Key Points
- The inaugural 2022 International Symposium on Biomolecular Ultrasound & Sonogenetics (ISBUS) was held December 8–11, 2022, at Caltech.
- ISBUS convened 150 researchers pursuing biomolecular and genetic approaches to ultrasonic imaging and control of cellular function.
- Several keynotes and presentations are of interest to the focused ultrasound community.
The inaugural 2022 International Symposium on Biomolecular Ultrasound & Sonogenetics (ISBUS) was held December 8–11, 2022, in Pasadena, California, at Caltech. ISBUS convened 150 researchers pursuing biomolecular and genetic approaches to ultrasonic imaging and control of cellular function, with applications in biological research and medicine.
ISUBS was organized by Mikhail Shapiro, PhD (Caltech, Chair); Sreekanth “Shrek” Chalasani, PhD (Salk Institute); Hong Chen, PhD (Washington University of St. Louis); F. Stuart Foster, PhD (University of Toronto); David Maresca, PhD (Delft University of Technology); and Yingxiao Peter Wang (UC San Diego). The organizers led the overview talks and discussions. Katherine Ferrara, PhD (Stanford University) also helped moderate.
“It is just now becoming possible to connect ultrasound to the function of specific cells using genetic tools,” said Dr. Shapiro. “This creates many exciting possibilities for cellular imaging and remote control in both basic biology and biomedicine. ISBUS brought together a diverse community of researchers participating in this emerging field.”
The meeting featured 18 talks and more than 60 posters. Mickael Tanter, PhD, from Physics for Medicine Paris, INSERM and Elisa Konofagou, PhD, from Columbia University were invited to give keynote presentations. Additional presentations of interest to the focused ultrasound community included:
- Programming synthetic T cell immunity against solid tumors by thermal targeting by Lena Gamboa from Georgia Tech (this presentation won one of the best oral presentation awards)
- Incisionless targeted AAV delivery to the brain by focused ultrasound–mediated nasal administration by Dezhuang Ye from Washington University in St. Louis
- Focused ultrasound–mediated mechanogenetics for immunotherapy by Chi Woo Yoon from the University of California San Diego
Verasonics, Fujifilm Visualsonics, and Iconeus attended and demonstrated equipment as platinum sponsors. E&I was a gold sponsor. The Focused Ultrasound Foundation was a silver sponsor. Philips, Precision Acoustics, Image Guided Therapy, the Acoustical Society of America, Imasonic, and Sonic Concepts were bronze sponsors.
“We had a lot of fun!” added Dr. Shapiro. “It was great to have the Focused Ultrasound Foundation as a sponsor and participant.”
A 2nd ISBUS meeting is being planned for 2024.