NEW YORK, June 30, 2008 -- Gabriel A. Silva, Ph.D., a resident of Del Mar, Calif., and assistant professor at the University of California, San Diego, was honored by ASME for outstanding bioengineering research, particularly the investigation of intercellular signaling in the central nervous system under normal health conditions and in disease.  He received the Society’s Y.C. Fung Young Investigator Award.

The award, established in 1985, recognizes a young investigator who is committed to pursuing research in bioengineering and has demonstrated significant potential to make substantial contributions to the field of bioengineering.  It was presented to Dr. Silva during the Summer Bioengineering Conference, which was held on Marco Island, Fla., June 25 through 29.

Following a postdoctoral fellowship (2001-03) in nanotechnology at Northwestern University, Chicago, Silva joined the faculty at the University of California, San Diego, as an assistant professor in the departments of bioengineering and ophthalmology.  He is also a faculty member in the neurosciences graduate program, the materials science and engineering graduate program, the Whitaker Institute for Biomedical Engineering and the Stein Institute for Research on Aging.

Silva is active in numerous mentoring efforts, including serving as a thesis advisor for master’s and Ph.D. students, a faculty mentor in 14 different undergraduate research programs and as a member of 16 graduate thesis committees.

His current research work is on investigating cell signaling and information processing in biological neural networks in health and disease, particularly glial neurobiology and reactive gliosis.  His group is developing computational algorithms and software designed for the high throughput characterization and analysis of complex neural cell networks that are applicable to measurements of inter- and intracellular florescence signaling.  This work should suggest novel approaches for how we think about and approach central nervous system pathologies and guide the development of novel therapies.

Silva has published in, among others, the Journal of Neuroscience, Journal of Physiology, Nature Reviews Neuroscience, Nature Clinical Practice Neurology, Nano Lettters and Science.  He is associate editor for the Journal of Biomedical Nanotechnology and IEEE Transactions on Nanobioscience, and is on the editorial broad for Experimental Biology and Medicine.  He holds one patent, with one pending.

Silva is a founding member of the American Academy of Nanomedicine and a member of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, among other associations.

Silva received bachelor’s degrees in human physiology and biophysics in 1996 and earned his master’s degree in neuroscience in 1997 at the University of Toronto, Canada.  In 2001 he earned his Ph.D. in bioengineering and neuroscience at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Founded in 1880 as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, ASME is a not-for-profit professional organization promoting the art, science and practice of mechanical and multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences.  ASME develops codes and standards that enhance public safety, and provides lifelong learning and technical exchange opportunities benefiting the global engineering and technology community.

-#-