NanoTecNexus (NTN) formerly NanoBioNexus, a leading nanotech education organization and the University of California, San Diego NanoTumor Center (NTC) have received the 2009 Bronze Telly Award for the production of a video on approaches to fighting cancer using nanotechnology.  The 30th Annual Telly Awards honors outstanding local, regional, and cable television commercials and programs, as well as the finest video and film productions, and work created for the web.  The video entitled “Fighting Cancer with Nanotechnology” was produced in collaboration with Mindeliver Media, a San Diego-based media company specializing in pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and science industries.

The NanoTumor Center, a public-private consortium funded by the National Cancer Institute Alliance for Nanotechnology and led by UCSD, is dedicated to the fight against cancer. Its primary focus is on potential uses of nanotechnology in detecting, imaging and treating cancer through a “smart” multifunctional platform capable of targeting tumors and delivering payloads of therapeutics.  One of its core missions is also education.

“Education in the new field of cancer nanotechnology for the scientific and clinical communities as well as the general public is an integral part of our center,” said NTC Director Sadik Esener, PhD, professor of electrical and computer engineering at the UCSD Jacobs School of Engineering.  ”The public needs to be aware of and informed about progress in cancer research in key fields such as nanotechnology,” noted Dennis Carson, MD, director of the Moores UCSD Cancer Center, an NTC member. “These types of educational projects are vital to its continued support and success.”

The Telly Awards receives over 13,000 entries annually from all 50 states and countries around the world and showcases the best work of the most respected advertising agencies, production companies, television stations, cable operators, interactive agencies, and corporate video departments in the world.  ”We are proud to have this recognition for our educational efforts,” said Adriana Vela, Founder and CEO of NanoTecNexus. “I credit a strong vision from the NanoTumor Center, support from the NCI Alliance, and a high caliber production team for the success of this project.” The video can be viewed at NanoTumor Center and NanoTecNexus websites as well as YouTube and other public sites.
 
The Telly Award follows several highly successful outreach projects held in March and April in collaboration with and in support of the inaugural San Diego Science Festival, a month-long celebration that promoted the sciences to students and the public. More than 200,000 people attended, far exceeding the first year’s goal.  NTN and the NanoTumor Center offered programs such as the Nanotech Mashup event, a NanoArt Exhibit, and Nanopalooza, an interactive booth at the Festival’s Expo held at San Diego’s Balboa Park. More than 50,000 people attended the Expo.

The Nanotech Mashup event featured a talk by Josh Wolfe, co-Founder and Managing Partner of Lux Capital and the Nanopalooza booth featured fun activities, games, and displays focused on educating visitors about nanotechnology. The NanoArt exhibit, hosted by Mission Valley Library, offered nano-landscapes by Cris Orfescu who brings science and technology to the creation of unique works of art.  Each program offered something for everyone and supported the educational and outreach mission of the NanoTumor Center and NanoTecNexus.

Future partnerships with the NanoTumor Center include an upcoming International Symposium focusing on “Automated Virus Detection and Analysis for Applications from Oncology to Bio-Weapon,” scheduled for July 28th, 2009 in San Diego, CA.  The symposium gathers experts from France, Mexico and the United States to discuss pioneering approaches employing high-resolution DMA (Differential Mobility Analyzer), a physical method that can be applied to the detection of many virus species, particles, and ions found in the environment or cancer in humans and at-risk populations.  For event details and registration visit www.nanotecnexus.org .

About NanoTecNexus

NanoTecNexus (NTN), formerly known as NanoBioNexus, is a leading non-profit organization headquartered in San Diego with offices in Tucson AZ, San Jose, CA and Vancouver, WA.  NTN is dedicated to catalyzing collaboration and knowledge exchange in the nanotech field by connecting people, technology, industry and investment.  NanoTecNexus enables constituents worldwide to keep up-to-date on the developments of cutting-edge nanotechnologies.  Nanotechnology involves manipulating matter on an atomic or molecular scale smaller than 100 nanometers (1 nm=1 billionths of a meter) and taking advantage of properties that are present at that scale. Nanotechnology is used in thousands of applications in medicine and health, energy and water, defense and many others.  On the Net: www.nanotecnexus.org

About Moores UCSD Cancer Center and NanoTumor Center

The Moores UCSD Cancer Center is one of the nation’s 41 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers, combining research, clinical care and community outreach to advance the prevention, treatment and cure of cancer.  For more information, visit www.cancer.ucsd.edu.

The NTC is a five-year, $20-million National Cancer Institute (NCI)-funded public-private consortium and one of only eight such NCI-backed programs in the nation. UCSD physicians, engineers, chemists and biologists collaborate with colleagues at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research and University of California campuses at Irvine, Riverside, and Santa Barbara, in addition to various industry partners, to examine the potential uses of nanotechnology in cancer detection, imaging and treatment. For more information, visit http://nano.cancer.gov/programs/ucsd/.

# # #

NanoTecNexus specializes in the field of nanotechnology and its impact on industry, academia and society. Our mission is to catalyze collaboration and knowledge exchange across these seemingly disparate entities with a variety of programs and services.