FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:             Linda Joy
Sept. 12, 1994                     (301) 975-4403

                                   TN-5988

                   TISSUE ENGINEERING WORKSHOP TO CONSIDER

                       COMMERCIALIZATION OPPORTUNITIES


     Biomedical engineers, biomaterials researchers and medical
device developers are among those who can benefit from a one-day
tissue engineering workshop at the National Institute of Standards
and Technology in Gaithersburg, Md., on Nov. 22.

     The workshop, co-sponsored by NIST's Advanced Technology
Program and Biotechnology Division, the National Institutes of
Health, the Food and Drug Administration, and the National Science
Foundation, will be held from 8:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. that day in
NIST's Green Auditorium of the Administration Building.

     Speakers will review recent research and development advances
in tissue engineering and their application to biomedical products.
Tissue engineering, a rapidly growing discipline, holds many
innovative approaches to manufacturing health-related products.

     A principal goal of this workshop is to assess current and
future prospects for commercialization of tissue engineering
technology.  The workshop goal reflects the mission of NIST's
Advanced Technology Program, which provides cost-shared awards to
industry to develop high-risk technologies that can enable
significant commercial progress.

     Invited speakers will discuss basic science and engineering
necessary for the development of products based on tissue
engineering approaches.  An afternoon panel discussion will focus
on key issues such as research needs and progress, product
development and testing, clinical impact, and scientific aspects of
regulatory issues.

     Speakers include:  Eugene Bell, president and chief executive
officer, Tissue Engineering Inc., and professor emeritus of
biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; William Click,
president and scientific director, Biohybrid Technologies Inc.;
Pierre Galletti, Professor of Medical Science, Brown University;
Gail Naughton, vice president and chief executive officer, Advanced
Tissue Sciences; and Robert Langer, professor of chemical
engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

     Panel members will be: Robert Nerem, Parker H. Pettit
Professor, School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of
Technology; Patrick Aebischer, Vaudois University Hospital Center,
Lausanne, Switzerland; Michael Lysaght, vice president,
CytoTherapeutics Inc.; Harold Alexander, director, Department of
Bioengineering, and professor of orthopedic surgery, Hospital for
Joint Disease, Orthopedic Institute, New York University Medical
Center; and Kiki Hellman, senior scientist and coordinator for
biotechnology, Center for Devices and Radiological Health, Food and
Drug Administration.

     Registration for the workshop is $50 and includes 
coffee breaks, lunch and workshop materials.  For registration
information, contact Lori Phillips, B116 Administration 
Building, NIST, Gaithersburg, Md. 20899-0001, (301) 975-4513, 
fax: (301) 948-2067.

     As a non-regulatory agency of the Commerce Department's
Technology Administration, NIST promotes U.S. economic growth by
working with industry to develop and apply technology, measurements
and standards.

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