REU Site: A Multidisciplinary Research Experience in Engineered Bioactive Interfaces and Devices

University Of Kentucky Research Foundation, Lexington KY

Investigators

Abstract

The three-year REU Site: A Multidisciplinary Research Experience in Engineered Bioactive Interfaces and Devices at the University of Kentucky will provide research and education experience for rising sophomore, junior and senior undergraduates in the area of Engineered Bioactive Interfaces and Devices. This area focuses on the novel design of architectures that interact with biological systems and promote a desired response. These advanced architectures have numerous applications including tissue engineering, sensing systems, and drug delivery. Students will be recruited from various undergraduate disciplines including engineering, biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics from numerous regional colleges and universities that have no graduate programs in these disciplines. Students will work closely with faculty and graduate students. Specific objectives include 1) providing the students with true interdisciplinary mentoring and research training through their participation in a research project related to Engineered Bioactive Interfaces and Devices 2) stimulating the students’ interests in Ph.D. careers in science and engineering through seminars, field trips, and interactions with both graduate students and faculty, and 3) developing the students’ independence and confidence through participation in research, journal clubs, in house presentations and scientific meetings. The three-year REU Site: A Multidisciplinary Research Experience in Engineered Bioactive Interfaces and Devices at the University of Kentucky will provide research and education experience for rising sophomore, junior and senior undergraduates in the area of Engineered Bioactive Interfaces and Devices. The need for this cross-disciplinary interaction between investigators working on biological systems and those creating novel engineered synthetic architectures has long been recognized and emphasized as an important area of research. These advanced architectures have numerous applications ranging from tissue engineering, to sensing systems, to drug delivery and successful development of these systems will depend on expertise not only in developing novel synthetic architectures through nanotechnology, self-assembly and hybrid systems but also on the interactions of these interfaces with biological systems such as cells and proteins. This program introduces students to this exciting multidisciplinary area where they will have the opportunity to learn about three cross-disciplinary research themes that form the foundation of the research 1) “Novel Bioactive Architectures”, 2) “Cell/Protein Interactions at Interfaces”, and 3) “Integration into Devices”. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.