Second Episode of New Podcast Series Explains Research at Pioneer Valley Life Sciences Institute
Feb. 27, 2008
| Contact: | Ed Blaguszewski 413/545-0444 |
AMHERST, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts Amherst has produced the second episode of its new podcast series on breakthrough discoveries of campus researchers, this time focusing on the Pioneer Valley Life Sciences Institute (PVLSI), a collaboration between UMass Amherst and Baystate Medical Center in Springfield.
TechCast at UMass this month features interviews with PVLSI’s Larry Schwartz, who also teaches biology at UMass Amherst, and Paul Friedmann, the executive director of the PVLSI. Each month a new episode is created and posted at
www.umasstechcast.org, where it can be downloaded to a computer or portable audio player. Visitors to the site also can subscribe to automatically receive new episodes of the podcast.
What happens when you cross the talents of premier life scientists and engineers at a major university with the clinical expertise of doctors who practice at a top-rated hospital? In western Massachusetts, you’d get PVLSI. The key idea is to bring together the two sides of medical innovation: theory (as in basic research) and practice (as in clinical applications). At PVLSI, teams of biologists and engineers from UMass Amherst and physicians from Baystate work together to find and test novel treatments for cancer, neurological and autoimmune disorders, heart disease and other illnesses. They’re also working as partners with biomedical companies that are creating products to deliver these new treatments.
One promising area of research is programmed cell death, or apoptosis. Schwartz is the director of the Center for Excellence in Apoptosis Research, which was created in 2006. Schwartz talks about his work at the center and how it fits into the overall goals of PVLSI.
Friedmann exemplifies the clinical side of the PVLSI partnership. He was chairman of surgery at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield for 27 years and discusses why the UMass Amherst and Baystate Medical Center teamed up to create the Pioneer Valley Life Sciences Institute.
At UMass Amherst, the office of Commercial Ventures and Intellectual Property (CVIP) is the entry point for technology transfer questions, and it plays a lead role in finding commercial partners for new discoveries. In addition, CVIP assists faculty, staff and students to secure sponsored research funds and to transform their ideas, inventions and creative works into products and services that have economic paybacks to inventors, sponsors and the university.
TechCast at UMass is produced under the direction of the Office of News and Information at UMass Amherst in conjunction with CVIP. The program host is Francesca Rheannon, an award-winning producer whose work has been heard on National Public Radio, including WFCR in Amherst. The series is supported by a generous gift from UMass Amherst alumnus Lewis J. Geffen.
Audio
The Pioneer Valley Life Sciences Institute: A Growing Success Story in Western Massachusetts
TechCast at UMass: What happens when you cross the talents of premier life scientists and engineers at a major university with the clinical expertise of doctors who practice at a top-rated hospital? In western Massachusetts, you'd get the Pioneer Valley Life Sciences Institute. The key idea is to bring together the two sides of medical innovation: theory (as in basic research) and practice (as in clinical applications). At PVLSI, teams of biologists and engineers from UMass Amherst and physicians from Baystate Medical Center work together to find and test novel treatments for cancer, neurological and autoimmune disorders, heart disease and other illnesses. They're also working as partners with biomedical companies that are creating products to deliver these new treatments.
To listen to this audio, you must have Flash Player version 7 or above, and JavaScript must be enabled. Get the latest Flash Player »
More Information
E-mail story to a friend 
Printer-friendly version
