BBSI: Vascular Bioengineering Summer Institute

Texas A&M University, College Station TX

Investigators

Abstract

The Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Physiology and Pharmacology at Texas A&M (TAMU) University will host a ten week NIBIB-NSF Bioengineering and Bioinformatics Summer Institutes (BBSI) Program entitled, "BBSI: Vascular Bioengineering Summer Institute," to be held at the Debakey Institue, under the direction of Dr. Christopher M. Quick. This Institute will support a total of 48 undergraduate and graduate students, 12 per year, for a total of four years. The students, will be divided between engineering and life sciences, and demnostrate an interest in exploring a career in vascular bioengineering research. The objectives of the Summer Institute are: 1) to provide a base of knowledge of bioengineering as applied to complex adaptive systems specifically in biomechanics and mechanobiology of the mammalian vasculature, 2) to provide authentic bioengineering research experiences that expose students to interdisciplinary collaboration, and 3) to provide the career development activities that lead to a persistent, multidisciplinary scientific community encouraging students to transition to a research career. The Summer Institute will promote the recruitment of underrepresented student populations through the Campus Coordinators of the Texas Alliance for Minority Participation (AMP) and other Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) Project Directors and Campus Coordinators nationally. In addition, the co-PIs will utilize opportunities to reach out to organizations such as the Society of Women Engineers (SWE)and the National Society of Black Engineers and through extensive interactions with minority-serving institutions. This project is being co-funded by the Directorate for Engineering (ENG)/Division of Bioengineering and Environmental Systems (BES) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB).