Bhanu P. Jena, Ph.D., the George E. Palade University Professor and Distinguished Professor of the Wayne State University School of Medicine’s Department of Physiology, has been invited to give the keynote address at the 33rd meeting of the Indian Cell Biology Society.

The meeting will take place Dec. 10-13 at the University of Hyderabad in India.

“I am honored to be invited to present the keynote lecture at this important international meeting,” said Dr. Jena, who will speak on "Cell Secretion and Membrane Fusion: A Billion Year History."

“We are aware of your outstanding contributions to the broad field of Cell Biology … . I am confident that your presence would provide an opportunity for thought-provoking interactions with the participants,” wrote Dr. Seyed E. Hasnain, vice chancellor of the University of Hyderabad, in his invitation to Dr. Jena.

Recently, Dr. Jena won the prestigious Ranbaxy Research Award. The annual awards are presented by the Ranbaxy Science Foundation, a non-profit organization established by Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited to encourage and honor Indian scientists working around the world in the endeavors of medical and pharmaceutical research.

The foundation honored Dr. Jena for his discovery of a new cellular structure -- the porosome -- as well as his elucidation of the general molecular mechanism underlying cell secretion and membrane fusion.

The porosome, discovered by Dr. Jena 14 years ago, is the universal secretory machinery in cells. Secretion is a fundamental cellular process that occurs in all living organisms. Cell secretion is responsible for numerous activities, including neurotransmission, and the release of hormones and digestive enzymes. Secretory defects are responsible for a number of debilitating conditions, including growth defects, diabetes and neurological disorders. Dr. Jena’s discoveries have opened a gateway for the possible development of future treatments for such disorders at the very basic level of life.

Dr. Jena seeks to expand his research and work in cross-disciplinary partnerships in his position as founder and director of the Wayne State University NanoBioScience Institute. The institute’s overall objective is to prepare U.S.-trained scientists who can assume the “next generation of leadership roles in the U.S. academic and industrial environment.”

Nano technologies, Dr. Jena explained, are powerful emerging fields that facilitate research and understanding of the smallest molecular structures. The understanding of how cells and biomolecules function will lead to the development of nanoscale devices that assist biological processes and assist in developing “smart drugs” and drug delivery systems. The merging of medical science and engineering science is crucial to the field.