Institute for BioNanotechnology in Medicine

A Revolution in Medicine

Message from the Director

The Institute for BioNanotechnology in Medicine (IBNAM), Northwestern University’s interdisciplinary research institute established in 2000, bridges the frontiers of medicine, engineering, and science. The institute is a partnership of the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science, and Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences.

Advancements in biology and engineering, coupled with the emerging areas of nanoscience and nanotechnology, have the potential to profoundly enhance human health and revolutionize the way medicine is practiced. The National Institutes of Health recently endorsed these coming changes by hosting a national meeting on the topic of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology: Shaping the Future of Biomedical Research. Our vision in creating IBNAM was to ensure Northwestern University’s leadership position in this scientific and clinical transformation.

A research incubator program launched the institute’s activities by establishing the first IBNAM research teams, each composed of two or three faculty and research staff members. To create these teams, the institute solicited innovative, interdisciplinary research proposals from faculty members in the Feinberg School, McCormick School, and Weinberg College. The successful development over the next three years of the research teams will give us direction in designing our permanent facilities in the Robert H. Lurie Medical Research Center, now being constructed on the Northwestern campus in Chicago.

In June 2002, Baxter Healthcare Corporation and IBNAM announced an agreement to collaborate on early discovery projects in nanoscience. Baxter committed the payment of up to $450,000 per year over the next five years to fund as many as three postdoctoral researchers and four annual research projects focused on submicroscopic applications. The collaboration between Baxter and IBNAM holds vast possibilities. We are proud to have Baxter as a partner in our endeavor to improve our health and transform the practice of medicine.

Samuel I. Stupp
Board of Trustees Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Chemistry, and Medicine
Director, IBNAM