Wisconsin Technology Council

News release: Metabolism is the set of life-giving biochemical reactions that enable human cells to grow, develop and maintain physiological stability while adapting to external change. But what happens when metabolism goes array? Many diseases and conditions, some rare but some as prevalent as cancer, can take root.

Researchers from the Morgridge Institute for Research, a private biomedical research body housed within the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, will talk about their work and the broader UW-Madison focus on metabolic health at the Tuesday, Nov. 22, Tech Council Innovation Network luncheon in Madison.

Morgridge Institute for Research panelists are Jason Cantor, the principal investigator within a laboratory that is intersecting biology and engineering to learn more about blood cancer therapies, and Amani Gillette, a post-doctoral research associate who uses fluorescence lifetime imaging to learn more about cancer growth and treatment. Gillette is part of an optical imaging lab led by Melissa Skala, a medical engineering principal investigator.

The luncheon will be held at the Sheraton Hotel on Madison’s John Nolen Drive. Registration and networking begin at 11:30 a.m., lunch at noon and the presentation at 12:30 p.m. The cost is $10 for students and returning veterans, $25 for individual members, $35 for non-members and included for Tech Council corporate members.  

“This is no small undertaking within the Morgridge Institute, which is a collaborative hub for the work of 500 or so UW-Madison scientists who want to better understand how ‘the chemistry of life’ affects us all,” said Tom Still, president of the Wisconsin Technology Council. “Disrupted metabolism can be caused by a host of environmental factors as well as genetics, and research at Morgridge is helping to understand causes and possible solutions.”

This luncheon is sponsored by the Dane County Regional Airport. The Wisconsin Technology Council is the independent, non-profit science and technology adviser to the governor and Legislature, with events, publications and outreach that contribute to Wisconsin’s tech-based economy. To join, go to www.wisconsintechnologycouncil.com or call 608-442-7557.