccharification converts cellulose into glucose, the feedstock for ethanol production. However, ethanol has a lower energy content than gasoline. Both isoprene and MBO are produced naturally from glucose in bacteria and certain plants. These 5-carbon natural products have outstanding market potential as precursors for organic polymers, pharmaceuticals, and bio fuels produced biologically from agricultural and forest biomass.
William Schwan Dr. Schwan is Professor of Microbiology at the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse. He has received funding from the NIH, National Federation of Infectious Diseases, UW System, and Area Health Education Center for his work at UW-L. Dr. Schwan earned his B.S. in Biology at Quincy College, an M.S. in Microbiology from Iowa State University, and a Ph.D. in Microbiology-Immunology from Northwestern University. He completed post-doctoral work at the University of Wuerzburg in Germany and at the Food and Drug Administration in the United States. For two years, he was employed as a Scientist and Project Leader at PathoGenesis Corporation in Seattle, WA, where he was part of a team that successfully developed signature-tagged mutagenesis methods for work in Staphylococcus aureus designed to discover new drug targets. He later led a team of four scientists who performed genetic knockouts in Pseudomonas aeruginosa to move forward a drug discovery project based on iron transport. Throughout his career, Dr. Schwan has utilized several animal models of infection to understand bacterial pathogenesis and he is trained in cytotoxicity testing. Dr. Schwan has published 34 scientific manuscripts dealing with the various aspects of bacteria that cause disease in humans. Besides his work in natural products drug discovery, Dr. Schwan also works on NIH-funded projects involving S. aureus and uropathogenic Escherichia coli
Fighting Infection in Patients with Cystic Fibrosis
There are over 30,000 people in the US living with cystic fibrosis (CF). Respiratory failure as the result of chronic respiratory tract infections is the most common cause of both morbidity and mortality in CF patients. Several bacterial species are responsible for the premature mortality associated with CF, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and the Burkholderia cepacia complex. Working with collaborators at UW La Crosse, my lab has identified new antimicrobial compounds effective in treating CF-related infections.
Currently, chronic suppressive antibiotic therapy is used to manage, but not to eradicate, lung infections in CF patients. A recent study has shown that 8.9% of Pseudomonas, Stenotrophomonas, and Burkholderia spp. isolates are resistant to single frontline antibiotics and 5% are multi-drug resistant. In the CF adult, antibiotic resistance can be as high as 33%, and for this reason treatment options are becoming very limited.
Our research group has identified compounds from a fungal fruiting body that exhibit antibacterial activity against several bacterial species that afflict cystic fibrosis patients, including the hard to treat species S. maltophilia, B. Cepacia Complex, and P. Aeruginosa. Furthermore, we have devised an efficient route for synthesis so significant quantities of these compounds may be obtained for further pre-clinical studies.
Michael Pickart Dr. Pickart joined the University of Wisconsin–Stout Biology faculty in 2005. As director of the Genomics Technology Access Core Facility (GTAC), he has been active in establishing interdisciplinary research experiences for undergraduates in UW-Stout’s Applied Research Program through active collaborations with both academic and business partners. His research efforts to improve the understanding of genetic control of tissue development and disease utilizes chemical and antisense approaches in zebrafish, three-dimensional tissue-engineered cultures, stem cell and other normal and malignant human tissue models. His work has resulted in a number of authored and co-authored publications including a recent report describing the identification of novel gene function involved in development of a variety of tissue types including epithelial, vascular, hematopoietic, and others. Dr. Pickart is active in chemical and functional genomics aimed at understanding and modeling human disease, identifying disease markers, improving complications to therapy, and characterization of bioactive compounds and drugs. He has also been active in the development of bioinformatics tools and databases in support of this research. He has an active grant program supporting GTAC research and educational objectives including a recent Applied Research Grant from WiSys, Inc.
Other initiatives by Dr. Pickart to expand and improve research opportunities at UW-Stout include co-founding the Integrated Solutions Consortium (ISC), an interdisciplinary regional consortium, created to leverage the expertise of regional UW-System campuses and non-academic partners for innovation in teaching and research. Through the GTAC facility, he has worked to increase UW-System student and faculty access to biotechnology through development of open access labs and self-directed workstations for user training and distributed management. His efforts continue to expand upon an international internship experience established in 2007 with the Institute for Genomics and Integrative Biology, Dehli, India to provide opportunities for student and scientist exchange and potential studies abroad. He advises the newly initiated UW-Stout Student Research Club, is an active member of UW-Stout’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) for Human Subjects and serves as chair of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC).
Dr. Pickart’s non-academic activities include the recent founding of Proteamedics, LLC, a biotechnology startup company in the Chippewa Valley focused on providing biodiagnostic, therapeutic, and biomedical R&D consulting solutions. He serves as a member of the scientific advisory board for Asenterra Systems, Inc., has been active in consulting in the fields of tissue engineering and genomics, and is eager to develop joint R&D projects for biodiagnostics, drug screening and development with potential business partners. He can be reached by phone: 715-232-2561 (office) or 715-338-8947 and email: pickartm@uwstout.edu.
Modeling Human Disease in Zebrafish
Now that the genomes of both humans and many animal model organisms are freely available, a significant challenge is to provide large collections of mutant model organisms for use in gene identification and elucidation of the function of these genes. This is particularly important in ongoing academic and industry drug discovery screens which must become increasingly cost-effective to allow rapid testing of an ever-expanding variety of test agents. Many screens have turned to the zebrafish as the most amenable model for rapid, cost effective screening with high potential relevance to human disease. The aim of my research is to develop rapid, genomewide methodologies to identify deletion mutations in zebrafish. This work will result in a collection of new animal models for blood, vascular, and bone development which are relevant to human biology and disease. My lab has formed a partnership with Genome Technologies (Wisconsin business partner) to help carry out this research.
Moderator: Entrepreneurship Presentations
David Ward
David J. Ward, Ph.D., President, NorthStar Economics Dr. Ward is the founder and president of NorthStar Economics, Inc. His company provides economic consulting services to public sector and private sector clients. Dr. Ward and his firm have extensive experience in strategic economic development planning in Wisconsin and the Midwest. He has authored a number of strategic economic development plans and economic impact studies for clients in Wisconsin, Wyoming, Kentucky, New Hampshire and seven other states. His studies and publications include the following:
- The Northeastern Wisconsin Economic Opportunity Plan (The New North)
- A Systematic Evaluation Process for a Science and Technology Strategy in the State of New Hampshire
- An Economic Opportunity Study for Central Wisconsin (Centergy)
- An Economic Agenda and Operating Plan for the International Trade, Business and Economic Development Council of Southwest Wisconsin (SW ITBEC)
- An Economic Development Adjustment Plan for Door County, Wisconsin
- The 2003 and 2005 NorthStar Guide to Growth and Venture Capital
- A Statewide Assessment of Research, Science, and Technology for The Wisconsin Security Research Consortium
Dr. Ward is an active angel investor and is a founding member of the Origin Investment Group of La Crosse, Wisconsin. He is a member of the State Advisory Committee for the Wisconsin Angel Network (WAN) He is the co-author of the 2003 and 2005 NorthStar Guide to Growth and Venture Capital.
Dr. Ward earned a BBA, MBA and Ph.D. in Finance from the University of Wisconsin - Madison. Dr. Ward completed a thirty-one year career in the University of Wisconsin System in July of 2000. He held teaching positions at the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay and University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh. He served as Vice-Chancellor and Acting Chancellor at UW Oshkosh and concluded his career in higher education as the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs for the University of Wisconsin System.
Dr. Ward is currently serving as the Interim Chancellor at UW Green Bay as the campus searches for a new chancellor this fall.
Kathy Collins, State Government Resources and Grants
Charlie Goff Mr. Goff serves as the General Partner of NEW Capital Fund, LP. The General Partner’s responsibilities include coordinating the activities of the Fund, managing the Fund’s operations and finances, promoting the Fund to stimulate deal flow, and providing support and interface for the Fund’s Limited Partners and portfolio companies. Over his career, Mr. Goff has founded, grown, and sold numerous entrepreneurial companies, including Forward Enterprises, Inc. At the time of sale, Forward Enterprises had five locations in three states, and 75 employees. Mr. Goff graduated from UW-Oshkosh with a degree in Math and Computer Science and from UW-Madison with a Masters Degree in Business Administration. Mr. Goff currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Appleton YMCA, Appleton, WI; Azco, Inc., Menasha, WI; Frozen Codebase LLC, Green Bay, WI; Keller, Inc., Kaukauna, WI; and Renovar, Inc., Madison, WI.
Pete Marsnik Pete Marsnik is president of ClearWater Systems, LLC of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, providing process development and business development services to customers in medical device, green tech, clean tech and nanotechnology industries since 2000. He also founded a company to advance technology for production of water pollution treatment media using a renewable feedstock (soybean hulls) in 2004.
He is manager of the Chippewa Valley Angel Investors Network, LLC that has invested in seven startup and early stage ventures in the last several years, and serves as an Executive in Residence (EIR) in the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Entrepreneur Program.
Pat Dillon Ms. Pat Dillon is the Northwest Regional Director for the Wisconsin Entrepreneurs' Network (WEN). WEN is part of the Governor’s Grow Wisconsin Plan with funding provided by ACT 255. WEN's mission is to provide seamless access to the statewide network of entrepreneurial resources and expertise to create new ventures; help grow existing businesses, and move forward high potential entrepreneurs to enable Wisconsin to be competitive in a global economic environment.
Dillon brings more than 20 years of public-private sector knowledge and experience to WEN. As the Northwest Regional Director, Dillon provides business development, technology transfer and economic development expertise to the region, and expertise in the federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Programs.
Prior to joining WEN, Dillon was the executive director and program director of Minnesota Project Innovation, Inc. where she consulted with hundreds of companies, resulting in more than 30 seed, early stage and emerging companies to win more than $20 million in federal research awards through SBIR and STTR Programs. Additionally, she was a co-founder of the Minnesota Seed Capital Network, an initiative to help Minnesota based entrepreneurs raise angel and early stage investment capital through scheduled investor forums. More than 40 companies presented raising more than $25 million in investment capital.
Dillon is highly recognized nationally and locally for her knowledge and expertise in the entrepreneurial environment and the SBIR/STTR Programs. In 1999, she was awarded the prestigious Small Business Administration Tibbetts Award, and in 2001, she was recognized by City Business (Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal) as one of the 25 Most Innovative Women in Minneapolis.
Dillon has served on SBIR review panels at the National Science Foundation and the United States Department of Agriculture, and was the Principal Investigator of an Office of Naval Research contract for the first ever SBIR Road Tour. Dillon serves as the Wisconsin Liaison for the Defense Alliance of Minnesota and she is a member of the following organizations: National Contract Management Association; the Association for the Advancement of Science; the National Defense Industrial Association; the Naval Reserve Association, and the Association of the United States Army.
A native of Alma, Wisconsin, Dillon graduated from Winona State University with a MBA and BS in Business Administration. Ms. Dillon is a Commander in the United States Navy Reserve with more than 30 years of service.
Julie A. Furst-Bowe, Provost and Vice Chancellor, University of Wisconsin-Stout
Julie Furst-Bowe has been in the field of higher education for 20 years. She has been at the University of Wisconsin-Stout since 1990, and served as a faculty member, graduate program director, department chair, assessment coordinator and associate vice chancellor prior to assuming her position. She has been extensively involved with quality improvement efforts at UW-Stout and serves as a senior examiner for the Baldrige Awards Program and for the Academic Quality Improvement Project.
She was instrumental in UW-Stout becoming the first institution to receive the Malcolm National Quality Award and serves as a judge for the state quality award programs in Wisconsin and Minnesota. She has presented nationally and internationally on the topic of quality in higher education and recently edited a book on this topic. Julie holds a doctorate in education from the University of Minnesota.