{"362581":{"#nid":"362581","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Four More Join The Team","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Parker H. Petit Institute of Bioengineering and Bioscience has added four new faculty members to its growing throng of researchers working on the cutting edge. Three of the new research institute members are based at the Georgia Institute of Technology, one at Emory University.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EConstantine Dovrolis, a professor in the School of Computer Science at Georgia Tech, earned his Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and he is working on network analysis and modeling. He has recently proposed an explanatory model of the hourglass effect in developmental biology, and a new method for inferring structural brain networks.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EYoung Jang, an assistant professor in Tech\u2019s School of Applied Physiology, got his Ph.D. in biomedical science at the University of Texas. The main goal of Jang\u2019s research is to understand the molecular and biochemical mechanisms that lead to muscle atrophy and loss of function during aging and in neuromuscular diseases.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EShuyi Nie, who earned her Ph.D. in cell biology at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, is an assistant professor in Georgia Tech\u2019s School of Biology, where she has focused her research on the mechanisms of embryonic cell migration.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHee Cheol Cho, an associate professor with the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, is based at Emory, where he is the Urowsky-Sahr Scholar in Pediatric Bioengineering. A member of the Emory+Children\u2019s Pediatric Research Center, Cho\u2019s research group develops gene- and-cell-based approaches to engineering biological pacemakers as alternatives to electronic cardiac pacemaker devices.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Petit Institute adds new faculty members"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EPetit Institute adds new faculty members\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Petit Institute adds new faculty members"}],"uid":"28153","created_gmt":"2015-01-08 22:45:05","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:50","author":"Jerry Grillo","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2015-01-08T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2015-01-08T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"312351":{"id":"312351","type":"image","title":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering \u0026 Bioscience","body":null,"created":"1449244929","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:02:09","changed":"1475895022","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:22","alt":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering \u0026 Bioscience","file":{"fid":"199875","name":"ibb-166.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ibb-166_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ibb-166_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2922980,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/ibb-166_0.jpg?itok=KtHqtOqD"}},"362571":{"id":"362571","type":"image","title":"Petit new faculty","body":null,"created":"1449245793","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:16:33","changed":"1475895098","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:38","alt":"Petit new faculty","file":{"fid":"202086","name":"faculty_group_0.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/faculty_group_0_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/faculty_group_0_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":256898,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/faculty_group_0_0.jpg?itok=Y9OJjyPR"}}},"media_ids":["312351","362571"],"groups":[{"id":"1254","name":"Wallace H. Coulter Dept. of Biomedical Engineering"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"1646","name":"New Faculty"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/node\/jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"359971":{"#nid":"359971","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Suddath Memorial Award","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFred Leroy \u201cBud\u201d Suddath was an innovative and inspiring scientist, educator and academic administrator, a graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he eventually would become vice president for information technology, the university\u2019s first. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBy all accounts, this was a man who was well liked and respected by his students and colleagues, and when he died suddenly on June 17, 1992, his loss was felt throughout the Georgia Tech community. So a year later, to honor his memory and his contributions, Suddath\u2019s family, friends and colleagues established the F.L. \u201cBud\u201d Suddath Memorial Award.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe award goes to a doctoral student at Tech who has at least one year remaining in his or her program and who has demonstrated a significant research achievement in biology, biochemistry or biomedical engineering. This year, that student is Havva Keskin, who earned the top prize in the 2015 Suddath Award competition. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EKeskin, a member of Francesca Storici\u2019s laboratory in the School of Biology, was first author on a recently published paper, \u201cTranscript-RNA-templated DNA recombination and repair,\u201d that appeared in \u003Cem\u003ENature\u003C\/em\u003E. Now in the fourth year of her research, Keskin wins the $1,000 top prize, and her name will be engraved on the award plaque.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EA second place Suddath Award ($500) goes to Ryan Bloomquist, a Ph.D. student in the School of Biology and a member of Todd Streelman\u2019s lab, where he is studying dental patterning and regeneration in vertebrates.\u0026nbsp;Bloomquist is on track to become the first student to graduate with a joint DMD\/Ph.D. degree from Georgia Tech\/Georgia Regents University \u2013 the first ever in the state of Georgia with this joint degree, as a matter of fact.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThird place ($250) went to Eli Fine, a student in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering and a member of Gang Bao\u2019s lab, where his thesis research focuses on developing novel approaches to precisely modify the genetic information stored in DNA.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAs winner of the Suddath Award top prize, Keskin will give a presentation about her research at the next Suddath Symposium, March 2-3 at the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Three prizes given to grad students for research contributions"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThree prizes given to grad students for research contributions\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Three prizes given to grad students for research contributions"}],"uid":"28153","created_gmt":"2015-01-04 23:58:09","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:46","author":"Jerry Grillo","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2015-01-04T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2015-01-04T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"359961":{"id":"359961","type":"image","title":"Havva Keskin","body":null,"created":"1449245782","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:16:22","changed":"1475895096","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:36","alt":"Havva Keskin","file":{"fid":"201545","name":"havva.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/havva_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/havva_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1948558,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/havva_0.jpg?itok=Q0RgsMC6"}}},"media_ids":["359961"],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"569","name":"bioengineering"},{"id":"1808","name":"graduate students"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/node\/jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"359471":{"#nid":"359471","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Emory Pediatric Bioengineering Summer Program Accepting Undergraduate Applications","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETen undergraduate students from across the country will have the unprecedented opportunity to participate in the Nation\u2019s only pediatric bioengineering program.\u0026nbsp; The program is made possible due to the collaborative efforts of Emory University and Georgia Tech\u2019s Biomedical Engineering Department, the Department of Pediatrics within Emory University\u0027s School of Medicine, Emory College\u2019s Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURE), and Children\u2019s Healthcare of Atlanta.\u0026nbsp; Students will have the opportunity to not only work in a lab doing Pediatric Engineering research, but also will shadow clinicians to better understand pediatric medicine.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022This is one of the only training programs in the country focused solely on pediatric bioengineering,\u0022 says Michael E. Davis, Ph.D., associate professor of biomedical engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory and director of the Pediatric Center for Cardiovascular Biology at Emory and Children\u0027s Healthcare of Atlanta.\u0026nbsp; Nearly $500,000 in funding over five years will allow 10 talented undergraduate students each year from around the United States to work for a pediatric engineering project over the summer. The students also will shadow clinicians to better understand childhood diseases and receive training in scientific reading, writing, and scientific processes.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAll interested students should apply directly to the Emory SURE Program by clicking \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.cse.emory.edu\/home\/projects\/students\/sure.html\u0022\u003EHERE\u003C\/a\u003E, and select the PERSE program.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Application deadline February 2, 2015"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EApplication deadline February 2, 2015\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Application deadline February 2, 2015"}],"uid":"27159","created_gmt":"2014-12-30 13:58:04","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:46","author":"Vickie Okrzesik","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-12-30T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-12-30T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"359461":{"id":"359461","type":"image","title":"SURE (Summer Undergraduate Research Experience)","body":null,"created":"1449245775","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:16:15","changed":"1475895096","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:36","alt":"SURE (Summer Undergraduate Research Experience)","file":{"fid":"201532","name":"sure-program.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/sure-program_0.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/sure-program_0.png","mime":"image\/png","size":1059521,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/sure-program_0.png?itok=HvAahMDT"}}},"media_ids":["359461"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.cse.emory.edu\/home\/projects\/students\/sure.html","title":"SURE (Summer Undergraduate Research Experience)"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.pedsresearch.org\/","title":"Emory+Children\u0027s Pediatric Research Center"}],"groups":[{"id":"1254","name":"Wallace H. Coulter Dept. of Biomedical Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"42941","name":"Art Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"113241","name":"Emory Pediatric Bioengineering Summer Program"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"357901":{"#nid":"357901","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Study shows how breast cancer cells break free to spread in the body","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMore than 90 percent of cancer-related deaths are caused by the spread of cancer cells from their primary tumor site to other areas of the body. A new study has identified how one important gene helps cancer cells break free from the primary tumor.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA gene normally involved in the regulation of embryonic development can trigger the transition of cells into more mobile types that can spread without regard for the normal biological controls that restrict metastasis, the new study shows.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnalysis of downstream signaling pathways of this gene, called SNAIL, could be used to identify potential targets for scientists who are looking for ways to block or slow metastasis.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis gene relates directly to the mechanism that metastatic cancer cells use to move from one location to another,\u201d said Michelle Dawson, an assistant professor in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. \u201cIf you have a cell that overexpresses SNAIL, then it can potentially be metastatic without having any environmental cues that normally trigger this response.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe study was sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and was published December 9 in \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.fasebj.org\/content\/early\/2014\/12\/07\/fj.14-257345.abstract\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe Journal\u003C\/em\u003E \u003Cem\u003Eof the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cem\u003E (FASEB).\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPreviously, Dawson and Daniel McGrail, the lead author on the new study, published a study showing \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.news.gatech.edu\/2014\/05\/08\/ovarian-cancer-cells-are-more-aggressive-soft-tissues\u0022\u003Ehow ovarian cancer cells respond to the mechanics of their bodily environment\u003C\/a\u003E. Their data showed that ovarian cancer cells are more aggressive on soft tissues \u2013 such as the fatty tissue that line the gut \u2013 due to the mechanical properties of this environment. The finding is contrary to what is seen with other malignant cancer cells that seem to prefer stiffer tissues.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the new study, the researchers show how overexpression of the gene SNAIL \u003Cem\u003Ein vitro \u003C\/em\u003Eallows breast cancer cells to operate independently of the mechanics of the environment inside the body. Growing evidence suggests that cancer cells metastasize by hijacking the process by which cells change their type from epithelial (cells that lack mobility) to mesenchymal (cells that can easily move). In the new study, the researchers examined the biophysical properties of breast cancer cells that had undergone this epithelial to mesenchymal transition (through overexpression of SNAIL).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research team measured the mechanical properties within the nucleus and cytosol of breast cancer cells, and then measured the surface traction forces and the motility of the cells on different substrates. They found that cells became much softer, which could help them spread throughout the body.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDawson\u2019s lab collaborated with the lab of \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.mcdonaldlab.biology.gatech.edu\/john_mcdonald.htm\u0022\u003EJohn McDonald\u003C\/a\u003E, a professor in the School of Biology at Georgia Tech, to use microarray analysis to examine changes in genes related to the observed biophysical changes. The researchers found that regardless of the substrate that the cells were grown on, cells that overexpress SNAIL look and act like aggressive cancer cells.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe found that when the cells express SNAIL, they have biophysical properties that are similar to what we see for an activated metastatic cancer cell,\u201d Dawson said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAlthough SNAIL triggers a transformation that helps cells move from the primary tumor to the metastatic site, once the cell arrives at the metastatic site and that tumor starts to grow, SNAIL no longer helps cancer progress. Though becoming softer may help cells spread to the secondary site, they were no longer sturdy enough to form a secondary tumor.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe cells need to transfer back to the epithelial state so they can withstand solid stress,\u201d Dawson said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers hopethat their unique blend of microarray analysis and characterization of physical changes in breast cancer cells undergoing metastasis could aid the search for ways to block or slow the spread of cancer.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe think this work has great potential to lead to a new approach to cancer therapeutics,\u201d said McDonald, who is also the director of the Integrated Cancer Research Center at Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis research is supported by the National Science Foundation\u003C\/em\u003E \u003Cem\u003Eunder award numbers 1032527, 1411304 and DGE-0965945. Any conclusions or opinions are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the sponsoring agency.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECITATION\u003C\/strong\u003E: Daniel J. McGrail, et al., \u201cSNAIL-induced epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition produces concerted biophysical changes from altered cytoskeletal gene expression.\u201d (\u003Cem\u003EFASEB\u003C\/em\u003E, December 2014) \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.fasebj.org\/content\/early\/2014\/12\/07\/fj.14-257345.abstract\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.fasebj.org\/content\/early\/2014\/12\/07\/fj.14-257345.abstract\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003Cbr \/\u003E Georgia Institute of Technology\u003Cbr \/\u003E 177 North Avenue\u003Cbr \/\u003E Atlanta, Georgia\u0026nbsp; 30332-0181\u0026nbsp; USA\u003Cbr \/\u003E \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/GTResearchNews\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E@GTResearchNews\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts\u003C\/strong\u003E: Brett Israel (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/btiatl\u0022\u003E@btiatl\u003C\/a\u003E) (404-385-1933) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or John Toon (404-894-6986) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: Brett Israel\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMore than 90 percent of cancer-related deaths are caused by the spread of cancer cells from their primary tumor site to other areas of the body. A new study has identified how one important gene helps cancer cells break free from the primary tumor.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A new study has identified how one important gene helps cancer cells break free from the primary tumor."}],"uid":"27902","created_gmt":"2014-12-17 13:05:15","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:41","author":"Brett Israel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-12-17T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-12-17T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"357871":{"id":"357871","type":"image","title":"MCF7 cells","body":null,"created":"1449245767","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:16:07","changed":"1475895093","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:33","alt":"MCF7 cells","file":{"fid":"202070","name":"mcf7_cells.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/mcf7_cells.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/mcf7_cells.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":181034,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/mcf7_cells.jpg?itok=nVMu7E9m"}},"357831":{"id":"357831","type":"image","title":"Dawson and McGrail","body":null,"created":"1449245767","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:16:07","changed":"1475895093","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:33","alt":"Dawson and McGrail","file":{"fid":"202069","name":"14c10202-p23-004_0.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/14c10202-p23-004_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/14c10202-p23-004_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1771425,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/14c10202-p23-004_0.jpg?itok=Umkys3YE"}}},"media_ids":["357871","357831"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"140","name":"Cancer Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"385","name":"cancer"},{"id":"112801","name":"Daniel mcgrail"},{"id":"10364","name":"Metastasis"},{"id":"10683","name":"Michelle Dawson"},{"id":"169692","name":"snail"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71891","name":"Health and Medicine"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBrett Israel\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/btiatl\u0022\u003E@btiatl\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404-385-1933\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"356451":{"#nid":"356451","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Prausnitz named a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMark Prausnitz, a Regents\u2019 Professor in the School of Chemical \u0026amp; Biomolecular Engineering, has been elected a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). He joins an elite group of just 414 NAI Fellows worldwide.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe designation honors those who \u201chave demonstrated a highly prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development and the welfare of society.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPrausnitz was chosen for the honor based on his revolutionary work in drug delivery technologies, especially microneedles, which are tiny needles (about 400 to 700 microns long) that can be designed as skin patches that provide a simple, painless and inexpensive way to \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.news.gatech.edu\/2014\/02\/26\/self-administration-flu-vaccine-patch-may-be-feasible-study-suggests\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Eadminister influenza, polio, measles and other vaccines\u003C\/a\u003E. Microneedles also can be prepared for \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.chbe.gatech.edu\/hg\/item\/347131\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Emicroinjection into the eye \u003C\/a\u003Efor highly targeted therapies designed to increase drug effectiveness and safety.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur laboratory not only strives to advance scientific understanding and provide research training to students but also seeks to make inventions that can benefit society,\u201d Prausnitz said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPrausnitz will be honored at the NAI Fellows Luncheon and Induction Ceremony at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena on March 20. The event is part of the organization\u2019s annual conference.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPrausnitz also was \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.chbe.gatech.edu\/hg\/item\/309131\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Enamed to the list of the World\u2019s Most Influential Scientific Minds \u003C\/a\u003Ethis year.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Mark Prausnitz, a ChBE faculty member, has been elected a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). There are only 414 NAI Fellows worldwide."}],"uid":"28045","created_gmt":"2014-12-15 18:05:27","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:41","author":"Amy Schneider","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-12-16T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-12-16T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"72459":{"id":"72459","type":"image","title":"Mark Prausnitz and microneedle patch","body":null,"created":"1449177930","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:25:30","changed":"1475894658","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:44:18"}},"media_ids":["72459"],"groups":[{"id":"1240","name":"School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAmy Schneider\u003Cbr \/\u003ESchool of Chemical \u0026amp; Biomolecular Engineering\u003Cbr \/\u003E(404) 385-2299\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:news@chbe.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Enews@chbe.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"355441":{"#nid":"355441","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Molecular \u201chats\u201d allow in vivo activation of disguised signaling peptides","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen someone you know is wearing an unfamiliar hat, you might not recognize them. Georgia Institute of Technology researchers are using just such a disguise to sneak biomaterials containing peptide signaling molecules into living animals.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen the disguised peptides are needed to launch biological processes, the researchers shine ultraviolet light onto the molecules through the skin, causing the \u201chat\u201d structures to come off. That allows cells and other molecules to recognize and interact with the peptides on the surface of the material.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis light-activated triggering technique has been demonstrated in animal models, and if it can be made to work in humans, it could help provide more precise timing for processes essential to regenerative medicine, cancer treatment, immunology, stem cell growth, and a range of other areas. The research represents the first time biological signals presented on biomaterials have been activated by light through the skin of a living animal, and could provide a broader platform technology for launching and controlling biological processes in living animals.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMany biological processes involve complex cascades of reactions in which the timing must be very tightly controlled,\u201d said Andr\u00e9s Garc\u00eda, a Regents Professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech and principal investigator for the project. \u201cUntil now, we haven\u2019t had control over the sequence of events in the response to implanted materials. But with this technique, we can deliver a drug or particle with its signal in the \u2018off\u2019 position, then use light to turn the signal \u2018on\u2019 precisely when needed.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESupported by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, the research was reported December 15, 2014, in the journal \u003Cem\u003ENature Materials\u003C\/em\u003E. It resulted from collaboration between scientists from Georgia Tech and the Max-Planck Institute in Germany through the Materials World Network Program.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen biomaterials are introduced into the body, they normally stimulate an immune system response immediately. But the researchers used molecular cages like hats to cover binding sites on the peptides that are normally recognized by cell receptors, preventing recognition by the animal\u2019s cells. The cages were designed to detach and reveal the peptides when they encounter specific wavelengths of light.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDuring the five-year project, the research team \u2013 which included Ted Lee and Jose Garcia from Georgia Tech and Aranzazu del Campo from Max-Planck \u2013 modified peptides that normally trigger cell adhesion to present the molecular cage in order to disguise them. They showed that disguised peptides introduced into animal models on biomaterials could trigger cell adhesion, inflammation, fibrous encapsulation, and vascularization responses when activated by light. They also showed that the location and timing of activation could be controlled inside the animal by simply shining light through the skin.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe work involved numerous controls to ensure that the triggering observed by the researchers was actually done by exposure of the peptides \u2013 not the light, or the removal of the protective cage. The researchers also had to demonstrate that the \u201chats\u201d were stable enough that they didn\u2019t come off spontaneously, but only when the link between the molecular cage and the peptide was severed by the ultraviolet light.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAmong the experiments was use of the peptide to attract cells that would attach themselves to the biomaterial. \u201cWe showed that if we left the hat on, there would be few cells attracted to the material, Garc\u00eda said. \u201cBut when we take the hat off, we recruited a lot of cells to the material. That shows we can activate the peptide, and that the activation has a biological consequence.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnother experiment showed that the timing of peptide activation could affect the quantity of fibrosis, an immune system response that builds a protective capsule around an implanted biomaterial. By delaying the exposure of the peptides until after the bulk of the inflammation reaction had taken place, the thickness of the fibrosis capsule was significantly reduced, allowing it to be better incorporated into the body.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn another experiment, the researchers showed that removing the hats could trigger the growth of blood vessels into the material. This vascularization is critical in regenerative medicine, but must take place at the right time to be successful.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe showed that if you keep the hat on, you get no vessel in-growth into the material,\u201d explained Garc\u00eda. \u201cBut if we turn on the light, we get growth of new blood vessels into the material. We can control what happens and when it happens by when we expose the protective cages to light.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the future, photochemists at the Max-Planck Institute will be working on alternative cages that would be triggered by different wavelengths of light. As much as 90 percent of the ultraviolet light used in the experiments was lost in passing through the skin of the animal model, limiting the use of that wavelength to locations immediately below the skin.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDevelopment of alternate \u201chats,\u201d the molecular cages that protect the peptides, could allow sequential activation by light, and light activation of molecules at locations deeper inside the body.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELight, heat, and electricity have been used to trigger biological processes in vitro, Garc\u00eda noted. Light is especially useful because it can be patterned to control processes spatially, which is also important because the processes must occur not only at the right time, but also the right place.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe technique we developed is a general strategy that we can apply to other biological signals to see if they have similar spatio-temporal effects,\u201d said Garc\u00eda. \u201cWe see this as a beginning. From here, there are many, many applications that we can follow.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to those already mentioned, the research involved Ankur Singh, Edward Phelps and Asha Shekaran from Georgia Tech, and Julieta Paez, Simone Weis and Zahid Shafiq from the Max-Planck Institute. Lee now works for Dexcom, a San Diego-based company that focuses on continuous glucose monitoring systems for use by people with diabetes, and Singh is currently an assistant professor at Cornell University.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe research was supported by the Materials World Network Program of the National Science Foundation under grants DFG AOBJ 569628 and NSF DMR-0909002, by the National Institutes of Health under grants R01-AR062368 and R01-AR062920, and by the NIH Cell and Tissue NIH Biotechnology Training Grant T32-GM008433. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Science Foundation or the National Institutes of Health.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECITATION\u003C\/strong\u003E: Lee, Ted, et al., \u201cLight-triggered in vivo Activation of Adhesive Peptides Regulates Cell Adhesion, Inflammation and Vascularization of Biomaterials,\u201d Nature Materials 2014.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E177 North Avenue\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, Georgia\u0026nbsp; 30332-0181\u0026nbsp; USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon (404-894-6986) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or Brett Israel (404-385-1933) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen someone you know is wearing an unfamiliar hat, you might not recognize them. Georgia Institute of Technology researchers are using just such a disguise to sneak biomaterials containing peptide signaling molecules into living animals.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Using molecular \u0022hats,\u0022 researchers have developed a way to sneak biomaterials containing the signaling molecules into living animals."}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2014-12-13 12:31:48","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:41","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-12-15T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-12-15T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"355421":{"id":"355421","type":"image","title":"Light-activated peptide","body":null,"created":"1449245743","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:15:43","changed":"1475895087","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:27","alt":"Light-activated peptide","file":{"fid":"201337","name":"light-activated_peptide.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/light-activated_peptide_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/light-activated_peptide_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3247226,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/light-activated_peptide_0.jpg?itok=NXFABRU_"}},"355431":{"id":"355431","type":"image","title":"Light-activated peptide Garcia","body":null,"created":"1449245743","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:15:43","changed":"1475895087","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:27","alt":"Light-activated peptide Garcia","file":{"fid":"201338","name":"andres_garcia1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/andres_garcia1_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/andres_garcia1_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2669574,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/andres_garcia1_0.jpg?itok=GHLS7faH"}}},"media_ids":["355421","355431"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"140","name":"Cancer Research"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"539","name":"Andres Garcia"},{"id":"112271","name":"light-activated"},{"id":"112281","name":"molecular cages"},{"id":"112291","name":"molecular hats"},{"id":"1113","name":"peptide"},{"id":"170997","name":"signalling"},{"id":"2378","name":"Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71891","name":"Health and Medicine"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearch News\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E(404) 894-6986\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"354821":{"#nid":"354821","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Fish use chemical camouflage from diet to hide from predators","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA species of small fish uses a homemade coral-scented cologne to hide from predators, a new study has shown, providing the first evidence of chemical camouflage from diet in fish.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFilefish evade predators by feeding on their home corals and emitting an odor that makes them invisible to the noses of predators, the study found. Chemical camouflage from diet has been previously shown in insects, such as caterpillars, which mask themselves by building their exoskeletons with chemicals from their food. The new study shows that animals don\u2019t need an exoskeleton to use chemical camouflage, meaning more animals than previously thought could be using this survival tactic\u003Cstrong\u003E.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis is the very first evidence of this kind of chemical crypsis from diet in a vertebrate,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.dixsonlab.com\/rohanbrooker\u0022\u003ERohan Brooker\u003C\/a\u003E, a post-doctoral fellow in the School of Biology at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. \u201cThis research shows that you don\u2019t need an exoskeleton that for this kind of mechanism to work.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe study was published December 10 in the journal \u003Cem\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org\/content\/282\/1799\/20141887\u0022\u003EProceedings of the Royal Society B\u003C\/a\u003E. \u003C\/em\u003EThe study was sponsored by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and the Ecological Society of Australia. The work was done as a part of Booker\u2019s doctoral research at James Cook University in Australia.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnyone who has watched a nature documentary has seen insects that camouflage themselves as sticks, protecting the insects against predators that use vision to hunt for prey. But many animals see the world through smell rather than sight, and cunning critters from among them have adapted clever ways of smelling like their surroundings. A certain species of caterpillar, for example, smells like the plant that it lives on and eats. The caterpillar incorporates chemicals from the plant into its exoskeleton. Ants hunting for the caterpillar will walk right over it, none the wiser.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor the new study, researchers traveled to Australia\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/australianmuseum.net.au\/Lizard-Island-Research-Station\u0022\u003ELizard Island Research Station\u003C\/a\u003E in the Great Barrier Reef, where they collected filefish. To show that filefish smelled like their home coral, the researchers recruited crabs to sniff them out. The filefish were fed two different species of coral; each species of coral is home to a unique species of crab. The crabs were given a choice between a filefish that had been fed the crab\u2019s home coral and a filefish that had been fed a coral that is foreign to the crab. The crabs always sought the filefish that had been feeding on the crabs home coral. The filefish smelled so strongly of coral that sometimes the crabs were attracted to the fish instead of coral, when given a choice between the two.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe can tell that there is something going through the filefish diet that\u2019s making the fish smell enough like the coral to confuse the crabs,\u201d Booker said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo see if the chemical camouflage gives the filefish an evolutionary advantage to evade predators, the researchers tested cod to see how they responded to filefish that had been fed various diets. Cod, filefish and corals were put in a tank, with the filefish hidden from the cod. When the filefish diet didn\u2019t match the corals in the tank, the cod were restless, suggesting that they smelled food. When the filefish diet matched the corals in the tank, the cod stayed tucked away in their cave inside the tank.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe next step in the project is to learn how filefish can smell like coral without the benefit of an exoskeleton. Some evidence shows that amino acids in the mucus of fish \u2013 where much of their smell originates \u2013 will match their diet, but much work remains to tease apart this pathway.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe have established that there is some kind of pathway from filefish diet to filefish odor,\u201d Booker said. \u201cThis is just the first study. There\u2019s a lot of work still to be done to understand how it works.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBooker is now working in the lab of \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.dixsonlab.com\/\u0022\u003EDanielle Dixson\u003C\/a\u003E, an associate professor of biology at Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis research is supported by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and the Ecological Society of Australia. Any conclusions or opinions are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the sponsoring agencies.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECITATION\u003C\/strong\u003E: Rohan Brooker, et al., \u201cYou are what you eat: diet-induced chemical crypsis in a coral-feeding fish.\u201d (\u003Cem\u003EProceedings of the Royal Society B\u003C\/em\u003E, December 2014). \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org\/content\/282\/1799\/20141887\u0022 title=\u0022http:\/\/rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org\/content\/282\/1799\/20141887\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org\/content\/282\/1799\/20141887\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003Cbr \/\u003E Georgia Institute of Technology\u003Cbr \/\u003E 177 North Avenue\u003Cbr \/\u003E Atlanta, Georgia\u0026nbsp; 30332-0181\u0026nbsp; USA\u003Cbr \/\u003E \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/GTResearchNews\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E@GTResearchNews\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts\u003C\/strong\u003E: Brett Israel (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/btiatl\u0022\u003E@btiatl\u003C\/a\u003E) (404-385-1933) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or John Toon (404-894-6986) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: Brett Israel\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A species of small fish uses a homemade coral-scented cologne to hide from predators, a new study has shown, providing the first evidence of chemical camouflage from diet in fish."}],"uid":"27902","created_gmt":"2014-12-11 10:39:27","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:41","author":"Brett Israel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-12-11T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-12-11T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"354801":{"id":"354801","type":"image","title":"Filefish","body":null,"created":"1449245743","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:15:43","changed":"1475895084","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:24","alt":"Filefish","file":{"fid":"202024","name":"tane_sinclair-taylor-0735.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tane_sinclair-taylor-0735.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tane_sinclair-taylor-0735.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2644887,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tane_sinclair-taylor-0735.jpg?itok=chPBqWj3"}},"354811":{"id":"354811","type":"image","title":"Rohan Booker","body":null,"created":"1449245743","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:15:43","changed":"1475895084","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:24","alt":"Rohan Booker","file":{"fid":"202025","name":"collecting2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/collecting2.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/collecting2.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2086702,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/collecting2.jpg?itok=oY8RIe5q"}}},"media_ids":["354801","354811"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"154","name":"Environment"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71911","name":"Earth and Environment"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBrett Israel\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404-385-1933\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/btiatl\u0022\u003E@btiatl\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"355061":{"#nid":"355061","#data":{"type":"news","title":"BME Team Takes Capstone Crown","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETwice every year, senior engineering students at the Georgia Institute of Technology come together for a serious, grown-up version of show-and-tell called the Capstone Design Expo. It\u2019s a judged showcase of innovative solutions, a public unveiling of prototype products designed to address real-world problems. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThis year\u2019s fall edition (held December 4 at McCamish Pavilion) featured 106 teams from senior design courses offered across the engineering spectrum at Georgia Tech, including mechanical engineering (ME), electrical and computer engineering (ECE), industrial and systems engineering (ISyE), and industrial design. But it was a team from the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) that took the top prize as overall winner of the Capstone Design Expo.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cWinning this is an incredible honor. It\u2019s humbling, the crowning achievement of my experience at BME and Georgia Tech, independent of winning. It was just a tremendous experience,\u201d says Andy Kolpitcke, lead designer of the winning team, OculoSeal, which included fellow BME seniors Jackie Borinski, Mohamad Ali Najia, and Drew Padilla. \u201cWe\u2019ve worked as a group before in some other BME classes and we agreed that we wanted to work in senior design together.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThey designed and created the OculoSTAPLE device, to help in the treatment of ptosis (severely drooping of the upper eyelid), earning the top overall prize of $3,000. It was the highlight of a fruitful evening for BME. A group called Stroke of Genius, which included two BME seniors (Brian Leach and Josh Newton), won the top prize ($1,000) for interdisciplinary teams with their golf cart for children with mobility issues. Capstone winners also were selected from each engineering school or department, and a team called BioDeliver won the BME prize (also $1,000).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca class=\u0022relatedLinks\u0022 href=\u0022http:\/\/www.capstone.gatech.edu\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ECapstone Design\u003C\/a\u003E, a required semester-long course for all Georgia Tech engineering students, puts teams of seniors together with advisors (who often come from a research or industry environment) to design and build and test prototypes that address a broad range of challenges.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cIt starts in August when we receive a sheet of projects that have been thought up by clinicians and a lot of other people, a wide range of things,\u201d Kolpitcke says. \u201cOur team was looking for something that satisfied an unmet clinical need, that would give us experience working with surgeons and observing surgeries, while working on our mechanical design skills.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThat\u2019s how his team linked up with their project sponsor, Dr. Denise Kim, a surgeon at Emory University Hospital who was looking for a better way to repair ptosis. \u201cSo we designed a device to meet those clinical needs and change the way a surgeon can perform that procedure,\u201d says Najia, a former Petit Undergraduate Research Scholar. \u201cThis was a pressing issue to address, because this is not just a cosmetic procedure. This is a functional issue, especially in the elderly population, who might experience obstruction of vision, which can lead to increased rate of fall-related injuries.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOculoSeal\u2019s team members met with Dr. Kim, and witnessed two surgeries over the course of the semester, and what they saw was a difficult, time-consuming procedure that can be cosmetically risky for patients. So they created the OculoSTAPLE device, which simultaneously resects and seals the muscle responsible for elevating the upper eyelid, shortening the time it takes to perform the surgery while mitigating the risk. OculoSTAPLE also has potential applications for aparoscopic, gastrointestinal and biopsy procedures.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMeanwhile, the BioDeliver team of Victoria Geisler, Tarrah Herrmann, Esteban Ongini and Steven Touchton (advissponsored by Dr. Ramsey Kinney at Emory), were recognized for developing a biologic delivery system intended to deliver, \u201cgrowth factors and nutrients that the body needs to heal itself, to the orthopedic injury site during surgery,\u201d according to Geisler, who plans to work in research and development in industry following her graduation this month. \u201cThe beauty of our device is, it\u2019s simple and we\u2019re not trying to convince the surgeon to change his procedure, only improving his patients\u2019 ability to heal and their speed of recovery.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe golf cart designed by the interdisciplinary Stroke of Genius teammates answers a challenge from their sponsors, the Bobby Jones Foundation, Chiari \u0026amp; Syringomyelia Foundation and cart manufacturer E-Z-GO. They want to develop a golf cart that opens the game up to younger players with mobility challenges.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cWe learned about the idea through an email over the summer, a blast to all students,\u201d says Newton, recalling how he and Leach got involved in the multifaceted project. \u201cBasically, the email asked, \u2018are you interested in sports, in golf in particular, and in working with children who have disabilities?\u2019 Sports. Golf. Kids with disabilities. Those were the key words that caught our attention.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ENewton and Leach were part of an all-star interdisciplinary team that included Tre\u2019vorski Garrett, Katilin Kates and Douglas Wisser from ME, and Jeffrey Pettyjohn from ECE. The team met with young wheelchair athletes, asked what they wanted and needed in such a device. The student engineers also considered issues such as material selection, safety factors and swing positioning. \u201cThe responses we got were so important,\u201d Newton says. \u201cWhat it comes down to is, they want to play with Mom and Dad, and they want the cart to be so cool that everybody would want to use it, including their able-bodied friends.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe team drew up 20 to 25 different design concepts until before deciding on a two-person cart that was both functional and cool enough to meet the needs of a discerning potential clientele. In the end, besides being a required project that received the accolades of Capstone Expo judges (faculty, industry professionals, etc.), the experience was also a labor of love for Newton and Leach. \u201cWe\u2019re both avid golfers,\u201d Newton says. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECapstone Design gives students a chance to utilize the engineering design process to create something tangible in response to real-world, open-ended problems. Teams have a $500 budget to develop their prototypes, with thoughts of eventual commercialization. The program is a foundational piece in a growing emphasis on entrepreneurship education at BME and Georgia Tech. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cThat\u2019s a big focus for us now, to create an avenue to pursue these kinds of projects further, no matter where they come from, the classroom or outside the classroom,\u201d says James Rains, director of the BME Capstone Design program.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe real value of the Expo may be the exposure each of these teams receive, and the experience of meeting with industry leaders, clinicians, and the other teams. \u201cThe Expo lets us show off our product and move forward with it toward commercialization,\u201d says Najia. \u201cThat\u2019s the real benefit, seeing the other teams and their concepts, talking with people from a diverse array of backgrounds.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe noisy arena was filled with representatives from industry, people engaged in the development of medical devices, professors, volunteers, families, not unlike a festival atmosphere. It was show time: the culmination of the undergraduate experience for some, like Najia and Geisler and Newton, who are graduating this month; or a revelatory peak moment for others, like Kolpitcke, who acknowledges that developing a cutting-edge biomedical solution in the span of a semester was not easy.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cI had a limited amount of time to walk around and see all the other stuff people worked on, and it was a great experience,\u201d says Kolpitcke, who graduates in the spring. \u201cThe golf cart, the BioDeliver device \u2013 to see the result of all of the hard work that all of the students put in was inspiring, and something you don\u2019t see on a day to day basis here because sometimes, Tech can be demanding and demoralizing. But this was the \u2018Aha Moment\u2019 for me, when I realized how special this was. Any time you take on a challenge like the one we took on, there is going to be conflict. As a team, we were able to work through the conflicts and the issues, divide up our roles and leverage our skills to come up with a solution, and even if we hadn\u2019t won the overall prize, that\u2019s something we can be proud of.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EContact:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Senior design teams from Coulter Department win big in Fall Expo"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESenior design teams from Coulter Department win big in Fall Expo\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Senior design teams from Coulter Department win big in Fall Expo"}],"uid":"28153","created_gmt":"2014-12-11 15:53:51","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:41","author":"Jerry Grillo","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-12-11T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-12-11T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"355031":{"id":"355031","type":"image","title":"OculoSeal","body":null,"created":"1449245743","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:15:43","changed":"1475894494","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:41:34","alt":"OculoSeal","file":{"fid":"202037","name":"oculoseal2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/oculoseal2.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/oculoseal2.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2418314,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/oculoseal2.jpg?itok=0JK4Y5b5"}},"355041":{"id":"355041","type":"image","title":"BioDeliver","body":null,"created":"1449245743","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:15:43","changed":"1475895087","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:27","alt":"BioDeliver","file":{"fid":"202038","name":"biodeliver.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/biodeliver.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/biodeliver.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2250239,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/biodeliver.jpg?itok=EEDl8jCv"}},"355051":{"id":"355051","type":"image","title":"StrokeGenius","body":null,"created":"1449245743","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:15:43","changed":"1475895087","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:27","alt":"StrokeGenius","file":{"fid":"201327","name":"strokeofgenius.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/strokeofgenius_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/strokeofgenius_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2563723,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/strokeofgenius_0.jpg?itok=w7YU16-b"}}},"media_ids":["355031","355041","355051"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/coe.gatech.edu\/news\/health-projects-shine-fall-capstone-expo","title":"Health Projects Shine at Capstone Expo"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.news.gatech.edu\/features\/caps-innovation-2014","title":"Caps off to Innovation"}],"groups":[{"id":"1254","name":"Wallace H. Coulter Dept. of Biomedical Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"32061","name":"capstone design expo"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/node\/jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"353111":{"#nid":"353111","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Call for BioEngineering Award Nominations","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ENow accepting nominations for the annual Bioengineering Awards at Georgia Tech - Deadline January 31, 2015\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003EDETAILS\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EOutstanding BioE Student Paper\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EAll BioE students are eligible - \u003Cem\u003EMust be currently enrolled\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E$750 cash and plaque award\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ENominated by Advisor - nominations must include a letter of support from advisor discussing impact and significance of the work\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EElectronic copy of paper must accompany nomination\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EPaper must be published, in press or accepted in the time frame January 1 - December 31, 2014\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EOutstanding BioE PhD Thesis\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EAll BioE students are eligible - \u003Cem\u003EDo not have to be currently enrolled\u003C\/em\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E$750 cash and plaque award\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ENominated by Advisor\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ENominations must include a letter of support from advisor\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EElectronic copy of Ph.D. thesis must accompany nomination\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EThesis Certificate of Completion form must be signed by ALL committee members in the time frame January 1 - December 31, 2014\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EOutstanding BioE Advisor\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EAll BioE Program Faculty are eligible\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E$500 discretionary funds and plaque\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ENominated by graduate student(s) \u2013 Submit a letter explaining why you are nominating a faculty member.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EChristopher Ruffin Leadership Award\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Student Leadership Award was established to honor the memory of Christopher Ruffin and his exceptional contributions to the BioE Program. Chris began working at GT in 1994 and joined the bioengineering community in April 2001. As Academic Advisor in the BioE Program, Chris worked tirelessly to support the BioE students and faculty.\u0026nbsp; This award recognizes a current graduate student for his or her superior contributions to the BioEngineering Program. The Leadership Award will be awarded to a student whose influence, ideals and activities throughout his\/her time in the BioEngineering Program has left a long lasting and positive impression on the institution and has raised the standard of excellence for future BioEngineering classes. Examples of strong leadership qualities include activities such as peer mentoring, teaching, and service.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENominations should be submitted to \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:laura.paige@bioengineering.gatech.edu\u0022\u003ELaura Paige\u003C\/a\u003E with the BioE program. Nominations for the Outstanding Awards will be reviewed by the BioE Faculty Advisory Committee and nominations for the Ruffin Leadership Award will be reviewed by a BGA committee. Winners will be announced at the BioE Reception on March 27, 2015 (Recruitment Day).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Submission deadline January 31, 2015"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ECall for BioEngineering Awards Nominations - Deadline Jan 31, 2015\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Submission deadline January 31, 2015"}],"uid":"27349","created_gmt":"2014-12-09 10:46:17","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:15:47","author":"Floyd Wood","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-12-09T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-12-09T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"353211":{"id":"353211","type":"image","title":"Interdisciplinary Bioengineering Graduate Program at Georgia Tech","body":null,"created":"1449245728","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:15:28","changed":"1475895080","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:20","alt":"Interdisciplinary Bioengineering Graduate Program at Georgia Tech","file":{"fid":"201186","name":"bioe_logo_-_square.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bioe_logo_-_square_0.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bioe_logo_-_square_0.png","mime":"image\/png","size":33003,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/bioe_logo_-_square_0.png?itok=Qzui4Hcg"}}},"media_ids":["353211"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/bioengineering.gatech.edu\/","title":"BIOE program"}],"groups":[{"id":"1254","name":"Wallace H. Coulter Dept. of Biomedical Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"140","name":"Cancer Research"},{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"149","name":"Nanotechnology and Nanoscience"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:laura.paige@bioengineering.gatech.edu\u0022\u003ELaura Paige\u003C\/a\u003E - Academic Advisor II\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["laura.paige@bioengineering.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"352441":{"#nid":"352441","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Nerem International Travel Award","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAshley Allen used her 2014 Robert M. Nerem International Travel Award to spend two memorable weeks in Israel. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EShe spent part of that time studying a new technique for delivering mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to repair bone defects. She also spent some time outside of the lab, experiencing a multicultural, revered place that most of us see through cable news dispatches. And there was plenty of unsettling news to report.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAllen\u2019s early November visit to the lab of Dan and Zulma Gazit at Hebrew University of Jerusalem coincided with a period of increased violence and vigilance in the city following an assassination attempt on right-wing Israeli activist, Yehudah Glick, at Temple Mount. So, in addition to developing skills she can utilize at the Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (where she\u2019s a graduate research assistant in Robert Guldberg\u2019s Musculoskeletal Research Laboratory), Allen also developed a better understanding of life in a holy city where prayers and explosions often happen simultaneously. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cWhen I was visiting the Old City, we heard a couple of explosions,\u201d says Allen, who also spent several days in Tel Aviv, but most of her time in Jerusalem. \u201cI was with an Israeli friend who said to me, \u2018oh, it was just a little bomb.\u2019 Despite the acts of terror taking place throughout the country, people continued with their day-to-day lives. You can\u2019t constantly live in fear. And when you\u2019re there, you genuinely embrace that mindset.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThis wasn\u2019t Allen\u2019s first trip to Israel, just her most intimate. \u201cIn high school, I visited alongside 120 fellow Jewish kids from the San Francisco Bay Area,\u201d says Allen, the 10th recipient of the Nerem Travel Award. \u201cIt was an incredible experience, but limited due to our age and group size. This time around, I gained a much better appreciation for the Israeli culture and spirit.\u201c\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAllen immersed herself in the environment of the Gazit lab, where they are incorporating perfluorotributylamine (PFTBA) into an alginate-based MSC delivery system, \u201cin an effort to improve the survival rate of implanted cells and facilitate better bone regeneration,\u201d says Allen, in her sixth year of pursuing a Bioengineering Ph.D. \u201cI\u2019m excited to come back here to Tech and test the technique further, but it was great experiencing a different lab and work atmosphere. I had an opportunity to present data at their lab meeting, to talk with them about the progress and the struggles, and get their thoughts.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Gazit team, whose collaboration with the Guldberg laboratory has been ongoing throughout Allen\u2019s Ph.D., has previously published on the PFTBA technique within their own delivery systems. \u201cIn bone regeneration,\u201d says Zulma Gazit, \u201ca great challenge is to increase oxygen delivery to cells within the implanted scaffold. One way to increase the oxygen supply is by adding synthetic oxygen carriers such as perfluorocarbons to the scaffold. Perflourocarbons serve as oxygen carriers due to their high affinity for oxygen, which allows high oxygen solubility.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAlong the way, the Gazits have gotten to know Allen as a thorough and thoughtful researcher whose personal charms transcend the limits of a laboratory. \u201cOutside of a professional setting, it was general consensus amongst my lab that Ashley was a pleasure getting to know,\u201d Zulma Gazit says. \u201cShe directs as high a degree of energy, kindness and enthusiasm toward learning and engaging with people as she does towards research.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBeyond the research and the experiments, it was the conflict in the region (and how local people deal with that conflict) that left the deepest impression on Allen.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cYou really don\u2019t appreciate what is going on until you are there and see it,\u201d says Allen, who took a tour of the West Bank with a Palestinian as her guide. \u201cUntil you see how the people are living, Palestinians and Israelis, how they go about their lives, the reality is hard to grasp. You read about it in the newspaper and it doesn\u2019t convey the full extent of what\u2019s happening, all of this violence coming from people who really care about the same space, so much hate and anger from extremists on both sides. I feel bad for those caught in the middle, because there are so many people who want the best for Israel. You get a sense for how special a place it is and why the conflict persists. But you come out of it with no clear solution.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESo, she engaged with the world outside the university setting as often as she could, saw the historic sites, the hallowed grounds; saw the armed soldiers, the increased police presence, and heard the occasional explosion broadcast simmering passions over in East Journalism. But in spite of what may seem like a recurring soundtrack of unrest in the region, Allen caught a sense of serenity. \u201cIt feels safe,\u201d she says. \u201cI felt safer there when it was dark out than I sometimes feel here around the Tech campus. I never really felt like I was in danger. In fact, Israel feels incredibly safe.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Ashley Allen brings home new skills and memories from eventful trip to Israel"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAshley Allen brings home new skills and memories from eventful trip to Israel\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Ashley Allen brings home new skills and memories from eventful trip to Israel"}],"uid":"28153","created_gmt":"2014-12-05 16:34:23","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:41","author":"Jerry Grillo","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-12-05T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-12-05T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"352431":{"id":"352431","type":"image","title":"Ashley Allen Jordan River","body":null,"created":"1449245714","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:15:14","changed":"1475895080","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:20","alt":"Ashley Allen Jordan River","file":{"fid":"201145","name":"ashleyallen.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ashleyallen_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ashleyallen_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2264744,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/ashleyallen_0.jpg?itok=7LgW3oEL"}}},"media_ids":["352431"],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"1808","name":"graduate students"},{"id":"6500","name":"Petit Institute"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/node\/jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"350981":{"#nid":"350981","#data":{"type":"news","title":"The Buzz on Bioscience","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp class=\u0022intro-text\u0022\u003EBiomedical engineering at Georgia Tech has risen from a handful of projects to national prominence in just two decades. Today, more than half of all incoming freshman pursue a degree in biomedical engineering, biochemistry, or biology. These students want to both understand living systems and make things that improve people\u2019s lives.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENow, more than ever, those opportunities are plentiful in biosciences at Georgia Tech, where researchers are creating medical devices for children, understanding how diseases occur, improving vaccines, and building better biomaterials for drug delivery. Georgia Tech\u2019s unique blend of engineering, biology, chemistry, and computing \u2014 along with partnerships with world-class medical facilities in Atlanta, such as Emory University and Children\u2019s Healthcare of Atlanta \u2014 has transformed the Institute\u2019s campus into a magnet for bio-minded scientists.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhat we bring to the table is a new perspective in the biological sciences that is data driven, that is quantitative, that focuses on devices and techniques and on being unafraid to ask fundamental questions,\u201d said Ravi Bellamkonda, the chair and professor of the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University. \u201cIt\u2019s a different approach to biology as an engineer.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe rise of biomedical engineering at Georgia Tech has created a ripple effect across the biosciences on campus. Biologists studying genetics, ecology, and personalized medicine are collaborating with engineers to solve challenging medical problems. The bio quad, home to the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB); the U.A. Whitaker Biomedical Engineering Building; the Ford Environmental Science and Technology (ES\u0026amp;T) Building; and the Molecular Science and Engineering (M) Building, already forms a hub of interdisciplinary research. Soon, other collaboration-oriented buildings will be added, solidifying the Institute\u2019s commitment to developing its bioscience portfolio, which touches everything from mechanical engineering, to electrical engineering, to materials science and engineering.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBioscience the Georgia Tech way has attracted high-profile faculty, such as M.G. Finn, pioneer of click chemistry and rumored Nobel Prize candidate. Also flocking to campus are fresh young minds, such as Susan N. Thomas, an assistant professor in the new field of immunoengineering. These researchers and others, who might not have come to Georgia Tech even 10 years ago, say that the Institute is already making a dent in some of the world\u2019s biggest medical challenges, and is poised to do more. Nascent fields of research, such as immunoengineering, systems biology, pediatric bioengineering, chemical biology, and biomanufacturing, are emerging strengths on campus, positioning Georgia Tech to help define what these fields become. Georgia Tech is already recognized as a leader in regenerative medicine, cardiovascular engineering, neuroengineering, and mechanobiology.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cConsidering what had been done in the past 10 years, I thought the next 10 years at Georgia Tech would be pretty exciting,\u201d said Finn, the interim chair and professor of the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry. \u201cVery few places in the world \u2014 if anywhere \u2014 will embed fundamental science in with applications science and technology better than we do here.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERead more\u0026nbsp;of this article from Georgia Tech\u0027s\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.rh.gatech.edu\/features\/buzz-bioscience\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EResearch Horizons\u003C\/em\u003E\u0026nbsp;magazine\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The biosciences are big at Georgia Tech. Researchers discuss what\u2019s happening and how they see the future."}],"uid":"27902","created_gmt":"2014-12-02 12:30:07","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:37","author":"Brett Israel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-12-02T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-12-02T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"351001":{"id":"351001","type":"image","title":"Bioscience faces","body":null,"created":"1449245714","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:15:14","changed":"1475895078","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:18","alt":"Bioscience faces","file":{"fid":"201961","name":"bioscience_teaser.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bioscience_teaser.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bioscience_teaser.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":62236,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/bioscience_teaser.jpg?itok=hGREcob5"}}},"media_ids":["351001"],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"140","name":"Cancer Research"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[{"id":"249","name":"Biomedical Engineering"},{"id":"762","name":"Bioscience"},{"id":"1503","name":"Biotechnology"},{"id":"93761","name":"Krish Roy"},{"id":"10832","name":"Manu Platt"},{"id":"5084","name":"Melissa Kemp"},{"id":"111331","name":"mg finn"},{"id":"2471","name":"Ravi Bellamkonda"},{"id":"169542","name":"Susan Thomas"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71891","name":"Health and Medicine"},{"id":"71881","name":"Science and Technology"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBrett Israel\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404-491-6792\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/btiatl\u0022\u003E@btiatl\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"350601":{"#nid":"350601","#data":{"type":"news","title":"UCB-Georgia Tech Day","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIf there was a recurring theme at the first UCB-Georgia Tech Day, it was this bit of common sense: You rarely end up where you start in a career. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThat essential piece of career wisdom kept coming up during the November 7th\u0026nbsp; event, when about 70 students from the Georgia Institute of Technology got an insider\u2019s view of a global biopharmaceutical company at the North America Operations headquarters of UCB in Smyrna.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cYou really don\u2019t wind up where you first started,\u201d says Bruce Lavin, vice president of Medical Affairs for UCB, North America. \u201cAnd that\u2019s a good thing.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe experience of his UCB colleague, Deb Hogerman, serves as a fitting example. Thirty years ago, Hogerman never could have imagined that she would become the North America vice president for Regulatory Affairs for a major pharmaceutical company. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cI was schlepping around vats of nutrient media, growing E. coli for vaccine research, and I remember thinking, \u2018I went to college for this?\u2019 I mean, it\u2019s an important job, but it\u2019s not what I wanted to do with my career,\u201d Hogerman tells an audience of Georgia Tech students. \u201cWhen I got into this industry 30 years ago, \u2018regulatory affairs\u2019 wasn\u2019t even considered a career path. But it has grown by leaps and bounds since then.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ERegulatory Affairs was just one of four specific focus sessions that students were able to take advantage of at UCB-Georgia Tech Day. Lavin led the session on \u2018medical affairs,\u2019 and there were also informative sessions focused on \u2018supply chain,\u2019 as well as \u2018market access and pricing.\u2019 There was also a session, delivered live from the UK by Neil Weir, UCB\u2019s senior vice president for research, on drug development, and a panel discussion featuring a group of UCB executives. The idea was to give Georgia Tech students an unprecedented snapshot of an industry setting.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cWe\u2019ve never done anything like this before,\u201d says Cynthia Sundell, director of life science industry collaborations for the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience at Tech. \u201cIt\u2019s an opportunity to shed some light on the inner workings of a pharmaceutical company and perhaps provide some guidance in terms of potential careers in the industry. Our students are the biotech workforce of the future. They\u2019re the main reason companies come to us.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe wide-angled approach played well with the students who attended. According to Tom Bongiorno, who is pursuing a Ph.D. in bioengineering, \u201cGeorgia Tech seminars often give students the opportunity to learn about one particular aspect of the pharmaceutical industry, but the UCB visit enabled us to hear a bit about each aspect of the pipeline, from drug discovery to regulatory clearance and marketing, in one day.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EUCB-Georgia Tech Day was the result of a concentrated effort to bring the two entities closer together. Jeff Wren, UCB\u2019s president of the North America Region, has made it clear that he\u2019d like to build a strong relationship with Georgia Tech.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cWe\u2019re exploring collaborative research options and thinking of other ways to work closely with Georgia Tech,\u201d Wren says. Plans are in the works, for example, to develop an internship program at UCB, which does about $4.2 billion in annual sales globally (3.4 billion euros), impacting the lives of more than 700,000 patients. \u201cWe prefer to think of our success in terms of the number of patients we serve, and we know every single one of their names.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EUCB has carved out a significant niche in the industry, serving patients by developing and marketing therapeutics in two main focus areas \u2013 central nervous system and immunology. The company, which operates under the banner, \u201cInspired by patients. Driven by science,\u201d also spends more of its revenues on research and development, on a percentage basis, than almost every other pharmaceutical company \u2013 25 to 27 percent, versus an industry average of about 17 percent.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cHardly any other pharmaceutical company in the world invests more in research and development than UCB does,\u201d Wren says. \u201cOne of our primary roles as a pharmaceutical company is delivering phenomenal products to patients, and we can\u2019t do that if we invest any less. So that\u2019s where we spend our time and effort.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhich means as the company transforms \u2013 and it will, Wren says \u2013 the career opportunities in areas requiring advanced degrees will evolve also.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cI think the opportunities will be endless in the pharmaceutical industry as we move forward,\u201d Lavin says. \u201cHere we are, a biopharma organization responsible for developing healthcare strategies for patients, based on their unmet needs. How do we respond to those needs? How do we become more innovative? How do we offer better options and improve healthcare? How do we understand how to marry new technology with clinical science? I think the answers are in the students here today.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Students get close-up view of biopharmaceutical powerhouse"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EStudents get close-up view of biopharmaceutical powerhouse\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Students get close-up view of biopharmaceutical powerhouse"}],"uid":"28153","created_gmt":"2014-12-01 11:25:05","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:37","author":"Jerry Grillo","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-12-01T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-12-01T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"350581":{"id":"350581","type":"image","title":"Jeff Wren","body":null,"created":"1449245702","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:15:02","changed":"1475895078","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:18","alt":"Jeff Wren","file":{"fid":"201954","name":"ucb-jeff.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ucb-jeff.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ucb-jeff.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1934421,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/ucb-jeff.jpg?itok=F6VnvsU9"}},"350591":{"id":"350591","type":"image","title":"Bruce Cindi Student","body":null,"created":"1449245702","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:15:02","changed":"1478871456","gmt_changed":"2016-11-11 13:37:36","alt":"","file":{"fid":"201955","name":"bruce_cindi_student.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bruce_cindi_student.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bruce_cindi_student.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":850757,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/bruce_cindi_student.jpg?itok=U_W2ignA"}}},"media_ids":["350581","350591"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.ucb.com\/","title":"UCB website"}],"groups":[{"id":"1254","name":"Wallace H. Coulter Dept. of Biomedical Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"139","name":"Business"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/node\/jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"350661":{"#nid":"350661","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Computational tools will help identify microbes in complex environmental samples","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMicrobes of interest to clinicians and environmental scientists rarely exist in isolation. Organisms essential to breaking down pollutants or causing illness live in complex communities, and separating one microbe from hundreds of companion species can be challenging for researchers seeking to understand environmental issues or disease processes.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA new National Science Foundation-supported project will provide computational tools designed to help identify and characterize the gene diversity of the residents of these microbial communities. The project, being done by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Michigan State University, will allow clinicians and scientists to compare the genomic information of organisms they encounter against the growing volumes of data provided by the world\u2019s scientific community.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe tools will be hosted on a web server designed to be used by researchers who may not have training in the latest bioinformatics techniques. A prototype system containing a limited number of computational tools is already available at \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/enve-omics.ce.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/enve-omics.ce.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E and is attracting more than 500 users each month.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAcross many areas of science, we are dealing with communities of microorganisms, and one challenge we\u2019ve had is to identify them because we haven\u2019t had good tools to tell apart individual microbes from the mixtures,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.ce.gatech.edu\/people\/faculty\/711\/overview\u0022\u003EKostas Konstantinidis\u003C\/a\u003E, an associate professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.ce.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Civil and Environmental Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E at Georgia Tech and the project\u2019s principal investigator. \u201cOur tools will be designed to deal with the genomes of whole communities of organisms.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECurrent techniques identify individual microbes by examining their small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) genes, but the new tools will allow scientists to analyze entire genomes and meta-genomes.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWith the dawn of the genomic era, we can now get the whole genome of these organisms to see not only the ribosomal RNA, but also all the genes in the genome to get a better understanding of what the each organism\u2019s potential might be,\u201d said Konstantinidis. \u201cThere will be many advantages for looking at all the genes instead of just one, the SSU rRNA, such as to identify which organisms encode toxins or the enzymes for breaking down pollutants.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECollaborators on the three-year project include scientists who operate the Ribosomal Database Project at Michigan State University: Jim Tiedje, director of Michigan State University\u2019s Center for Microbial Ecology and James Cole, a Michigan State University research assistant professor and director of the Ribosomal Database Project.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe ability to identify and enumerate the organisms in complex communities using culture-independent, genomic technologies and associated bioinformatics algorithms is becoming more important as scientists study organisms that can\u2019t be grown in the lab. The majority of the world\u2019s organisms resist traditional lab culture, meaning they have to be studied in the field and identified through genetic information.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKonstantinidis and his research group are studying such communities in the water of lakes in Chattahoochee River system in Georgia and elsewhere. They are examining how these communities respond to perturbations, such as oil or pesticide spills, and the role that different members of the community play in breaking down pollutants.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThese tools actually come from our research practice,\u201d said Konstantinidis. \u201cWe came to the point where we couldn\u2019t process the data to answer the questions we wanted to ask. That led us to this new project to develop the tools we and others need to interrogate the data and get the information we are looking for.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA single liter of lake water may contain as many as 500 different species, and together, their genomic information can total tens of billions of gene-coding letters. From Lake Lanier alone, the team has generated 200 gigabytes of genomic data.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe want to figure out what organisms are there, and what genes they encode,\u201d Konstantinidis explained. \u201cThe tools we are developing will allow us to do this.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe tools developed in the project will be useful to both clinical microbiologists and environmental researchers. \u201cThis will not be specific to any one discipline,\u201d he said. \u201cAs long as people are working with microbes, this will be helpful to them because some of the questions are universal.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe system will also be built to provide user-friendly help to scientists who may not have training in the latest genomic and bioinformatics techniques. \u201cThere is a big need for big data analysis, and there are not many trained people right now,\u201d Konstantinidis said. \u201cThese tools will make the lives of researchers easier.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAmong the challenges ahead is building an infrastructure able to handle the growing amounts of genomic information produced worldwide.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe will have to develop some computational solutions for the problems of keeping up with all the new data becoming available,\u201d said Konstantinidis. \u201cWe need to make tools that have high throughput to keep up with data volumes that are increasing geometrically.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe system will initially operate on servers at Georgia Tech and Michigan State University, but if demand and data grow, additional resources may be sought, such as the National Science Foundation\u2019s XSEDE supercomputer.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis research is supported by the National Science Foundation under award DBI-1356288. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official views of the National Science Foundation.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EKostas Konstantinidis is the Carlton S. Wilder Junior Faculty Professor in the Georgia Tech School of Civil and Environmental Engineering.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E177 North Avenue\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, Georgia\u0026nbsp; 30332-0181\u0026nbsp; USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon (404-894-6986) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or Brett Israel (404-385-1933) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWrite\u003C\/strong\u003Er: John Toon\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA new project will provide computational tools designed to help identify and characterize the gene diversity of the residents of microbial communities. The project, being done by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Michigan State University, will allow clinicians and scientists to compare the genomic information of organisms they encounter against the growing volumes of data provided by the world\u2019s scientific community.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A new project will provide computational tools designed to help identify and characterize the gene diversity of the residents of microbial communities."}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2014-12-01 11:48:43","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:37","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-12-01T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-12-01T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"350641":{"id":"350641","type":"image","title":"Microbial communities","body":null,"created":"1449245702","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:15:02","changed":"1475895078","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:18","alt":"Microbial communities","file":{"fid":"201094","name":"microbial-genomics.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/microbial-genomics_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/microbial-genomics_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1080014,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/microbial-genomics_0.jpg?itok=p11vr5xt"}},"350621":{"id":"350621","type":"image","title":"Water sampling","body":null,"created":"1449245702","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:15:02","changed":"1475894494","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:41:34","alt":"Water sampling","file":{"fid":"201093","name":"water-sampling_0192.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/water-sampling_0192_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/water-sampling_0192_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":285853,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/water-sampling_0192_0.jpg?itok=yONsX1Ku"}}},"media_ids":["350641","350621"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"154","name":"Environment"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"807","name":"environment"},{"id":"12758","name":"Kostas Konstantinidis"},{"id":"7078","name":"microbe"},{"id":"111221","name":"microbial communities"},{"id":"51261","name":"microbial diversity"},{"id":"167864","name":"School of Civil and Environmental Engineering"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"39431","name":"Data Engineering and Science"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71911","name":"Earth and Environment"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearch News\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E(404) 894-6986\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"350551":{"#nid":"350551","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Patel Wins Young Investigator Award","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESome day, Yogi Patel expects to enjoy the best of both worlds \u2013 starting a successful company while enjoying a career in academia. Apparently, \u2018some day\u2019 may not be very far off for Patel, a third-year Ph.D. student in the Wallace H. Coulter Department for Biomedical Engineering, who recently won a Young Investigator Award at the IEEE BRAIN Grand Challenges Conference.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe mid-November conference, put on by the Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS) of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), preceded the Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. The EMBS meeting focused on engineering challenges related to President Obama\u2019s BRAIN (for Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies) Initiative. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAnother goal of the conference was to recognize outstanding young investigators working on innovative research. There were 13 BRAIN Grand Challenge Young Investigator Award winners, students from a range of institutions, including Harvard, Stanford, M.I.T., and one from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Patel, who works in the lab of Robert Butera (professor of electrical and computer engineering who holds a joint appointment in the Coulter Department). \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cA lot of the work in our lab is based on peripheral nerve stimulation. Nerves are like cables that let us interact with the world and a lot of our work is focused on answering questions such as, how do you selectively stimulate nerves using electricity, how do you selectively block them using electricity, and what information can we read from them,\u201d says Patel, whose research involves the incorporation of micro-needle technology from Atlanta-based Axion BioSystems with standard nerve cuff electrode technology. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cWe\u2019re trying to get close to the source of the signal, which is inside the nerve,\u201d he adds. \u201cThe use of micro-needles enables a safe and effective way of recording neural activity from inside the nerve, as opposed to the outside. This may not be a huge leap forward, but it is an incremental leap that helps gain new insights on the types of activity underlying specific neural circuits.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe idea, essentially, is to improve our ability to read and write to the brain through peripheral nerves. Patel and his fellow researchers are developing technology for better, more precise tools when it comes to recording from the nervous system. \u201cWe\u2019re sort of listening in with higher resolution and picking up things we couldn\u2019t pick up before,\u201d says Patel, who also spends time as a mentor in the Petit Scholar program. \u201cThe idea is to provide better ways to get better measurements.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt\u2019s work that he expects will be published early next year and work that will be commercialized, which gets back to the two worlds Patel wants to inhabit \u2013 entrepreneur businessman and academic researcher.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cI really want to work at that interface of science and industry \u2013 because both worlds are good at their respective things,\u201d he says. \u201cI think that would provide a better way to identify and understand what the rest of the world around us needs.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"BioE grad student\u2019s innovative research grabs honors at national conference"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBioE grad student\u2019s innovative research grabs honors at national conference\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"BioE grad student\u2019s innovative research grabs honors at national conference"}],"uid":"28153","created_gmt":"2014-12-01 11:02:13","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:37","author":"Jerry Grillo","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-12-01T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-12-01T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"350401":{"id":"350401","type":"image","title":"Yogi Patel","body":null,"created":"1449245702","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:15:02","changed":"1475895075","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:15","alt":"Yogi Patel","file":{"fid":"201083","name":"yogi.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/yogi_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/yogi_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2890659,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/yogi_0.jpg?itok=Dn30WGhz"}}},"media_ids":["350401"],"groups":[{"id":"1254","name":"Wallace H. Coulter Dept. of Biomedical Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"111361","name":"BRAIN initiative"},{"id":"1808","name":"graduate students"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/node\/jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"348981":{"#nid":"348981","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Co-robots Team Up with Humans","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp class=\u0022intro-text\u0022\u003ECharlie Kemp is giving robots common sense. And that\u2019s good news for Californian Henry Evans.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETen years ago, Evans suffered a stroke that left him with limited mobility. Over the past two years, he\u2019s been working with Kemp, an associate professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University, to develop and test robots that help him shave, adjust a blanket when he\u2019s cold, and even scratch an annoying itch.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe did things with the robots that I never could have imagined,\u201d said Evans, who contacted Kemp after seeing him on a CNN broadcast about health care robots.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERobots working directly with people \u2013 even helping them shave \u2013 is both challenging and unusual. Most robots today work in manufacturing facilities where, for safety reasons, they stay far away from humans. But Georgia Tech robotics researchers believe people and robots can accomplish much more by working together \u2013 as long as the robots have common sense to know, for instance, how much force humans apply when shaving.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cA major challenge for health care robots is that they lack so much of the knowledge and experience that people take for granted,\u201d said Kemp. \u201cTo us, it\u2019s just common sense that everybody has; for robots, it\u2019s a serious impediment.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGiving robots common sense is just one milestone on the path to the kinds of collaboration that will be required to meet the needs of a growing population of older persons. Beyond personal care, the benefits of co-robotics are many. To produce better products more efficiently, manufacturing robots will need to team up with humans, each contributing unique abilities. And in defense and homeland security, robots will increasingly have to take on the dangerous jobs, leveraging people\u2019s skills while protecting them from harm.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.rh.gatech.edu\/features\/hi-how-can-i-help-you\u0022\u003ERead more\u003C\/a\u003E of this article from Georgia Tech\u0027s \u003Cem\u003EResearch Horizons\u003C\/em\u003E magazine.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAt Georgia Tech, robots are teaming up with humans to perform tasks in manufacturing, health care, national defense and other areas.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Robots are teaming up with humans to perform tasks in manufacturing, health care, national defense and other areas."}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2014-11-25 12:12:45","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:34","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-11-25T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-11-25T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"348951":{"id":"348951","type":"image","title":"Swarm robotics - Magnus Egerstedt","body":null,"created":"1449245682","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:14:42","changed":"1475895073","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:13","alt":"Swarm robotics - Magnus Egerstedt","file":{"fid":"201005","name":"swarm-robots-cover.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/swarm-robots-cover_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/swarm-robots-cover_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1494043,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/swarm-robots-cover_0.jpg?itok=4A1MjMho"}},"348961":{"id":"348961","type":"image","title":"Healthcare robotics - Charlie Kemp","body":null,"created":"1449245682","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:14:42","changed":"1475895073","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:13","alt":"Healthcare robotics - Charlie Kemp","file":{"fid":"201006","name":"healthcare-robotics.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/healthcare-robotics_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/healthcare-robotics_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1925398,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/healthcare-robotics_0.jpg?itok=qngQyhf0"}},"348971":{"id":"348971","type":"image","title":"Tutoring robots - Ayanna Howard","body":null,"created":"1449245682","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:14:42","changed":"1475895073","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:13","alt":"Tutoring robots - Ayanna Howard","file":{"fid":"201007","name":"tutoring-robots-ayanna-howard.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tutoring-robots-ayanna-howard_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tutoring-robots-ayanna-howard_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1963414,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tutoring-robots-ayanna-howard_0.jpg?itok=fL32_4ED"}}},"media_ids":["348951","348961","348971"],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"152","name":"Robotics"}],"keywords":[{"id":"14647","name":"healthcare robots"},{"id":"78271","name":"IRIM"},{"id":"667","name":"robotics"},{"id":"2352","name":"robots"},{"id":"110851","name":"tutoring robots"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39521","name":"Robotics"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71881","name":"Science and Technology"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearch News\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E(404) 894-6986\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"348211":{"#nid":"348211","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Coulter Partnership Blasts Off","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA new version of the Coulter Translational Partnership (CTP) at Emory and the Georgia Institute of Technology is putting an even greater emphasis on the \u201ctranslational\u201d part of its name. That was the basic message delivered by Rachael Hagan, director of the CTP, at an open-house re-introduction of the program last Tuesday.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe program, funded by the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation, which historically has awarded grants to help move the most promising technologies into commercial development and clinical practice, will continue to do so, but the focus now will be on ideas that are closest to leaving the bench and reaching the bedside.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cI\u2019ve had a Coulter grant in the past, and it is vastly different now than what it was before,\u201d says Tom Barker, associate professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME), an Emory\/Georgia Tech collaborative endeavor that was the first institution to receive the Coulter Translational Partnership Award, back in 2000. \u201cWe need to reset our mindset about the program. This award is not about research grants. It\u2019s more like a pre-venture fund. And they\u2019ve got the right person driving home the idea that this is for products that can be rapidly translated.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThat person is Hagan, who adds, \u201cour researchers will notice that when the selection of funded projects does happen, we\u2019re going to be much more serious about proof of concept.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn the past, earlier phases of research in a project had received funding, but the emphasis always has been, ultimately, on commercialization.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cThat\u2019s always been an expectation of the Coulter Foundation,\u201d notes Regents\u2019 Professor Ajit Yoganathan, associate chair for translational research at BME, where he also holds the title of Coulter Distinguished Faculty Chair. \u201cThe main thing to remember is, this is not a grant program. This is not a research program, and you can\u2019t really come in with that in mind. This is funding to commercialize intellectual properties, and there are stringent timeline involved. The funding is there to assist people in keeping those timelines.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThis Emory\/GT translational partnership is one of 15 CTPs at universities around the country, including the University of Washington-Seattle, where Hagan was the program director for eight years before coming to Atlanta to revive the initiative here.\u0026nbsp; The program now has three people staffing it \u2013 Hagan and two program managers, Shawna Hagen and Katie Merritt.\u0026nbsp; And Hagan says the partnership offers invaluable intellectual capital as well \u2013 consultants who can help put the business and financial pieces together as technologies morph from final concept to commercialization.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cThe re-launch of the Coulter program is a unique opportunity for investigators in the Georgia Tech-Emory community,\u201d says Johnna Temenoff, BME associate professor and co-director of the Center for Regenerative Engineering and Medicine. \u201cThe fact that the program is committed to finding consultants from both inside and outside the Atlanta community to provide the best advice to prepare investigators to garner external start-up funds is an extremely valuable aspect of this program.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe road to clinical and commercial success begins with ideas, and there a few important dates to remember: Project pre-proposals are due on January 31, 2015, and the funds will be released on July 1st. Researchers interested in funding through the Emory\/Georgia Tech Coulter Translational Partnership can find out more at the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/bme.gatech.edu\/bme\/ctp\u0022\u003ECTP website\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Emory-Georgia Tech translational funding program gets re-launched"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EEmory-Georgia Tech translational funding program gets re-launched\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Emory-Georgia Tech translational funding program gets re-launched"}],"uid":"28153","created_gmt":"2014-11-21 16:14:46","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:34","author":"Jerry Grillo","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-11-21T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-11-21T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"348171":{"id":"348171","type":"image","title":"The Coulter Translational Partnership team: (left to right) Program Managers Shawna Hagen and Katie Merritt, and Program Director Rachael Hagan.","body":null,"created":"1449245682","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:14:42","changed":"1475894966","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:26","alt":"The Coulter Translational Partnership team: (left to right) Program Managers Shawna Hagen and Katie Merritt, and Program Director Rachael Hagan.","file":{"fid":"201945","name":"ctp_team.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ctp_team_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ctp_team_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1992487,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/ctp_team_0.jpg?itok=rd43vaea"}}},"media_ids":["348171"],"groups":[{"id":"1254","name":"Wallace H. Coulter Dept. of Biomedical Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"248","name":"IBB"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/node\/jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"346371":{"#nid":"346371","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Molecular Artistry","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe atrium of the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience was swarmed by hundreds of guests on Saturday, October 18, for the BUZZ on Biotechnology, an annual outreach event geared toward teenaged students, an interactive open house to inspire future scientists, and maybe generate a little interest in attending the Georgia Institute of Technology.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe kids took part in a bunch of hands-on experiments, many of which are designed to teach something about biology at the molecular level. They went from demonstration table to demonstration table, building edible cells out of candy or extracting DNA from peas, unaware that all around them, hanging on the atrium walls, are some of the most influential images ever made of molecular biology. This is the art of Irving Geis, whose 116th birthday also happened to be October 18, a former Georgia Tech student who did more for myoglobin\u2019s street cred than anyone before him.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EGeis, who died in 1997, was a pioneer whose seminal, oft-reproduced painting of a sperm whale myoglobin molecule for \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.scientificamerican.com\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EScientific American\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E in 1961 basically launched the field of molecular illustration, an artist whose complex and colorful depictions of an unseen living world have helped inspire and enlighten generations of students and scientists.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cWe all knew about Irving Geis,\u201d says Sheldon May, a biochemistry professor who helped start the Petit Institute and led the effort to bring Geis\u2019s work to the atrium shortly after the building opened 15 years ago. \u201cAnyone who taught biochemistry used his illustrations. He was an amazing artist, strongly influenced by Da Vinci, and he did it all in a time before computer graphics.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EGeis, born in New York City in 1908, moved to Anderson, South Carolina, as a kid. He thought he wanted to be an architect, so he attended Georgia Tech from 1925 to 1927 with that in mind.\u0026nbsp; He didn\u2019t graduate from Tech, but his experience in Atlanta obviously left an impression, according to his daughter.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cMy father couldn\u2019t carry a tune and almost never sang, but he taught me the song, \u003Cem\u003EI\u2019m a Ramblin\u2019 Wreck from Georgia Tech\u003C\/em\u003E, when I was six years old,\u201d says Sandy Geis. \u201cIt was my favorite thing to sing. Can you imagine? A six-year-old kid singing, \u2018a hell of an engineer\u2019 at the top of her lungs.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EGeis may have enjoyed his time at Tech, but he just wasn\u2019t bound to be an architect, and went on to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the University of Pennsylvania (1929) and after earning a degree in design and painting from the University of South Carolina in 1933 he moved back to New York to work as a freelance illustrator. He did a lot of work for \u003Cem\u003EFortune\u003C\/em\u003E magazine, including a drawing of the circulatory system that marked his venture into scientific illustration. \u201cHe was very proud of that. It really jumpstarted his interest in biology,\u201d Sandy Geis says.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EDuring World War II, Geis worked as chief of the graphics section of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS, the predecessor of the CIA) and later as art director for the Office of War Information. Following the war and for the rest of his life he worked as a freelance artist, and from 1948 on he shaped the genre of scientific illustration. That was the year he started contributing to \u003Cem\u003EScientific American\u003C\/em\u003E, where he produced some of the most iconic images of scientific illustration, the most famous in 1961.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cThe myoglobin painting was a landmark in his career, and in science. It was really the first illustration of the molecular world,\u201d says Sandy Geis, whose father typically spent a few weeks on a project \u2013 learning the subject, talking with the scientist writing the article, and producing an illustration. But the myoglobin watercolor painting took six months, because it takes a while to break new ground. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cThere was always a back and forth dialogue with the authors, the scientists,\u201d Sandy Geis says. \u201cBetween his photographs, and sketches, and the constant dialogue, he was able to elucidate whatever they said. It was a complicated process, and my father was such a perfectionist.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe myoglobin illustration accompanied the article by British biochemist John Kendrew, who described the structure of myoglobin, a protein found in muscle tissue, and recruited Geis to convert his physical models of myoglobin into a painting. It became the first molecule that most people ever actually saw.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cHe was the preeminent molecular illustrator,\u201d says May. \u201cHe used art to beautifully demonstrate the structure and function of molecules.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe myoglobin painting increased demand in Geis\u2019s talents. From 1963 until his death he illustrated a number of major books on biochemistry and molecular biology, including three that he co-authored with Richard Dickerson, the UCLA biochemistry professor, who had worked with Kendrew on solving the first high-resolution x-ray crystal structure of myoglobin in 1958.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cIt was never clear whether Irv illustrated my books, or I wrote Irv\u2019s captions,\u201d Dickerson wrote in the journal \u003Cem\u003EProtein Science\u003C\/em\u003E in 1997, following Geis\u2019s death. \u201cIn the end, it didn\u2019t matter; together we could do more than either could have done alone.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAccording to Dickerson, his co-author\u2019s genius wasn\u2019t in depicting a protein exactly how it looked, but drawing it in a such a way that showed how the molecule worked, an artistic process that Geis called, \u2018selective lying.\u2019 Geis, wrote Dickerson, \u201cwas very taken with the importance of using art to put across scientific concepts.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EGeis also illustrated several biochemistry textbooks that Georgia Tech scientists like May and Loren Williams became familiar with.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cI\u2019d loved his work for years, but at first, I didn\u2019t know he went to Georgia Tech, until I found a copy of his obituary,\u201d says Williams, a biochemist who discussed with May the idea of bringing Geis\u2019s work to the Petit Institute building, which opened in 1999.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMay reached out to Sandy Geis, \u201ccalled her out of the blue,\u201d he says. \u0022She was very happy that we were doing something to perpetuate her father\u2019s contribution to science.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESandy Geis made her father\u0027s original art available, and what hangs on the atrium walls are actually photographic reproductions, commissioned by May before the Geis Archives were purchased by the Howard Hughes Medical institute. \u003Cbr class=\u0022Apple-style-span\u0022 \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cI\u2019m glad that his work is displayed at Georgia Tech,\u201d she says. \u201cBecause his passion was to teach, really, to influence as many scientists and students of science through the generations. And that\u2019s what he did. Two Nobel Prize winners told me personally that the books by Dickerson and Geis were a big influence for them.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EShortly after Georgia Tech acquired the reproductions in 2000, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased the Geis Archives, which includes art as well as correspondence and private journals. But the reproductions in the atrium have helped give the Petit building a sense of colorful equilibrium, offsetting the massive Cell Wall, the nine-piece, 12 foot by 24 foot painting by artist \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.karenku.com\/\u0022\u003EKaren Stoutsenberger Ku\u003C\/a\u003E (typically is one of the first things anyone notices when they enter the Petit Institute atrium).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cWhen we moved into the building, the Cell Wall was all there,\u201d May says. \u201cBut we, the biochemists, were thinking, \u2018what can we do from an artistic point of view?\u2019 The engineers at the time were all cellular oriented, and we were very molecular oriented. We wondered what we could do from a visual point of view to play up the fact that this institute brings together the molecular and the cellular, the science and the engineering. And we remembered those illustrations from the Biochemistry textbook. Of course! Irving Geis!\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn his lifetime, Geis evolved to the point where, especially in his later years, he was an occasional scientific lecturer. It was easy for the casual student of the visual arts to confuse him as some kind of molecular scientist.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cMy father understood the science, and he understood scientists,\u201d Sandy Geis says. \u201cHe could speak their language \u2013 he was an interpreter of their language. But first and foremost, he was always an artist.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Science illustrator Irving Geis shed light on an unseen world"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EScience illustrator Irving Geis shed light on an unseen world\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Science illustrator Irving Geis shed light on an unseen world"}],"uid":"28153","created_gmt":"2014-11-17 11:56:01","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:30","author":"Jerry Grillo","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-11-17T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-11-17T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"346271":{"id":"346271","type":"image","title":"Irving Geis","body":null,"created":"1449245670","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:14:30","changed":"1475895068","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:08","alt":"Irving Geis","file":{"fid":"200933","name":"myoglobin-sci._american_0.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/myoglobin-sci._american_0_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/myoglobin-sci._american_0_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2451786,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/myoglobin-sci._american_0_0.jpg?itok=1-p4np4M"}},"346361":{"id":"346361","type":"image","title":"Cytochrome","body":null,"created":"1449245670","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:14:30","changed":"1475895068","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:08","alt":"Cytochrome","file":{"fid":"200937","name":"cytochrome.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/cytochrome_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/cytochrome_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":652886,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/cytochrome_0.jpg?itok=cfrqHyWq"}}},"media_ids":["346271","346361"],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[{"id":"42901","name":"Community"},{"id":"42921","name":"Exhibitions"}],"keywords":[{"id":"109911","name":"Irving Geis"},{"id":"109921","name":"molecular illustration"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"345641":{"#nid":"345641","#data":{"type":"news","title":"NFL honors Georgia Tech-Emory team for brain injury detection system","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe National Football League (NFL), GE and UnderArmour have selected a team of physicians and engineers from the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University as winners in the Head Health Challenge II, a competition for new innovations intended to speed diagnosis and improve treatment for concussions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Atlanta-based team was awarded for development of \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=3oalhVkd3bQ\u0022\u003EiDETECT\u003C\/a\u003E (integrated Display Enhanced TEsting for Cognitive Impairment and mTBI), a rapidly deployable, easily administered, comprehensive system designed to improve neurologic assessment following mild traumatic brain injury, such as concussion sustained in athletic events and military conflict.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA total of seven winners of Head Health Challenge II were announced November 13, 2014. The winning teams, selected from more than 500 submissions, will receive $500,000 each for development of new innovations and technologies intended to identify, measure and mitigate brain injury. The first round of winners will be eligible for an additional $1 million after a second phase of judging.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EiDETECT addresses feasibility and reliability drawbacks associated with current concussion screening tools. It is an easy-to-administer, portable, and immersive system that integrates multiple concussion tests within one platform. The next generation iDETECT system will be further tested in a clinical study comparing iDETECT outcomes against other traditional separate mTBI screening tools.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur team is excited and honored to be selected as a winner in the NFL-GE-UA Head Health Challenge II competition,\u201d says Tamara Espinoza, assistant professor of emergency medicine at Emory University School of Medicine and principal investigator of the Head Health Challenge award. \u201cA tremendous amount of research and effort has gone into the development of iDETECT, and we believe it may become an essential tool in assessing sports-related concussion.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOf the 1.7 million traumatic brain injuries in the United States each year, more than 750,000 are considered \u201cmild,\u201d and over 173,000 are related to recreational and sports activity. In the last decade, emergency department visits for mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) among highly vulnerable populations, such as children and developing youth, have increased by more than 60 percent.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAdequately assessing mTBI using individual, single-pathway screening methods is extremely difficult, given the complexities of neurologic injury,\u201d says Shean Phelps, principal research scientist at Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI). \u201cWith this additional funding from the Head Health Challenge II, our team can more fully pursue the long-term vision of iDETECT as a multi-modal device that addresses sports-related, mild traumatic brain injury.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe DETECT project was the brainchild of David Wright, director of Emergency Neurosciences at Emory University School of Medicine and Michelle LaPlaca, associate professor of biomedical engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University. In 2011, the project evolved from a single neurocognitive approach for detection of concussions to an extended, multi-modal platform when the partnership broadened to include the Georgia Tech Research Institute. GTRI added critical systems engineering, human factors and military medical operational expertise.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMild traumatic brain injuries in youth, college and professional sports have the potential for life-changing, long-term consequences,\u201d says Wright. \u201cThe iDETECT system integrates multiple concussion testing capabilities within one platform and allows rapid and reliable assessment at the location where the injury occurred.\u201d This comprehensive approach enhances the ability to validate the on-field assessment platform and more accurately screen for traumatic injury.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPhelps, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel adds, \u201cmTBI assessments in the military is an area that needs new approaches such as those provided by iDETECT.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPartner institutions forming the iDETECT team include Georgia Tech, Emory and the University of Rochester. The Department of Defense and the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation provided financial support for development of iDETECT.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to Espinoza, Wright, LaPlaca and Phelps, team members include Brian Liu, Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) research engineer; Stephen Smith, research engineer, Russell Gore, sports neurologist; John Brumfield, biomedical engineer; Jeff Bazarian, associate professor of emergency medicine, University of Rochester; and Courtney Crooks, GTRI senior research scientist.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWritten by Emory University\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Team wins competition for new innovations intended to speed diagnosis and improve treatment for concussions"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe National Football League, GE and UnderArmour have selected a team of physicians and engineers from the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University as winners in the Head Health Challenge II, a competition for new innovations intended to speed diagnosis and improve treatment for concussions.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech-Emory team wins award from NFL for brain injury detection system."}],"uid":"27560","created_gmt":"2014-11-13 14:53:38","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:30","author":"Jason Maderer","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-11-13T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-11-13T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"345611":{"id":"345611","type":"image","title":"IDETECT","body":null,"created":"1449245670","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:14:30","changed":"1475895068","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:08","alt":"IDETECT","file":{"fid":"200908","name":"idetect.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/idetect_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/idetect_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2001104,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/idetect_0.jpg?itok=4Z7GXjkY"}},"345601":{"id":"345601","type":"image","title":"iDETECT in use","body":null,"created":"1449245654","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:14:14","changed":"1475895068","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:08","alt":"iDETECT in use","file":{"fid":"200907","name":"15c10302-p2-016.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/15c10302-p2-016_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/15c10302-p2-016_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":6977001,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/15c10302-p2-016_0.jpg?itok=05EB8yG4"}},"345581":{"id":"345581","type":"image","title":"iDETECT team","body":null,"created":"1449245654","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:14:14","changed":"1475895068","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:08","alt":"iDETECT team","file":{"fid":"200906","name":"15c10302-p2-024.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/15c10302-p2-024_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/15c10302-p2-024_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":7820882,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/15c10302-p2-024_0.jpg?itok=fcq8uNHs"}}},"media_ids":["345611","345601","345581"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.headhealthchallenge.com\/","title":"Head Health Challenge"},{"url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=3oalhVkd3bQ","title":"See the iDETECT video"}],"groups":[{"id":"1183","name":"Home"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"1912","name":"brain"},{"id":"3190","name":"concussion"},{"id":"521","name":"injury"},{"id":"12525","name":"NFL"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71881","name":"Science and Technology"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJason Maderer\u003Cbr \/\u003ENational Media Relations\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:maderer@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emaderer@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-385-2966\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["maderer@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"345691":{"#nid":"345691","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Tiny needles offer potential new treatment for two major eye diseases","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ENeedles almost too small to be seen with the unaided eye could be the basis for new treatment options for two of the world\u2019s leading eye diseases: glaucoma and corneal neovascularization.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe microneedles, ranging in length from 400 to 700 microns, could provide a new way to deliver drugs to specific areas within the eye relevant to these diseases. By targeting the drugs only to specific parts of the eye instead of the entire eye, researchers hope to increase effectiveness, limit side effects, and reduce the amount of drug needed.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor glaucoma, which affects about 2.2 million people in the United States and is the second leading cause of blindness worldwide, the goal is to develop time-release drugs that could replace daily administration of eye drops. A painless microneedle injection made once every three to six months \u2013 potentially during regular office visits \u2013 could improve treatment outcomes by providing consistent dosages, overcoming patient compliance issues.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the second disease, corneal neovascularization, corneal injury results in the growth of unwanted blood vessels that impair vision. To treat it, the researchers developed solid microneedles for delivering a dry drug compound that stops the vessel growth.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe power of microneedles for treating eye conditions is the ability to target delivery of the drug within the eye,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.chbe.gatech.edu\/faculty\/prausnitz\u0022\u003EMark Prausnitz\u003C\/a\u003E, a Regents\u2019 professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.chbe.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E at the Georgia Institute of Technology. \u201cWe are developing different microneedle-based systems that can put the drug precisely into the part of the eye where it\u2019s needed. In many cases, we hope to couple that delivery with a controlled-release formulation that would allow one application to treat a condition for weeks or months.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research, which was supported by the National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), was reported November 13 in the journal \u003Cem\u003EInvestigative Ophthalmology \u0026amp; Visual Science\u003C\/em\u003E. The research was done using animal models, and could become the first treatment technique to use microneedles for delivering drugs to treat diseases in the front of the eye.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGlaucoma results from elevated pressure inside the eye that can be treated by reducing production of the aqueous humor fluid in the eye, increasing flow of the fluid from the eye, or both. Glaucoma is now controlled by the use of eye drops, which must be applied daily. Studies show that as few as 56 percent of glaucoma patients follow the therapy protocol.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe microneedle therapy would inject drugs into space between two layers of the eye near the ciliary body, which produces the aqueous humor. The drug is retained near the injection side because it is formulated for increased viscosity. In studies with an animal model, the researchers were able to reduce intraocular pressure through the injections, showing that their drug got to the proper location in the eye.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBecause the injection narrowly targets delivery of the drug, researchers were able to bring about a pressure reduction by using just one percent of the amount of drug required to produce a similar decline with eye drops. The research team, which also included Georgia Tech postdoctoral fellow Yoo Chun Kim and Emory University Emeritus Professor of Ophthalmology Henry Edelhauser, hopes to produce a time-release version of the drug that could be injected to provide therapy lasting for months.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe ultimate goal for us would be for glaucoma patients visiting the doctor to get an injection that would last for the next six months, until the next time the patient needed to see the doctor,\u201d said Prausnitz. \u201cIf we can do away with the need for patients to use eye drops, we could potentially have better control of intraocular pressure and better treatment of glaucoma.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo treat corneal neovascularization, the researchers took a different approach, coating solid microneedles with an antibody-based drug that prevents the growth of blood vessels. They inserted the coated needles near the point of an injury, keeping them in place for approximately one minute until the drug dissolved into the cornea.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn an animal model, placement of the drug halted the growth of unwanted blood vessels for about two weeks after a single application. In addition to the researchers already mentioned, the corneal neovascularization research included Emory University Professor of Ophthalmology Hans Grossniklaus.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile the research reported in the journal did not include time-release versions of the drugs, a parallel project is evaluating potential formulations that would provide that feature.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEye injections with hypodermic needles much larger than the microneedles are routinely used to administer compounds into the center of eye. These injections are well tolerated, and Prausnitz expects the use of microneedles would also not cause significant side effects.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIncreasingly, eye drops are not able to deliver drugs where they need to go, so injections into the eye are becoming more common,\u201d said Edelhauser. \u201cBut hypodermic needles were not designed for the eye and are not optimal for targeting drugs within the eye.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn contrast to the larger hypodermic needles, the microneedles are tailored to penetrate the eye only as far as needed to deliver the drugs to internal spaces within the layers of the eye. For the glaucoma drug, for instance, the needle is only about half a millimeter long, which is long enough to penetrate through the sclera, the outer layer of the eye, to the supraciliary space.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBoth potential treatments would require additional animal testing before human trials could begin.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EYoo C. Kim, Henry F. Edelhauser, and Mark R. Prausnitz hold microneedle patents, and Mark Prausnitz and Henry Edelhauser have significant financial interest in Clearside Biomedical, a company developing microneedle-based products for ocular delivery. This potential conflict of interest has been disclosed and is overseen by Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECITATIONS\u003C\/strong\u003E: Yoo C. Kim, Henry F. Edelhauser and Mark R. Prausnitz, \u201cTargeted Delivery of Antiglaucoma Drugs to the Supraciliary Space Using Microneedles,\u201d (Investigative Ophthalmology \u0026amp; Visual Science, 2014) and Yoo C. Kim, Hans E. Grossniklaus, Henry F. Edelhauser and Mark R. Prausnitz, \u201cIntrastromal Delivery of Bevacizumab Using Microneedles to Treat Corneal Neovascularization,\u201d (Investigative Ophthalmology \u0026amp; Visual Science, 2014).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EResearch reported in this news release was supported by the National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health under award numbers R01EY022097 and R24EY017045. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E177 North Avenue\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, Georgia\u0026nbsp; 30332\u0026nbsp; USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon (404-894-6986) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or Brett Israel (404-385-1933) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ENeedles almost too small to be seen with the unaided eye could be the basis for new treatment options for two of the world\u2019s leading eye diseases: glaucoma and corneal neovascularization.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Needles almost too small to be seen with the unaided eye could be the basis for new treatment options for glaucoma and corneal neovascularization."}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2014-11-13 15:29:29","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:30","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-11-13T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-11-13T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"345651":{"id":"345651","type":"image","title":"Microneedle size comparison","body":null,"created":"1449245670","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:14:30","changed":"1475895068","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:08","alt":"Microneedle size comparison","file":{"fid":"200909","name":"image_1_ocular_microneedles.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/image_1_ocular_microneedles_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/image_1_ocular_microneedles_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2404049,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/image_1_ocular_microneedles_0.jpg?itok=Dn7AAWHY"}},"345661":{"id":"345661","type":"image","title":"Microneedle-drop size comparison","body":null,"created":"1449245670","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:14:30","changed":"1475895068","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:08","alt":"Microneedle-drop size comparison","file":{"fid":"200910","name":"image_2_ocular_microneedles.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/image_2_ocular_microneedles_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/image_2_ocular_microneedles_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1438564,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/image_2_ocular_microneedles_0.jpg?itok=UtelMIg4"}},"345671":{"id":"345671","type":"image","title":"Solid microneedle for treating neovascularization","body":null,"created":"1449245670","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:14:30","changed":"1475895068","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:08","alt":"Solid microneedle for treating neovascularization","file":{"fid":"200911","name":"image_3_ocular_microneedles.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/image_3_ocular_microneedles_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/image_3_ocular_microneedles_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2800723,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/image_3_ocular_microneedles_0.jpg?itok=h6Xcu3Ik"}}},"media_ids":["345651","345661","345671"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"109781","name":"corneal neovascularization"},{"id":"3346","name":"drug delivery"},{"id":"109771","name":"drug targeting"},{"id":"17401","name":"Glaucoma"},{"id":"495","name":"Mark Prausnitz"},{"id":"7496","name":"microneedles"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71891","name":"Health and Medicine"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearch News\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E(404) 894-6986\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"344891":{"#nid":"344891","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Request for Applications for Seed Grant Funding  for Annual Pediatric Device Innovation Competition","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EThe Atlantic Pediatric Device Consortium (APDC) is pleased to announce its 4\u003Csup\u003Eth\u003C\/sup\u003E\u0026nbsp;annual Pediatric Device Innovation Competition. \u0026nbsp;This seed grant competition is an opportunity for the scientific and business community including entrepreneurs, clinicians, scientists, businesses, academic researchers and medical and engineering graduate and undergraduate students, to develop and commercialize a pediatric medical device.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EThe APDC is an FDA funded consortium based out of Georgia Tech (PI: David Ku), Emory University (co-PIs: Wilbur Lam, Kevin Maher), Children\u2019s Healthcare of Atlanta, and Virginia Commonwealth University (co-PI: Barbara Boyan) that provides a national platform to translate medical device ideas from concept to commercialization.\u0026nbsp; APDC\u2019S mission is to enhance the lives of children through the development of novel pediatric medical devices, which are both save and effective.\u0026nbsp; The consortium provides an environment of creativity, where ideas are reviewed, tested, and developed. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EThe application for seed grant funding begins with a written proposal, submitted to the APDC Innovation Competition Review Committee. Proposals are due on January 5, 2015, and selected investigators will be notified by January 30, 2015,\u0026nbsp;of their selection for participation in the next round of the competition.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EThe second round is an opportunity for selected investigators to make a 5 minute oral presentation of their proposed idea\/concept, to the review committee, an audience of peers, and the engineering and medical community in attendance. The investigators will be given advice on market size, product development, and regulatory submissions. \u0026nbsp;Proposal presentations will be held on the Georgia Tech campus on February 21, 2015.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/atlanticpediatricdeviceconsortium.org\/current-rfa\u0022\u003EClick here for more information and to Apply\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Application deadline January 5, 2015"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Atlantic Pediatric Device Consortium (APDC) is pleased to announce its 4th annual Pediatric Device Innovation Competition - Application deadline - January 5, 2015\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The Atlantic Pediatric Device Consortium (APDC) is pleased to announce its 4th annual Pediatric Device Innovation Competition - Application deadline - January 5, 2015"}],"uid":"27349","created_gmt":"2014-11-12 15:15:13","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:30","author":"Floyd Wood","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-11-12T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-11-12T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"345051":{"id":"345051","type":"image","title":"Atlantic Pediatric Device Consortium (APDC)","body":null,"created":"1449245654","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:14:14","changed":"1475895068","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:08","alt":"Atlantic Pediatric Device Consortium (APDC)","file":{"fid":"200899","name":"square_apdc_logo_0.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/square_apdc_logo_0_0.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/square_apdc_logo_0_0.png","mime":"image\/png","size":77480,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/square_apdc_logo_0_0.png?itok=0fEFv2oy"}}},"media_ids":["345051"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/atlanticpediatricdeviceconsortium.org\/current-rfa","title":"Atlantic Pediatric Device Consortium (APDC)"}],"groups":[{"id":"1254","name":"Wallace H. Coulter Dept. of Biomedical Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:martha.willis@gatech.edu\u0022\u003EMartha Willis\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["martha.willis@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"344451":{"#nid":"344451","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Joshua Weitz named a Simons Foundation Investigator in Ocean Processes and Ecology","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EDr. Joshua Weitz, Associate Professor of Biology, was named a Simons Foundation Investigator in Ocean Processes and Ecology and awarded a three-year grant from the Simons Foundation. \u0026nbsp;Dr. Weitz will examine physical and ecological principles governing the interplay between viruses and zooplankton in the North Pacific Ocean. \u0026nbsp;Dr. Weitz joins a new initiative, SCOPE -- the Simons Collaboration on Ocean Processes and Ecology -- co-directed by Edward DeLong and David Karl at the University of Hawai\u0027i, Manoa. \u0026nbsp;The purpose of the collaboration is to advance understanding of the biology, ecology, and biogeochemistry of microbial processes that dominate Earth\u0027s largest biome: the global ocean. \u0026nbsp;The collaborative effort will measure, model and conduct experiments at a model ecosystem site located 100 km north of Oahu. \u0026nbsp;The Simons Foundation\u0027s mission is to advance the frontiers of research in mathematics and the basic sciences. The Foundation sponsors a range of programs that aim to promote a deeper understanding of our world.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EDr. Joshua Weitz, Associate Professor of Biology, was named a Simons Foundation Investigator in Ocean Processes and Ecology and awarded a three-year grant from the Simons Foundation. \u0026nbsp;Dr. Weitz will examine physical and ecological principles governing the interplay between viruses and zooplankton in the North Pacific Ocean.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Dr. Joshua Weitz, Associate Professor of Biology, was named a Simons  Foundation Investigator in Ocean Processes and Ecology and awarded a  three-year grant from the Simons Foundation."}],"uid":"27245","created_gmt":"2014-11-11 14:33:45","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:30","author":"Troy Hilley","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-11-11T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-11-11T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"96991":{"id":"96991","type":"image","title":"Joshua Weitz","body":null,"created":"1449178133","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:28:53","changed":"1475894709","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:09","alt":"Joshua Weitz","file":{"fid":"193921","name":"weitzr094_hires.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/weitzr094_hires_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/weitzr094_hires_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":860240,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/weitzr094_hires_0.jpg?itok=24dijiOR"}}},"media_ids":["96991"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/ecotheory.biology.gatech.edu\/","title":"Weitz Lab"},{"url":"http:\/\/scope.soest.hawaii.edu\/","title":"SCOPE website"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.simonsfoundation.org\/","title":"Simons Foundation"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/","title":"School of Biology"}],"groups":[{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"154","name":"Environment"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[{"id":"11599","name":"Joshua Weitz"},{"id":"171386","name":"Simons Foundation Investigarot in Ocean Processes and Ecology"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"342851":{"#nid":"342851","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Coulter Partnership","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIf you have a promising technological innovation to improve patient care, than you might want to be in the Suddath Seminar Room in the Parker H. Petit Biotech Building this Tuesday, November 11, from 11 to noon. That\u2019s when the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/bme.gatech.edu\/bme\/ctp\u0022\u003EEmory\/Georgia Tech Coulter Translational Partnership (CTP)\u003C\/a\u003E will lift off once again.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cWe\u2019re re-launching the program and it\u2019s going to be a different model than it was before,\u201d says Rachael Hagan, director of the program, funded by the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.whcf.org\/\u0022\u003EWallace H. Coulter Foundation\u003C\/a\u003E, whose essential goal is to move promising technologies from the lab to commercial development and clinical practice.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cWe\u2019re concentrating on funding research directed toward unmet medical needs and to get products to market,\u201d says Hagan. \u201cSo we fund partnerships between the clinician, who has the need, and the principal investigator who has a technical solution. This usually happens after they \u2018ve already done the basic research and they\u2019re in the proof-of-concept stage. We want to help them fill in the gap in funding that happens at that time, to move the technology from the bench to the bedside.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Emory\/GT CTP, based in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME), is one of 15 CTPs at universities around the country, including the University of Washington-Seattle, where Hagan was the program director for eight years before coming to Atlanta to revive a program that had basically been on sabbatical for several years.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHagan says the BME (a collaborative effort between Emory and Georgia Tech) was the first recipient of the Coulter Translational Partnership Award back in 2000. Eight more universities were added to the partnership in 2005 (Boston University, Case Western, Drexel, Duke, Stanford, University of Michigan, University of Virginia, University of Washington, University of Wisconsin), and six more have been added since (Columbia, Johns Hopkins, University of Louisville, University of Missouri, University of Pittsburgh, University of Southern California).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cThe program has morphed and evolved and we\u2019ve developed best practices through the years,\u201d Hagan says. \u201cWe know what we\u2019ve got to do to get this program back up on its feet and make it a great success.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe journey begins with today\u2019s open house in Petit Institute Room 1128 (Suddath Seminar Room). Hagan will be on hand to reintroduce the program, discuss the application process and answer any questions about this funding program.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering and Bioscience\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Translational funding program re-launches Tuesday"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETranslational funding program re-launches Tuesday\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Translational funding program re-launches Tuesday"}],"uid":"28153","created_gmt":"2014-11-07 11:43:25","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:26","author":"Jerry Grillo","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-11-07T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-11-07T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"342811":{"id":"342811","type":"image","title":"Rachael Hagan","body":null,"created":"1449245639","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:13:59","changed":"1475895062","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:02","alt":"Rachael Hagan","file":{"fid":"200820","name":"hagan.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/hagan_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/hagan_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2260044,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/hagan_0.jpg?itok=a5RGoMO3"}}},"media_ids":["342811"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.whcf.org\/partnership-award\/overview","title":"Coulter Translational Partnership"}],"groups":[{"id":"1254","name":"Wallace H. Coulter Dept. of Biomedical Engineering"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"337851":{"#nid":"337851","#data":{"type":"news","title":"BRAIN Initiative","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ELast year, when President Barack Obama announced the BRAIN Initiative (Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies) at the White House, Bob Guldberg and Craig Forest were in attendance, representing the Georgia Institute of Technology. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EForest, associate professor of bioengineering in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, and Bob Guldberg, executive director of the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, were with about 200 other neuroscientists and neuroengineers, to witness the launch of the president\u2019s ambitious new $300 million public-private program focused on understanding the human brain. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cThat was a wonderful day, as the President led the invigorating charge for neuroscience research and the tools to enable it,\u201d says Forest, who is now very much in the game, playing a leading role in the new national initiative that aims to do for neuroscience what the Human Genome Project did for genomics. \u201cI can\u2019t think of anything more exciting to be part of, so I\u2019ve basically been 100 percent in from that day forward.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAnd last month, when the National Institutes of Health announced the first wave of BRAIN Initiative funding (totaling $46 million), Forest and his Georgia Tech colleague, Garrett Stanley (professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering), were awarded BRAIN Initiative funding from the NIH for a project entitled, \u201cIn-vivo circuit activity measurement at single cell, sub-threshold resolution.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThey are principal investigators in a plan to use a robot (developed by Forest and his collaborator at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Edward Boyden) to measure precise changes in electrical activity from individual neurons that are connected over long distances across the brain, to understand how these connections change when our brains go into different states, such as sleeping and waking. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cWe are leveraging a technique called \u2018patch clamping,\u2019 and it\u2019s been around for decades, but up until now, it\u2019s been done manually,\u201d says Forest, whose robotic technique takes patch clamping \u2013 the gold standard technique for measuring electrical fluctuations in cells \u2013 from a manual skill performed typically in vitro to an automated procedure performed in vivo. The success and potential of the \u2018autopatching\u2019 robot over the past year or so is the reason Forest (and Boyden) was invited to the president\u2019s announcement last year. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cNo one has been able to record intracellularly from neurons that are connected to each other in a living brain, and that\u2019s what we hope to do,\u201d says Forest, who figures that if his team can measure fluctuations in a healthy brain, they can study the changes that occur with Alzheimer\u2019s, or depression, or epilepsy, or with different drugs and anesthesia. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cWe\u2019re trying to understand the basic building blocks. It\u2019s amazing how little we know about the brain,\u201d says Forest, who is spending most of 2014 as a visiting scientist at the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cAs humans, we can identify galaxies light years away, we can study particles smaller than an atom,\u201d the president told his audience last year. \u201cBut we still haven\u2019t unlocked the mystery of the three pounds of matter that sits between our ears.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe human brain has about 86 billion neurons that make trillions of connections. But we don\u2019t know how many different cell types comprise these billions of neurons, and that leaves huge gaps in our understanding of that \u201cthree pounds of matter,\u201d a major reason why we\u2019re still unable to cure diseases like Alzheimer\u2019s, for example, or to fully reverse the effects of a stroke. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cIf you\u2019re building an electrical circuit, you need a battery, capacitors, resistors \u2013 you need different components. In the brain, nobody knows how many different components there are, or how they are connected,\u201d says Forest, whose research team was awarded $1.5 million from the NIH. \u201cWe still don\u2019t know how the brain is wired, how memories are stored, how the brain develops, and performs computations. So right now, that\u2019s the major thrust of this BRAIN Initiative and neuroscience, to develop a basic understanding.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Georgia Tech researchers among part of first wave of NIH funding"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech researchers among part of first wave of NIH funding\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech researchers among part of first wave of NIH funding"}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-10-29 08:06:20","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:23","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-10-29T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-10-29T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"337861":{"id":"337861","type":"image","title":"Craig Forest","body":null,"created":"1449245216","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:06:56","changed":"1475895051","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:51","alt":"Craig Forest","file":{"fid":"200563","name":"forest-square.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/forest-square_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/forest-square_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2929667,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/forest-square_0.jpg?itok=oO4hazUy"}},"337871":{"id":"337871","type":"image","title":"Garrett Stanley","body":null,"created":"1449245216","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:06:56","changed":"1475895051","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:51","alt":"Garrett Stanley","file":{"fid":"200564","name":"stanleygarrett2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/stanleygarrett2_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/stanleygarrett2_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":94808,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/stanleygarrett2_0.jpg?itok=VLLK2g7C"}}},"media_ids":["337861","337871"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/pbl.gatech.edu\/","title":"Forest lab"},{"url":"https:\/\/stanley.gatech.edu\/","title":"Stanley laboratory"}],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[{"id":"42941","name":"Art Research"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering \u0026amp; Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"338071":{"#nid":"338071","#data":{"type":"news","title":"The BUZZ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EElephant toothpaste was overflowing on the bio quad lawn while flash-frozen flowers shattered in shards on the pavement outside the U.A. Whitaker Biomedical Engineering Building. Inside the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, children were eating astronaut ice cream, making silly putty and touching pigs\u2019 hearts and goats\u2019 eyeballs under the guidance of grad students, whose various and colorful demonstrations suggested this might be mad scientist training, when in fact it was the BUZZ on Biotechnology high school open house. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThis was just part of the scene on Saturday, October 18th, at the annual BUZZ open house event, presented by the Petit Institute and run by the Bioengineering and Bioscience Unified Graduate Students, or BBUGS, the largest, most diverse graduate student group on the Georgia Institute of Technology campus.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E \u201cWe look forward to this day every year,\u201d says Kelli Schuyler, who teaches advanced placement chemistry in Forsyth Central High School\u2019s STEM Academy, which sent almost 50 students to Georgia Tech for BUZZ on Biotech. They were part of a crowd that approached 400 at what may have been the biggest BUZZ yet. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cWe started the STEM Academy three years ago, and as part of that we looked for opportunities for student enrichment,\u201d says Schuyler, while a pair of Georgia Tech bio students were demonstrating freezing flowers, bananas and ping pong balls in a vat of liquid nitrogen a few feet away. \u201cOur students love this. The lab tours, the seminars, making things blow up \u2013 liquid nitrogen, you can\u2019t go wrong with that!\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBUZZ on Biotechnology, presided over by the BBUGS\u2019 Education and Outreach committee, is the largest and most popular annual event organized by the group, for the ticket holders \u2013 the event is geared toward high school students \u2013 and the volunteers. In all, there were about 50 students volunteering. For grad student Ashley Allen, BUZZ has become a welcome routine. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cI think this is my sixth year in a row. I wouldn\u2019t miss it,\u201d says Allen, who is nearing the end of her Ph.D. pursuit. She was overseeing the Egg Drop, the day\u2019s last event, which focuses on the prevention of head injuries by asking participants to design protective \u201chelmets\u201d for raw eggs, which are then dropped from the third floor of the Petit Institute\u2019s atrium. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cI\u2019m really interested in going to Georgia Tech,\u201d says Grace Littlefield. \u201cI want to study biomedical engineering.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Dunwoody High School sophomore, who won the Egg Drop competition, attended BUZZ with her father, Jim Littlefield, who says, \u201cWe really enjoyed the opportunity to talk with some of the graduate students, not only about their experience here at Georgia Tech, but also some of their undergraduate experiences, how they got interested in biotechnology and some ideas of what Grace can being doing now in high school to be better prepared when she, hopefully, comes to Georgia Tech.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThough not intended to be a massive recruiting tool for Georgia Tech, the BUZZ on Biotech is \u201csome of the best public relations you can imagine for the university,\u201d according to Loren Williams, professor of chemistry and biochemistry who is director of the Center for Ribosomal Origins and Evolution (Ribo Evo) at the Petit Institute. \u201cIt\u2019s also a really good experience for our students.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWilliams never misses BUZZ, an event that puts Tech students, grads and undergrads, front and center. These students performed the demonstrations \u2013 there were about 20 of them, experiments for the participants to try. They conducted the lab tours and performed the seminars \u2013 usually there\u2019s one, focused on stem cells, but this year the BBUGS added another one, on biomaterials. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cThe seminars were particularly popular this year, I think total attendance was about 150 people,\u201d says Tom Bongiorno, part of the BBUGS Education and Outreach leadership team, with Kyle Blum, Jessie Butts and Jennifer Pentz. \u201cThe kids love the hands-on demonstrations and seeing some pretty cool science, the lab tours are always very popular. Basically, we can never have enough lab tours.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBut somehow, they managed to squeeze 288 people into three hours of lab tours. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EA group of students, all teens, many accompanied by parents, follows BBUGS member Torri Rinker on a tour of Johnna Temenoff\u2019s lab, one of six different lab tours during this year\u2019s BUZZ. Temenoff, associate professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, works with polymeric biomaterials for orthopedic applications. Rinker works in the lab. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cHas anyone here ever torn an ACL, or know someone who has?\u201d Rinker asks. Several hands shoot up. \u201cDoes it heal quickly?\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe group shakes its collective head. \u201cNo,\u201d Rinker agrees. \u201cYou\u2019re looking at, potentially, a lifetime of pain and disability. The problem with these tissues is, they just don\u2019t naturally heal. If you break a bone, what happens?\u201d A chorus of kids: \u201cIt heals.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cYou got it,\u201d Rinker says. \u201cBut these tissues are different, and that\u2019s why we\u2019re so interested in working to regenerate them, using different tissue engineering and regenerative medicine techniques.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAs Rinker patiently explains the work of the lab, talks about the synthetic and naturally derived biomaterials that are being used to heal degenerative tissues, the teens nod. They\u2019re making the connections. One of them, Jonah Cloer, a junior at St. Pius High School, accompanied by his mom, Carolyn Zimney, is inspecting a little hydrogel in his gloved hand. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cThis is interesting, because these grad students are demonstrating to him how what he\u2019s learned in cell reproduction manifests itself in the real world, what can be done here in the labs, and what he might be doing after school,\u201d Zimney says. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EJonah is impressed though undecided about the direction he\u2019ll take in college. \u201cBut this,\u201d he says, removing the protective latex lab gloves, \u201cis giving me some really good ideas about what I\u2019d like to do.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAnd that is a big reason why the BUZZ on Biotechnology will be back again next fall.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Annual biotech open house draws 400 visitors"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAnnual biotech open house draws 400 visitors\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Annual biotech open house draws 400 visitors"}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-10-29 12:22:35","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:23","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-10-29T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-10-29T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"338101":{"id":"338101","type":"image","title":"BBUGS member Torri Rinker gives tour of a state-of-the-art lab for Buzz on Biotechnology guests","body":null,"created":"1449245216","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:06:56","changed":"1475895051","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:51","alt":"BBUGS member Torri Rinker gives tour of a state-of-the-art lab for Buzz on Biotechnology 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Biotechnology","file":{"fid":"200575","name":"lorenelephanttoothpaste-square.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/lorenelephanttoothpaste-square_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/lorenelephanttoothpaste-square_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1875669,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/lorenelephanttoothpaste-square_0.jpg?itok=2zsNVce7"}},"338081":{"id":"338081","type":"image","title":"Ashley Allen, BBUGS graduate student, launches an \u0022egg helmet\u0022 in the Buzz on Biotechnology Egg Drop contest","body":null,"created":"1449245216","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:06:56","changed":"1475895051","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:51","alt":"Ashley Allen, BBUGS graduate student, launches an \u0022egg helmet\u0022 in the Buzz on Biotechnology Egg Drop contest","file":{"fid":"200574","name":"ashleyalleneggdrop-square.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ashleyalleneggdrop-square_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ashleyalleneggdrop-square_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1763878,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/ashleyalleneggdrop-square_0.jpg?itok=QOAmwYc8"}}},"media_ids":["338101","338061","338091","338081"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.bbugs.gatech.edu\/","title":"http:\/\/www.bbugs.gatech.edu\/"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.petitinstitute.gatech.edu\/","title":"Petit Institute website"},{"url":"http:\/\/petitinstitute.gatech.edu\/buzz-on-biotech","title":"Buzz on Biotechnology website"}],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering \u0026amp; Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"336241":{"#nid":"336241","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Biomaterials Day","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThere were moments when the first Biomaterials Day at the Georgia Institute of Technology resembled a Vaudeville comedy routine, like when three of the top scientists in the field morphed into the Three Stooges for a few seconds while mugging for a photo, reflecting the festive side of an event that was part celebration, part jaw-dropping science. And even though the mood light, the slapstick was kept to a minimum \u2013 no one got hit in the face with a pie or poked in the eye \u2013 and it was smart people and their world-changing research that held center stage. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMore than 160 students and faculty from more than 10 different universities descended on the Marcus Nanotechnology Building for last Friday\u2019s sold-out event (Oct. 10), taking part in an all-day conference with the subtitle, \u201cNext Generation Biomaterials,\u201d which is appropriate, since it was the next generation of biomaterials scientists \u2013 Georgia Tech students \u2013 who organized the event. The setting also was appropriate. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cI honestly believe we are one of the strongest groups conducting biomaterials research, compared to anywhere in the world,\u201d says Ravi Bellamkonda, who holds the endowed professorial chair and is the departmental chair in the Georgia Tech\/Emory Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME). \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cAnd our strength isn\u2019t just in BME. It is wide-spread, including the Schools of Mechanical Engineering, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Biology, and Chemistry,\u201d Bellamkonda adds. \u201cI can\u2019t think of very many places with such depth and breadth researching materials and how they interact with biology and how they can be designed to make this an interaction that promotes healing and decreases scarring.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EJulia Babensee, associate professor of biomedical engineering in BME, who delivered the opening remarks, called the event, \u201ca culmination of all of our biomaterials efforts. And I think getting the students involved and having an opportunity to present their work and hear about other people\u2019s work in this area is really important. They represent the next generation of biomaterials experts.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe short history of Biomaterials Day at Georgia Tech begins more than a year ago, when a group of bio-community grad students and faculty applied for a $5,000 grant from the Society for Biomaterials (SFB) with the idea of hosting an event. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cOther schools have hosted Biomaterials Day and SFB had actually been pushing Georgia Tech to form a student chapter for the society, because they wanted us to host one,\u201d explains Olivia Burnsed, the grad student who served as the organizing chair for Biomaterials Day (with co-chair Travis Meyer). \u201cWe were granted the $5,000, but that definitely wasn\u2019t enough to cover this event, so we applied for internal grants here at Georgia Tech.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EA combination of support from a variety of internal sources, such as the GT-FIRE (Fund for Transformative Research and Education) grant program, the College of Engineering, BME and the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, as well as industry sponsors (BioSpherix, BOSE and 3M) paved the way for a full-day of programming that included faculty and student research presentations, a huge poster competition (more than 70 were on display), plenary speakers who happen to be among the top researchers in the field (Pat Stayton from the University of Washington and Kevin Healy from the University of California-Berkeley, two of the aforementioned faux stooges), and a post-event celebration of Bellamkonda\u2019s winning of the Clemson Award, one of the most prestigious national honors in biomaterials research. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cI am humbled when I look at the list of winners from past years,\u201d Bellamkonda says, \u201cand I think of my students and post-docs and research staff who work hard and help make projects that are mere ideas, a reality that can potentially impact lives.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EStudents and faculty representing Georgia Tech, Clemson, Auburn, Mercer and Morehouse made live presentations on a wide range of topics. Three Georgia Tech professors \u2013 Bellamkonda, Andr\u00e9s Garc\u00eda and Todd McDevitt \u2013 spoke about the research happening in their labs. Stayton spoke on the challenges, discoveries and opportunities for the next generations of researchers in the area of biomaterials science (biomaterials being any matter, surface or construct that interacts with biological systems). \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cThere\u2019s been this incredible advancement in our understanding of disease from a fundamental biology standpoint, but somehow it hasn\u2019t been translated yet into clinical benefits for people who need new therapies,\u201d Stayton says. One of the main reasons for that, he explains, is because the workforce in the pharmaceutical world is mostly accustomed to working with small molecule drugs, or New Chemical Entities (NCEs), as opposed to biologics \u2013 modern biomolecular drugs derived through the processes of genetic engineering, manufactured in living systems. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cNewer categories of biologic drugs are important because they aren\u2019t mechanistically limited by the same problems that small molecules have,\u201d Stayton says. \u201cBut they require delivery in a way that small molecules don\u2019t, so I posed it to the graduate students and post docs that this is an area where we really do need engineered biomaterials, and where we really need creative new approaches to designing drug carriers that could allow you to exploit these biologics in a new way.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAt the end of a day of live presentations on broad topics such as \u2018rationally designed biomaterials\u2019 and \u2018biomaterials in industry\u2019 and \u2018biomaterials design for tissue repair\u2019 and \u2018stem cell-biomaterial interactions,\u2019 Healy explained why biomaterials science is critical for patient-specific medicine, focusing on the problem of how to efficiently develop drugs. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cWe want to make small, efficient micro-tissues, so the screening process can be economically robust and actually challenge the concept of expense that is currently being incurred in drug development,\u201d says Healy, referring to the $5 billion-plus, and 10 years (or so) it takes to typically develop a new drug. His work is centered in human microphysiological systems, which could provide models for predicting the efficacy of new drugs in clinical trials (and also for predicting drug toxicities early in the development process). \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHealy also echoed something Stayton said his remarks: \u201cI think it\u2019s fantastic that this is a student-run conference.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EPrevious Biomaterials Days have been held at Clemson University, which obviously has a long history of expertise in the area (there\u2019s the Clemson Award, after all). Clemson professor Bob Latour seemed impressed with Tech\u2019s version of the event. \u201cThis is an excellent event, particularly for students, who get to hear and discuss the state of the art of what\u2019s going in the biomaterials field, as well as hear from representatives from the biomaterials industry, and have a chance to show off their own work at the poster session,\u201d says Latour, as he stands among the rows of posters. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELatour was one of the judges of the poster competition, which was won by Georgia Christopher Johnson (a grad student in Garc\u00eda\u2019s lab), whose poster was titled, \u201cBacteriophage Therapy to Reduce Bacterial Burden in Infected Bone Regenerative Implants.\u201d Second place went to Marian Hettiaratchi (affiliated with the McDevitt lab and also the lab of Petit Institute Executive Director Bob Guldberg). Third place was shared by Amy Clark (also from Garc\u00eda\u2019s lab), and two Auburn grad students affiliated with Elizabeth Lipke\u2019s lab, Petra Kersher and Shantanu Pradhan. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cYou can never get enough of this kind of experience,\u201d Clark says. \u201cYou sit through a lot of diverse talks, stuff that\u2019s outside of your field, looking at what other researchers are doing. You always learn something new.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWith a new student chapter of SFB, and now the experience of having hosted some of the nation\u2019s thought leaders in biomaterials, Georgia Tech has taken another step forward not only in a growing field of research, but in the propagation of student leadership. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cThe other thing I like very much about Biomaterials Day is that it was organized in large part by our students,\u201d Bellamkonda says. \u201cI continued to be amazed at how articulate and independent they are, and how they so willingly give of their time to help build the wonderful community of scholars we have at Georgia Tech and Emory in this space.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Student and faculty researchers converge at Georgia Tech for first-time event"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EStudent and faculty researchers converge at Georgia Tech for first-time event.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Student and faculty researchers converge at Georgia Tech for first-time event."}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-10-22 13:33:28","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:19","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-10-22T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-10-22T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"336251":{"id":"336251","type":"image","title":"Katy Lassahn, graduate student in the McDevitt lab at Georgia Tech","body":null,"created":"1449245201","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:06:41","changed":"1475895048","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:48","alt":"Katy Lassahn, graduate student in the McDevitt lab at Georgia Tech","file":{"fid":"200515","name":"katy2-square.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/katy2-square_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/katy2-square_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1608801,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/katy2-square_0.jpg?itok=bkwl9N2X"}}},"media_ids":["336251"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/biomaterials.gatech.edu\/","title":"Georgia Tech Biomaterials"}],"groups":[{"id":"1254","name":"Wallace H. Coulter Dept. of Biomedical Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"42941","name":"Art Research"},{"id":"140","name":"Cancer Research"},{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering \u0026amp; Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"334161":{"#nid":"334161","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Planting Brain Seeds","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERobert Butera and Lena Ting were there at the beginning, when neuroengineering started becoming a serious thing at the Georgia Institute of Technology. They were part of what began as a loose affiliation of faculty from diverse disciplines who made it a thing, researchers and educators with a common interest in the myriad workings of the human brain. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cWhat we started with over 10 years ago, the Laboratory for Neuroengineering (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/neurolab.gatech.edu\/\u0022 title=\u0022https:\/\/neurolab.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003Ehttps:\/\/neurolab.gatech.edu\/\u003C\/a\u003E), was a self-organized collection of faculty, and we sort of built a neuroengineering community,\u201d says Ting, professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Dept. of Biomedical Engineering. \u201cWhen we started, there was really nothing else here. But over the last 10 years there\u2019s been a lot of growth and interest in the area, through different units across campus.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe fledgling Neural Engineering Center (\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.neuro.gatech.edu\/neural-engineering-center\u0022 title=\u0022http:\/\/www.neuro.gatech.edu\/neural-engineering-center\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.neuro.gatech.edu\/neural-engineering-center\u003C\/a\u003E) at the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience was established with a mission to develop novel science and technology for measuring, understanding, modifying, and stimulating neural activity. The aim is for both clinical and scientific applications. Bottom line, says Butera: \u201cmodulating nervous system function requires new tools and new science, and our goal is to facilitate both.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThis new research center is the latest phase in a continuing Georgia Tech neuroscience evolution, which includes the aggregation and evaluation of all campus neuro-activities. \u201cWe noticed there were people all over campus doing neuroscience related research and helped launch a web site to try to identify who on campus was affiliated with neuroscience in general,\u201d Ting says. People from all over responded. They\u2019re from Applied Physiology, Biology, Physics, Psychology, and throughout the College of Engineering. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cThe neuro initiative is a big tent,\u201d says Butera, professor of Electrical and Computer engineering and jointly appointed in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, and co-director (with Ting) of the Neural Engineering Center (NEC). \u201cWith this center, we are narrowing our focus.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EInterest in the kind of mission the new center is pursuing has only ramped up since President Barack Obama announced his Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative in April 2013, promising more than $300 million in public and private funds to support groundbreaking research that can lead to a better understanding of human brain function and new treatments or cures for a wide range of neurological disorders. Georgia Tech researchers Craig Forest and Garrett Stanley recently won $1.5 million BRAIN Initiative award when the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced its first wave of investments to support the program. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAnd it turns out, Ting says, \u201cAtlanta has one of the largest neuroscience communities of any city. I think Boston\u2019s chapter of the Society of Neuroscience might be the only one bigger than Atlanta\u2019s. Emory has a very large neuroscience program. So does Georgia State.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Neural Engineering Center collaborates with the Emory Neuromodulation Technology Innovation Center (ENTICe), founded by Emory researchers and clinicians who are leaders in a therapeutic procedure known as deep brain stimulation (DBS), which involves sending electrical impulses through implanted electrodes to specific parts of the brain, and treats a variety of disorders, such as Parkinson\u2019s disease, tremors, dystonia, and depression. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cThe clinical devices used older neural stimulation technology, and the doctors are directly facing scientific and engineering challenges in improving their procedures,\u201d Ting says. \u201cThrough engagement with ENTICe we decided that we should really start pulling people together to establish a research center at Georgia Tech, where we could focus on the science and engineering issues around how you stimulate and modify neural activity and brain activity.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Neural Engineering Center will announce its ceremonial launch on October 28, 2014 with a seminar speaker in the Whitaker Building. In collaboration with the Young Innovators in Biomedical Engineering Seminar Series, the NEC will present Sridevi V. Sarma from Johns Hopkins University (11 a.m. to noon in Whitaker 1103), whose presentation is entitled, \u201cOn the Therapeutic Mechanisms of Deep Brain Stimulation for Parkinson\u0027s Disease: Why High Frequency?\u201d The talk will be immediately followed by a reception in the Whitaker Atrium to celebrate the NEC\u2019s opening. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBut the center already has begun fine-tuning its focus, which includes the support of smart people and early-phase research that will help the NEC accomplish its mission. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cWe\u2019re going with a very different seed grant model,\u201d says Butera. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s kind of an experiment. We call it the rapid-fire seed grant,\u201d adds Ting. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cWe want people to move fast and fail quickly,\u201d Butera quips, the basic premise being to show some research progress sooner rather than later. And there\u2019s a backstory to the grants (\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/neuro.gatech.edu\/neuro-seed-grant-call\u0022 title=\u0022http:\/\/neuro.gatech.edu\/neuro-seed-grant-call\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/neuro.gatech.edu\/neuro-seed-grant-call\u003C\/a\u003E). \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe idea is for researchers to initiate projects and use that activity as a catalyst to reach for something bigger. The bulk of the center\u2019s initial funding supports the rapid-fire seed grant program. The grants are limited to $5,000-$10,000, covering short-term (three months) exploratory projects that are intended to test new ideas and generate preliminary data, with an emphasis on collaborative research. The deadline for applying is November 1, 2014. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhat they\u2019d really like is to become a Science and Technology Center (STC, a National Science Foundation program). \u201cThe Neural Engineering Center is focused on a particular area in which we think we have a lot of strength. The idea is that we move forward with a coherent research program, and then we can seek large, externally funded grants,\u201d says Ting. That was the idea when they wrote a proposal to Steve Cross, Georgia Tech\u2019s executive vice president for research, outlining their goals and establishing NEC as a Petit Institute research center. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBut, even before they were calling for rapid-fire proposals, Butera and Ting were taking the long view, planning to leverage what\u2019s been more than 10 years of concentrated growth in neurotechnology research at Georgia Tech. Over the summer they submitted a proposal for a National Science Foundation (NSF) National Research Training Grant which would fund graduate students at Georgia Tech and Emory in the development of neuromodulation technologies.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Neural Engineering Center becomes official, launches new seed grant program"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ENeural Engineering Center becomes official, launches new seed grant program\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Neural Engineering Center becomes official, launches new seed grant program"}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-10-15 09:32:19","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:15","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-10-15T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-10-15T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"334121":{"id":"334121","type":"image","title":"Robert Butera - professor of Electrical and Computer engineering and jointly appointed in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, and co-director of the Neural Engineering Center (NEC)","body":null,"created":"1449245133","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:05:33","changed":"1475895046","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:46","alt":"Robert Butera - professor of Electrical and Computer engineering and jointly appointed in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, and co-director of the Neural Engineering Center (NEC)","file":{"fid":"200446","name":"butera2-square.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/butera2-square_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/butera2-square_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":753843,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/butera2-square_0.jpg?itok=YJgCuqD1"}},"334151":{"id":"334151","type":"image","title":"Lena Ting - professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Dept. of Biomedical Engineering and co-director of Neural Engineering Center (NEC)","body":null,"created":"1449245133","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:05:33","changed":"1475895046","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:46","alt":"Lena Ting - professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Dept. of Biomedical Engineering and co-director of Neural Engineering Center (NEC)","file":{"fid":"200447","name":"tinglena-headshot2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tinglena-headshot2_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tinglena-headshot2_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":41507,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tinglena-headshot2_0.jpg?itok=Gv5FLZkY"}}},"media_ids":["334121","334151"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.neuro.gatech.edu\/","title":"Neuro@Tech website"},{"url":"https:\/\/neurolab.gatech.edu\/labs\/ting","title":"Ting lab"},{"url":"https:\/\/neurolab.gatech.edu\/labs\/butera","title":"Butera lab website"},{"url":"http:\/\/petitinstitute.gatech.edu\/","title":"Petit Institute website"},{"url":"https:\/\/www.bme.gatech.edu\/","title":"Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering"}],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"126591","name":"go-NeuralEngineering"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering \u0026amp; Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"332761":{"#nid":"332761","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Snakes and snake-like robots show how sidewinders conquer sandy slopes","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe amazing ability of sidewinder snakes to quickly climb sandy slopes was once something biologists only vaguely understood and roboticists only dreamed of replicating. By studying the snakes in a unique bed of inclined sand and using a snake-like robot to test ideas spawned by observing the real animals, both biologists and roboticists have now gained long-sought insights.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn a study published in the October 10 issue of the journal \u003Cem\u003EScience\u003C\/em\u003E, researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon University, Oregon State University, and Zoo Atlanta report that sidewinders improve their ability to traverse sandy slopes by simply increasing the amount of their body area in contact with the granular surfaces they\u2019re climbing.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs part of the study, the principles used by the sidewinders to gracefully climb sand dunes were tested using a modular snake robot developed at Carnegie Mellon. Before the study, the snake robot could use one component of sidewinding motion to move across level ground, but was unable to climb the inclined sand trackway the real snakes could readily ascend. In a real-world application \u2013 an archaeological mission in Red Sea caves \u2013 sandy inclines were especially challenging to the robot.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHowever, when the robot was programmed with the unique wave motion discovered in the sidewinders, it was able to climb slopes that had previously been unattainable. The research was funded by the National Science Foundation, the Army Research Office, and the Army Research Laboratory.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur initial idea was to use the robot as a physical model to learn what the snakes experienced,\u201d said Daniel Goldman, an associate professor in Georgia Tech\u2019s School of Physics. \u201cBy studying the animal and the physical model simultaneously, we learned important general principles that allowed us to not only understand the animal, but also to improve the robot.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe detailed study showed that both horizontal and vertical motion had to be understood and then replicated on the snake-like robot for it to be useful on sloping sand.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThink of the motion as an elliptical cylinder enveloped by a revolving tread, similar to that of a tank,\u201d said Howie Choset, a Carnegie Mellon professor of robotics. \u201cAs the tread circulates around the cylinder, it is constantly placing itself down in front of the direction of motion and picking itself up in the back. The snake lifts some body segments while others remain on the ground, and as the slope increases, the cross section of the cylinder flattens.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAt Zoo Atlanta, the researchers observed several sidewinders as they moved in a large enclosure containing sand from the Arizona desert where the snakes live. The enclosure could be raised to create different angles in the sand, and air could be blown into the chamber from below, smoothing the sand after each snake was studied. Motion of the snakes was recorded using high-speed video cameras which helped the researchers understand how the animals were moving their bodies.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe realized that the sidewinder snakes use a template for climbing on sand, two orthogonal waves that they can control independently,\u201d said Hamid Marvi, a postdoctoral fellow at Carnegie Mellon who conducted the experiments while he was a graduate student in the laboratory of David Hu, an associate professor in Georgia Tech\u2019s School of Mechanical Engineering. \u201cWe used the snake robot to systematically study the failure modes in sidewinding. We learned there are three different failure regimes, which we can avoid by carefully adjusting the aspect ratio of the two waves, thus controlling the area of the body in contact with the sand.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELimbless animals like snakes can readily move through a broad range of surfaces, making them attractive to robot designers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The snake is one of the most versatile of all land animals, and we want to capture what they can do,\u0022 said Ross Hatton, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Oregon State University who has studied the mathematical complexities of snake motion, and how they might be applied to robots. \u0022The desert sidewinder is really extraordinary, with perhaps the fastest and most efficient natural motion we\u0027ve ever observed for a snake.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMany people dislike snakes, but in this study, the venomous animals were easy study subjects who provided knowledge that may one day benefit humans, noted Joe Mendelson, director of research at Zoo Atlanta.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIf a robot gets stuck in the sand, that\u2019s a problem, especially if that sand happens to be on another planet,\u201d he said. \u201cSidewinders never get stuck in the sand, so they are helping us create robots that can avoid getting stuck in the sand. These venomous snakes are offering something to humanity.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe modular snake robot used in this study was specifically designed to pass horizontal and vertical waves through its body to move in three-dimensional spaces.\u0026nbsp; The robot is two inches in diameter and 37 inches long; its body consists of 16 joints, each joint arranged perpendicular to the previous one.\u0026nbsp; That allows it to assume a number of configurations and to move using a variety of gaits \u2013 some similar to those of a biological snake.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis type of robot often is described as biologically inspired, but too often the inspiration doesn\u2019t extend beyond a casual observation of the biological system,\u201d Choset said. \u201cIn this study, we got biology and robotics, mediated by physics, to work together in a way not previously seen.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EChoset\u2019s robots appear well suited for urban search-and-rescue operations in which robots need to make their way through the rubble of collapsed structures, as well as archaeological explorations. Able to readily move through pipes, the robots also have been tested to evaluate their potential for inspecting nuclear power plants from the inside out.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor Goldman\u2019s team, the work builds on earlier research studying how turtle hatchlings, crabs, sandfish lizards, and other animals move about on complex surfaces such as sand, leaves, and loose material. The team tests what it learns from the animals on robots, often gaining additional insights into how the animals move.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe are interested in how animals move on different types of granular and complex surfaces,\u201d Goldman said. \u201cThe idea of moving on flowing materials like sand can be useful in a broad sense. This is one of the nicest examples of collaboration between biology and robotics.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to those already mentioned, co-authors included Chaohui Gong and Matthew Travers from Carnegie Mellon University; and Nick Gravish and Henry Astley from Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis research was supported by the National Science Foundation under awards CMMI-1000389, PHY-0848894, PHY-1205878, and PHY-1150760; by the Army Research Office under grants W911NF-11-1-0514 and W911NF1310092; and by the Army Research Lab MAST CTA under grant W911NF-08-2-0004; and by the Elizabeth Smithgall Watts endowment at Georgia Tech. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the sponsoring agencies.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECITATION\u003C\/strong\u003E: Hamidreza Marvi et al., \u201cSidewinding with minimal slip: snake and robot ascent of sandy slopes,\u201d Science 2014).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E177 North Avenue\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, Georgia\u0026nbsp; 30332-0181\u0026nbsp; USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon (404-894-6986) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or Brett Israel (404-385-1933) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriters\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon, Georgia Tech\/Byron Spice, Carnegie Mellon University\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EResearchers from Georgia Tech, Carnegie Mellon, Oregon State University, and Zoo Atlanta report that sidewinders improve their ability to traverse sandy slopes by simply increasing the amount of their body area in contact with the granular surfaces they\u2019re climbing. They\u0027ve put that knowledge to work helping a snake-like robot.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Researchers have learned how sidewinder snakes climb sandy slopes, and put that knowledge to work with a snake-like robot."}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2014-10-09 13:20:39","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:15","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-10-09T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-10-09T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"332701":{"id":"332701","type":"image","title":"Sidewinder in trackway","body":null,"created":"1449245133","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:05:33","changed":"1475895044","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:44","alt":"Sidewinder in trackway","file":{"fid":"200406","name":"sidewinder023.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/sidewinder023_1.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/sidewinder023_1.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1463254,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/sidewinder023_1.jpg?itok=YsbpJQhD"}},"332711":{"id":"332711","type":"image","title":"Sidewinder in trackway2","body":null,"created":"1449245133","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:05:33","changed":"1475895044","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:44","alt":"Sidewinder in trackway2","file":{"fid":"200407","name":"sidewinder011.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/sidewinder011_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/sidewinder011_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1989281,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/sidewinder011_0.jpg?itok=UIEznIZa"}},"332741":{"id":"332741","type":"image","title":"Studying sidewinder snakes","body":null,"created":"1449245133","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:05:33","changed":"1475895044","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:44","alt":"Studying sidewinder snakes","file":{"fid":"200409","name":"sidewinder027.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/sidewinder027_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/sidewinder027_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2374301,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/sidewinder027_0.jpg?itok=TyfqUF21"}},"332731":{"id":"332731","type":"image","title":"Snake-like robot","body":null,"created":"1449245133","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:05:33","changed":"1475895044","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:44","alt":"Snake-like robot","file":{"fid":"200408","name":"snake8.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/snake8_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/snake8_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3424124,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/snake8_0.jpg?itok=dE_7EeEm"}}},"media_ids":["332701","332711","332741","332731"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"47881","name":"Dan Goldman"},{"id":"2352","name":"robots"},{"id":"166937","name":"School of Physics"},{"id":"169679","name":"sidewinder snakes"},{"id":"171371","name":"snake-like robots"},{"id":"169002","name":"Snakes"},{"id":"6765","name":"zoo atlanta"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39521","name":"Robotics"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71881","name":"Science and Technology"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearch News\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E(404) 894-6986\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"332611":{"#nid":"332611","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Automated imaging system looks underground to help improve crops","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EPlant scientists are working to improve important food crops such as rice, maize, and beans to meet the food needs of a growing world population. However, boosting crop output will require improving more than what can be seen of these plants above the ground. Root systems are essential to gathering water and nutrients, but understanding what\u2019s happening in these unseen parts of the plants has until now depended mostly on lab studies and subjective field measurements.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo address that need, researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology and Penn State University have developed an automated imaging technique for measuring and analyzing the root systems of mature plants. The technique, believed to be the first of its kind, uses advanced computer technology to analyze photographs taken of root systems in the field. The imaging and software are designed to give scientists the statistical information they need to evaluate crop improvement efforts.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe\u2019ve produced an imaging system to evaluate the root systems of plants in field conditions,\u201d said Alexander Bucksch, a postdoctoral fellow in the Georgia Tech School of Biology and School of Interactive Computing. \u201cWe can measure entire root systems for thousands of plants to give geneticists the information they need to search for genes with the best characteristics.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research is supported by the National Science Foundation\u2019s Plant Genome Research Program (PGRP) and Basic Research to Enable Agriculture Development (BREAD), the Howard Buffett Foundation, the Burroughs Wellcome Fund and the Center for Data Analytics at Georgia Tech. The research was reported as the cover story in the October issue of the journal \u003Cem\u003EPlant Physiology\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBeyond improving food crops, the technique could also help improve plants grown for energy production, materials, and other purposes.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERoot systems are complicated and vary widely even among plants of the same species. Analyzing critical root properties in field-grown plants has depended on manual measurements, which vary with observer. In contrast, automated measurements have the potential to provide enhanced statistical information for plant improvement.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EImaging of root systems has, until now, largely been done in the laboratory, using seedlings grown in small pots and containers. Such studies provide information on the early stages of development, and do not directly quantify the effects of realistic growing conditions or field variations in water, soil, or nutrient levels.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe technique developed by Georgia Tech and Penn State researchers uses digital photography to provide a detailed image of roots from mature plants in the field. Individual plants to be studied are dug up and their root systems washed clean of soil. The roots are then photographed against a black background using a standard digital camera pointed down from a tripod. A white fabric tent surrounding the camera system provides consistent lighting.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe resulting images are then uploaded to a server running software that analyzes the root systems for more than 30 different parameters \u2013 including the diameter of tap roots, root density, the angles of brace roots, and detailed measures of lateral roots. Scientists working in the field can upload their images at the end of a day and have spreadsheets of results ready for study the next day.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIn the lab, you are just seeing part of the process of root growth,\u201d said Bucksch, who works in the group of Associate Professor Joshua Weitz in the School of Biology and School of Physics at Georgia Tech. \u201cWe went out to the field to see the plants under realistic growing conditions.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDeveloping the digital photography technique required iterative refinements to produce consistent images that could be analyzed using computer programs. To support the goal of making the system available worldwide, it had to be simple enough for field researchers to use consistently, able to be transported in backpacks to locations without electricity, and built on inexpensive components.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn collaboration with a research team led by Jonathan Lynch, a professor of plant sciences at Penn State, the system has been evaluated in South Africa with cowpea and maize plants.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith its ability to quickly gather data in the field, it was possible to evaluate a complete cowpea diversity panel. Penn State collaborator James Burridge compiled a novel cowpea reference data set that consists of approximately 1,500 excavated root systems. The data set was measured manually to validate and compare with the new computational approaches. In the future, the system could allow scientists to study crop roots over an entire growing season, potentially providing new life cycle data.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research shows how quantitative measurement techniques from one discipline can be applied to other areas of science.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAlexander has taken rigorous, computational principles and collaborated with leading plant root biologists from the Lynch group to study complex root structure under field conditions,\u201d said Weitz. \u201cIn doing so, he has shown how automated methods can reveal new below-ground traits that could be targeted for breeding and improvement.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EData generated by the new technique will be used in subsequent analyses to help understand how changes in genetics affect plant growth. For instance, certain genes may help plants survive in nitrogen-poor soils, or in areas where drought is a problem. The overall goal is to develop improved plants that can feed increasing numbers of people and provide sustainable sources of energy and materials.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe have to feed an ever-growing population and we have to replace materials like oil-based fuels,\u201d Bucksch said. \u201cIntegral to this change will be understanding plants and how they provide us with food and alternative materials. This imaging technique provides data needed to accomplish this.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to those already mentioned, the research team included Larry York and Eric Nord from Penn State and Abraham Das from Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis research was supported by NSF Plant Genome Research Program Award 0820624, the NSF\/BREAD Program Award 4184-UM-NSF-5380, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, the Center for Data Analytics at Georgia Tech, and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund. Any opinions or conclusions are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the funding agencies.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECITATION\u003C\/strong\u003E: Alexander Bucksch, et al, \u201cImage-based high-throughput field phenotyping of crop roots,\u201d (Plant Physiology 2014). \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1104\/pp.114.243519\u0022 title=\u0022http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1104\/pp.114.243519\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1104\/pp.114.243519\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E177 North Avenue\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, Georgia\u0026nbsp; 30332-0181\u0026nbsp; USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts:\u003C\/strong\u003E John Toon (404-894-6986) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or Brett Israel (404-385-1933) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EResearchers have developed an automated imaging technique for measuring and analyzing the root systems of mature plants. The work could help plant scientists improve food crops to help meet the needs of a growing world population.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Researchers have developed an automated imaging technique for measuring and analyzing the root systems of mature plants."}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2014-10-09 12:31:05","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:15","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-10-09T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-10-09T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"332561":{"id":"332561","type":"image","title":"Maize root system","body":null,"created":"1449245114","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:05:14","changed":"1475895044","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:44","alt":"Maize root system","file":{"fid":"200396","name":"15c10200-p8-005.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/15c10200-p8-005_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/15c10200-p8-005_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1690399,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/15c10200-p8-005_0.jpg?itok=6-gL2r-R"}},"332571":{"id":"332571","type":"image","title":"Maize plant root","body":null,"created":"1449245114","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:05:14","changed":"1475895044","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:44","alt":"Maize plant root","file":{"fid":"200397","name":"15c10200-p8-009.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/15c10200-p8-009_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/15c10200-p8-009_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1505813,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/15c10200-p8-009_0.jpg?itok=YVBkhgRA"}},"332591":{"id":"332591","type":"image","title":"Root imaging","body":null,"created":"1449245114","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:05:14","changed":"1475895044","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:44","alt":"Root imaging","file":{"fid":"200398","name":"root-imaging.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/root-imaging_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/root-imaging_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3051109,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/root-imaging_0.jpg?itok=Vf_L3VQu"}},"332621":{"id":"332621","type":"image","title":"Plant Physiology cover","body":null,"created":"1449245114","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:05:14","changed":"1475895044","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:44","alt":"Plant Physiology cover","file":{"fid":"200399","name":"rootart.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/rootart_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/rootart_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1297488,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/rootart_0.jpg?itok=_7qMlUbV"}}},"media_ids":["332561","332571","332591","332621"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"277","name":"Biology"},{"id":"105921","name":"crop improvement"},{"id":"105951","name":"crops"},{"id":"11599","name":"Joshua Weitz"},{"id":"105901","name":"plant roots"},{"id":"2985","name":"plants"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"39431","name":"Data Engineering and Science"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71911","name":"Earth and Environment"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearch News\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E(404) 894-6986\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"332541":{"#nid":"332541","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Paying it Forward","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s taken a healthy dose of enlightened self-interest for Giuliana Salazar-Noratto to succeed as a mentor in the Petit Undergraduate Research Scholar program. She\u2019s helping to guide a next generation scientist while becoming a better scientist in the process. Then again, this notion of ultimately serving your own self-interest by advancing the interest of others is kind of the job description. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cI needed help with my project, and I\u2019ve always liked being a mentor, encouraging people to get into the sciences \u2013 even to switch majors,\u201d says Salazar-Noratto, a National Science Foundation doctoral fellow in the Walter H. Coulter Biomedical Engineering Department (BME), pursuing a joint Ph.D. in the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cI enjoy showing someone how cool biomedical engineering is, and how cool it is to do something that can ultimately save lives. When I was an undergrad, I worked with a postdoc on research and she guided me through the learning process, helped me develop a deep love of science, and gave the things we were doing more meaning, so I wasn\u2019t just mindlessly doing experiments,\u201d says Salazar-Noratto, who gets a talented and eager lab partner, Petit Scholar Destiny Cobb, in the process. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Petit Scholars program brings a scholar together with a mentor for one year of research, and they\u2019re typically paired based on mutual research interests. Salazar-Noratto and Cobb are working to develop animal models to better study osteochondritis dissecans, a rare joint disorder that predominately affects the knees of adolescents and young adults, in the lab of Robert Guldberg (executive director of the Parker H. Petit institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience and professor in the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering). \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cThe great benefit to me is I have someone helping me with the project, which definitely needs multiple hands, and also, a different point of view helps,\u201d Salazar-Noratto says. \u201cBringing in a teammate means bringing in a different point of view, so maybe she\u2019ll catch something that I don\u2019t catch. One of the greatest lessons I\u2019ve learned in how to be a mentor has been learning to realize that people work differently from each other, like, maybe I\u2019m more efficient in the morning and she\u2019s more efficient in the afternoon. One of the great challenges \u2013 and it doesn\u2019t just apply to being a mentor, but just being a leader \u2013 is learning how your teammates work. So this has been a great learning experience for me.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMentors tend to take a pragmatic point of view at the start, according to Tom Barker, a Petit Faculty Fellow and associate professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME), who recently began his first year as faculty advisor to the Petit Scholars program. In other words, the road to becoming a mentor begins with the easiest, most practical of reasons. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cI decided to apply to become a Petit Scholar mentor because I had a good project in mind that I couldn\u2019t dedicate enough time to,\u201d says Maria Restrepo, who is mentoring Jake Sebring in the lab of Ajit Yoganathan (associate chair for research, Regents\u2019 professor and the BME\u2019s Wallace H. Coulter Distinguished faculty chair in Biomedical Engineering). Their research is focused on using surgical planning tools developed there in Yoganathan\u2019s lab to help clinicians find the best options in treating children with complex congenital heart defects. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cI wanted a good undergrad that could take care of it, and was very lucky to get Jake, because he\u2019s a hard-working student and has exceeded my expectations,\u201d says Restrepo, who will finish her Ph.D. in December and will begin her career in industry as a software engineer for Gaumard (\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gaumard.com\u0022 title=\u0022www.gaumard.com\u0022\u003Ewww.gaumard.com\u003C\/a\u003E), a company in Miami that makes medical simulators to train clinicians. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESalazar-Noratto isn\u2019t certain yet where her path will lead, beyond a laboratory. She may be a professor, or she may enter industry, but says that either way she\u2019ll be a research scientist working in translational medicine. The mentoring experience, Barker says, can only help figure out which direction Salazar-Noratto and her fellow lab-dwelling grad students will follow, or whether they\u2019re on the right career path to begin with. Along the way, though, there\u2019s the opportunity to help develop a new generation of scientists and biotech leaders. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cIn my opinion, the most important role that mentors play in the Petit Scholars program is grooming the next group of great grad students, who might become the next group of great scientists,\u201d Barker says. \u201cWe\u2019d love for our Georgia Tech undergrads to become the most highly functioning graduate students wherever they go from here. We want faculty at other universities to look at Georgia Tech as a hotbed of great student recruits. If we can accomplish that, we get more high quality applications for the scholarship, we get more high-quality mentors that want to be part of it. And there\u2019s a level of prestige in being a great mentor to a future great scientist.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Petit Scholar mentors help develop next generation scientists"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EPetit Scholar mentors help develop next generation scientists\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Petit Scholar mentors help develop next generation scientists"}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-10-09 09:37:47","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:15","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-10-09T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-10-09T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"332521":{"id":"332521","type":"image","title":"2014 Petit Mentor Giuliana Salazar-Noratto with Petit Scholar Destiny Cobb","body":null,"created":"1449245114","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:05:14","changed":"1475895044","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:44","alt":"2014 Petit Mentor Giuliana Salazar-Noratto with Petit Scholar Destiny Cobb","file":{"fid":"200394","name":"salazarnorattogiuliana-cobbdestiny-square.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/salazarnorattogiuliana-cobbdestiny-square_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/salazarnorattogiuliana-cobbdestiny-square_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":4313362,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/salazarnorattogiuliana-cobbdestiny-square_0.jpg?itok=Wpyem4Oz"}},"332531":{"id":"332531","type":"image","title":"2014 Petit Mentor Maria Restrepo with Petit Scholar Jake Sebring","body":null,"created":"1449245114","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:05:14","changed":"1475895044","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:44","alt":"2014 Petit Mentor Maria Restrepo with Petit Scholar Jake Sebring","file":{"fid":"200395","name":"restrepomariasebrinajake-square.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/restrepomariasebrinajake-square_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/restrepomariasebrinajake-square_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":4838482,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/restrepomariasebrinajake-square_0.jpg?itok=TjV04ni0"}}},"media_ids":["332521","332531"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/petitinstitute.gatech.edu\/become-petit-mentor","title":"Petit Mentor program"},{"url":"http:\/\/petitinstitute.gatech.edu\/","title":"Petit Institute website"},{"url":"http:\/\/guldberglab.gatech.edu\/","title":"Guldberg Musculoskeletal Research Lab"},{"url":"http:\/\/groups.bme.gatech.edu\/groups\/cfmg\/group\/home.htm","title":"Yoganathan lab"}],"groups":[{"id":"1254","name":"Wallace H. Coulter Dept. of Biomedical Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"140","name":"Cancer Research"},{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"149","name":"Nanotechnology and Nanoscience"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering \u0026amp; Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"330001":{"#nid":"330001","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Lift weights, improve your memory","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EHere\u2019s another reason why it\u2019s a good idea to hit the gym: it can improve memory. A new Georgia Institute of Technology study shows that an intense workout of as little as 20 minutes can enhance episodic memory, also known as long-term memory for previous events, by about 10 percent in healthy young adults.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Georgia Tech research isn\u2019t the first to find that exercise can improve memory. But the study, which was \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/authors.elsevier.com\/a\/1Pn3mOdd~Fkf\u0022\u003Ejust published in the journal \u003Cem\u003EActa Psychologica\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, took a few new approaches. While many existing studies have demonstrated that months of aerobic exercises such as running can improve memory, the current study had participants lift weights just once two days before testing them. The Georgia Tech researchers also had participants study events just before the exercise rather than after workout. They did this because of extensive animal research suggesting that the period after learning (or \u003Cem\u003Econsolidation)\u003C\/em\u003E is when the arousal or stress caused by exercise is most likely to benefit memory.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe study began with everyone looking at a series of 90 photos on a computer screen. The images were evenly split between positive (i.e. kids on a waterslide), negative (mutilated bodies) and neutral (clocks) pictures. Participants weren\u2019t asked to try and remember the photos. Everyone then sat at a leg extension resistance exercise machine. Half of them extended and contracted each leg at their personal maximum effort 50 times. The control group simply sat in the chair and allowed the machine and the experimenter to move their legs. Throughout the process, each participant\u2019s blood pressure and heart rate were monitored. Every person also contributed saliva samples so the team could detect levels of neurotransmitter markers linked to stress.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe participants returned to the lab 48 hours later and saw a series of 180 pictures \u2013 the 90 originals were mixed in with 90 new photos. The control group recalled about 50 percent of the photos from the first session. Those who exercised remembered about 60 percent.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur study indicates that people don\u2019t have to dedicate large amounts of time to give their brain a boost,\u201d said Lisa Weinberg, the Georgia Tech graduate student who \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/youtu.be\/1tghAlAm89E\u0022\u003Eled the project\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAlthough the study used weight exercises, Weinberg notes that resistance activities such as squats or knee bends would likely produce the same results. In other words, exercises that don\u2019t require the person to be in good enough to shape to bike, run or participate in prolonged aerobic exercises.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile all participants remembered the positive and negative images better than the neutral images, this pattern was greatest in the exercise participants, who showed the highest physiological responses. The team expected that result, as existing research on memory indicates that people are more likely to remember emotional experiences especially after acute (short-term) stress.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut why does it work? Existing, non-Georgia Tech human research has linked memory enhancements to acute stress responses, usually from psychological stressors such as public speaking. Other studies have also tied specific hormonal and norepinephrine releases in rodent brains to better memory. Interestingly, the current study found that exercise participants had increased saliva measures of alpha amylase, a marker of central norepinephrine.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cEven without doing expensive fMRI scans, our results give us an idea of what areas of the brain might be supporting these exercise-induced memory benefits,\u201d said Audrey Duarte, an associate professor in the School of Psychology. \u201cThe findings are encouraging because they are consistent with rodent literature that pinpoints exactly the parts of the brain that play a role in stress-induced memory benefits caused by exercise.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe collaborative team of psychology and applied physiology faculty and students plans to expand the study in the future, now that the researchers know resistance exercise can enhance episodic memory in healthy young adults.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe can now try to determine its applicability to other types of memories and the optimal type and amount of resistance exercise in various populations,\u201d said Minoru Shinohara, an associate professor in the School of Applied Physiology. \u201cThis includes older adults and individuals with memory impairment.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis research was supported in part by PHS Grant UL1 RR025008 from the Clinical and Translational Science Award Program, National Institutes of Health, National Center for Research Resource\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Study finds that one short bout of resistance exercise can enhance episodic memory"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EHere\u2019s another reason why it\u2019s a good idea to hit the gym: it can improve memory. A new Georgia Institute of Technology study shows that an intense workout of as little as 20 minutes can enhance episodic memory, also known as long-term memory for previous events, by about 10 percent in healthy young adults.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Study shows that an intense workout of as little as 20 minutes can enhance long-term memory for previous events by about 10 percent in healthy young adults"}],"uid":"27560","created_gmt":"2014-09-30 13:51:44","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:37","author":"Jason Maderer","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-09-30T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-09-30T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"329981":{"id":"329981","type":"image","title":"Leg workout","body":null,"created":"1449245090","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:04:50","changed":"1475894557","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:42:37","alt":"Leg workout","file":{"fid":"200325","name":"shino_and_participant.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/shino_and_participant_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/shino_and_participant_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":393871,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/shino_and_participant_0.jpg?itok=s_MwRT1u"}},"329991":{"id":"329991","type":"image","title":"Researchers group photo","body":null,"created":"1449245090","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:04:50","changed":"1475895000","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:00","alt":"Researchers group photo","file":{"fid":"200326","name":"15c10302-p1-002.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/15c10302-p1-002_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/15c10302-p1-002_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3306855,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/15c10302-p1-002_0.jpg?itok=YonYeGfN"}}},"media_ids":["329981","329991"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/authors.elsevier.com\/a\/1Pn3mOdd~Fkf","title":"Read the study"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.cos.gatech.edu\/","title":"College of Sciences"}],"groups":[{"id":"1183","name":"Home"}],"categories":[{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"4896","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"4075","name":"exercise"},{"id":"1228","name":"memory"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71891","name":"Health and Medicine"},{"id":"71881","name":"Science and Technology"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJason Maderer\u003Cbr \/\u003ENational Media Relations\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:maderer@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emaderer@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-385-2966\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["maderer@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"327601":{"#nid":"327601","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Platelets modulate clotting behavior by \u201cfeeling\u201d their surroundings","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EPlatelets, the tiny cell fragments whose job it is to stop bleeding, are very simple. They don\u2019t have a cell nucleus. But they can \u201cfeel\u201d the physical environment around them, researchers at Emory University and Georgia Tech have discovered.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPlatelets respond to surfaces with greater stiffness by increasing their stickiness, the degree to which they \u201cturn on\u201d other platelets and other components of the clotting system, the researchers found.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cPlatelets are smarter than we give them credit for, in that they are able to sense the physical characteristics of their environment and respond in a graduated way,\u201d said Wilbur Lam, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine and in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe results are published in the journal \u003Cem\u003EProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences\u003C\/em\u003E. The first author of the paper is research associate Yongzhi Qiu. Lam is also a physician in the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Children\u2019s Healthcare of Atlanta.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers\u2019 findings could influence the design of medical devices, because when platelets grab onto the surfaces of catheters and medical implants, they tend to form clots, a major problem for patient care.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EModifying the stiffness of materials used in these devices could reduce clot formation, the authors suggest. The results could also guide the refinement of blood thinning drugs, which are prescribed to millions to reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe team was able to separate physical and biochemical effects on platelet behavior by forming polymer gels with different degrees of stiffness, and then overlaying them each with the same coating of fibrinogen, a sticky protein critical for blood clotting. Fibrinogen is the precursor for fibrin, which forms a mesh of insoluble strands in a blood clot.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith stiffer gels, platelets spread out more and become more activated. This behavior is most pronounced when the concentration of fibrinogen is relatively low, the researchers found.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis variability helps to explain platelet behavior in the 3D context of a clot in the body, which can be quite heterogenous in makeup,\u201d Lam said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EQiu and colleagues were also able to dissect platelet biochemistry by allowing the platelets to adhere and then spread on the various gels under the influence of drugs that interfere with different biochemical steps.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProteins called integrins, which engage the fibrinogen, and the protein Rac1 are involved in the initial mechanical sensing during adhesion, while myosin and actin, components of the cytoskeleton, are responsible for platelet spreading.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe found that the initial adhesion and later spreading are separable, because different biochemical pathways are involved in each step,\u201d Lam said. \u201cOur data show that mechanosensing can occur and plays important roles even when the cellular structural building blocks are fairly basic, even when the nucleus is absent.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research was supported by the National Science Foundation, the American Heart Association, the National Heart Lung \u0026amp; Blood Institute (U54HL112309, R01HL121264) and the National Eye Institute (PN2EY018244).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts\u003C\/strong\u003E: Emory University: Quinn Eastman (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:qeastma@emory.edu\u0022\u003Eqeastma@emory.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) (404-727-7829) or Georgia Tech: John Toon (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) (404-894-6986).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: Quinn Eastman\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EPlatelets, the tiny cell fragments whose job it is to stop bleeding, are very simple. They don\u2019t have a cell nucleus. But they can \u201cfeel\u201d the physical environment around them, researchers at Emory University and Georgia Tech have discovered.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Blood platelets can \u0022feel\u0022 the physical environment around them, researchers have learned."}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2014-09-22 14:52:06","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:07","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-09-22T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-09-22T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"327581":{"id":"327581","type":"image","title":"Platelet clotting behavior","body":null,"created":"1449245064","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:04:24","changed":"1475895039","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:39","alt":"Platelet clotting behavior","file":{"fid":"200257","name":"platelets-lam-qui.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/platelets-lam-qui_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/platelets-lam-qui_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1120441,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/platelets-lam-qui_0.jpg?itok=5XnKqJ1Z"}},"327591":{"id":"327591","type":"image","title":"Platelet spreading","body":null,"created":"1449245064","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:04:24","changed":"1475895039","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:39","alt":"Platelet spreading","file":{"fid":"200258","name":"plateletsspread.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/plateletsspread_0.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/plateletsspread_0.png","mime":"image\/png","size":149607,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/plateletsspread_0.png?itok=6Id6JKRg"}}},"media_ids":["327581","327591"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"1440","name":"blood"},{"id":"102021","name":"clotting"},{"id":"36131","name":"platelets"},{"id":"171368","name":"surface"},{"id":"3264","name":"Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering"},{"id":"14681","name":"Wilbur Lam"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71891","name":"Health and Medicine"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearch News\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E(404) 894-6986\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"327141":{"#nid":"327141","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Sense of Direction","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EScientific research isn\u2019t easy. It\u2019s not supposed to be. For bright, confident undergrads with high expectations, scientific research can be particularly daunting because it means they have to dip their brains into the murky unknown to find answers no one else has discovered yet \u2013 answers that may elude them in experiment after experiment, which can be really disappointing for the scholar who is used to acing tests and finishing near the top of the class. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESo it helps to have a guide, someone who remembers the disappointment, who isn\u2019t intimidated by the trial-and-error nature of research and experimentation, and who has come through on the other side, after swinging and missing, to finally connect with a significant discovery or answer \u2013 someone like Ashley Brown. As a mentor in the Petit Undergraduate Research Scholar program, it\u2019s her job to help one of the undergrad scholars, Kaitlin Ahlstedt, find that connection. In a sense, this is Brown\u2019s way of paying it forward. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cOne of the main reasons I was interested in being a mentor is, I had the experience of working with a mentor when I was an undergrad, and it was instilled in me how important this kind of mentoring program can be,\u201d says Brown, a research scientist who has served a joint postdoctoral fellowship, in the labs of Tom Barker (associate professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering) and Andrew Lyon (former professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, now dean of the Schmid College of Science and Technology at Chapman University in California). \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhile pursuing her Bachelor of Science in Biosystems Engineering at Clemson (she graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2006), Brown got involved in an undergraduate research program at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Even though that research focused on microelectronics \u2013 definitely not her cup of chi \u2013 she was hooked on the idea of coming to Georgia Tech. The biomedical engineering Ph.D. program\u2019s No. 2 ranking nationally, she says, made her decision a no-brainer. \u201cGeorgia Tech was always my top choice,\u201d says Brown, who earned her Ph.D. in 2011. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESince coming to Tech, she has mentored nine undergraduate students in different capacities, so she\u2019s seen the transformation over and over, and that experience by itself, she says, \u201cis so rewarding. You work with excited undergrads, many of them getting their hands dirty in a lab for the first time, getting excited about the science, making discoveries and really contributing to serious research. It\u2019s a mutually beneficial experience.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBarker, who has worked with Brown in his lab for years, says, \u201cshe epitomizes, for me, what a good mentor really is. She provides really good, clear directions, has a strong focus in what she wants to accomplish, and understands that new students who have not been exposed to this kind of environment, or even some who have, require a breaking-in period. Because it can be an uncomfortable place for a lot of young students who are accustomed to being lectured to, given information, memorizing it, and then regurgitating it on the exam. Learning through failure is foreign to many of them.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThat concept, \u201clearning through failure,\u201d gets right back to the heart of what might be most challenging to undergrads like the Petit Scholars. Barker even has an essay on the subject taped to his office door. When his graduate students want to know his philosophy, he often tells them to read the essay, published six years ago in the Journal of Cell Science and written by former University of Virginia professor Martin Schwartz (now at Yale). \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EEntitled, \u003Cem\u003EThe importance of stupidity in scientific research\u003C\/em\u003E, the essay is important because, as Barker summarizes it, \u201cin science, if you know all of the answers already then you\u2019re in the wrong place. We\u2019re supposed to be at the cutting edge, defining the new definitions. The article sums up nicely, I think, the challenge for a good mentor.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe challenge is in knowing when to push, when to support, or even when to pull back and, as Barker puts it, \u201clet them drive the car \u2013 at least in the driveway. If we are trying to groom these undergraduate students to become the best graduate students in America, or across the world, we need to push them intellectually, outside their comfort zone. But there also are times when a mentor has to be a cheerleader. We all hit some really low lows \u2013 experiments that don\u2019t work, or don\u2019t give you the results you expected.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EA good mentor, in other words, inspires in his or her mentee an ability to remain persistent, with blinders, so that they will become numb to failure \u2013 because some failure is inevitable if you\u2019re working on the cutting edge. It takes a self-assured guide, someone with a deft touch and a good sense of direction to go along with the big science brain. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Petit Scholars program brings one scholar together with one mentor for a year of research. Scholars typically choose a mentor based on their interest a mentor\u2019s research. Brown and Ahlstedt (who is one of five Petit Scholars in the 2014 class supported by funds from Children\u2019s Healthcare of Atlanta) are working in Barker\u2019s lab, focusing on clotting dysfunction in neonatal patients who have undergone surgery for congenital heart defects. Working with Dr. Nina Guzzetta, an anesthesiologist with Children\u2019s Healthcare and Emory Pediatrics, their long-term goal is to find better treatment options for these very young and fragile patients. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cKaitlin and I hit it off and have similar research interests. Her main focus is to understand how neonatal clot structural and mechanical properties differ from that of adult clots,\u201d says Brown, who sees the Petit Scholar program as mutually beneficial. \u201cThat\u2019s the whole point. The hope is that all of the scholars will end up on a publication, or presenting at a conference. So it\u2019s important, on my part, to cultivate a good working relationship, to serve as a guide, but also to establish expectations.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAhlstedt is meeting, or exceeding those expectations \u2013 she\u2019ll be presenting her work at the National Biomedical Engineering Society Conference in San Antonio in October. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBarker expects that Brown will be a highly sought-after faculty candidate this year, her last as a postdoc, with a career in academia just ahead, she hopes. Brown isn\u2019t sure where she\u2019ll wind up, but wants her next role as a mentor to be part of her job as a faculty member somewhere.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cI\u2019m not sure where that will be, but I\u2019m applying now with the goal of starting a new position next fall,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019m casting a wide net.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Brown epitomizing the mentor role in Petit Scholar program."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBrown epitomizing the mentor role in Petit Scholar program.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Brown epitomizing the mentor role in Petit Scholar program."}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-09-19 13:07:32","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:07","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-09-19T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-09-19T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"327161":{"id":"327161","type":"image","title":"2014 Petit Undergraduate Research Scholar Kaitlin Ahlstedt with her mentor, Ashley Brown","body":null,"created":"1449245064","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:04:24","changed":"1475895039","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:39","alt":"2014 Petit Undergraduate Research Scholar Kaitlin Ahlstedt with her mentor, Ashley Brown","file":{"fid":"200247","name":"gatech_108-3034734132-o.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gatech_108-3034734132-o_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gatech_108-3034734132-o_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1690054,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/gatech_108-3034734132-o_0.jpg?itok=llVnbWdn"}},"327151":{"id":"327151","type":"image","title":"Ashley Brown, PhD, 2014 Petit Mentor, with advisor, Tom Barker, PhD","body":null,"created":"1449245064","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:04:24","changed":"1475895039","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:39","alt":"Ashley Brown, PhD, 2014 Petit Mentor, with advisor, Tom Barker, PhD","file":{"fid":"200246","name":"tbarker_artificial-plateletssm_0_0.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tbarker_artificial-plateletssm_0_0_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tbarker_artificial-plateletssm_0_0_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":334210,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tbarker_artificial-plateletssm_0_0_0.jpg?itok=eYAU9hSr"}}},"media_ids":["327161","327151"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/petitinstitute.gatech.edu\/become-petit-mentor","title":"Petit Mentor program"},{"url":"http:\/\/barker.bme.gatech.edu\/MBEL_website\/the_lab.html","title":"Barker lab"}],"groups":[{"id":"1254","name":"Wallace H. Coulter Dept. of Biomedical Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering \u0026amp; Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"326321":{"#nid":"326321","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Monsanto Accepting Applications for Summer 2015 Internships","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAll Georgia Tech undergraduates interested in biotechnology are eligible to apply for the below summer 2015 internship opportunities at Monsanto.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u2028\u2028\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETwenty years from now, the earth\u2019s population will need 55% more food than it can produce now. Today, Monsanto is working with farmers around the world to do something about it. In more than 60 countries, we have established industry-leading products because we give professionals like you the freedom to make real decisions. We also have professional development programs and a history of building careers. After all, you\u2019ll solve what could be mankind\u2019s greatest challenge. Are you ready to start dreaming bigger?\u2028\u2028\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFrom your first day, you\u2019ll be a contributing member of the team with meaningful responsibilities, which allows you to have a realistic look at a career with Monsanto. You\u2019ll gain valuable professional experience and developmental feedback through paid, full-time positions. The program helps us assess your career potential as the majority of our \u2018new graduate\u2019 hiring comes from interns and co-ops. It\u2019s a great way to get the inside track on how an industry leader like Monsanto works.\u2028\u2028Internships\u2028Students typically participate in the Intern Program during their summer break. In this 10-12 week continuous learning experience, you\u2019ll have the ability to make an immediate impact thru a variety of work assignments and projects. You\u2019ll also have access to training, networking, and professional guidance.\u2028\u2028\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBenefits\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EGain in depth experience working with an global industry leader\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ENetwork at Executive Speaker presentations to learn from leaders of the company\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ERelocation assistance\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EBiweekly salary\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWho We Look For\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003ESophomores and above with a GPA of 3.0 or better. Students with freshman standing considered\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EHigh interpersonal and communication skills, ability to interact well with a team and have the ability to work independently.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ESelf motivated individuals with strong detail and results orientation and demonstrated strong problem solving skills.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EAbility\/willingness to relocate for the duration of the assignment\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u2028To be considered for these summer internship opportunities, \u003Cstrong\u003Einterested GT candidates should FIRST submit their applications \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.monsanto.com\/careers\/pages\/student-opportunties.aspx\u0022\u003Eonline \u003C\/a\u003Eto specific internship openings and then forward a resume directly to \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:floyd.wood@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EFloyd Wood\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;at Georgia Tech indicating to which openings have been applied.\u2028\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Open to all Georgia Tech undergrads interested in biotechnology"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMonsanto accepting applications for 2015 summer internship opportunities - Open to all Georgia Tech undergrads interested in biotechnology\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Open to all Georgia Tech undergrads interested in biotechnology"}],"uid":"27349","created_gmt":"2014-09-17 15:35:10","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:07","author":"Floyd Wood","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-09-18T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-09-18T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"177271":{"id":"177271","type":"image","title":"Monsanto Summer Internships","body":null,"created":"1449179031","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:43:51","changed":"1475894822","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:47:02","alt":"Monsanto Summer Internships","file":{"fid":"195914","name":"monsanto_200x200.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/monsanto_200x200_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/monsanto_200x200_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":4897,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/monsanto_200x200_0.jpg?itok=rK0ElkQe"}}},"media_ids":["177271"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.monsanto.com\/careers\/Pages\/student-opportunties.aspx","title":"Monsanto summer internship job website"}],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[{"id":"42941","name":"Art Research"},{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"},{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:floyd.wood@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EFloyd Wood\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["floyd.wood@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"324781":{"#nid":"324781","#data":{"type":"news","title":"New Leadership for REM","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFor almost 30 years, the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University have been bringing together the collective groundbreaking research of engineers, scientists and clinicians in a comprehensive effort to improve the human condition by transforming the treatment of diseases and injuries.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA unique, formal research relationship between one of the top public engineering schools (Georgia Tech) and a leading private medical school (Emory) was forged in 1987 with the establishment of the Emory\/Georgia Tech Biomedical Technology Research Center. The partnership was further solidified in 1998 with creation of the Georgia Tech\/Emory Center for the Engineering of Living Tissues (GTEC, a National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESince then, GTEC has given way to the latest and most ambitious joint effort in bio-research, with the launch in 2011 of the Center for Regenerative Engineering and Medicine (REM), which began as an initiative between Tech and Emory, but has grown in reach and potential with the recent addition of the University of Georgia (UGA). And that may not be the end of the expanding collaborative web.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe addition of UGA is significant, and I would like to see the Center grow even further,\u201d says Johnna Temenoff, who recently stepped into the REM co-director role at Tech. Each participating university has an REM co-director \u2013 Ned Waller represents Emory and Steve Stice is at UGA\u2019s helm. \u201cWe have an opportunity to really turn this into a statewide initiative and perhaps garner even greater support for our work.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe work of REM, which now utilizes the distinct strengths of three of the nation\u2019s leading research universities, addressing a number of issues related to the body\u2019s ability to heal itself, including the intra-articular delivery therapies for life-long healthy joints, biomaterials to prevent infection and reduce inflammation, reprogramming cells for tissue regeneration, stem cell processing and scale-up, cell therapies for improvement of patients with severe cardiac damage, implantable, biodegradable sensors to monitor tissue healing, functional restoration following severe limb trauma, implants that grow and adapt in pediatric patients, and nerve repair\/regeneration.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESome of this research was the focus of discussion at last month\u2019s annual REM Retreat, hosted in Athens at UGA for the first time. \u201cWe had such a strong turnout, and some great science was presented,\u201d says Bob Guldberg, executive director of the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, and the previous Georgia Tech REM co-director. \u201cThe expanded partnership with UGA reflects the importance of collaboration between different institutions, and the change in leadership only added to the excitement at this year\u2019s retreat.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAccording to Stice, a true innovator in the area of stem cell research, about 110 researchers attended the annual event, and the participants from UGA come from a diverse range of specialties, which he believes exemplifies the state\u2019s growing reputation in the field.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cGeorgia has been and continues to be a hotbed of activity in regenerative medicine, and the REM presentations at the retreat were a great introduction for new members and faculty who want to work collaboratively,\u201d Stice says. \u201cI\u2019m personally aware of contacts and projects that will work collaboratively in various areas, including orthopedics and cardiovascular treatments, among other things.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis year\u2019s retreat helped solidify an ambitious agreement between the collaborating universities. Tech and Emory had already laid the groundwork, creating an REM case statement that was supported enthusiastically by both university presidents. Says Georgia Tech President G.P. \u201cBud\u201d Peterson, \u201cThrough applying regenerative technologies to unmet clinical needs, the collaborative partnership between Georgia Tech and Emory is changing the future \u2013 globally and for the individuals whose lives are enriched because of the research of some of the brightest minds in engineering and medicine working side by side.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe case statement illustrated an unprecedented commitment made by Emory and Georgia Tech to work together on fundraising for regenerative engineering and medicine technology and clinical translation, according to Guldberg. And with UGA now a full-time partner in the endeavor, REM is in growth mode, which is just fine \u2013 and necessary \u2013 to Temenoff\u2019s way of thinking.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis is an interesting time to be moving into a leadership role,\u201d Temenoff admits. \u201cWe know that we\u2019ve got to grow our resources, in order to keep providing this conduit for collaboration between top researchers at all three universities. Overall, what we have now is an incredible partnership of three institutions engaged in synergistic research areas.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESo now, the three-headed REM will continue to build on the success first realized by Emory and Georgia Tech in tissue engineering, administered by the co-directors with support of a faculty leadership team consisting of preeminent investigators from each institution, including one of the pioneers of the tissue engineering and regenerative medicine field, Bob Nerem, former director of GTEC, which was funded by the NSF from 1998 to 2009.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETemenoff, who represents a new generation of leadership in the field, knows there are big shoes to fill, but likes the odds, due to the long-standing support of regenerative medicine research locally. \u201cBecause of the leadership of people like Bob Nerem and Bob Guldberg, collaborative research in regenerative medicine has become the expectation here at Georgia Tech,\u201d she says, \u201cThat has certainly made stepping into this role very easy for me.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Temenoff named Co-director of Center for Regenerative Engineering and Medicine as UGA joins the team"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETemenoff named Co-director of Center for Regenerative Engineering and Medicine as UGA joins the team.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Temenoff named Co-director of Center for Regenerative Engineering and Medicine as UGA joins the team."}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-09-15 10:27:17","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:04","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-09-15T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-09-15T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"324871":{"id":"324871","type":"image","title":"Johnna Temenoff, PhD -  Co-director of Center for Regenerative Engineering and Medicine","body":null,"created":"1449245041","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:04:01","changed":"1475895037","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:37","alt":"Johnna Temenoff, PhD -  Co-director of Center for Regenerative Engineering and Medicine","file":{"fid":"200195","name":"johnna-rem.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/johnna-rem_0.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/johnna-rem_0.png","mime":"image\/png","size":4738360,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/johnna-rem_0.png?itok=60iL1DKo"}}},"media_ids":["324871"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/regenerativeengineeringandmedicine.com\/","title":"Regenerative Engineering \u0026 Medicine Website"},{"url":"http:\/\/temenoff.gatech.edu\/","title":"Temenoff Lab website"}],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[{"id":"132","name":"Institute Leadership"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering \u0026amp; Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"324661":{"#nid":"324661","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Petit Scholar Balancing Act","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETwo things you rarely see in the same sentence are \u201ccheerleader\u201d and \u201cresearch scientist.\u201d But right now, Mar\u00eda D\u00edaz Ortiz is equally comfortable being both of those things, balancing these two demanding roles at the Georgia Institute of Technology with the grace of a gymnast, which would only make sense, considering she\u2019s worn that mantle, too.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA former member of the Puerto Rican national gymnastics team, it was an easy transition to \u201ccheerleader\u201d at Georgia Tech for D\u00edaz Ortiz, who works football and basketball home games and engages in cheerleading team competition, which involves a lot of tumbling, flipping and throwing people in the air.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI like to stay grounded, so fortunately, I\u2019m not one of the people who gets thrown into the air,\u201d says Diaz Ortiz, a 2014 Petit Scholar, who has found that her athletic endeavors help fuel the rest of her busy life at Tech. \u201cOh, it definitely keeps me in shape, keeps me healthy, which is pretty important with my high-pace schedule. But I like keeping a busy schedule. It helps make me more structured. And I love cheerleading because there is a real sense of community and bonding. I\u2019ve got great teammates.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ED\u00edaz Ortiz, a senior in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, sees a clear correlation between cheerleading and her work with mentor Chris Johnson in Andr\u00e9s Garc\u00eda\u2019s lab at the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience. Her independent research project is entitled, \u0022A Critical Bone Defect Infection Model Utilizing an Engineered Bioluminescent Clinical Strain of Pseudomonas Aeruginosa.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI definitely do see a parallel between cheerleading and my courses in biomedical engineering and work in the lab at the Petit Institute. You get to collaborate with people with diverse backgrounds and ideas,\u201d she says. \u201cJust within the lab, for example, are people who have biotech backgrounds working with mechanical engineers. You\u2019ve got people with different strengths, working together on the same project. Same thing in cheerleading. You\u2019ve got people who are stronger at tumbling, people who are stronger at putting other people up in the air. It\u2019s interesting to see how people from so many different backgrounds can work so well together.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen D\u00edaz Ortiz arrived at Tech, she brought an interest in science, and liked the idea of doing research, but didn\u2019t know if she wanted to be a research scientist or not. Then she interviewed with Garc\u00eda for an opening in his lab for an undergraduate research assistant, and really dug it, and became interested in applying to the Petit Scholarship program \u2013 and the program wanted her. She was first invited to become a Petit Scholar for 2013, but at the same time, she was offered an internship with Abbott Laboratories and decided to defer her acceptance into the Petit Scholars program for a year.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI really wanted to get a feeling for what industry was like,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019d gotten the research experience, but didn\u2019t have a feel for industry. It turned out to be a good learning experience for me, because it wasn\u2019t quite what I expected, and honestly, it helped me cross out that idea.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPlanning to graduate in the spring, D\u00edaz Ortiz is in the process of applying to M.D.-Ph.D. programs \u2013 ultimately, she wants to do clinical research.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI haven\u2019t decided where I want to go yet, but I\u2019d prefer to stay near a city that is a hub of biomedical research,\u201d she says. Her top three choices would be somewhere in Boston, California, or right here at the Tech\/Emory joint biomedical engineering program. \u201cWhere ever I wind up, I feel like the Petit Scholarship experience has been good preparation for grad school. It\u2019s definitely given me a feeling for what independent research is like.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Mar\u00eda D\u00edaz Ortiz stays busy on the sidelines and in the laboratory"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EPetit Scholar Balancing Act - Mar\u00eda D\u00edaz Ortiz stays busy on the sidelines and in the laboratory.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Mar\u00eda D\u00edaz Ortiz stays busy on the sidelines and in the laboratory."}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-09-14 22:19:44","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:04","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-09-15T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-09-15T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"324671":{"id":"324671","type":"image","title":"Mar\u00eda D\u00edaz Ortiz - 2014 Petit Scholar","body":null,"created":"1449245025","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:03:45","changed":"1475895034","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:34","alt":"Mar\u00eda D\u00edaz Ortiz - 2014 Petit Scholar","file":{"fid":"200189","name":"diazortizmaria-cropped_square.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/diazortizmaria-cropped_square_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/diazortizmaria-cropped_square_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":418896,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/diazortizmaria-cropped_square_0.jpg?itok=6x9a--mc"}},"330971":{"id":"330971","type":"image","title":"Mar\u00eda D\u00edaz Ortiz","body":null,"created":"1449245114","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:05:14","changed":"1475895041","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:41","alt":"Mar\u00eda D\u00edaz Ortiz","file":{"fid":"200359","name":"basketball_action_shot.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/basketball_action_shot_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/basketball_action_shot_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":256963,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/basketball_action_shot_0.jpg?itok=a8_V7kA0"}},"330961":{"id":"330961","type":"image","title":"Mar\u00eda D\u00edaz Ortiz","body":null,"created":"1449245114","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:05:14","changed":"1475895041","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:41","alt":"Mar\u00eda D\u00edaz Ortiz","file":{"fid":"200358","name":"wreck_picture.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/wreck_picture_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/wreck_picture_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":177582,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/wreck_picture_0.jpg?itok=8056FRZh"}},"330941":{"id":"330941","type":"image","title":"Mar\u00eda D\u00edaz Ortiz","body":null,"created":"1449245114","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:05:14","changed":"1475895041","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:41","alt":"Mar\u00eda D\u00edaz Ortiz","file":{"fid":"200357","name":"yellow_jacket_alley.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/yellow_jacket_alley_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/yellow_jacket_alley_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":152574,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/yellow_jacket_alley_0.jpg?itok=PAYPUP89"}}},"media_ids":["324671","330971","330961","330941"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.petitinstitute.gatech.edu\/petit-scholars","title":"Petit Scholars website"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.garcialab.gatech.edu\/","title":"Garcia lab website"}],"groups":[{"id":"1254","name":"Wallace H. Coulter Dept. of Biomedical Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"1625","name":"athletics"},{"id":"249","name":"Biomedical Engineering"},{"id":"8707","name":"Petit Scholar"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering \u0026amp; Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"324121":{"#nid":"324121","#data":{"type":"news","title":"One-minute point-of-care anemia test shows promise in new study","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA simple point-of-care testing device for anemia could provide more rapid diagnosis of the common blood disorder and allow inexpensive at-home self-monitoring of persons with chronic forms of the disease.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe disposable self-testing device analyzes a single droplet of blood using a chemical reagent that produces visible color changes corresponding to different levels of anemia. The basic test produces results in about 60 seconds and requires no electrical power. A companion smartphone application can automatically correlate the visual results to specific blood hemoglobin levels.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBy allowing rapid diagnosis and more convenient monitoring of patients with chronic anemia, the device could help patients receive treatment before the disease becomes severe, potentially heading off emergency room visits and hospitalizations. Anemia, which affects two billion people worldwide, is now diagnosed and monitored using blood tests done with costly test equipment maintained in hospitals, clinics or commercial laboratories.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBecause of its simplicity and ability to deliver results without electricity, the device could also be used in resource-poor nations.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA paper describing the device and comparing its sensitivity to gold-standard anemia testing was published August 30, 2014, in \u003Cem\u003EThe Journal of Clinical Investigation\u003C\/em\u003E. Development of the test has been supported by the FDA-funded Atlantic Pediatric Device Consortium, the Georgia Research Alliance, Children\u2019s Healthcare of Atlanta, the Georgia Center of Innovation for Manufacturing and the Global Center for Medical Innovation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur goal is to get this device into patients\u2019 hands so they can diagnose and monitor anemia themselves,\u201d said Dr. Wilbur Lam, senior author of the paper and a physician in the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center at Children\u2019s Healthcare of Atlanta and the Department of Pediatrics at the Emory University School of Medicine. \u201cPatients could use this device in a way that\u2019s very similar to how diabetics use glucose-monitoring devices, but this will be even simpler because this is a visual-based test that doesn\u2019t require an additional electrical device to analyze the results.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe test device was developed in a collaboration of Emory University, Children\u2019s Healthcare of Atlanta and the Georgia Institute of Technology \u2013 all based in Atlanta. It grew out of a 2011 undergraduate senior design project in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University. In 2013, it was among the winners of Georgia Tech\u2019s InVenture Prize, an innovation competition for undergraduate students, and won first place in the Ideas to SERVE Competition in Georgia Tech\u2019s Scheller College of Business.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EUsing a two-piece prototype device, the test works this way: A patient sticks a finger with a lance similar to those used by diabetics to produce a droplet of blood. The device\u2019s cap, a small vial, is then touched to the droplet, drawing in a precise amount of blood using capillary action. The cap containing the blood sample is then placed onto the body of the clear plastic test kit, which contains the chemical reagent. After the cap is closed, the device is briefly shaken to mix the blood and reagent.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhen the capillary is filled, we have a very precise volume of blood, about five microliters, which is less than a droplet \u2013 much less than what is required by other anemia tests,\u201d explained Erika Tyburski, the paper\u2019s first author and leader of the undergraduate team that developed the device.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBlood hemoglobin then serves as a catalyst for a reduction-oxidation (redox) reaction that takes place in the device. After about 45 seconds, the reaction is complete and the patient sees a color ranging from green-blue to red, indicating the degree of anemia.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe colors are produced by a redox-sensitive dye that complements the color arising from the hemoglobin, explained L. Andrew Lyon, who supported the work while he was chair of Georgia Tech\u2019s School of Chemistry \u0026amp; Biochemistry. \u201cIt is the breadth of color space covered by the reaction that really enables the assay to be so reliable when read out by the naked eye,\u201d said Lyon, who is now dean of the Schmid College of Science and Technology at Chapman University in California.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA label on the device helps with interpretation of the color, or the device could be photographed with a smartphone running an application written by Georgia Tech undergraduate student Alex Weiss and graduate student William Stoy. The app automatically correlates the color to a specific hemoglobin level, and could one day be used to report the data to a physician.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo evaluate sensitivity and specificity of the device, Tyburski studied blood taken from 238 patients, some of them children at Children\u2019s Healthcare of Atlanta and the others adults at Emory University\u2019s Winship Cancer Institute. Each blood sample was tested four times using the device, and the results were compared to reports provided by conventional hematology analyzers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe work showed that the results of the one-minute test were consistent with those of the conventional analysis. The smartphone app produced the best results for measuring severe anemia.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe test doesn\u2019t require a skilled technician or a draw of venous blood and you see the results immediately,\u201d said Lam, who is also an assistant professor in the Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering. \u201cWe think this is an empowering system, both for the general public and for our patients.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETyburski and Lam have teamed up with two other partners and worked with Emory\u2019s Office of Technology Transfer to launch a startup company, Sanguina, to commercialize the test, which will be known as AnemoCheck\u2122. The test ultimately will require approval from the FDA. The team also plans to study how the test may be applied to specific diseases, such as sickle cell anemia \u2013 which is common in Georgia.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe device could be on pharmacy shelves sometime in 2016, where it might help people like Tyburski, who has suffered mild anemia most of her life. \u201cIf I\u2019d had this when I was kid, I could have avoided some trips to the emergency room when I passed out in gym class,\u201d she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAbout a third of the population is at risk for anemia, which can cause neurocognitive deficits in children, organ failure and less serious effects such as chronic fatigue. Women, children, the elderly and those with chronic conditions such as kidney disease are more likely to suffer from anemia.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E177 North Avenue\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, Georgia\u0026nbsp; 30332-0181\u0026nbsp; USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Assistance\u003C\/strong\u003E: Georgia Tech -- John Toon (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) (404-894-6986) or Brett Israel (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) (404-385-1933) or Emory University -- Holly Korschun (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:hkorsch@emory.edu\u0022\u003Ehkorsch@emory.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) (404-727-3990).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA simple point-of-care testing device for anemia could provide more rapid diagnosis of the common blood disorder and allow inexpensive at-home self-monitoring of persons with chronic forms of the disease.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A simple point-of-care testing device for anemia could provide more rapid diagnosis of the common blood disorder."}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2014-09-11 11:11:22","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:04","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-09-11T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-09-11T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"324081":{"id":"324081","type":"image","title":"Prototype anemia test","body":null,"created":"1449245025","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:03:45","changed":"1475895034","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:34","alt":"Prototype anemia test","file":{"fid":"200176","name":"anemia-test168.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/anemia-test168_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/anemia-test168_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1024995,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/anemia-test168_0.jpg?itok=pM0E7A92"}},"324101":{"id":"324101","type":"image","title":"Prototype anemia test3","body":null,"created":"1449245025","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:03:45","changed":"1475895034","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:34","alt":"Prototype anemia test3","file":{"fid":"200178","name":"anemai-test183.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/anemai-test183_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/anemai-test183_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":967076,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/anemai-test183_0.jpg?itok=oqW2yfSu"}},"324091":{"id":"324091","type":"image","title":"Prototype anemia test2","body":null,"created":"1449245025","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:03:45","changed":"1475895034","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:34","alt":"Prototype anemia test2","file":{"fid":"200177","name":"anemia-test196.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/anemia-test196_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/anemia-test196_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":912782,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/anemia-test196_0.jpg?itok=cl4twlPv"}},"324071":{"id":"324071","type":"image","title":"Erika Tyburski","body":null,"created":"1449245025","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:03:45","changed":"1475895034","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:34","alt":"Erika Tyburski","file":{"fid":"200175","name":"anemia-test19.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/anemia-test19_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/anemia-test19_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1289098,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/anemia-test19_0.jpg?itok=NpitUKY2"}}},"media_ids":["324081","324101","324091","324071"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"63841","name":"anemia"},{"id":"102931","name":"anemia monitoring"},{"id":"102911","name":"anemia testing"},{"id":"102941","name":"Erika Tyburski"},{"id":"7764","name":"InVenture Prize"},{"id":"3264","name":"Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering"},{"id":"14681","name":"Wilbur Lam"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"106361","name":"Business and Economic Development"},{"id":"71891","name":"Health and Medicine"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearch News\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E(404) 894-6986\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"323081":{"#nid":"323081","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Sharks in Acidic Waters Avoid Smell of Food","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe increasing acidification of ocean waters caused by rising atmospheric carbon dioxide levels could rob sharks of their ability to sense the smell of food, a new study suggests.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EElevated carbon dioxide levels impaired the odor-tracking behavior of the smooth dogfish, a shark whose range includes the Atlantic Ocean off the eastern United States. Adult sharks significantly avoided squid odor after swimming in a pool of water treated with carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide concentrations tested are consistent with climate forecasts for midcentury and 2100. The study suggests that predator-prey interactions in nature could be influenced by elevated carbon dioxide concentrations of ocean waters.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe sharks\u2019 tracking behavior and attacking behavior were significantly reduced,\u201d said\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/people\/danielle-dixson\u0022\u003EDanielle Dixson\u003C\/a\u003E, an assistant professor in the School of Biology at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta.\u003Cstrong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u201c\u003C\/strong\u003ESharks are like swimming noses, so chemical cues are really important for them in terms of finding food.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe study is the first time that sharks\u2019 ability to sense the odor of their food has been tested under conditions that simulate the acidity levels expected in the oceans by the turn of the century. The work supports\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/scholar.google.com\/citations?user=p9RD2kYAAAAJ\u0026amp;hl=en\u0026amp;oi=sra\u0022\u003Erecent research from Dixson\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;and other research groups showing that ocean acidification impairs sensory functions and alters the behavior of aquatic organisms.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe study was published August 11 the journal\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1111\/gcb.12678\/full\u0022\u003EGlobal Change Biology\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u0026nbsp;and was sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECarbon dioxide released into the atmosphere is absorbed into ocean waters, where it dissolves and lowers the pH of the water. Acidic waters affect fish behavior by disrupting a specific receptor in the nervous system, called GABA\u003Csub\u003EA\u003C\/sub\u003E, which is present in most marine organisms with a nervous system. When GABA\u003Csub\u003EA\u003C\/sub\u003E\u0026nbsp;stops working, neurons stop firing properly.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDixson\u2019s previous research has shown that fish living on coral reefs where carbon dioxide seeps from the ocean floor were\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.news.gatech.edu\/2014\/04\/14\/fish-acidic-ocean-waters-less-able-smell-predators\u0022\u003Eless able to detect predator odor\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;than fish from normal coral reefs. Study co-author Philip Munday, from James Cook University in Australia, has shown in previous work that a tiny coral reef predator fish, the dottyback,also loses interest in food in waters that simulate ocean acidification conditions forecast for the future.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the experimental part of the new study, conducted at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 24 sharks from local waters were studied in a 10-meter-long flume. The flume resembled two lanes of a swimming pool. Odor from a squid was pumped down one lane of the flume, while normal seawater was pumped down the other side.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESharks tend to prefer one side of a tank over the other, so researchers first assessed each sharks\u2019 side preference. Then the research team ran control experiments under normal ocean conditions to ensure that the sharks were tracking the food cue. Under present-day water conditions, sharks adjusted their position in the flume to spend a greater amount of time on the side containing the squid odor plume, regardless of the individual shark\u2019s natural side preference.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENext, sharks spent five days in holding pools of three different carbon dioxide concentrations: local water concentration today (405 \u00b1 26microatmospheres\u003Cstrong\u003E\u0026nbsp;(\u003C\/strong\u003E\u00b5atms) CO\u003Csub\u003E2\u003C\/sub\u003E), projected midcentury concentration (741 \u00b1 22 \u00b5atms CO\u003Csub\u003E2\u003C\/sub\u003E),projected concentration for 2100 (1,064 \u00b1 17 \u00b5atms CO\u003Csub\u003E2\u003C\/sub\u003E). Sharks were not fed while in the holding pools to ensure they were motivated to track a food odor. The sharks were then released into the flume and their tracking behavior was observed.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESharks from the normal seawater pool and mid-level carbon dioxide pool spent more than 60 percent of their time in the water stream containing the food stimulus. Sharks from the high carbon dioxide pool spent less than 15 percent of their time in the water stream containing the food stimulus. These sharks avoided the odor plume even when it was on the side of the flume that the sharks\u2019 naturally prefer.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe food odor stream was pumped through bricks to make the plume flow better and to give the sharks a target to attack. Sharks treated under mid and high CO\u003Csub\u003E2\u003C\/sub\u003E\u0026nbsp;conditions also reduced their attack behavior.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThey significantly reduced their bumps and bites on the bricks compared to the control group,\u201d Dixson said. \u201cIt\u2019s like they\u2019re uninterested in their food.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EExposure to carbon dioxide did not significantly affect the sharks\u2019 overall activity levels. The gill rate of the sharks \u2013 an indicator of heart rate \u2013 held in different water conditions was not significantly different, suggesting that differences in stress to the sharks was not likely affecting the experimental results.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDixson noted that the study was carried out under laboratory conditions and thus does not allow for the full evaluation of the potential effects of ocean acidification on predatory abilities of the smooth dogfish.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELive food was not used as the odor cue because sharks can detect prey with their other senses, such as hearing and their ability to detect electrical impulses. By using an odor cue, the researchers were focusing on only the chemical sensing of sharks. Dixson\u2019s future work will explore how sharks\u2019 other senses might be affected by ocean acidification.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESharks are an ancient species, and in the past have adapted to ocean acidification conditions projected for the future. But they\u2019ve never had to adapt to changes happening as quickly as they are today.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s the rate of change that\u2019s happening that\u2019s concerning. Sharks have never had to deal with it this fast,\u201d Dixson said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis research is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under award number NSF-IOS-0843440. Any conclusions or opinions are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the sponsoring agency.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECITATION\u003C\/strong\u003E: Danielle L. Dixson, et al., \u201cOdor tracking in sharks is reduced under future ocean acidification conditions.\u201d (\u003Cem\u003EGlobal Change Biology\u003C\/em\u003E, August 2014)\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1111\/gcb.12678\/full\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1111\/gcb.12678\/full\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003Cbr \/\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003Cbr \/\u003E177 North Avenue\u003Cbr \/\u003EAtlanta, Georgia\u0026nbsp; 30332-0181\u0026nbsp; USA\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/GTResearchNews\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E@GTResearchNews\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts\u003C\/strong\u003E: Brett Israel (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/btiatl\u0022\u003E@btiatl\u003C\/a\u003E) (404-385-1933) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or John Toon (404-894-6986) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: Brett Israel\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The increasing acidification of ocean waters caused by rising atmospheric carbon dioxide levels could rob sharks of their ability to sense the smell of food, a new study suggests."}],"uid":"27902","created_gmt":"2014-09-09 09:15:20","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:04","author":"Brett Israel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-09-09T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-09-09T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"323041":{"id":"323041","type":"image","title":"Smooth dogfish shark","body":null,"created":"1449245025","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:03:45","changed":"1475895034","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:34","alt":"Smooth dogfish shark","file":{"fid":"201794","name":"smooth_dogfish_shark.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/smooth_dogfish_shark.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/smooth_dogfish_shark.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1236460,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/smooth_dogfish_shark.jpg?itok=ehhEwpzD"}},"323051":{"id":"323051","type":"image","title":"Shark mouth","body":null,"created":"1449245025","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:03:45","changed":"1475895034","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:34","alt":"Shark mouth","file":{"fid":"201795","name":"shark_mouth_view.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/shark_mouth_view.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/shark_mouth_view.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1793660,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/shark_mouth_view.jpg?itok=g_0l7yyt"}},"323061":{"id":"323061","type":"image","title":"Shark flume","body":null,"created":"1449245025","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:03:45","changed":"1475895034","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:34","alt":"Shark flume","file":{"fid":"201796","name":"shark_flume.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/shark_flume.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/shark_flume.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":953577,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/shark_flume.jpg?itok=-5U68mup"}}},"media_ids":["323041","323051","323061"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"154","name":"Environment"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[{"id":"102501","name":"cape code"},{"id":"831","name":"climate change"},{"id":"79191","name":"Danielle Dixson"},{"id":"4320","name":"ecology"},{"id":"169672","name":"shark feeding"},{"id":"169673","name":"Sharks"},{"id":"169674","name":"smooth dogfish"},{"id":"169675","name":"squids"},{"id":"102491","name":"woods hole"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71911","name":"Earth and Environment"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBrett Israel\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404-385-1933\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/btiatl\u0022\u003E@btiatl\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"322231":{"#nid":"322231","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Platelet-like particles augment natural blood clotting for treating trauma","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA new class of synthetic platelet-like particles could augment natural blood clotting for the emergency treatment of traumatic injuries \u2013 and potentially offer doctors a new option for curbing surgical bleeding and addressing certain blood clotting disorders without the need for transfusions of natural platelets.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe clotting particles, which are based on soft and deformable hydrogel materials, are triggered by the same factor that initiates the body\u2019s own clotting processes. Testing done in animal models and in a simulated circulatory system suggest that the particles are effective at slowing bleeding and can safely circulate in the bloodstream. The particles have been tested with human blood, but have not undergone clinical trials in humans.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESupported by the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the American Heart Association, the research was reported September 7, 2014, in the journal \u003Cem\u003ENature Materials\u003C\/em\u003E. Researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, Children\u2019s Healthcare of Atlanta and Arizona State University collaborated on the research.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhen used by emergency medical technicians in the civilian world or by medics in the military, we expect this technology could reduce the number of deaths from excessive bleeding,\u201d said Ashley Brown, a research scientist in the Georgia Tech \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.chemistry.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Chemistry and Biochemistry\u003C\/a\u003E and first author of the paper. \u201cIf EMTs and medics had particles like these that could be injected and then go specifically to the site of a serious injury, they could help decrease the number of deaths associated with serious injuries.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe bloodstream contains proteins known as fibrinogen that are the precursors for fibrin, the polymer that provides the basic structure for natural blood clots. When they receive the right signals from a protein known as thrombin, these precursors polymerize at the site of the bleeding. The synthetic platelet-like particles use the same trigger, and so are activated only when the body\u2019s natural clotting process is initiated.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo create that trigger, the researchers followed a process known as molecular evolution to develop an antibody that could be attached to the hydrogel particles to change their form when they encounter thrombin-activated fibrin. The resulting antibody has a high affinity for the polymerized form of fibrin and a low affinity for the precursor material.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cFibrin production is on the back end of the clotting process, so we feel that it is a safer place to try to interact with it,\u201d said Tom Barker, an associate professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.bme.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EWallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E at Georgia Tech and Emory University, and one of the paper\u2019s co-corresponding authors. \u201cThe specificity of this material provides a very important advantage in triggering clotting at just the right time.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe effectiveness of the platelet-like particles has been tested in an animal model and in a microfluidic chamber designed to simulate conditions within the body\u2019s circulatory system. In the chamber, tubes about the thickness of a human hair were lined with endothelial cells as in natural blood vessels.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe chamber was used to study normal human blood, as well as human blood that had been depleted of its natural platelets. In platelet-rich blood, clots formed as expected, and blood without platelets did not form clots. When the platelet-like particles were added to the platelet-depleted blood, it was able to clot.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers also tested blood from infants that had undergone open heart surgery, which requires that their blood be diluted, reducing its clotting ability. When platelet-like particles were added to the dilute neonate blood, it was able to form clots.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFinally, safety testing was done on blood from hemophiliac patients. Because that blood lacks the triggers needed to cause fibrin formation, the particles had no effect.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBefore they can be used in humans, the particles will have to undergo human trials and receive clearance from the U.S. Food \u0026amp; Drug Administration (FDA).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAbout one micron in diameter, the particles were originally developed to be used on the battlefield by wounded soldiers, who might self-administer them using a device about the size of a smartphone. But the researchers believe the particles could also reduce the need for platelet transfusions in patients undergoing chemotherapy or bypass surgery, and in those with certain blood disorders.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cFor a patient with insufficient platelets due to bleeding or an inherited disorder, physicians often have to resort to platelet transfusions, which can be difficult to obtain,\u201d said Dr. Wilbur Lam, another of the paper\u2019s co-authors and a physician in the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.choa.org\/childrens-hospital-services\/cancer-and-blood-disorders\u0022\u003EAflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center\u003C\/a\u003E at Children\u2019s Healthcare of Atlanta and the Department of Pediatrics at the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/med.emory.edu\/\u0022\u003EEmory University School of Medicine\u003C\/a\u003E. \u201cThese particles could potentially be a way to obviate the need for a transfusion. Though they don\u2019t have all the assets of natural platelets, a number of intriguing experiments have shown that the particles help augment the clotting process.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to providing new treatment options, the particles could also cut costs by reducing costly natural transfusions, said Lam, who is also an assistant professor in the Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhat ultimately happens to the hydrogel particles circulating in the bloodstream will be the topic of future research, noted Brown. Particles of similar size and composition are normally eliminated from the body.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile the platelet-like particles lack many features of natural platelets, the researchers were surprised to find one property in common. Clots formed by natural platelets begin to contract over a period of hours, starting the body\u2019s repair process. Clots formed from the synthetic particles also contract, but over a longer period of time, Brown noted.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to those already mentioned, co-authors of the paper included Andrew Lyon, co-corresponding author and dean of the College of Science and Technology at Chapman University; Sarah Stabenfeldt, co-first author and now an assistant professor at Arizona State University; Byungwook Ahn, Riley Hannan and Victoria Stefanelli, from the Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering; Kabir Dhada and Emily Herman from the Georgia Tech School of Chemistry and Biochemistry; Dr. Nina Guzzetta from the Division of Pediatric Cardiology at Children\u2019s Healthcare of Atlanta and Emory University School of Medicine; and Alexander Alexeev from the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECITATION\u003C\/strong\u003E: Ashley Brown, et al., \u201cUltrasoft microgels displaying emergent platelet-like behaviours,\u201d Nature Materials, 2014.\u003Ca href=\u0022\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1038\/nmat4066\u0022\u003E http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1038\/nmat4066\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis research was supported by the National Institutes of Health under awards HHSN268201000043C, R21EB013743 and R01EB011566; the John and Mary Brock Discovery Research Fund; the Department of Defense under award W81XWH1110306, and an American Heart Association Postdoctoral Fellowship. The opinions expressed in this news release are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the sponsoring agencies.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E177 North Avenue\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, Georgia\u0026nbsp; 30332-0181\u0026nbsp; USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon (404-894-6986) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or Brett Israel (404-385-1933) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA new class of synthetic platelet-like particles could augment natural blood clotting for the emergency treatment of traumatic injuries \u2013 and potentially offer doctors a new option for curbing surgical bleeding and addressing certain blood clotting disorders without the need for transfusions of natural platelets.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A new class of synthetic platelet-like particles could augment natural blood clotting for the treatment of traumatic injuries."}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2014-09-07 14:35:56","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:04","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-09-07T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-09-07T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"322181":{"id":"322181","type":"image","title":"Antibodies in particles","body":null,"created":"1449245011","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:03:31","changed":"1475895032","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:32","alt":"Antibodies in particles","file":{"fid":"200135","name":"platelet-like145.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/platelet-like145_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/platelet-like145_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1071409,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/platelet-like145_0.jpg?itok=cW9FM4pC"}},"322191":{"id":"322191","type":"image","title":"Antibodies in particles2","body":null,"created":"1449245011","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:03:31","changed":"1475895032","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:32","alt":"Antibodies in particles2","file":{"fid":"200136","name":"platelet-like94.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/platelet-like94_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/platelet-like94_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1180415,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/platelet-like94_0.jpg?itok=YFZ3MXdB"}},"322211":{"id":"322211","type":"image","title":"Platelet activation steps","body":null,"created":"1449245011","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:03:31","changed":"1475895032","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:32","alt":"Platelet activation steps","file":{"fid":"200138","name":"clotting-steps.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/clotting-steps_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/clotting-steps_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":240047,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/clotting-steps_0.jpg?itok=6n729y56"}},"322221":{"id":"322221","type":"image","title":"Anatomy of platelet-like particle","body":null,"created":"1449245011","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:03:31","changed":"1475895032","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:32","alt":"Anatomy of platelet-like particle","file":{"fid":"200139","name":"platelet-like.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/platelet-like_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/platelet-like_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":150256,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/platelet-like_0.jpg?itok=IJc81vvp"}},"322201":{"id":"322201","type":"image","title":"Antibodies in particles3","body":null,"created":"1449245011","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:03:31","changed":"1475895032","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:32","alt":"Antibodies in particles3","file":{"fid":"200137","name":"platelet-like171.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/platelet-like171_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/platelet-like171_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1195688,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/platelet-like171_0.jpg?itok=VWkxdZWI"}}},"media_ids":["322181","322191","322211","322221","322201"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"102041","name":"bleeding"},{"id":"1440","name":"blood"},{"id":"23731","name":"blood clotting"},{"id":"14219","name":"Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering"},{"id":"102051","name":"platelet-like particles"},{"id":"36131","name":"platelets"},{"id":"14575","name":"Tom Barker"},{"id":"526","name":"trauma"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"39471","name":"Materials"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71891","name":"Health and Medicine"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearch News\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E(404) 894-6986\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"321491":{"#nid":"321491","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Sequencing of five African fishes reveals diverse molecular mechanisms underlying evolution","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EResearchers have sequenced the genomes and transcriptomes of five species of African cichlid fishes and uncovered a variety of features that enabled the fishes to thrive in new habitats and ecological niches within the Great Lakes of East Africa.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe study helps explain the genetic basis for the incredible diversity among cichlid fishes and provides new information about vertebrate evolution. The genomic information from the study will help answer questions about human biology and disease.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Our study reveals a spectrum of methods that nature uses to allow organisms to adapt to different environments,\u201d said co-senior author Kerstin Lindblad-Toh, scientific director of vertebrate genome biology at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, a biomedical and genomic research center. \u201cThese mechanisms are likely also at work in humans and other vertebrates, and by focusing on the remarkably diverse cichlid fishes, we were able to study this process on a broad scale for the first time.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe new study was published in the September 3 advance online edition of the journal \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1038\/nature13726\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003ENature\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E. The work was a collaboration between the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, the Georgia Institute of Technology, and the Eawag Swiss Federal Institute for Aquatic Sciences, in addition to more than 70 scientists from the international cichlid research community.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAfrican cichlid fishes are some of the most diverse organisms on the planet, with over 2,000 known species. Some lakes are home to hundreds of distinct species that evolved from a common ancestral species in the Nile River. Like Darwin\u2019s finches, the cichlids are a dramatic example of adaptive radiation, the process by which multiple species radiate from an ancestral species through adaptation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the new study, the researchers sequenced the genomes and transcriptomes \u2013 the protein-coding RNA - from ten tissues of five distinct lineages of African cichlids. The sequenced species include the Nile tilapia, representing the ancestral lineage, and four East African species: a species that inhabits a river near Lake Tanganyika; a species from Lake Tanganyika colonized 10-20 million years ago; a cichlid species from Lake Malawi colonized 5 million years ago; and species from Lake Victoria where the fish radiated only 15,000 to 100,000 years ago.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers found a number of genomic changes at play in the adaptive radiation. Compared to the ancestral lineage, the East African cichlid genomes possess an excess of gene duplications, alterations in regulatory elements in the genome, accelerated evolution of protein-coding elements in genes for pigmentation, and other distinct features that affect gene expression.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s not one big change in the genome of this fish, but lots of different molecular mechanisms used to achieve this amazing adaptation and speciation,\u201d said Federica Di Palma, co-senior author of the \u003Cem\u003ENature\u003C\/em\u003E study and director of science in vertebrate and health genomics at The Genome Analysis Center in the UK.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESome changes in the genome appear to have accumulated before the species left the rivers to colonize lakes and radiated into hundreds of species. This suggests that the cichlids were once in a period of reduced constraint. During this time, the fishes accumulated diversity through genetic mutations, and the relaxed constraint \u2013 in which all individuals thrived, not just the fittest \u2013 allowed genetic variation to accumulate. As the fish later inhabited new environmental niches within the lakes, new species could form quickly through selection. In this way, a reservoir of mutations \u2013 and resultant phenotypes \u2013 represented a genomic toolkit that allowed quick adaptation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMore work remains to fully dissect the mutations that cause each of the varying phenotypes in cichlid fish, which could help explain how similar forms or traits evolved in parallel in different lakes.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022By learning how natural populations, such as fishes, adapt and evolve under selective pressures, we can learn how these pressures affect humans in terms of health and disease,\u201d Di Palma said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETodd Streelman, professor in the School of Biology at Georgia Tech and a co-author of the study, studies Lake Malawi cichlid species to address biological questions that are difficult to study in traditional model organisms.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022These fishes provide a great way to identify the genes that control traits in natural populations,\u0022 Streelman said. \u201cNow that we understand the genome sequences of some of these species, it\u2019s a lot easier to interpret all of the new genetic and genomic data we collect in the lab.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHis lab studies natural mechanisms of lifelong tooth replacement and the genomics of complex social behavior using closely-related Malawi cichlids. The new genome sequence of the Lake Malawi cichlid will allow Streelman\u2019s lab to investigate which genes are turned on or off during these processes.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStreelman\u0027s research group cultures roughly 25 different Malawi cichlid species in aquatic facilities at Georgia Tech, through research funded by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis work was funded in part by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), the Swiss National Science Foundation, the German Science Foundation, Biomedical Research Council of A*STAR, Singapore, the European Research Council, US National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), and the Wellcome Trust.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECITATION: \u003C\/strong\u003EDavid Brawand, et al.\u0022The genomic substrate for adaptive radiation in African cichlid fish.\u0022 (\u003Cem\u003ENature,\u003C\/em\u003E September 2014) \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1038\/nature13726\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1038\/nature13726\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E177 North Avenue\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, Georgia\u0026nbsp; 30332-0181\u0026nbsp; USA\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/gtresearchnews\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E@GTResearchNews\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts:\u003C\/strong\u003E Brett Israel (\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/btiatl\u0022\u003E@btiatl\u003C\/a\u003E) (404-385-1933) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or John Toon (404-894-6986) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter:\u003C\/strong\u003E Leah Eisenstadt, Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Researchers have sequenced the genomes and transcriptomes of five species of African cichlid fishes and uncovered a variety of features that enabled the fishes to thrive in new habitats and ecological niches within the Great Lakes of East Africa."}],"uid":"27902","created_gmt":"2014-09-04 10:57:32","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:59","author":"Brett Israel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-09-04T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-09-04T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"321481":{"id":"321481","type":"image","title":"Male cichlid fish","body":null,"created":"1449245011","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:03:31","changed":"1475895032","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:32","alt":"Male cichlid fish","file":{"fid":"200117","name":"male_composite_blend_-_resized.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/male_composite_blend_-_resized_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/male_composite_blend_-_resized_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1932770,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/male_composite_blend_-_resized_0.jpg?itok=P8mCCZlU"}},"321501":{"id":"321501","type":"image","title":"Cichlid fish","body":null,"created":"1449245011","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:03:31","changed":"1475895032","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:32","alt":"Cichlid fish","file":{"fid":"200118","name":"6_male_-_resized.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/6_male_-_resized_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/6_male_-_resized_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2640131,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/6_male_-_resized_0.jpg?itok=O4ODyQYn"}},"321471":{"id":"321471","type":"image","title":"Professor Todd Streelman","body":null,"created":"1449245011","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:03:31","changed":"1475895032","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:32","alt":"Professor Todd Streelman","file":{"fid":"200116","name":"streelman.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/streelman_1.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/streelman_1.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":581066,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/streelman_1.jpg?itok=15NLMer4"}}},"media_ids":["321481","321501","321471"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"154","name":"Environment"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[{"id":"101761","name":"africa fish"},{"id":"101771","name":"broad institute"},{"id":"101751","name":"cichlid fish"},{"id":"1896","name":"Genomics"},{"id":"2863","name":"Todd Streelman"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71911","name":"Earth and Environment"},{"id":"71891","name":"Health and Medicine"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBrett Israel\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404-385-1933\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/btiatl\u0022\u003E@btiatl\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"320831":{"#nid":"320831","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Study shows cellular RNA can template DNA repair in yeast","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe ability to accurately repair DNA damaged by spontaneous errors, oxidation or mutagens is crucial to the survival of cells. This repair is normally accomplished by using an identical or homologous intact sequence of DNA, but scientists have now shown that RNA produced within cells of a common budding yeast can serve as a template for repairing the most devastating DNA damage \u2013 a break in both strands of a DNA helix.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEarlier research had shown that synthetic RNA oligonucleotides introduced into cells could help repair DNA breaks, but the new study is believed to be the first to show that a cell\u2019s own RNA could be used for DNA recombination and repair. The finding provides a better understanding of how cells maintain genomic stability, and if the phenomenon extends to human cells, could potentially lead to new therapeutic or prevention strategies for genetic-based disease.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research was supported by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and the Georgia Research Alliance. The results were reported September 3, 2014, in the journal \u003Cem\u003ENature\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe have found that genetic information can flow from RNA to DNA in a homology-driven manner, from cellular RNA to a homologous DNA sequence,\u201d said Francesca Storici, an associate professor in the School of Biology at the Georgia Institute of Technology and senior author of the paper. \u201cThis process is moving the genetic information in the opposite direction from which it normally flows. We have shown that when an endogenous RNA molecule can anneal to broken homologous DNA without being removed, the RNA can repair the damaged DNA. This finding reveals the existence of a novel mechanism of genetic recombination.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMost newly-transcribed RNA is quickly exported from the nucleus to the cytoplasm of cells to perform its many essential roles in gene coding and expression, and in regulation of cell operations. Generally, RNA is kept away from \u2013 or removed from \u2013 nuclear DNA. In fact, it is known that annealing of RNA with complementary chromosomal DNA is dangerous for cells because it may impair transcription elongation and DNA replication, promoting genome instability.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis new study reveals that under conditions of genotoxic stress, such as a break in DNA, the role of RNA paired with complementary DNA may be different, and beneficial, for a cell. \u201cWe discovered a mechanism in which transcript RNA anneals with complementary broken DNA and serves as a template for recombination and DNA repair, and thus has a role in both modifying and stabilizing the genome,\u201d Storici explained.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDNA damage can arise from a variety of causes both inside and outside the cell. Because the DNA consists of two complementary strands, one strand can normally be used to repair damage to the other. However, if the cell sustains breakage in both strands \u2013 known as a double-strand break \u2013 the repair options are more limited. Simply rejoining the broken ends carries a high risk of unwanted mutations or chromosome rearrangement, which can cause undesirable effects including cancer. Without successful repair, however, the cell may die or be unable to carry out important functions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBeginning in 2007, Storici\u2019s research team showed that synthetic RNA introduced into cells \u2013 including human cells \u2013 could repair DNA damage, but the process was inefficient and there were questions about whether the process could occur naturally.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo find out whether cells could use endogenous RNA transcripts to repair DNA damage, she and graduate students Havva Keskin and Ying Shen \u2013 who are first and second authors on the paper \u2013 devised experiments using the yeast \u003Cem\u003ESaccharomyces cerevisiae\u003C\/em\u003E, which is widely used in the lab for genetics and genome engineering. The researchers developed a strategy for distinguishing repair by endogenous RNA from repair by the normal DNA-based mechanisms in the budding yeast cells, including using mutants that lacked the ability to convert the RNA into a DNA copy. They then induced a DNA double-strand break in the yeast genome and observed whether the organism could survive and grow by repairing the damage using only transcript RNA within the cells.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe DNA region that generates the transcript was constructed to contain a marker gene interrupted by an intron, which is a sequence that is removed only from the RNA during the process of transcription, explained Keskin. Following intron removal, the transcript RNA sequence has no intron, while the DNA region that generates the transcript retains the intron; thus they are distinguishable. Only the repair templated by the transcript devoid of the intron can restore the function of a homologous marker gene in which the DNA double-strand break is induced, she added.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers measured success by counting the number of yeast colonies growing on a Petri dish, indicating that the repair had been made by endogenous RNA. Testing was done on two types of breaks, one in the DNA from which the RNA transcript had been made, and the other in a homologous sequence from a different location in the DNA.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research team, which also included scientists from Drexel University, found that proximity of the RNA to the broken DNA increased the efficiency of the repair and that the repair occurred via a homologous recombination process. Storici believes that the repair mechanism may operate in cells beyond yeast, and that many types of RNA can be used.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe are showing that the flow of genetic information from RNA to DNA is not restricted to retro-elements and telomeres, but occurs with a generic cellular transcript, making it more of a general phenomenon than had been anticipated,\u201d she explained. \u201cPotentially, any RNA in the cell could have this function.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor the future, Storici hopes to learn more about the mechanism, including what regulates it. She also wants to learn whether it takes place in human cells. If so, that could have implications for treating or preventing diseases that are caused by genetic damage.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cCells synthesize lots of RNA transcripts during their life spans; therefore, RNA may have an unanticipated impact on genomic stability and plasticity,\u201d said Storici, who is also a Georgia Research Alliance Distinguished Cancer Scientist. \u201cWe need to understand in which situations cells would activate RNA-DNA recombination. Better understanding this molecular process could also help us manipulate mechanisms for therapy, allowing us to treat a disease or prevent it altogether.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to Storici, the paper\u2019s authors include Alexander Mazin, a professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Drexel University; postdoctoral fellow Fei Huang and graduate student Mikir Patel, also from Drexel; Havva Keskin, a Georgia Tech graduate student; Ying Shen, a Ph.D. graduate from Georgia Tech who is now a postdoctoral fellow at Boston University School of Medicine; and graduate student Taehwan Yang and undergraduate student Katie Ashley from School of Biology at Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis research is supported by the National Science Foundation under award number MCB-1021763, by the National Institutes of Health under award numbers CA100839 and P30CA056036, and by the Georgia Research Alliance under award number R9028. Any conclusions or opinions are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the sponsoring agencies.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECITATION\u003C\/strong\u003E: Havva Keskin, et al., \u201cTranscript-RNA-templated DNA recombination and repair,\u201d Nature 2014. \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1038\/nature13682\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1038\/nature13682\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E177 North Avenue\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, Georgia\u0026nbsp; 30332\u0026nbsp; USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) (404-894-6986) or Brett Israel (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) (404-385-1933).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe ability to accurately repair DNA damaged by spontaneous errors, oxidation or mutagens is crucial to the survival of cells. This repair is normally accomplished by using an identical or homologous intact sequence of DNA, but scientists have now shown that RNA produced within cells of a common budding yeast can serve as a template for repairing the most devastating DNA damage \u2013 a break in both strands of a DNA helix.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Scientists have shown that RNA from within cells of a common yeast can serve as a template for repairing DNA."}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2014-09-03 09:43:25","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:59","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-09-03T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-09-03T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"320771":{"id":"320771","type":"image","title":"Budding yeast colonies2","body":null,"created":"1449244997","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:03:17","changed":"1475895029","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:29","alt":"Budding yeast colonies2","file":{"fid":"200090","name":"rna-templating8.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/rna-templating8_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/rna-templating8_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":833964,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/rna-templating8_0.jpg?itok=0oycMV5m"}},"320761":{"id":"320761","type":"image","title":"Budding yeast colonies","body":null,"created":"1449244997","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:03:17","changed":"1475895029","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:29","alt":"Budding yeast colonies","file":{"fid":"200089","name":"rna-templating7.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/rna-templating7_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/rna-templating7_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":778281,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/rna-templating7_0.jpg?itok=Z92-WkPD"}},"320781":{"id":"320781","type":"image","title":"Counting yeast colonies","body":null,"created":"1449244997","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:03:17","changed":"1475895029","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:29","alt":"Counting yeast colonies","file":{"fid":"200091","name":"rna-templating9.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/rna-templating9_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/rna-templating9_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1191146,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/rna-templating9_0.jpg?itok=4ZhnS6uK"}},"320791":{"id":"320791","type":"image","title":"RNA template for DNA repair","body":null,"created":"1449244997","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:03:17","changed":"1475895029","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:29","alt":"RNA template for DNA repair","file":{"fid":"200092","name":"rna-templating5.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/rna-templating5_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/rna-templating5_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":979165,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/rna-templating5_0.jpg?itok=HGTazdS0"}}},"media_ids":["320771","320761","320781","320791"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"140","name":"Cancer Research"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"1041","name":"dna"},{"id":"101561","name":"DNA recombination"},{"id":"2638","name":"DNA repair"},{"id":"13560","name":"Francesca Storici"},{"id":"984","name":"RNA"},{"id":"101571","name":"template RNA"},{"id":"101541","name":"transcript RNA"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71891","name":"Health and Medicine"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearch News\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E(404) 894-6986\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"320001":{"#nid":"320001","#data":{"type":"news","title":"New Engagement","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA new group of Project ENGAGES students has been absorbed into the day-to-day fascia of the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, while some familiar faces have disappeared from the landscape, leaving the Georgia Institute of Technology campus to pursue promising futures. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESix students from the inaugural class of Project ENGAGES graduated high school in the spring, and after working full-time through the summer, they\u2019ve moved on with the next phase of their education. They are David Alexander (Valdosta State), Robert Hughley (Georgia College and State University), Solomon McBride (Brandeis University), Imani Moon (North Carolina A\u0026amp;T), Christopher Seaborn (Western Carolina University) and Jasmine Woodard (Howard University). \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cI kind of hate to leave already, this has been a great experience,\u201d says Hughley, now attending Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville. \u201cBut I plan to be here again. I\u2019d like to give something back, maybe help the next group of Project ENGAGES students, next summer.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMeanwhile, a bunch of new high school students are working in labs across campus, including nine on the biotech track, based at the Petit Institute (eight new students are on the engineering track, developed under the leadership of the Georgia Tech Research Institute). Through Project ENGAGES, they\u2019re provided an opportunity to do science, and get paid for their work, as opposed to just reading about it in a high school textbook \u2013 their time in the lab is a job, something a bit more interesting (and demanding) than flipping burgers or bagging groceries. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EStill, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/projectengage.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EProject ENGAGES\u003C\/a\u003E seeks to do more than provide a part-time job (full-time in the summer) for some smart local high school kids. The program aims to raise the students\u2019 awareness of the world of engineering, science and technology, and inspire them to dream big and consider wider possibilities that might not have been accessible to them before. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EGolden opportunity or not, for some students it requires a larger-than-usual commitment, and a lot of drive with laser-like focus.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E \u201cTime management is the biggest challenge,\u201d says Qwantayvious Stiggers, who answers to Tay but is called Stiggers by his colleagues in the Cellular and Macromolecular Engineering Lab run by Krish Roy. \u201cYou can\u2019t waste time in this kind of program, and that\u2019s the hardest thing \u2013 balancing lab work, sports and school. But I\u2019m always busy. I don\u2019t like being non-active, I can\u2019t just do \u2026 nothing.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EStiggers, who says he is never stuck in idle, is a senior at B.E.S.T. Academy, an all-boys school and one of three area high schools partnering with Georgia Tech in Project ENGAGES (the others are Coretta Scott King Women\u2019s Leadership Academy and KIPP Atlanta Collegiate High School). He is juggling responsibilities and is determined to get the most of out of the Project ENGAGES experience. He\u2019s the man of the house, the oldest of four boys who live with their mom. At school, he\u2019s played for the football, basketball and golf teams, been involved with student government and the Spanish club, and is a member of the National Honor Society. His love of science was sparked in the seventh grade. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cI had a teacher who allowed us to do a lot of experiments, and that hands-on experience jump-started my mind,\u201d says Stiggers, who took second place in the oral presentation competition at the Project ENGAGES Summer Celebration in August (see complete list of winners below this story). So, it\u2019s still early in the second year of the program, but Stiggers seems to be somewhat typical of the high school researchers working now in Tech\u2019s labs \u2013 over-achievers, most of them, ambitious and busy young people on the path to productive lives. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAlexus Clark, for example, is a junior at the King Women\u2019s Leadership Academy (so she\u2019ll be back for a second year, 2015-2016) who has been involved with Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) and Health Occupations Students of America for the past several years, and also participates in Junior Achievement, the F.A.S.T. Track Program and the Learners to Leaders program. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cI want to pursue pharmacology and start my own pharmaceutical company,\u201d says Clark, who is getting her first taste of research, and she likes it. \u201cI\u2019ve had many shadowing opportunities but nothing compares to actually researching along with the best scientists in the world. I am no longer just learning about the subject, but applying it to real-world problems that have no solution for them.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EYet. No solution yet. That\u2019s another reason why Project ENGAGES exists \u2013 to help develop future generations of engineers and scientists who will find those solutions. Naturally, it takes a group effort \u2013 professors to offer their labs, and especially mentors culled from the graduate student body to work side by side with the high school students. Each first-year ENGAGES student is paired with a mentor following summer boot camp \u2013 they do this through a \u2018speed-dating\u2019 process. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EKeeping in mind that the Project ENGAGES students are high school kids, and not trained scientists, there is a learning curve, which means mentors spend plenty of time drilling the fundamentals of research processes. Kirsten Parratt is Stiggers\u2019 mentor (in Krish Roy\u2019s Laboratory for Cellular and Macromolecular Engineering), and she spent the summer training him on the basics of cell culture, methacrylation chemistry, hydrogel production, and histology, with the hope, \u201cthat he\u2019ll be able to perform these same techniques mostly unsupervised,\u201d says Parratt, who considers her experience time well spent. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cI\u2019ve found the mentoring experience very rewarding,\u201d says Parratt, who already was a graduate research assistant in Roy\u2019s lab. \u201cI believe that all of the ENGAGES kids are getting a wonderful experience which will benefit them in college. The program has been well organized so that the mentors can work the kids into a graduate student schedule. It\u2019s been helpful for my own studies as I\u2019m forced to explain every aspect of a concept and realize quickly where the gaps in my knowledge are.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAnd Stiggers is stretching his brain like he never has before, mental calisthenics for the long, productive road ahead. This is his senior of high school, and he\u2019s considering his college choices, preferring Auburn, Clark Atlanta, the University of Tennessee, or Texas A\u0026amp;M, planning to focus on biomedical engineering, but minor in African-American studies. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cI don\u2019t want to be seen as having just a science head,\u201d he says. \u201cBut the reason I\u2019m interested in science is because we will never know everything. It\u2019s a continuing journey of search and discovery. The opportunities are wide open.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EProject ENGAGES Presentation Awards\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOral Presentation\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003E1 \u2013 Katrina Burch (biotechnology) \u003Cbr \/\u003E2 (tie) \u2013 Qwyantavious Stiggers (biotechnology) \u003Cbr \/\u003E2 - MARC team \u2013 Christelle Ingram, Jessie Smith, Quentin Spear (engineering) Honorable Mention: Alexus Clark (biotechnology), Angelo Matos (engineering) \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EPoster Presentation \u003Cbr \/\u003E1 \u2013 Aundre Abner (engineering) \u003Cbr \/\u003E2 \u2013 Taren Carter (biotechnology) Honorable Mention: Jasmine Cutter (biotechnology), Kendreze Holland (biotechnology), Justin Hutchins (engineering), Jovanay Carter (biotechnology)\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Project ENGAGES introduces new students to wider possibilities"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EProject ENGAGES introduces new students to wider possibilities\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Project ENGAGES introduces new students to wider possibilities"}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-08-29 09:28:24","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:59","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-09-02T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-09-02T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"319981":{"id":"319981","type":"image","title":"Qwantayvious Stiggers, a senior from B.E.S.T. Academy, with Manu Platt, PhD, Co-Chair of Project ENGAGES","body":null,"created":"1449244997","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:03:17","changed":"1475895029","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:29","alt":"Qwantayvious Stiggers, a senior from B.E.S.T. Academy, with Manu Platt, PhD, Co-Chair of Project ENGAGES","file":{"fid":"200078","name":"stiggers_and_platt.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/stiggers_and_platt_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/stiggers_and_platt_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1284266,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/stiggers_and_platt_0.jpg?itok=Xj8WRbTc"}},"320011":{"id":"320011","type":"image","title":"Alexus Clark, a junior at the Coretta Scott King Women\u0027s Leadership Academy, is in her first year of Project ENGAGES","body":null,"created":"1449244997","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:03:17","changed":"1475895029","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:29","alt":"Alexus Clark, a junior at the Coretta Scott King Women\u0027s Leadership Academy, is in her first year of Project ENGAGES","file":{"fid":"200079","name":"alexus.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/alexus_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/alexus_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1091288,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/alexus_0.jpg?itok=00hDoDfL"}}},"media_ids":["319981","320011"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/projectengage.gatech.edu\/","title":"Project ENGAGES website"}],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"126581","name":"go-ProjectEngages"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:%20jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for \u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering \u0026amp; Bioscicne\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"319741":{"#nid":"319741","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Temenoff Heading GTBioMAT","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;Johnna Temenoff was recently named principal investigator (PI), for the Georgia Tech Training Program for Rationally Designed, Integrative Biomaterials (GTBioMAT), and her predecessor, Ravi Bellamkonda, offers a very good reason why. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cJohnna literally wrote the book on the subject,\u201d says Bellamkonda, referring to \u003Cem\u003EBiomaterials: The Intersection of Biology and Materials Science\u003C\/em\u003E, the award-winning undergraduate textbook Temenoff that co-authored (with her mentor at Rice University, A.G. Mikos). Published in 2008, the book has been adopted by more than 40 universities in the U.S. and has been published in three international editions. In 2010, it won the Meriam-Wiley Award for Best New Engineering Textbook by the American Society for Engineering Education. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBut Temenoff, an associate professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) and faculty member of the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, not only has written the story \u2013 she is immersed in it, playing a leading role in the growing body of biomaterials research and study, while ardently supporting the work of Georgia Tech\u2019s biotech graduate students. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cJohnna has been an integral part of the Graduate Leadership Program, and has a strong commitment to graduate education. She is also emerging in the field nationally. \u0022I look forward to our training program attaining greater heights under her leadership,\u201d says Bellamkonda, who chairs the Coulter Department (a collaborative between Tech and Emory). \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EGTBioMAT, sponsored through a grant from the NIH\u2019s National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, offers advanced training for pre-doctoral students in the rational design, synthesis, and application of the next generation of integrative biomaterials. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EStudents receive comprehensive and integrated training, which includes fundamental and interdisciplinary courses (such as the training program\u2019s capstone Rational Design of Biomaterials course and lab), two laboratory rotations (one is a \u2018materials synthesis\u2019 and the other is an \u2018application\/clinical\u2019 experience), and informal interactions with clinicians to gain more insight into the clinical setting. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAnd GTBioMAT, which also helps trainees develop in other areas (such as leadership, values, and personal development through participation in the aforementioned Graduate Leadership Program), is growing \u2013 the NIH added an additional two student slots per year, which Temenoff says, \u201cmakes this an exciting time to become the PI. As a co-director for the past three years, I now more fully understand how this grant contributes to building the biomaterials community at Georgia Tech and Emory. Through this new position, I look forward to creating even more opportunities for faculty and students to interact within our already vibrant research environment.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Former co-director becomes PI of integrative training program"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;Former co-director becomes PI of integrative training program\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Former co-director becomes PI of integrative training program"}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-08-28 12:48:22","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:59","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-08-28T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-08-28T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"319751":{"id":"319751","type":"image","title":"Johnna Temenoff, PhD - Director of GTBioMAT program, associate professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering","body":null,"created":"1449244997","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:03:17","changed":"1475895029","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:29","alt":"Johnna Temenoff, PhD - Director of GTBioMAT program, associate professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering","file":{"fid":"200068","name":"johnnatemenoff2014.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/johnnatemenoff2014_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/johnnatemenoff2014_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1229257,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/johnnatemenoff2014_0.jpg?itok=dK9HXXrW"}}},"media_ids":["319751"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/temenoff.gatech.edu\/","title":"Temenoff Lab website"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.gtbiomat.gatech.edu\/","title":"GTBioMAT website"}],"groups":[{"id":"1254","name":"Wallace H. Coulter Dept. of Biomedical Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering \u0026amp; Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"318261":{"#nid":"318261","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Petit Scholar","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFor 15 years the Petit Undergraduate Research Scholars program has been like a gift that keeps on giving for talented young researchers, creating valuable opportunities for the next generation of leaders in bioengineering and bioscience. Take Mohamad Ali Najia, for example. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ENajia, a Georgia Institute of Technology senior, was selected as a Petit Scholar in January 2012. Since then, he\u2019s spent two successive summers in different corners of the United States at two of the world\u2019s leading research institutions, he\u2019s earned a Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship (the most prestigious undergraduate award given in the sciences) and been named an Amgen Scholar. That last one, the Amgen honor, is the reason he spent this past summer at the University of California in Berkeley. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cI\u2019m applying to grad schools, trying to figure out where I\u2019d like to be, but after spending the summer at Berkeley, I think I caught the California bug. It was one of the best summers of my life,\u201d says Najia, who expects to graduate in December. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESo he may or may not wind up in California. Last summer, 2013, he was selected to participate in the MIT-Harvard Bioinformatics and Integrative Genomics (BIG) Summer Fellowship Program. So he spent that summer in his hometown of Boston. The California summer, he says, was much more fun. Every morning at 6 a.m. he ran up the hill to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, getting into the California groove, so maybe he will run west. Or not. He\u2019s got plenty of options, and has plenty of useful experience behind him, and he says the Petit Scholar program is the major reason for that. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cIt made me more competitive for the Goldwater Scholarship, and having the Petit Scholar experience behind me, I think, really set me apart in becoming an Amgen Scholar at Berkeley,\u201d he says. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBut then, this is the kind of thing you might expect to hear from one of these Petit Scholars, according to program coordinator Colly Mitchell. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cSince completing the Petit Scholars program, Mohamad\u2019s journey is a prime example of the doors that open for these highly motivated young researchers after a year of focused and purposeful research,\u201d Mitchell says. \u201cThe connections he made put him on his path to a number of top-notch fellowship programs which will now allow him to choose from the best graduate programs in the country.\u0022 \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe program, which is open to all Atlanta area university students (i.e., not just Georgia Tech), provides a comprehensive research experience for a full year. Undergraduates can conduct independent research in the state-of-the-art laboratories of the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience. \u003Cbr \/\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003ESince its inception in 2000, the program has supported over 200 scholars from Georgia Tech, Morehouse College, Spelman College, Georgia State University, Emory University, Agnes Scott College and Georgia Gwinnett College. These are elite undergraduate researchers who have gone on to distinguished careers in research, medicine and industry. Originally, it was a just summer program a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant awarded to the Georgia Tech\/Emory Center for Tissue Engineering. But the program was expanded to a full year research opportunity that has grown from funding eight to 10 scholars per year to 19 scholars in 2014.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003ENajia spent his program year working in Todd McDevitt\u2019s lab, designing and working with biomanufacturing techniques to process and scale up production of stem cells for potential potential therapies. It\u2019s an endeavor he was working on before becoming a Petit Scholar, and one he continues with.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E \u201cWe want to make stem cells viable for medical therapy,\u201d says Najia, who plans on pursuing a PhD in bioengineering. \u201cRegarding longer term goals, I see myself as a principal investigator in some capacity. I stray back and forth between academia, industry and government, but that leaves plenty of room for exploration.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Competitive research program launches opportunity for Mohamad Ali Najia."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ECompetitive research program launches opportunity for Mohamad Ali Najia.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Competitive research program launches opportunity for Mohamad Ali Najia."}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-08-22 12:05:15","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:56","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-08-25T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-08-25T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"318251":{"id":"318251","type":"image","title":"Mohamad Ali Najia - 2012 Petit Scholar and 2014 Goldwater Scholar","body":null,"created":"1449244974","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:02:54","changed":"1475895027","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:27","alt":"Mohamad Ali Najia - 2012 Petit Scholar and 2014 Goldwater Scholar","file":{"fid":"199999","name":"najiamohamad2014-square.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/najiamohamad2014-square_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/najiamohamad2014-square_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":4104732,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/najiamohamad2014-square_0.jpg?itok=lfN5uZ6u"}}},"media_ids":["318251"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.petitinstitute.gatech.edu\/petit-scholars","title":"Petit Scholars website"},{"url":"http:\/\/mcdevitt.gatech.edu\/profile\/mohamad-ali-najia","title":"McDevitt lab - Najia profile"}],"groups":[{"id":"1254","name":"Wallace H. Coulter Dept. of Biomedical Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering \u0026amp; Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"317821":{"#nid":"317821","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Marine protected areas might not be enough to help overfished reefs recover","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EPacific corals and fish can both smell a bad neighborhood, and use that ability to avoid settling in damaged reefs.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDamaged coral reefs emit chemical cues that repulse young coral and fish, discouraging them from settling in the degraded habitat, according to new research. The study shows for the first time that coral larvae can smell the difference between healthy and damaged reefs when they decide where to settle.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECoral reefs are declining around the world. Overfishing is one cause of coral collapse, depleting the herbivorous fish that remove the seaweed that sprouts in damaged reefs. Once seaweed takes hold of a reef, a tipping point can occur where coral growth is choked and new corals rarely settle.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe new study shows how chemical signals from seaweed repel young coral from settling in a seaweed-dominated area. Young fish were also not attracted to the smell of water from damaged reefs. The findings suggest that designating overfished coral reefs as marine protected areas may not be enough to help these reefs recover because chemical signals continue to drive away new fish and coral long after overfishing has stopped.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIf you\u2019re setting up a marine protected area to seed recruitment into a degraded habitat, that recruitment may not happen if young fish and coral are not recognizing the degraded area as habitat,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/people\/danielle-dixson\u0022\u003EDanielle Dixson\u003C\/a\u003E, an assistant professor in the School of Biology at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, and the study\u0027s first author.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe study will be published August 22 in the journal \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.sciencemag.org\/content\/345\/6199\/892\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EScience\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E. The research was sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Teasley Endowment to Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe new study examined three marine areas in Fiji that had adjacent fished areas. The country has established no-fishing areas to protect its healthy habitats and also to allow damaged reefs to recover over time.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EJuveniles of both corals and fishes were repelled by chemical cues from overfished, seaweed-dominated reefs but attracted to cues from coral-dominated areas where fishing is prohibited. Both coral and fish larvae preferred certain chemical cues from species of coral that are indicators of a healthy habitat, and they both avoided certain seaweeds that are indicators of a degraded habitat.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe study for the first time tested coral larvae in a method that has been used previously to test fish, and found that young coral have strong preferences for odors from healthy reefs.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Not only are coral smelling good areas versus bad areas, but they\u2019re nuanced about it,\u0022 said \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/labs.biology.gatech.edu\/labs\/hay\/\u0022\u003EMark Hay\u003C\/a\u003E, a professor in the School of Biology at Georgia Tech and the study\u0027s senior author. \u0022They\u2019re making careful decisions and can say, \u0027settle or don\u2019t settle.\u0027\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe study showed that young fish have an overwhelming preference for water from healthy reefs. The researchers put water from healthy and degraded habitats into a flume that allowed fish to choose to swim in one stream of water or the other. The researchers tested the preferences of 20 fish each from 15 different species and found that regardless of species, family or trophic group, each of the 15 species showed up to an eight times greater preference for water from healthy areas.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers then tested coral larvae from three different species and found that they preferred water from the healthy habitat five-to-one over water from the degraded habitat.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EChemical cues from corals also swayed the fishes\u0027 preferences, the study found. The researchers soaked different corals in water and studied the behavior of fish in that water, which had picked up chemical cues from the corals. Cues of the common coral Acropora nasuta enhanced attraction to water from the degraded habitat by up to three times more for all 15 fishes tested. A similar preference was found among coral larvae.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAcropora corals easily bleach, are strongly affected by algal competition, and are prone to other stresses. The data demonstrate that chemical cues from these corals are attractive to fish and corals because they are found primarily in healthy habitats. Chemical cues from hardy corals, which can grow even in overfished habitats, were less attractive to juvenile fishes or corals.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers also soaked seaweed in water and tested fish and coral preferences in that water. Cues from the common seaweed Sargassum polycystum, which can bloom and take over a coral reef, reduced the attractiveness of water to fish by up to 86 percent compared to water without the seaweed chemical cues. Chemical cues from the seaweed decreased coral larval attraction by 81 percent.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Corals avoided that smell more than even algae that\u0027s chemically toxic to coral but doesn\u0027t bloom,\u0022 Dixson said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFuture work will involve removing plots of seaweed from damaged reefs and studying how that impacts reef recovery.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA minimum amount of intervention at the right time and the right place could jump start the recovery of overfished reefs, Hay said. That could bring fish back to the area so they settle and eat the seaweed around the corals. The corals would then get bigger because the seaweed is not overgrown. Bigger corals would then be more attractive to more fish.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022What this means is we probably need to manage these reefs in ways that help remove the most negative seaweeds and then help promote the most positive corals,\u0022 Hay said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis research is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), under award number OCE-0929119, and the National Institutes of Health, under award number U01-TW007401. Any conclusions or opinions are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the sponsoring agency.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECITATION\u003C\/strong\u003E: Dixson et al., \u0022Chemically mediated behavior of recruiting corals and fishes: A tipping\u003Cbr \/\u003Epoint that may limit reef recovery.\u0022 (August 2014, \u003Cem\u003EScience\u003C\/em\u003E).\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.sciencemag.org\/content\/345\/6199\/892%20\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.sciencemag.org\/content\/345\/6199\/892\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E177 North Avenue\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, Georgia 30332-0181 USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/twitter.com\/@GTResearchNews\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E@GTResearchNews\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts:\u003C\/strong\u003E Brett Israel (\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/btiatl\u0022\u003E@btiatl\u003C\/a\u003E) (404-385-1933) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or John Toon (404-894-6986) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EScientific Contacts:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMark Hay\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:mark.hay@biology.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emark.hay@biology.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003EFiji phone numbers: 679-833-3300 or 679-979-5991 (cell). 679-653-0093 (landline)\u003Cbr \/\u003ESkype: Markhaygt\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDanielle Dixson\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:danielle.dixson@biology.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Edanielle.dixson@biology.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBelize phone: 011-501-532-2392\u003Cbr \/\u003ESkype: Danielle.Dixson\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWriter: Brett Israel\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Young corals, fish turned off by smell of damaged habitats"}],"field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Pacific corals and fish can both smell a bad neighborhood, and use that ability to avoid settling in damaged reefs."}],"uid":"27902","created_gmt":"2014-08-21 13:28:19","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:56","author":"Brett Israel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-08-21T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-08-21T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"317841":{"id":"317841","type":"image","title":"Testing fish in a choice chamber","body":null,"created":"1449244974","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:02:54","changed":"1475895027","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:27","alt":"Testing fish in a choice chamber","file":{"fid":"201775","name":"choice_chamer.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/choice_chamer_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/choice_chamer_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1987706,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/choice_chamer_0.jpg?itok=KAUw4Jyz"}},"317851":{"id":"317851","type":"image","title":"Snorkeling in Fiji to study marine habitats","body":null,"created":"1449244974","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:02:54","changed":"1475895027","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:27","alt":"Snorkeling in Fiji to study marine habitats","file":{"fid":"201776","name":"fiji_snorkling.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/fiji_snorkling_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/fiji_snorkling_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3185012,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/fiji_snorkling_0.jpg?itok=KGKkq6de"}}},"media_ids":["317841","317851"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"},{"id":"154","name":"Environment"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[{"id":"100721","name":"chemical sensing"},{"id":"100711","name":"coral reefs"},{"id":"100731","name":"corals"},{"id":"79191","name":"Danielle Dixson"},{"id":"94671","name":"field work"},{"id":"4211","name":"fiji"},{"id":"1104","name":"fish"},{"id":"13884","name":"Mark Hay"},{"id":"169448","name":"seaweed"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71911","name":"Earth and Environment"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBrett Israel\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404-385-1933\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/btiatl\u0022\u003E@btiatl\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"317921":{"#nid":"317921","#data":{"type":"news","title":"BioE Orientation \u0026 Expo","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA new group of young researchers got better acquainted with the Georgia Institute of Technology\u2019s bioengineering community, August 15 at the BioE Expo, the annual orientation event for new and current students in the Georgia Tech Interdisciplinary Bioengineering Graduate Program (BioE). The innovative BioE Program, established in 1992, has graduated more than 170 students in a broad range of research areas \u2013 accomplished students with wide-ranging minds and skillsets, like Brett Klosterhoff.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E \u201cI picked this bioengineering program because it is so interdisciplinary, and it gives students from any background a chance to gain new knowledge and pull on their old strengths,\u201d says Klosterhoff, a former high school valedictorian who majored in mechanical engineering as an undergraduate at Purdue University, where he also competed as a long distance runner. \u003Cbr \/\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cBioengineering is still an emerging field, and from a research perspective, Georgia Tech is an interesting place to be,\u201d adds Klosterhoff, who got involved in an interdisciplinary lab his senior year for an independent study program at Purdue. \u201cI really loved it. So that\u2019s why I\u2019m here. I\u2019ve got a strong mechanical engineering background, but very little in actual life sciences, so this is an outstanding growth opportunity.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E The BioE Program is interdisciplinary in that it is not a solitary academic unit, as in most departments or schools at Georgia Tech. Instead, eight different academic units from the Colleges of Engineering and Computing comprise the program, which allows for a flexible, integrative and individualized degree program. Meanwhile, more than 90 participating faculty from the Colleges of Engineering, Computing, Sciences, and Architecture, as well as Emory University School of Medicine, provide a broad range of research opportunities.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E The BioE Expo is a way of easing into the fall semester. New students took in presentations by program faculty chair Andr\u00e9s Garc\u00eda, as well as a panel of current (i.e., experienced) BioE students, who offered advice on a range of topics, from choosing advisors to whether or not (and when) to drop a class, from how best to navigate Atlanta traffic between Georgia Tech and Emory (\u201cTake the shuttle,\u201d was the rallying cry) to questions about opportunities for anything resembling a social life between classwork and research (\u201cconsider joining BBUGS,\u201d suggested student panelist Jaya Arya, referring to the Bioengineering and Bioscience Unified Graduate Students, the largest and most diverse graduate group on the Tech campus).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E And, as if answering that question about a social life, the Expo ended with a relaxed communal gathering in the atrium of the Parker H. Petit Biotech Building, built around a buffet and, of course, a poster session showcasing the work of the BioE community.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"New grad students get the lowdown on interdisciplinary bioengineering program"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ENew grad students get the lowdown on interdisciplinary bioengineering program\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"New grad students get the lowdown on interdisciplinary bioengineering program"}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-08-21 13:59:16","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:56","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-08-21T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-08-21T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"318021":{"id":"318021","type":"image","title":"BioE Orientation \u0026 Expo poster session and reception","body":null,"created":"1449244974","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:02:54","changed":"1475895027","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:27","alt":"BioE Orientation \u0026 Expo poster session and reception","file":{"fid":"199990","name":"student_poster.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/student_poster_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/student_poster_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2062294,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/student_poster_0.jpg?itok=jgwcP2nP"}}},"media_ids":["318021"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.bioengineering.gatech.edu\/","title":"BioEngineering website"}],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[{"id":"133","name":"Special Events and Guest Speakers"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker \u0026nbsp;H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering \u0026amp; Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"314331":{"#nid":"314331","#data":{"type":"news","title":"One Step Closer","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESantangelo part of $5.5 million NIH research grant aimed at curing HIV.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis could be the one, the project that Philip Santangelo will be talking about when he\u2019s 80 and retired and rocking on the front porch, in some distant future \u2013 a promising future for mankind because, well, this could be the one. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESantangelo, associate professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, is helping lead a research team that was recently awarded a $5.5 million grant from the NIH\/NIAID (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) for their role in a national, multi-pronged effort to once and for all cure HIV\/AIDS. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cThis is like the Holy Grail for a molecular imaging person who\u2019s interested in infectious disease. From my point of view, this is it, this is huge,\u201d says Santangelo, who is partnering with Emory\u2019s Francois Villinger as principal investigators on the research, supported by the aforementioned R01 (which is the original and historically oldest grant mechanism used by the National Institutes of Health, or NIH). \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe prospect of eliminating HIV from infected patients may be achievable with novel anti-retroviral therapies, but it would require new tools with greater sensitivity than what is now available. So the research aims to create and improve imaging technology, to better monitor HIV reservoirs. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cThis was an RFA [Request for Application]. It was a response to an RFA regarding delivering therapeutics to active viral reservoirs,\u201d Santangelo explains. \u201cAt NIH right now, especially at NIAID, they have a huge emphasis on trying to cure HIV.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBut here\u2019s the dilemma Santangelo, et al, are looking at: A person who\u2019s infected with the HIV virus is treated with anti-retroviral therapies. It appears to work. Within a month, the virus is undetectable in the blood stream. It\u2019s been suppressed. But if you take the patient off the therapy, the virus comes back. It rebounds. \u201cThe drugs work but they are not sufficient to clear the virus. And really, we don\u2019t know why that is yet,\u201d Santangelo says. \u201cWhere is the virus? Where are the active reservoirs during suppression?\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe prospect of eliminating HIV from infected patients may be close at hand, but such a lofty goal will require new tools with greater sensitivity than currently available to monitor the progress of novel anti-retroviral therapies \u2013 not only in blood but also in organs that harbor such reservoirs and sites of residual viral replication \u003Cem\u003Ein vivo\u003C\/em\u003E. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cWe\u2019re not necessarily in this project, quote, \u0027creating the cure.\u0027 But we\u2019re creating a tool that\u2019s going to give us a lot more information about how you might go about doing that,\u201d Santangelo says. \u201cOtherwise, it\u2019s a shot in the dark, you\u2019re just trying different approaches. It\u2019s trial and error. In the drug development world, trial and error is useful, but not ideal, and certainly not efficient.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThis research and resulting improvements in imaging technology, he says, will eventually give drug developers more information than they\u2019ve had before, about how drugs are affecting very specific parts of the body. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s about giving them much more powerful information about what\u2019s happening, as opposed to downstream information,\u201d says Santangelo, whose research areas include molecular imaging, nano-biophotonics, and optical microscopy. The long-term aim is to cure HIV, he adds, \u201cand we\u2019re working on a tool to help facilitate that.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAnd that, he adds, is the reason the research got its funding \u2013 the NIH wants this tool in its toolbox. The grant covers five years, but it\u2019s been a seven-year journey to this point. It began with a discussion between Santangelo and Emory professor Eric Hunter, whose research is focused on the molecular biology of HIV and other retroviruses. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cWe were sitting around a table and Eric basically said, \u2018one thing we\u2019d like to know is, where is the virus? Is there a way to image this?\u2019 I said, \u2018I have no idea, but let\u2019s see if we can figure that out.\u2019 So I went back to the drawing board and thought about ways to approach the problem,\u201d Santangelo says. \u201cBut that\u2019s how it started \u2013 a group of people sitting around the table, asking, \u2018how do we address this?\u2019 and me being crazy enough to say, \u2018I\u2019ll try this,\u2019 because I don\u2019t say no to anything.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHunter introduced Santangelo to researcher\/pathologist Villinger. They went after and received a $30,000 boost from the Woodruff Foundation, then got $100,000 from the Georgia Research Alliance, \u201cand these were so important in pushing the momentum forward,\u201d Santangelo says. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThen they received $450,000 from the NIH in the form of an Exploratory\/Developmental Research Grant Award (R21) and now, $5.5 million, to support the work of an all-star team of researchers, including (among others) principal investigators Santangelo and Villinger, as well as Ray Schinazi, who directs the Laboratory of Biochemical Pharmacology at Emory, and is a co-investigator. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe overall goal, according to Santangelo, is to create or improve an imaging tool that will determine how the virus is being affected by a new drug strategy, and also to help promote new drugs that Schinazi is working on \u2013 \u201cto clear HIV, and also to make current drugs more effective,\u201d says Santangelo, who believes that by enhancing current imaging technology, particularly CT (computed tomography, or CAT scanning) and PET (positron emission tomography), he can track the reservoirs, including active viral reservoirs. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cIf you can figure out where the reservoirs are, if you can figure out how long they are being affected by the drugs, and how the drugs are actually changing the reservoirs, we might be able to clear them,\u201d says Santangelo, whose eyes light up at the prospect, giving him the look of a kid contemplating a super toy that hasn\u2019t been invented yet. \u201cAnd if you can clear these reservoirs, you could cure AIDS, and if you can cure AIDS, well, that would be pretty awesome.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Santangelo part of $5.5 million NIH research grant aimed at curing HIV."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESantangelo part of $5.5 million NIH research grant aimed at curing HIV.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Santangelo part of $5.5 million NIH research grant aimed at curing HIV."}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-08-11 08:12:33","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:52","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-08-11T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-08-11T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"314341":{"id":"314341","type":"image","title":"Phil Santangelo","body":null,"created":"1449244929","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:02:09","changed":"1522182247","gmt_changed":"2018-03-27 20:24:07","alt":"","file":{"fid":"199905","name":"santangelophil-square.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/santangelophil-square_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/santangelophil-square_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1699892,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/santangelophil-square_0.jpg?itok=z1rHWN6q"}}},"media_ids":["314341"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.bme.gatech.edu\/facultystaff\/faculty_record.php?id=105","title":"Philip Santangelo"}],"groups":[{"id":"1254","name":"Wallace H. Coulter Dept. of Biomedical Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"42941","name":"Art Research"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering \u0026amp; Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"312361":{"#nid":"312361","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Jo and Zhu Make the Grade","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearchers named Biomedical Engineering Society Fellows.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003EThe list of career honors keeps growing for scientists and engineers at the Georgia Institute of Technology with the recent election of Hanjoong Jo and\u0026nbsp;Cheng Zhu as Fellows of the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES).\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBMES, a professional organization for biomedical engineering founded in 1968, has about 6,500 members dedicated to human health and well-being. The election of Zhu and Jo brings the number of BMES Fellows currently based at Georgia Tech to seven, all of them connected with the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience and\/or the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering (a collaborative effort with Emory). The other previously named Fellows who are part of the current the Tech\/Emory team are are Ravi Bellamkonda, Larry McIntire, Bob Nerem, Krish Roy and Ajit Yoganathan. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn addition to his scholarly contributions as a researcher, Jo\u2019s role in leadership positions played a role in his election. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cHanjoong is a true international leader in applying engineering to vascular biology,\u201d Nerem says. \u201cThe other thing is, his great service to BMES. For example, he was overall conference chair for the 2012 national BMES meeting here in Atlanta.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ENomination criteria also include a record of exceptional achievement and accomplishment, and Zhu certainly has that. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cCheng is one of just a few who have been able to really perform significant experiments on the single cell and how a single cell responds to mechanical forces,\u201d says Nerem, who recruited Zhu to Tech in 1990. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMcIntire, who nominated Zhu, says, \u201cThe series of papers from Cheng\u2019s group over the last 10 to 12 years is truly groundbreaking and combines the best in detailed engineering measurements and computational modeling with the best in modern cell and molecular biology.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EApparently, the BMES agreed. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cThe significance of it is still sinking in,\u201d says Zhu. \u201cI\u2019m humbled by this great honor.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Researchers named Biomedical Engineering Society Fellows."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EResearchers named Biomedical Engineering Society Fellows.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Researchers named Biomedical Engineering Society Fellows."}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-08-04 12:55:37","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:52","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-08-04T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-08-04T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"312371":{"id":"312371","type":"image","title":"Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES)","body":null,"created":"1449244929","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:02:09","changed":"1475895022","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:22","alt":"Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES)","file":{"fid":"199876","name":"bmes-squarea.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bmes-squarea_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bmes-squarea_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":89178,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/bmes-squarea_0.jpg?itok=RrCmtwH5"}}},"media_ids":["312371"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/jolab.gatech.edu\/","title":"Jo lab"},{"url":"http:\/\/groups.bme.gatech.edu\/groups\/zhu\/","title":"Zhu lab website"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.bmes.org\/","title":"Biomedical Engineering Society"}],"groups":[{"id":"1254","name":"Wallace H. Coulter Dept. of Biomedical Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunciations Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering \u0026amp; Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"312281":{"#nid":"312281","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Seeds of Innovation - Three Research Teams Receive Petit Institute Collaborative Grant Awards","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEach team to receive $100K for two years to kick-start new research.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThree interdisciplinary teams with wide-ranging goals at the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience have gotten off to a fast start on pioneering explorations in biotechnology, thanks to a homegrown program that supports innovative early-stage research. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe winning teams of the 2014 Petit Bioengineering and Bioscience Collaborative Seed Grant are working to improve the prediction of disease (Hang Lu and Patrick McGrath), design better drug delivery strategies to fight cancer (M.G. Finn and Susan Thomas), and unveil (and better understand) the processes through which cell receptor signaling is initiated (Robert Dickson and Cheng Zhu). \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EEach of these fledgling collaborative teams was awarded $100,000 for two years to kick-start new research en route to long-range aspirations. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cThe seed grant program is fantastic, because it supports bold ideas that don\u2019t have preliminary data,\u201d says Lu, a professor in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. \u201cPatrick and I have been wanting to work on this particular idea of evolving model systems to study multigenic diseases. We are extremely happy to have the support to pursue it now. We\u2019re hoping to garner preliminary data to seek NIH funding in the long run.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe program, now in its third year, gets to the heart of the Petit Institute mission, as it encourages a multidisciplinary approach to cutting-edge research, with each team bringing together an engineer and a scientist in a collaborative research endeavor, addressing complex biotech challenges by combining the distinct strengths of each lab. For example, as Lu and McGrath (assistant professor in the School of Biology) explain in their proposal, \u201cTechnologically and conceptually, what we propose here has never been done before. This pilot is truly enabled by the genomics know-how of the McGrath lab and the technological advancement of the Lu lab, which is a unique combination not found elsewhere.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBy applying a directed evolutionary approach, they expect to eventually be able to identify interacting genes that can be used as biomarkers for lifespan and age-related diseases, \u201cand also as synergistic drug targets that can be used to ameliorate side-effects by lowering dose-levels of pharmaceuticals.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EZhu, professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, he and Dickson, professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry), are \u201ctrying to develop methods that allow in situ measurements of protein-protein interactions in live cells,\u201d says Zhu. \u201cThe lacking of such methods hinders the development of a broad field in biology.\u201d Currently, no method allows this kind of crucial measurement, Zhu and Dickson say in their proposal. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMeanwhile, Finn (professor and chair in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry) and Thomas (assistant professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering) are working on a project with what they say will ultimately \u201cimpact the drug delivery field by introducing a new chemical means to temporally control drug release,\u201d according to their proposal. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cIn some ways, this approach runs counter to the prevailing drive in the field toward ever more sophisticated ways to respond to environmental cues,\u201d the researchers say, adding, \u201cWhile such technologies are undoubtedly valuable, there is also value in a cleavage mechanism that one can use like an alarm clock.\u201d Stretching the analogy a bit further, they describe an alarm clock in which the start and end times, and intensity (and composition of the alarm) are all programmable. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cResults from this study,\u201d Finn and Thomas say in their proposal, \u201cwill form the basis of numerous collaborative grant applications and a long-term collaboration between two labs with distinct but synergistic expertise aimed towards the design and effective drug delivery strategies for cancer therapy.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFunding for the seed grants comes mainly from the Petit Institute\u2019s endowment as well as contributions from the College of Sciences and the College of Engineering. Each research team receives $50,000 a year for two years, with the second year of funding contingent on submission of an external collaborative grant proposal.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Each team to receive $100K for two years to kick-start new research."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EEach team to receive $100K for two years to kick-start new research.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Each team to receive $100K for two years to kick-start new research."}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-08-04 09:16:12","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:52","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-08-04T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-08-04T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"312351":{"id":"312351","type":"image","title":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering \u0026 Bioscience","body":null,"created":"1449244929","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:02:09","changed":"1475895022","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:22","alt":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering \u0026 Bioscience","file":{"fid":"199875","name":"ibb-166.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ibb-166_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ibb-166_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2922980,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/ibb-166_0.jpg?itok=KtHqtOqD"}}},"media_ids":["312351"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.ibb.gatech.edu\/","title":"Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.lulab.gatech.edu\/","title":"Lu lab"},{"url":"http:\/\/groups.bme.gatech.edu\/groups\/zhu\/","title":"Zhu lab website"},{"url":"http:\/\/mcgrathlab.biology.gatech.edu\/","title":"McGrath Lab"},{"url":"http:\/\/thomas.gatech.edu\/","title":"Thomas lab website"},{"url":"http:\/\/ww2.chemistry.gatech.edu\/groups\/finn\/","title":"Finn lab website"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.chemistry.gatech.edu\/faculty\/Dickson","title":"Dickson profile"}],"groups":[{"id":"1254","name":"Wallace H. Coulter Dept. of Biomedical Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"42941","name":"Art Research"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering \u0026amp; Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"311561":{"#nid":"311561","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Younan Xia Named 2014 Fellow of the American Chemical Society","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EYounan Xia, professor in Georgia Tech\u2019s School of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory, was named a fellow for 2014 by the American Chemical Society (ACS).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis year, ACS named 99 members as fellows, chosen based on their outstanding accomplishments in chemistry as well as their contributions to ACS.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt is a wonderful thing to be recognized by my peers and the research community,\u201d said Xia.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EXia specializes in creating nanomaterials, studying their properties and exploring how they can be used. He has also served as an associate editor of the ACS journal Nano Letters since 2012.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECurrently Xia is working on developing more efficient catalysts for hydrogen fuel cell technology, creating new scaffolding materials to be used in regenerative medicine, and cultivating contrasts and therapeutic agents for use in the fight against cancer.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe scientists selected as this year\u2019s class of ACS fellows are truly a dedicated group, said Tom Barton, president of ACS. \u201cTheir outstanding contributions to advancing chemistry through service to the society are many. In their quest to improve people\u2019s lives through the transforming power of chemistry, they are helping us to fulfill the vision of the American Chemical Society.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe new fellows will be recognized at the ACS Fellows Ceremony and Reception on Monday, August 11, 2014 during the society\u2019s 248th National Meeting \u0026amp; Exposition in San Francisco.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EProfessor Younan Xia was named a fellow for 2014 by the American Chemical Society.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Professor Younan Xia was named a fellow for 2014 by the American Chemical Society."}],"uid":"27310","created_gmt":"2014-07-30 09:50:05","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:48","author":"David Terraso","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-07-30T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-07-30T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"253511":{"id":"253511","type":"image","title":"Younan Xia","body":null,"created":"1449243828","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:43:48","changed":"1475894934","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:48:54","alt":"Younan Xia","file":{"fid":"198154","name":"14c10302-p12-004.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/14c10302-p12-004_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/14c10302-p12-004_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1475310,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/14c10302-p12-004_0.jpg?itok=SzjbZamc"}}},"media_ids":["253511"],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"743","name":"acs"},{"id":"5477","name":"American Chemical Society"},{"id":"101","name":"Award"},{"id":"919","name":"Biochemistry"},{"id":"2548","name":"biomedical"},{"id":"1612","name":"BME"},{"id":"89","name":"chemistry"},{"id":"516","name":"engineering"},{"id":"98771","name":"xia"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"39451","name":"Electronics and Nanotechnology"},{"id":"39471","name":"Materials"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"311191":{"#nid":"311191","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Altered States - New Study Sheds Light on Sickle Cell Disease and Offers New Hope for Patients","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEd Botchwey\u0027s research takes sharp turn as they explore possible new causes for the disease.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003EEd Botchwey is not a hematologist. He\u2019s very clear about that. Botchwey runs a tissue-engineering lab at the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, with a focus on regenerative medicine. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThat\u2019s been his professional history \u2013 tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. But there\u2019s a piece of personal history that carries a bit more influence, and that, perhaps more than anything else, is what led Botchwey and his research team to publish in the journal Blood, the most cited peer-reviewed publication in the field of hematology. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETheir research and paper, with the running title, \u201cSphingolipid Metabolism in Sickle Cell Disease,\u201d represents a sharp turn for Botchwey and his colleagues, who shed new light on causes for some of the disease\u2019s pervasive and devastating symptoms, while offering new hope for patients who struggle with the disease, people like his sister. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cAs it turns out, my sister has sickle cell disease, and I have a student, the first author of this paper, Anthony Awojoodu \u2013 his sister has it. So this is something we felt very passionate about,\u201d says Botchwey, associate professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering (Coulter Department), who didn\u2019t set out to research sickle cell disease (SCD). It just sort of happened. He was just following a logical trail of research. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cWe\u2019d been looking at certain classes of signaling lipids and how they regulate inflammation. Part of our goal was, and still is, exploiting certain inflammatory responses to help in tissue regeneration,\u201d Botchwey says. \u201cBut along the way, we recognized that some of the enzymes that are central components in the metabolism and production of these signaling lipids were responsive to stresses in cell membranes.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELike, for example, the stresses that cause the telltale geometric distortion of red blood cell (RBC) membranes in sickle cell disease (SCD). It occurred to Botchwey that SCD would make a great model system in which to observe the relationship between membrane stresses, inflammation and the metabolism of these sphingolipids. Turns out, there\u2019s a very close relationship. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETheir findings reveal for the first time that sphingolipid metabolism is indeed dysregulated, or altered in SCD. Membrane stresses associated with SCD activate sphingomyelinase (SMase), an enzyme that contributes to progression of the disease (SMase has been implicated in vascular inflammation). SMase, in concert with other enzymes, also causes elevated production of microparticles, which contribute to what Botchwey calls, \u201cthis chronic inflammatory state that underlies so much of the pathology of sickle cell disease.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhat encourages Botchwey is the research also illuminates potential new strategies to regulate inflammation through modulating sphingolipid metabolism \u2013 results that may also be applicable to other red blood cell disorders, not just SCD. What\u2019s more, a promising therapeutic solution is already close at hand \u2013 the antidepressant, amitriptyline. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cWe wanted to know, can you pharmacologically inhibit SMase in order to reduce these pro-inflammatory microparticles. And we found that, in fact, we can, and we\u2019re excited about it. If you can cut off one of the primary means whereby sickled red blood cells are perpetuating a chronic inflammatory state in the patient, then you may be cutting off a wide range of the disease consequences associated with SCD,\u201d says Botchwey. \u201cAmytriptyline happened to factor quite highly in our survey of potential inhibitors of SMase. You can find certain papers that will make an indirect association to what we\u2019ve shown.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESure enough, there are 30-plus year-old research papers that explore the inhibitive effects of tricyclic antidepressants on SMase in various contexts, and Botchwey\u2019s team connected the complicated dots. But there has been next to no research on the role of SMase and sphingolipid dysregulation in SCD (a disease that affects millions worldwide), and that surprises Botchwey. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s a mystery to me.\u201d says Botchwey. \u201cWhen you think about a disease as prevalent as this one, as well understood as it is, in terms of what the underlying genetic mutation is, and you consider all the tools we have at our disposal for correcting such mutations, you would think this would be a curable disease. I\u2019ve lamented the fact that it\u2019s not cured, but never considered that I might be part of the research that might lead to a cure.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBotchwey, whose work is supported by the NIH and NSF, as well as the Petit Institute and Coulter Department, led a research team that included Awojoodu, a native Nigerian who was responsible for recruiting Petit Scholar, Alicia Lane, to the team. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cThey struck up a very productive working and mentoring relationship, and this paper is partly the culmination of that,\u201d says Botchwey, whose collaborators in the study also include Phillip Keegan, Yuying Zhang, Kevin Lynch from the University of Virginia, and BME assistant professor Manu Platt. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBotchwey, not a blood guy, says this research represents a new direction for him, one he might not have taken if he didn\u2019t make the move several years ago from the University of Virginia to the Georgia Institute of Technology, and the Petit Institute. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cLike I said, I\u2019m not a hematology researcher, but the opportunity to take risks resonated with me. It\u2019s a risk to go in new directions, and Georgia Tech enabled me to take that risk,\u201d he says. \u201cThe multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary environment here is one in which I felt comfortable asking what I perceived to be a frontier question that impacted a disease I felt passionately about. I don\u2019t know if that would have happened if I\u2019d stayed where I was.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis study was supported in part by NIH Grants 1R01DE019935-01, 1R01AR056445-01A2 and R01GM067958, and 1DP2OD007433-01 and NSF Grant NSF#0933643.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Ed Botchwey\u0027s research takes sharp turn as they explore possible new causes for the disease."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EEd Botchwey\u0027s research takes sharp turn as they explore possible new causes for the disease.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Ed Botchwey\u0027s research takes sharp turn as they explore possible new causes for the disease."}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-07-28 13:57:53","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:48","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-07-28T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-07-28T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"311171":{"id":"311171","type":"image","title":"Ed Botchwey, PhD - Associate professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering","body":null,"created":"1449244726","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:58:46","changed":"1475895020","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:20","alt":"Ed Botchwey, PhD - Associate professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering","file":{"fid":"199854","name":"botchwey_ed_-_july_2014.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/botchwey_ed_-_july_2014_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/botchwey_ed_-_july_2014_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":661178,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/botchwey_ed_-_july_2014_0.jpg?itok=Mf7zlVNm"}},"311181":{"id":"311181","type":"image","title":"Sickle cell disease is a group of disorders that affects hemoglobin, the molecule in red blood cells that delivers oxygen to cells throughout the body.","body":null,"created":"1449244726","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:58:46","changed":"1475895020","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:20","alt":"Sickle cell disease is a group of disorders that affects hemoglobin, the molecule in red blood cells that delivers oxygen to cells throughout the body.","file":{"fid":"199855","name":"sickle_cell.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/sickle_cell_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/sickle_cell_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":270785,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/sickle_cell_0.jpg?itok=OyK6Jqab"}}},"media_ids":["311171","311181"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/botchweylab.gatech.edu\/","title":"Botchwey lab website"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.ibb.gatech.edu\/","title":"Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"groups":[{"id":"1254","name":"Wallace H. Coulter Dept. of Biomedical Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering \u0026amp; Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"310411":{"#nid":"310411","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Reading the Signals","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ENew study, published in\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003EHepatology\u003C\/em\u003E, shows the regenerative capacity of liver cells\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EPatients suffering from chronic liver disease often develop liver fibrosis (the accumulation of scar tissue), which frequently results in cirrhosis, which means a loss of liver function, which often comes with a choice between a liver transplant and certain death. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt\u2019s a perfect storm of terrible things as sustained fibrosis dampens the regenerative capacity of hepatocytes, thwarting their ability to make a therapeutic response, resulting in a grim prognosis and high mortality. At its essence, this is a communication problem, based on a study by a team of researchers in the lab of Chong Hyun Shin at the Georgia Institute of Technology. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETheir findings explain how signaling pathways and cell-cell communications direct the cellular response to fibrogenic stimuli. But they also identify some novel potential therapeutic strategies for chronic liver disease. Results of the study (funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Emory\/Georgia Tech Regenerative Engineering and Medicine Center, and Georgia Tech\u2019s School of Biology) were published recently in the journal \u003Cem\u003EHepatology\u003C\/em\u003E. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cWe aim to understand the molecular and cellular mechanisms that mediate the effects of sustained fibrosis on hepatocyte regeneration, using the zebrafish as a model,\u201d explains Shin, assistant professor in the School of Biology, with a lab in the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience. Her fellow authors are Frank Anania (Emory), Mianbo Huang, Angela Chang, Minna Choi and David Zhou. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn their fibrotic zebrafish model, they studied the effects that different levels of signaling have on the regeneration of liver cells (hepatocytes). Specifically, they took note of the relationship between \u2018Wnt\u2019 and \u2018Notch\u2019 (signaling pathways). They discovered that lower level Notch signaling promotes cell regeneration (the proliferation and differentiation of hepatic progenitor cells, or HPCs, into hepatocytes), while high levels suppressed it. And they discovered that antagonistic interaction between Wnt and Notch modulates regenerative capacity: Wnt signals can suppress Notch signals, or, in other words, when Wnt is up, Notch is down, and hepatocyte regeneration can happen. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe data, says Shin, \u201csuggest an essential interplay between Wnt and Notch signaling during hepatocyte regeneration in the fibrotic liver, providing legitimate therapeutic strategies for chronic liver failure \u003Cem\u003Ein vivo\u003C\/em\u003E.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EInducing tissue regeneration via stem or progenitor cells, while delaying fibrosis, has been on the rise as antifibrogenic strategies of great potential, according to Shin, whose studies offer a clue of how to guide the differentiation of HPCs into hepatocytes in patients suffering from chronic liver failure. \u201cOverall,\u201d she explains, \u201cemploying the in vivo-based hepatic regeneration strategy may allow us to complement fundamental drawbacks in stem cell therapy, opening up new avenues of endogenous cellular regeneration therapy.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis research is supported by grant number K01DK081351 from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Regenerative Engineering and Medicine Research Center Pilot Award (GTEC 2731336), and the School of Biology, Georgia Institute of Technology.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1002\/hep.27285\/abstract\u0022\u003ERead \u003Cem\u003EHepatology\u003C\/em\u003E journal abstract here\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"A new study, published in Hepatology, from Chong Shin\u0027s lab spotlights the regenerative capacity of liver cells."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA new study, published in \u003Cem\u003EHepatology\u003C\/em\u003E, from Chong Shin\u0027s lab shows the regenerative capacity of liver cells.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A new study, published in Hepatology, from Chong Shin\u0027s lab shows the regenerative capacity of liver cells."}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-07-24 10:45:38","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:48","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-07-24T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-07-24T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"310421":{"id":"310421","type":"image","title":"Chong Hyun Shin, PhD - Assistant Professor, School of Biology at Georgia Tech","body":null,"created":"1449244726","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:58:46","changed":"1475895020","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:20","alt":"Chong Hyun Shin, PhD - Assistant Professor, School of Biology at Georgia Tech","file":{"fid":"199848","name":"chongshin3.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/chongshin3_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/chongshin3_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":552928,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/chongshin3_0.jpg?itok=CNwJI91K"}}},"media_ids":["310421"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1002\/hep.27285\/abstract","title":"Read publication in Heptalogy"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/people\/chong-shin","title":"Chong Shin"}],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"171346","name":"go-rem"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering \u0026amp; Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"310151":{"#nid":"310151","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Hands-on theatrical experience takes students to the molecular level","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s not immediately obvious to many people how running, singing and passing erasers as directed by an audio recording \u2014 sort of a high-tech version of \u201cSimon Says\u201d \u2014 can help high school students learn scientific concepts such as molecule alignment and assembly. But Georgia Tech\u2019s Center for Chemical Evolution and Out of Hand Theater are showing how the arts can help students tackle complex scientific studies.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOn June 27, high school students and teachers from the Georgia Intern Fellowships for Teachers (GIFT) program gathered in the courtyard outside Georgia Tech\u2019s Instructional Center for a 20-minute hands-on exercise called \u201cGroup Intelligence.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMartha Grover, a faculty member in the School of Chemical \u0026amp; Biomolecular Engineering, serves as a science advisor for \u201cGroup Intelligence,\u201d which was developed by Out of Hand Theater and is supported by funds from the National Science Foundation and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur goal is to suggest analogies between groups of molecules and groups of people,\u201d Grover said. \u201cThe participants experience the assembly and draw their own conclusions.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe and Ariel Fristoe, co-artistic director of Out of Hand Theater, observed as the group followed the instructions given by a woman\u2019s voice on the recording:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOrganize yourselves by eye color. Run in haphazard directions until you all start to run in the same pattern. Sing whatever song comes to mind and mingle until everyone is singing the same song (this group ended up with \u201cThe Wheels on the Bus\u201d). Form two lines and pass erasers down the lines without dropping them or moving your feet.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBehind the activities are lessons about the importance of diversity, collaboration, leadership and competition in molecular formations and the development and functioning of living things.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELindsay Whiteman, a chemistry and biology teacher at Sprayberry High School in Marietta and a GIFT recipient, was participating in a \u201cGroup Intelligence\u201d for the first time and gauging whether it would be an effective tool for her classrooms this fall.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe \u2018Group Intelligence\u2019 activity seemed like a great way for students to understand conceptually how molecules behave when they cannot see or fathom what is going on at the molecular level,\u201d Whiteman said. \u201cHigh school students struggle with abstract thought and spatial understanding, so this forces them to see how the molecules assemble and understand that they are working toward a common goal and that these natural forces create this act of group intelligence.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe students really seemed to enjoy the activity itself and made many connections during our group discussion afterward about what each step represented. I will definitely be using this in my class.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor more information about the activity or to order it for a classroom experience, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.outofhandtheater.com\/2014\/03\/25\/group-intelligence-educational-version\/%20\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Eclick here\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPhoto captions:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E PHOTO 1:\u003C\/strong\u003E Participants in \u201cGroup Intelligence\u201d self-assemble into groups of three to form equilateral triangles.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPHOTO 2:\u003C\/strong\u003E Martha Grover (left), ChBE professor and part of the Center for Chemical Evolution, and Ariel Fristoe, co-artistic director at Out of Hand Theater, watch the \u201cGroup Intelligence\u201d activity under way.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPHOTO 3:\u003C\/strong\u003E Participants form a human DNA chain.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPHOTO 4:\u003C\/strong\u003E \u201cGroup Intelligence\u201d participants get into the competitive spirit of the eraser-passing activity.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPHOTO 5:\u003C\/strong\u003E Group members march and clap after converting cacophony into a unison rendition of \u201cThe Wheels on the Bus.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Group Intelligence\u0022 uses activities such as running and singing to help students understand complex scientific concepts about molecular alignment and assembly.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"\u0022Group Intelligence\u0022 uses activities such as running and singing to help students understand complex scientific concepts about molecular alignment and assembly."}],"uid":"28045","created_gmt":"2014-07-22 16:34:40","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:48","author":"Amy Schneider","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-07-22T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-07-22T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"310161":{"id":"310161","type":"image","title":"Group Intelligence photo 1","body":null,"created":"1449244726","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:58:46","changed":"1475895020","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:20","alt":"Group Intelligence photo 1","file":{"fid":"199836","name":"img_5556.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/img_5556_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/img_5556_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":4666625,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/img_5556_0.jpg?itok=BUe80bPs"}},"310171":{"id":"310171","type":"image","title":"Group Intelligence photo 2","body":null,"created":"1449244726","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:58:46","changed":"1475895020","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:20","alt":"Group Intelligence photo 2","file":{"fid":"199837","name":"img_5575.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/img_5575_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/img_5575_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":4215873,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/img_5575_0.jpg?itok=lHCMR2BE"}},"310191":{"id":"310191","type":"image","title":"Group Intelligence photo 3","body":null,"created":"1449244726","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:58:46","changed":"1475895020","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:20","alt":"Group Intelligence photo 3","file":{"fid":"199838","name":"img_5591.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/img_5591_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/img_5591_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":4833859,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/img_5591_0.jpg?itok=H9FZHiEp"}},"310211":{"id":"310211","type":"image","title":"Group Intelligence photo 4","body":null,"created":"1449244726","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:58:46","changed":"1475895020","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:20","alt":"Group Intelligence photo 4","file":{"fid":"199840","name":"img_5603.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/img_5603_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/img_5603_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3629557,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/img_5603_0.jpg?itok=LblbVQWM"}},"310221":{"id":"310221","type":"image","title":"Group Intelligence photo 5","body":null,"created":"1449244726","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:58:46","changed":"1475895020","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:20","alt":"Group Intelligence photo 5","file":{"fid":"199841","name":"img_5616.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/img_5616_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/img_5616_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":4046082,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/img_5616_0.jpg?itok=cgWg0sGq"}}},"media_ids":["310161","310171","310191","310211","310221"],"groups":[{"id":"1240","name":"School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAmy Schneider\u003Cbr \/\u003ESchool of Chemical \u0026amp; Biomolecular Engineering\u003Cbr \/\u003E(404) 385-2299\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:news@chbe.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Enews@chbe.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"309011":{"#nid":"309011","#data":{"type":"news","title":"The Engineer\u0027s Mind","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EStudy Abroad course explores the engineering thought process.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E You know this one: \u201cThe optimist sees the glass as half-full and the pessimist sees the glass as half-empty, but the engineer sees a glass that\u2019s twice as big as it needs to be.\u201d It\u2019s an old joke that demonstrates, anecdotally, how engineers think, which is something that Joe LeDoux, an associate professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME), has been very interested in. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBut, rather than ruin an old joke by explaining the punch line, LeDoux took a more empirical approach to understanding the engineering mind. He designed and taught a course on the subject, then wrote about it. And last month, LeDoux and a group of Georgia Institute of Technology students presented a paper to the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) that asks, what is it that makes someone an engineer, and what distinguishes engineers from other professionals? \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe paper, written by LeDoux, BME research scientist Alisha Waller, and a trio of undergraduates who actually took the class \u2013 Jacquelyn Borinski, Kimberly Height and Elaine McCormick \u2013 shares the co-authors\u2019 experience in the course, called \u201cHabits of the Engineering Mind,\u201d taught last year by LeDoux at Oxford University as part of Georgia Tech\u2019s study abroad program. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cTaken with a sense of adventure, I decided to teach a course on a topic that I had been thinking about for some time,\u201d LeDoux writes in the paper, presented last month in Indianapolis at the ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition. \u201cThe idea was to explore the possibility that engineers have a characteristic way of thinking.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBut there was no textbook, no syllabus, and LeDoux had to basically develop the course from scratch, without the aid of pre-existing conceptions (except, perhaps for a few old jokes about engineers) or guidelines for how to teach it. \u201cAs a result, I was a true \u2018co-learner\u2019 with my students,\u201d he says. \u201cIt was such a powerful and rewarding experience that three of my students and I decided to write a paper about it, to share our experiences with the broader academic engineering community.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESo he developed a set of five long-term learning objectives to help guide the way. A year or more after having taken the course, students will (1) have an understanding of the fundamental ways of engineering thinking, as evidenced by their ability to estimate unknown quantities, represent complex problems diagrammatically, engage in model-based reasoning, and employ multiple engineering habits of the mind as a set of lenses through which to view and think about real-world problems and systems; (2) be able to critically read, analyze, and discuss what philosophers of engineering have written about engineering ways of thinking, and be able to formulate and defend their own arguments about what they think are engineering ways of thinking; (3) see the value of, and be adept at, seeing opportunities for employing engineering habits of the mind as thinking tools in every day, non-engineering contexts; (4) have established a connection between the engineering habits of the mind that were identified and explored in class to their own personal interests and experiences; and (5) recognize that a person\u2019s ways of thinking are influenced by their profession, culture, upbringing, and context, and that a much richer understanding of a problem or system is developed by employing multiple ways of thinking. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe course was dense with reading material, and writing assignments, and discussions, and much of the content was philosophical, rather than technical in nature, so this was definitely outside the norm for a traditional engineering professor and his students. Nonetheless, LeDoux reflects, \u201cthe course exceeded my expectations,\u201d and he wonders if success in the Study Abroad program means the course could become a permanent offering on the Georgia Tech campus. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAccording to LeDoux, the students \u201clearned a great deal about what it means to be an engineer by reading and reflecting on philosophical writings about engineering, and by learning and applying engineering ways of thinking to make meaning of systems that they encounter in their everyday lives. I believe these students are now more aware of their own thinking processes and those of other engineers, and are more sensitive to how these thinking processes affect the work they do and the designs they create, which will, in the end, make them more effective engineers and problem solvers.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Study Abroad course explores the engineering thought process."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EStudy Abroad course explores the engineering thought process.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Study Abroad course explores the engineering thought process."}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-07-16 10:58:59","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:45","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-07-17T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-07-17T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"309021":{"id":"309021","type":"image","title":"Joe LeDoux with undergraduates Jacquelyn Borinski, Kimberly Haight, Elaine McCormick","body":null,"created":"1449244726","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:58:46","changed":"1475895017","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:17","alt":"Joe LeDoux with undergraduates Jacquelyn Borinski, Kimberly Haight, Elaine McCormick","file":{"fid":"199814","name":"enter-the-engineers-mind-2014-cropped.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/enter-the-engineers-mind-2014-cropped_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/enter-the-engineers-mind-2014-cropped_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":6623720,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/enter-the-engineers-mind-2014-cropped_0.jpg?itok=UEv4gxEu"}}},"media_ids":["309021"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.bme.gatech.edu\/","title":"Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering"},{"url":"http:\/\/groups.bme.gatech.edu\/groups\/ledoux\/","title":"LeDoux lab"}],"groups":[{"id":"1254","name":"Wallace H. Coulter Dept. of Biomedical Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"42911","name":"Education"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering \u0026amp; Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"308961":{"#nid":"308961","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Making a mental match: pairing a mechanical device with stroke patients","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe repetitive facilitation exercise (RFE) is one of the most common rehabilitation tactics for stroke patients attempting to regain wrist movement. Stroke hemiparesis individuals are not able to move that part of their body because they cannot create a strong enough neural signal that travels from the brain to the wrist.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith RFE, however, patients get a mental boost. They are asked to think about moving. At the same time, a practitioner flexes the wrist. The goal is to send a long latency response from the stretch that arrives in the brain at the exact time the thought happens, creating a neural signal. The result is a strong, combined response that zips back to the forearm muscles and moves the wrist.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt all happens in a span of approximately 40 to 60 milliseconds.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cTiming is everything. When the window is that small, it\u2019s not easy for two people to match each other,\u201d said Georgia Institute of Technology master\u2019s graduate Lauren Lacey.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat\u2019s why Lacey and a team of fellow Georgia Tech researchers created a \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=6_f1blCNnUs\u0022\u003Emechanical device that takes people out of the process\u003C\/a\u003E, replacing them with accurate computers. Their functional MRI-compatible hemiparesis rehab device creates a long latency stretch reflex at the exact time as a brain signal.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s kind of like trying to fill a bucket with water,\u201d explained Minoru Shinohara, an associate professor in the School of Applied Physiology and director of the Human Neuromuscular Physiology Lab. \u201cStroke individuals can only mentally fill it halfway. The machine pours in the rest to make it full.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESo far, the research team has worked only with healthy individuals in their study. Study participants lie on a bed with the arm extended beneath a pneumatic actuator tendon hammer. In order to simulate the weak signal created by hemiparesis individuals to move their wrist, a transcranial magnetic stimulator (TMS) is placed on the heads of these healthy individuals at a 45-degree angle. Milliseconds after the hammer taps the wrist\u2019s tendon, the TMS creates a weak signal in the motor cortex. The responses overlap, produce and send a strong signal back to the arm, and the wrist moves.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe team has successfully varied the timing of the TMS signal and speed of the hammer to strike faster or slower depending on how much of a boost is needed to complement the brain signal. Now that the researchers have proven the viability of the TMS-actuator system, they will next work with stroke individuals.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe device is designed to adapt to people whether they are hyper, normo or hyporeflexive,\u201d said Lacey, who graduated in spring with a master\u2019s degree from the George Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAlso, because the machine is MRI-compatible, it will allow the team to study what is happening in the brain during rehab, opening the door for robotics.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOnce we fully understand what is happening mentally and physiologically, we should be able to create a robot that can reproduce successful rehabilitative exercises such as RFE,\u201d said Jun Ueda, an associate professor in the School of Mechanical Engineering. \u201cIt appears that the timing is the critical piece of this exercise. Robots are great at timing, so the results are very promising for robotics.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Georgia Tech team was assisted by researchers at Japan\u2019s Kagoshima University, Kazumi Kawahira, Megumi Shimodozono and Yong Yu, who originally performed clinical studies of conventional RFE. The device was presented at the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.dmd.umn.edu\/\u0022\u003EDesign of Medical Devices Conference\u003C\/a\u003E in Minneapolis, Minnesota this spring.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis research was partially supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under sub-award EEC 0540834. Any conclusions expressed are those of the principal investigator and may not necessarily represent the official views of the NSF.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech researchers have created a functional MRI-compatible hemiparesis rehab device that creates a long latency stretch reflex at the exact time as a brain signal. It is designed to assist stroke victims.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Mechanical rehab device taps a person\u0027s wrist while creating a signal in brain. The signals overlap int he brain and move and the wrist."}],"uid":"27560","created_gmt":"2014-07-16 10:17:58","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:45","author":"Jason Maderer","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-07-16T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-07-16T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"308921":{"id":"308921","type":"image","title":"Stroke Rehab Device","body":null,"created":"1449244726","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:58:46","changed":"1475895017","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:17","alt":"Stroke Rehab Device","file":{"fid":"199812","name":"14c10302-p36-006.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/14c10302-p36-006_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/14c10302-p36-006_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1681462,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/14c10302-p36-006_0.jpg?itok=XgsnwSO0"}},"308901":{"id":"308901","type":"image","title":"Lauren Lacey","body":null,"created":"1449244726","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:58:46","changed":"1475895017","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:17","alt":"Lauren Lacey","file":{"fid":"199810","name":"14c10302-p36-001.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/14c10302-p36-001_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/14c10302-p36-001_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1497171,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/14c10302-p36-001_0.jpg?itok=G-RRsTDe"}},"308931":{"id":"308931","type":"image","title":"Stroke Rehab Device Close-Up","body":null,"created":"1449244726","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:58:46","changed":"1475895017","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:17","alt":"Stroke Rehab Device Close-Up","file":{"fid":"199813","name":"14c10302-p36-008.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/14c10302-p36-008_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/14c10302-p36-008_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1835293,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/14c10302-p36-008_0.jpg?itok=byfM4qNX"}},"308911":{"id":"308911","type":"image","title":"Stroke Device Team Photo","body":null,"created":"1449244726","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:58:46","changed":"1475895017","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:17","alt":"Stroke Device Team Photo","file":{"fid":"199811","name":"14c10302-p36-002.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/14c10302-p36-002_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/14c10302-p36-002_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1906764,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/14c10302-p36-002_0.jpg?itok=seNtKc5L"}}},"media_ids":["308921","308901","308931","308911"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.cos.gatech.edu\/","title":"College of Sciences"},{"url":"http:\/\/coe.gatech.edu\/schools\/me","title":"George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.ap.gatech.edu\/shinohara\/NeuromuscularLab.php","title":"Human Neuromuscular Physiology Lab"}],"groups":[{"id":"1237","name":"College of Engineering"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"1912","name":"brain"},{"id":"13887","name":"Jun Ueda"},{"id":"13888","name":"Minoru Shinohara"},{"id":"98031","name":"Rehab Device"},{"id":"167732","name":"Stroke"},{"id":"98041","name":"Wrist"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71891","name":"Health and Medicine"},{"id":"71881","name":"Science and Technology"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJason Maderer\u003Cbr \/\u003ENational Media Relations\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:maderer@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emaderer@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-385-2966\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["maderer@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"308191":{"#nid":"308191","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Rozell Chosen for McDonnell Foundation Award","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EChristopher J. Rozell has been named as one of six international recipients of the\u0026nbsp;James S. McDonnell Foundation 21st Century Science Initiative Scholar Award in Studying Complex Systems.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMany processes across the life, physical, and social sciences are thought of as dynamic complex systems, where sophisticated and unpredictable behavior arises from interactions between connected components. Despite the apparent complexity, these systems often have a hidden underlying structure that can provide a much simpler description for their behavior if it is accurately captured.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERozell and his research team are\u0026nbsp;developing fundamental mathematical analyses and algorithms for using complex systems data to learn about basic building blocks for this structure in a given system and to track how this structure changes in time. While there are many potential applications of this work, Rozell and his group currently focus on neuroscience, with an emphasis on how information is represented in sensory and motor neural systems. They also study social networks and collaborative filtering, with an emphasis on personalized learning, and they examine interactions in the physical world, with an emphasis on the physics of both solid body and fluid motion.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAn associate professor in the Georgia Tech School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) since 2008, Rozell is the second faculty member from ECE and the fourth faculty member from Georgia Tech to receive this honor. Past recipients include Robert J. Butera (ECE, 2000), Joshua S. Weitz (School of Biology, 2008), and Martha A. Grover (School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, 2011).\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EECE Associate Professor Christopher J. Rozell has been named as one of six international recipients of the James S. McDonnell Foundation 21st Century Science Initiative Scholar Award in Studying Complex Systems.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"ECE Associate Professor Christopher J. Rozell has been named as one of six international recipients of the James S. McDonnell Foundation 21st Century Science Initiative Scholar Award in Studying Complex Systems."}],"uid":"27241","created_gmt":"2014-07-11 14:01:16","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:45","author":"Jackie Nemeth","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-07-11T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-07-11T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"66474":{"id":"66474","type":"image","title":"Christopher Rozell","body":null,"created":"1449177169","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:12:49","changed":"1475894592","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:43:12","alt":"Christopher Rozell","file":{"fid":"192547","name":"rozell_5046_0.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/rozell_5046_0_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/rozell_5046_0_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1882352,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/rozell_5046_0_0.jpg?itok=TUKn6fcg"}}},"media_ids":["66474"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.jsmf.org\/index.htm","title":"James S. McDonnell Foundation"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/","title":"Georgia Tech"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.ece.gatech.edu\/","title":"School of Electrical and Computer Engineering"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.ece.gatech.edu\/faculty-staff\/fac_profiles\/bio.php?id=158","title":"Christopher J. Rozell"}],"groups":[{"id":"1255","name":"School of Electrical and Computer Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"150","name":"Physics and Physical Sciences"}],"keywords":[{"id":"13379","name":"Christopher J. Rozell"},{"id":"109","name":"Georgia Tech"},{"id":"97721","name":"James S. McDonnell Foundation"},{"id":"166855","name":"School of Electrical and Computer Engineering"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"39431","name":"Data Engineering and Science"},{"id":"39451","name":"Electronics and Nanotechnology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJackie Nemeth\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Electrical and Computer Engineering\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404-894-2906\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jackie.nemeth@ece.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejackie.nemeth@ece.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jackie.nemeth@ece.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"307781":{"#nid":"307781","#data":{"type":"news","title":"In Antarctica: A Quest to the Bottom of the Food Chain","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s 3:15 p.m. and the sun is setting at Anvers Island. Just off the Antarctic Peninsula, surrounded by 300-foot cliffs of ice, Jeannette Yen pauses outside Palmer Station to watch. The sun spills over the ice cliffs. The frozen landscape melts in a golden glow.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis is one of nature\u2019s great laboratories. Yen and her team of scientists are conducting experiments here that are possible nowhere else. Outfitted in red parkas, they are not here to drill into frozen lakes or fly over thinning ice sheets. They spend what little daylight they have searching for tiny organisms in the frigid waters.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe scientists climb aboard the R\/V Lawrence M Gould, a massive research vessel operated by the National Science Foundation (NSF). They cruise past giant icebergs and through rafts of loose ice to Palmer Deep, a location where the water is 2,000 feet (600 meters) deep. From the huge stern A-frame of the ship, they lower plankton nets into the zero-degree Celsius water and haul live animals aboard. In Antarctica, zero degrees Celsius is a pleasant day, but the recent bout of 80-knot wind gusts tells them the austral winter is on its way.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe weather has been good,\u201d Yen said. \u201cWe\u2019ve gone out and have been collecting plankton all around.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EYen, a\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/people\/jeannette-yen\u0022\u003Eprofessor of biology\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, is on her second polar plunge. She\u2019s an ecologist with an engineer\u2019s eye. Her team of biologists and engineers haul each day\u2019s catch back to the lab at Palmer Station, which provides no escape from the cold. There, the scientists study plankton swimming motion with video cameras in a room kept at zero degrees Celsius, to mimic the animals\u2019 natural environment.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPlankton are the base of the food chain, but their environment is changing. Around the southern continent, the water temperature is stable at around zero degrees Celsius because of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Carbon dioxide, a potent greenhouse gas, easily dissolves in the cold water, acidifying the ocean. The acidifying oceans might be triggering a destructive chain of events underwater that could harm the food web around the world.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat\u2019s why Yen and her team have come here, in search of a tiny organism that could be a canary in the coal mine of climate change.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.news.gatech.edu\/features\/antarctica\u0022\u003ERead the full story.\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJeanette Yen, professor in the School of Biology, and a team of scientists spend the summer in Antarctica studying how plankton may be\u0026nbsp;a canary in the coal mine of climate change.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Jeanette Yen, professor in the School of Biology, and a team of scientists spend the summer in Antarctica studying how plankton may be a canary in the coal mine of climate change."}],"uid":"27469","created_gmt":"2014-07-10 11:03:34","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:45","author":"Kristen Bailey","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-07-10T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-07-10T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"307791":{"id":"307791","type":"image","title":"Jeanette Yen and Team in Antarctica","body":null,"created":"1449244708","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:58:28","changed":"1475895017","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:17","alt":"Jeanette Yen and Team in Antarctica","file":{"fid":"199783","name":"top_o_the_glacier_sm.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/top_o_the_glacier_sm_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/top_o_the_glacier_sm_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":386712,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/top_o_the_glacier_sm_0.jpg?itok=NFSyHisr"}}},"media_ids":["307791"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.news.gatech.edu\/features\/antarctica","title":"Read the Full Feature Story"}],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"82391","name":"Antarctica"},{"id":"831","name":"climate change"},{"id":"479","name":"Green Buzz"},{"id":"87521","name":"Jeanette Yen"},{"id":"42851","name":"Plankton"},{"id":"97611","name":"research news"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71911","name":"Earth and Environment"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EBrett Israel\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EResearch News\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"307341":{"#nid":"307341","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Project ENGAGES: It Takes a Community","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe third in a series of stories about Project ENGAGES, which recently began its second year at the Petit Institute.\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EProject ENGAGES, an ambitious high school education program at the Georgia Institute of Technology, is evolving kind of like a bioengineered system, where organically-informed human innovation enhances the natural process. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt began with the common understanding that minorities are underrepresented in science and engineering fields, and with Bob Nerem\u2019s recognition that the only way to increase the pipeline of strong minority scholars was to reach back to grades K through 12. Nerem also believed that an extended program would be necessary to adequately serve the brilliant kids he imagined would be working and learning in the labs of the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ENow in its second year, the former Project ENGAGE has added an \u2018S\u2019 to better reflect its focus on science (ENGAGES stands for Engaging New Generations at Georgia Tech through Engineering and Science). It\u2019s also more than doubled in size (10 students completed the first year, and there will be 24 for the second, now in two different tracks \u2013 bioscience and engineering). And the program is already paying off in ways Nerem and his co-founder\/co-chair, Manu Platt, had always hoped. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cWhen these kids leave the program and put on their resume that they worked in a lab at Georgia Tech during high school, that\u2019s huge,\u201d says Platt, assistant professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, and diversity director for EBICS (for \u2018Emergent Behaviors of Integrated Cellular Systems,\u2019 an NSF Science and Technology Center, or STC, that is supported and resides in the Petit Institute, and is the vehicle through which Project ENGAGES was formed). \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cThe other thing about this program that really stands out for me is the diversity training, which we take seriously. These students come from schools that are entirely African-American, so, not very diverse. But they are placed in a diverse environment and they interact with intelligent people of all types,\u201d Platt adds. \u201cThey interact, and they soon start to realize, \u2018these are just human beings, and I\u2019m a human being, and if it\u2019s within a human being to do this, it\u2019s within me to do this.\u2019\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAnd in Project ENGAGES, they get paid to do it. Each student earns $9 an hour for doing actual lab work \u2013 40 hours a week during the summer, 12 to 15 (or sometimes more) during the school year, time they otherwise would be spending in part-time jobs after school. A paying gig matters to students in economically challenged situations. \u201cI\u2019ve always loved science, so I was interested already when I heard of the opportunity at Georgia Tech,\u201d says Katrina Burch, a rising high school senior beginning her second year in Project ENGAGES. \u201cWe actually get to work in a lab and do real research, and it\u2019s a job.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt\u2019s a job to keep the program going, also. There is the NSF funding for the STC, of course. And Nerem, professor emeritus and founding director of the Petit Institute, has been successful in linking up with financial support from corporate and individual donors, while Platt has been more involved with designing and implementing the program. \u201cManu is the brains and I\u2019m the brawn,\u201d says Nerem, describing their co-leadership roles. That would probably make Lakeita Servance, who manages Project ENGAGES, the glue that holds it together. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EServance was working as a parent engagement specialist for the Georgia Department of Education, but was looking for an opportunity to interact directly with students in an administrative role. \u201cI honestly didn\u2019t know a lot about Project ENGAGES before applying for the job, but my interest was truly piqued during the interview as I learned how I would be able to play a role in crafting this program,\u201d says Servance, who joined the Petit Institute in May 2013 as the EBICS Education Outreach Manager, just as the first class of Project ENGAGES students were arriving for orientation at Georgia Tech. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cThe community of students we\u2019re working with did not see themselves as belonging or fitting in with a place like Georgia Tech, and this program is breaking down that barrier,\u201d Servance adds. \u201cWe\u2019re taking students who have traditionally been overlooked and introducing them to new opportunities.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFIRST CLASS\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOver the past year, 10 students from two single-gender Atlanta Public Schools \u2013 Coretta Scott King Young Woman\u2019s Leadership Academy and B.E.S.T. Academy \u2013 have gotten a head-start on the college lab work experience, while dipping their toes into a bubbling cultural melting pot. Of those 10 students, eight produced research projects that advanced from the Atlanta Regional Science and Engineering Fair to the statewide event. Two of those students (Jovanay Carter and Amadou Bah) advanced to the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. And another, Solomon McBride, won a Posse Scholarship to attend Brandeis University. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBefore any of that took shape, however, Nerem and Platt had to come up with the clay. They understood the need \u2013 more opportunities for underserved minority groups \u2013 and necessity begat invention. An important part of the EBICS mission is centered on diversity. The STC brings together scientists from Georgia Tech, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and seven other institutions, in a big picture focus to create biomachines that may cure diseases or clean up the environment. But they\u2019re also out to develop the next generation of scientists, with a high emphasis on increasing the recruitment, participation and retention of underrepresented minorities. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ENerem, an associate director for EBICS, had some ideas on what might be the best way to achieve that. \u201cI decided that what was really necessary was to get these students fully immersed in a yearlong experience,\u201d says Nerem, who thought he could sell the program to potential sponsors. \u201cBut I knew that this old guy couldn\u2019t be a role model for young African American kids.\u201d So he went after his friend and colleague, Platt, who had first-hand knowledge of college-based high school programs aimed at minority students. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cI was involved in program called FAME, which stands for Forum to Advance Minorities in Engineering. This was a weekend program during the school year with a local college, Delaware State University, a historically black school, and it was my entre into engineering,\u201d says Platt, a Georgia Cancer Coalition distinguished scholar, who came South to attend historically black, single-gender Morehouse College, and liked the idea of working with single-gender, minority-serving high schools in the Georgia Tech area. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cI had ideas on how to sculpt the program, what the kids might need. I understand what the teachers and students and parents might be thinking, what it\u2019s like to be brand new here on campus,\u201d Platt says. \u201cThose are elements I considered, and what it would take to integrate them into a lab. It can be a tricky balance.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThere had to be a buy-in not only from the high school kids, but the high school teachers and administration, and from the research teams at Georgia Tech. \u201cThe first thing we needed was to build relationships,\u201d Platt says. \u201cBob Nerem says science is a people business, and it certainly is.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EDuring the 2012-2013 school year, Platt and his lab did outreach at the participating high schools, brought demonstrations to the schools, invited science classes to the Petit Institute. They were planting the seeds for a sustained kind of engagement because, as Platt says, \u201cwe were building up to the first application process, so students would have an idea of what the program was all about \u2013 so they would want to apply. Of course, it was serendipitous that the Biomedical Engineering Society conference was in Atlanta around that time. So we thought, \u2018wouldn\u2019t it be cool to have a hands-on demo day and invite local high schools.\u2019\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESo they recruited a team of students from the Coulter Department, mostly undergrads, who were in charge, Platt says, students with a heart for service (which are the kinds of students Platt looks for). The BMES conference in November 2012, at the Georgia World Congress Center was a great recruiting tool for the high school program taking shape, grabbing the interest of high school students (and bringing them together with college students just a year or two older, with shared interests and entirely different backgrounds), and also getting the attention of local media \u2013 Jim Burress of Atlanta public radio station WABE covered the event, and would follow-up nine months later with an in-depth five-part series on the first summer of Project ENGAGES. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EA rigorous interview process \u2013 \u201cIt was nerve wracking,\u201d says Katrina Burch \u2013 resulting in one out of three applicants being chosen for Project ENGAGES. There were 12 students who went through the first \u201cBiocellular Bootcamp,\u201d two weeks of preparation involving hard science and soft skills. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cA big thing we do during boot camp is we build in professional development activities,\u201d says Platt. \u201cWe try to address what it will be like to integrate these young, black scientists successfully into a lab, which is not just about knowing science. It\u2019s how you get along with others, so there\u2019s a conflict resolution bit. Last year it was a little more informal.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ENEW YEAR\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThis year, Platt was ready with a professional diversity trainer. It was a relationship that began completely organically. \u201cI was on a 17-hour flight to South Africa, and you really get to know someone on a 17-hour flight,\u201d says Platt, who happened to be sitting next to Tamika Curry Smith, whose company, The TCS Group, provides human resources and diversity and inclusion solutions to corporate and non-profit clients. Long story short, Smith conducted two sessions for Project ENGAGES this summer, one with the high school students, and one with the mentors \u2013 there\u2019s a candle-lighting ceremony at the end of boot camp in which students and mentors are paired together, after having vetted each other during a \u201cspeed dating\u201d session. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cWe\u2019re asking our lab people to do more than they were originally interested in doing several years ago, before there was a Project ENGAGES,\u201d Platt says. \u201cYou want the graduate student mentors and the postdoc mentors and the high school students to all feel like this is helpful to their progress.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOf the 12 students who began the program last summer, 10 finished the school year working regular weekly shifts in Georgia Tech labs, run by a handful of professors who share Platt\u2019s interest in outreach. All 10 of those students came back to work full-time schedules this summer. Five of the original 10 recently graduated high school, and will embark on the next stage of their education in the fall. But when the next semester arrives, the other five, all rising high school seniors like Burch, will continue in Project ENGAGES, while a new crew of hopeful young scientists, fresh out of boot camp, discovers the college lab experience. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFirst, it takes a lab, and a number of bio-researchers have stepped up. During the first year, high school students were working in labs run by Platt, Gang Bao, Tom Barker, Edward Botchwey and Robert Guldberg. A number of other scientists have offered their labs this year, including Ravi Bellamkonda, Ross Ethier, Yuhong Fan, and Hang Lu, among others. And it takes mentors, like postdoc Kristi Porter from Platt\u2019s lab, who worked with two students the first year, and considered it one of those rare win-win experiences. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cI was particularly interested in this program because of my previous volunteer work as a high school college tour organizer and my passion for increasing science and math education for our youth,\u201d says Porter, who mentored Burch and Soloman McBride. \u201cI am incredibly proud of their growth as independent thinkers and scientists. They are dependable, and I am comfortable with giving them independent studies and experiments to perform. Also, since their projects are directly related to my own, we build off of each other\u0027s ideas and results. As a result, I\u2019m confident that we will be able to submit our combined efforts for publication by the end of the year.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ENonetheless, this year it should be a bit easier for mentors, according to Servance. \u201cWe found that sometimes two students could be overwhelming for a single mentor, so this year we\u2019ve assigned one student per mentor,\u201d she says. \u201cIt means we\u2019ve had to recruit more mentors and of course more labs, but the response has been amazing. These are people who wanted to take on the responsibility.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EProject ENGAGES has expanded its scope this year, also. For one thing, they\u2019re including a new area high school, also in the Atlanta Public School system \u2013 KIPP Atlanta Collegiate. There are 10 new students on the biotech track, in addition to the five returning from last year, and they\u2019ve added nine students to what Nerem describes as, \u201ca more traditional engineering track,\u201d developed under the leadership of the Georgia Tech Research Institute. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhat it means is more opportunity for more students, which is exactly why Gary Noble supports the program. One of Nerem\u2019s neighbors, Noble used to direct the HIV-AIDS program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Now retired, he heard Nerem give a presentation about Project ENGAGES. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cIn the simplest of terms, I heard what Bob said and thought this was extremely important. They\u2019re providing opportunities that were otherwise unavailable to brilliant young people, giving them the chance to do great things that might not have been considered feasible before,\u201d Noble says. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFor Tom O\u2019Brien, his engagement with Project ENGAGES is like the program itself, that bio-mixture of organic growth with human ingenuity, and generosity. Last August, he happened to be driving to work at Axion Biosystems, where he is president and CEO, when WABE aired one of its pieces on the high school program. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cIt piqued my interest. Then I heard the next story in the series,\u201d says O\u2019Brien, whose company is based on technology developed at Georgia Tech. \u201cThen I started asking how we could help. There are talented kids everywhere, and what a great idea this is \u2013 exposing kids to a STEM curriculum, giving them the tools they can use to create careers and contribute to science and discovery later on. We\u2019re committed to supporting the program as it continues to grow.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"High school education program builds strong system of support and leadership."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EHigh school education program builds strong system of support and leadership.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"High school education program builds strong system of support and leadership."}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-07-09 08:23:02","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:45","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-07-09T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-07-09T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"307331":{"id":"307331","type":"image","title":"Project ENGAGES co-founders, Bob Nerem and Manu Platt, with program manager, Lakeita Servance","body":null,"created":"1449244708","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:58:28","changed":"1475895015","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:15","alt":"Project ENGAGES co-founders, Bob Nerem and Manu Platt, with program manager, Lakeita Servance","file":{"fid":"199770","name":"bob_lakeita_manu_2_0.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bob_lakeita_manu_2_0_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bob_lakeita_manu_2_0_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1041817,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/bob_lakeita_manu_2_0_0.jpg?itok=JoqQaias"}}},"media_ids":["307331"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/projectengage.gatech.edu\/","title":"Project ENGAGES website"}],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"126581","name":"go-ProjectEngages"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering \u0026amp; Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"306131":{"#nid":"306131","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Study of animal urination could lead to better-engineered products","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESir Isaac Newton probably wasn\u2019t thinking about how animals urinate when he was developing his laws of gravity. But they are connected \u2013 by the urethra, to be specific.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA new Georgia Institute of Technology study investigated how quickly 32 animals urinate. It turns out that it\u2019s all about the same. Even though an elephant\u2019s bladder is 3,600 times larger than a cat\u2019s (18 liters vs. 5 milliliters), both animals relieve themselves in about 20 seconds. In fact, all animals that weigh more than 3 kilograms (6.6 pounds) urinate in that same time span.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s possible because larger animals have longer urethras,\u201d said David Hu, the Georgia Tech assistant professor who led the study. \u201cThe weight of the fluid in the urethra is pushing the fluid out. And because the urethra is long, flow rate is increased.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor example, an elephant\u2019s urethra is one meter in length. The pressure of fluid in it is the same at the bottom of a swimming pool three feet deep. An elephant urinates four meters per second, or the same volume per second as five showerheads.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIf its urethra were shorter, the elephant would urinate for a longer time and be more susceptible to predators,\u201d Hu explained.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe findings conflict with studies that indicate urinary flow is controlled on bladder pressure generated by muscular contraction. \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.pnas.org\/content\/early\/2014\/06\/25\/1402289111\u0022\u003EThe study has just been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). \u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHu (George Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering and School of Biology) and graduate student Patricia Yang noticed that gravity allows larger animals to empty their bladders in jets or sheets of urine. Gravity\u2019s effect on small animals is minimal.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E \u201cThey urinate in small drops because of high viscous and capillary forces. It\u2019s like peeing in space,\u201d said Yang, who is pursuing her doctoral degree in the School of Mechanical Engineering. \u201cMice and rats go in less than two seconds. Bats are done in a fraction of a second.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research team went to a zoo to watch 16 animals relieve themselves, then watched 28 YouTube videos. They saw cows, horses, dogs and more.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe more they watched, the more they realized their findings could help engineers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt turns out that you don\u2019t need external pressure to get rid of fluids quickly,\u201d said Hu. \u201cNature has designed a way to use gravity instead of wasting the animal\u2019s energy.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHu envisions systems for water tanks, backpacks and fire hoses that can be built for more efficiency. As an example, he and his students have created a demonstration that empties a \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=-7DZifiouoM\u0026amp;list=UUFkaWOGpyFBVRf5jEeD_wrA\u0026amp;index=2\u0022\u003Eteacup, quart and gallon of water in the same duration\u003C\/a\u003E using varying lengths of connected tubes. In a second experiment, the team fills three cups with the same amount of water, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=qGF5vepfGxI\u0026amp;list=UUFkaWOGpyFBVRf5jEeD_wrA\u0022\u003Ethen watches them empty at differing rates\u003C\/a\u003E. The longer the tube, the faster it empties.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cNature has shown us that no matter how big the fire truck, water can still come out in the same time as a tiny truck,\u201d Hu added.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe trick is gravity. Newton would be proud.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA new Georgia Institute of Technology study investigated how quickly 32 animals urinate. It turns out that it\u2019s all about the same. Even though an elephant\u2019s bladder is 3,600 times larger than a cat\u2019s (18 liters vs. 5 milliliters), both animals relieve themselves in about 20 seconds. In fact, all animals that weigh more than 3 kilograms (6.6 pounds) urinate in that same time span.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Despite a wide range of bladder sizes, all animals more than 6 pounds urinate in the same time span."}],"uid":"27560","created_gmt":"2014-06-30 14:04:48","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:41","author":"Jason Maderer","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-06-30T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-06-30T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"306121":{"id":"306121","type":"image","title":"Elephant","body":null,"created":"1449244668","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:57:48","changed":"1475895015","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:15","alt":"Elephant","file":{"fid":"199730","name":"africanelephant-122402126.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/africanelephant-122402126_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/africanelephant-122402126_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2367815,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/africanelephant-122402126_0.jpg?itok=vNy1uO7b"}},"100131":{"id":"100131","type":"image","title":"David Hu","body":null,"created":"1449178150","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:29:10","changed":"1475894715","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:15"}},"media_ids":["306121","100131"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.pnas.org\/content\/early\/2014\/06\/25\/1402289111","title":"PNAS Study"},{"url":"http:\/\/coe.gatech.edu\/schools\/me","title":"George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/","title":"School of Biology"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"297","name":"David Hu"},{"id":"96651","name":"elephant"},{"id":"5195","name":"pee"},{"id":"96641","name":"urinate"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"39541","name":"Systems"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71881","name":"Science and Technology"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJason Maderer\u003Cbr \/\u003EMedia Relations\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:maderer@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emaderer@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-385-2966\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["maderer@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"305961":{"#nid":"305961","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Evolution of life\u0027s operating system revealed in detail","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe evolution of the ribosome, a large molecular structure found in the cells of all species, has been revealed in unprecedented detail in a new study.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAround 4 billion years ago, the first molecules of life came together on the early Earth and formed precursors of modern proteins and RNA. Scientists studying the origin of life have been searching for clues about how these reactions happened. Some of those clues have been found in the ribosome.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe core of the ribosome is essentially the same in all living systems, while the outer regions expand and become complicated as species gain complexity. By digitally peeling back the layers of modern ribosomes in the new study, scientists were able to model the structures of primordial ribosomes.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe history of the ribosome tells us about the origin of life,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ww2.chemistry.gatech.edu\/~lw26\/\u0022\u003ELoren Williams\u003C\/a\u003E, a professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the Georgia Institute of Technology.\u0026nbsp; \u201cWe have worked out on a fine level of detail how the ribosome originated and evolved.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe study was sponsored by the NASA Astrobiology Institute and the Center for Ribosomal Origins and Evolution at Georgia Tech. The results were published June 30 in the journal \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.pnas.org\/cgi\/doi\/10.1073\/pnas.1407205111\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn biology, the genetic information stored in DNA is transcribed into mRNA, which is then shipped out of the cell nucleus. Ribosomes, in all species use mRNA as a blueprint for building all the proteins and enzymes essential to life. The ribosome\u2019s job is called translation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe common core of the ribosome is essentially the same in humans, yeast, bacteria and archaea \u2013 in all living systems. The Georgia Tech team has shown that as organisms evolve and become more complex, so do their ribosomes. Humans have the largest and most complex ribosomes. But the changes are on the surface \u2013 the heart of a human ribosome the same as in a bacterial ribosome.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe translation system is the operating system of life,\u201d Williams said. \u201cAt its core the ribosome is the same everywhere. The ribosome is universal biology.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the new study, Williams and Research Scientist Anton Petrov compared three-dimensional structures of ribosomes from a variety of species of varying biological complexity, including humans, yeast, bacteria and archaea. The researchers found distinct fingerprints in the ribosomes where new structures were added to the ribosomal surface without altering the pre-existing core.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAdditions to the ribosome cause insertion fingerprints. Much like a botanist can carve back twigs and branches on a tree to learn about its growth and age, Petrov and Williams show how segments were continually added to the ribosome without changing the underlying structure.\u0026nbsp; The research team extrapolated the process backwards in time to generate models of simple, primordial ribosomes.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe learned some of the rules of the ribosome, that evolution can change the ribosome as long as it does not mess with its core,\u201d Williams said. \u201cEvolution can add things on, but it can\u2019t change what was already there.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor a video on the origins and evolution of the ribosome, visit: \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ei6qGLBTsKM\u0022\u003Ehttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ei6qGLBTsKM\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis research is supported by the NASA Astrobiology Institute under award number NNA09DA78A. Any conclusions or opinions are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the sponsoring agency.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECITATION\u003C\/strong\u003E: Anton S. Petrov, et al., \u201cEvolution of the Ribosome at Atomic Resolution.\u201d (June 2014, PNAS) \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.pnas.org\/cgi\/doi\/10.1073\/pnas.1407205111\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.pnas.org\/cgi\/doi\/10.1073\/pnas.1407205111\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003Cbr \/\u003E Georgia Institute of Technology\u003Cbr \/\u003E 177 North Avenue\u003Cbr \/\u003E Atlanta, Georgia\u0026nbsp; 30332-0181\u0026nbsp; USA\u003Cbr \/\u003E \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/GTResearchNews\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E@GTResearchNews\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts\u003C\/strong\u003E: Brett Israel (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/btiatl\u0022\u003E@btiatl\u003C\/a\u003E) (404-385-1933) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or John Toon (404-894-6986) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: Brett Israel\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The evolution of the ribosome, a large molecular structure found in the cells of all species, has been revealed in unprecedented detail in a new study."}],"uid":"27902","created_gmt":"2014-06-30 11:23:15","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:41","author":"Brett Israel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-06-30T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-06-30T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"305951":{"id":"305951","type":"image","title":"Ribosome evolution before and after the last universal common ancestor","body":null,"created":"1449244668","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:57:48","changed":"1475895015","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:15","alt":"Ribosome evolution before and after the last universal common ancestor","file":{"fid":"199725","name":"riboevo.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/riboevo_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/riboevo_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":198976,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/riboevo_0.jpg?itok=ARKzM3UA"}}},"media_ids":["305951"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[{"id":"96581","name":"loren wiliams"},{"id":"408","name":"NASA"},{"id":"9854","name":"Origin Of Life"},{"id":"6730","name":"ribosome"},{"id":"96591","name":"ribosome evolution"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71881","name":"Science and Technology"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBrett Israel\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404-385-1933\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"302921":{"#nid":"302921","#data":{"type":"news","title":"How stiff is DNA with RNA intrusions?","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETo test whether the presence of RNA in DNA duplexes could alter the elasticity and structure of DNA, a group of researchers at Georgia Tech and Georgia State University, inspired by Francesca Storici, and including the labs of Elisa Riedo, Angelo Bongiorno and Markus Germann conducted a multidisciplinary study at the interface of physics, chemistry and molecular biology. The group employed atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based single molecule force-measurements of short rNMP(s)-containing oligonucleotides in combination with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERibonucleotides (rNMPs), the units of RNA, are the most abundant non-canonical nucleotides found in genomic DNA. rNMPs, either not removed from Okazaki fragments during DNA replication or incorporated and scattered throughout the genome, pose a perturbation to the structure and a threat to the integrity of DNA. The instability of DNA is mainly due to the extra 2\u2019-hydroxyl (OH) group of rNMPs which gives rise to local structural effects that may disturb various molecular interactions in cells. As a result of these structural perturbations by rNMPs, the elastic properties of DNA may also be affected.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDNA has unique mechanical properties that are crucial in many natural biochemical processes and play an important role in DNA-based nanotechnology applications. Despite demonstrations of their abundance and importance, no data exist in literature regarding elastic measurements and sequence-dependent structural distortions of DNA with isolated single rNMP intrusions. With the goal to bring insights on how rNMPs change elastic properties of DNA and its structure, the Georgia Tech team with Hsiang-Chih Chiu and Kyung Duk Koh, a postdoctoral fellow at the time in the lab of Elisa Riedo in the School of Physics, and a PhD candidate in the lab of Francesca Storici from the School of Biology, respectively, together with the graduate student Annie Lesiak from Angelo Bongiorno lab in the School of Physics and School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and in collaboration with Markus Germann and his graduate student Marina Evich from the Department of Chemistry at Georgia State University, conducted an innovative, experimental and theoretical study utilizing two short DNA molecules containing isolated rNMP intrusions. Storici said: \u0026lt;\u0026lt;We examined and identified how the elasticity and structure of DNA are altered by the rNMP intrusions in the studied DNA sequences\u0026gt;\u0026gt;. AFM-based single molecule force spectroscopy demonstrated that rNMP intrusions in short DNA duplexes can decrease \u2013 by 32% \u2013 or slightly increase the stretch modulus of DNA depending on specific sequence contexts next to the rNMPs. In addition, MD simulations and NMR experiments indicated that rNMP inclusions locally change the torsional distortion of the sugar-phosphate backbone in DNA only when the rNMPs are in specific locations in the DNA sequence. Riedo concluded: \u0026lt;\u0026lt;Our work opens up the route to use AFM single molecules measurements to understand how defects and the base sequence can affect the elasticity of short DNA molecules\u0026gt;\u0026gt;.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe demonstrated ability of rNMPs to locally change DNA mechanical properties and structure may find applications in structural DNA nanotechnology and help understanding how such intrusions impact DNA biological functions. Overall, these findings open a new route for understanding how rNMPs may influence DNA structure, chemistry, and biology.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe study is just published as an article in the journal \u003Cem\u003ENanoscale\u003C\/em\u003E (accepted, 2014):\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cem\u003EChiu HC*, Koh KD*, Evich M, Lesiak AL, Germann MW, Bongiorno A, Riedo E, Storici F (2014) \u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch4\u003ERNA intrusions change DNA elastic properties and structure. Nanoscale, DOI: 10.1039\/C4NR01794C; *equal contribution.\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/pubs.rsc.org\/en\/content\/articlepdf\/2014\/nr\/c4nr01794c\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/pubs.rsc.org\/en\/content\/articlepdf\/2014\/nr\/c4nr01794c\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis project was supported by the Office of Basic Energy Sciences of the US Department of Energy (DE-FG02-06ER46293), the National Science Foundation (NSF)(CMMI-1100290 and DMR-0820382), the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology and the NSF grant CHE-0946869, the Integrative Biosystems Institute grant IBSI-4, the Georgia Research Alliance grant R9028 and the NSF grant MCB-1021763. \u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETo test whether the presence of RNA in DNA duplexes could alter the elasticity and structure of DNA, a group of researchers at Georgia Tech and Georgia State University, inspired by Francesca Storici, and including the labs of Elisa Riedo, Angelo Bongiorno and Markus Germann conducted a multidisciplinary study at the interface of physics, chemistry and molecular biology. The group employed atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based single molecule force-measurements of short rNMP(s)-containing oligonucleotides in combination with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR).\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"To test whether the presence of RNA in DNA duplexes could alter the elasticity and structure of DNA."}],"uid":"27245","created_gmt":"2014-06-12 09:08:23","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:33","author":"Troy Hilley","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-06-12T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-06-12T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"302881":{"id":"302881","type":"image","title":"Nanoscale","body":null,"created":"1449244592","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:56:32","changed":"1475895007","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:07","alt":"Nanoscale","file":{"fid":"199596","name":"figure_for_news_on_nanoscale.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/figure_for_news_on_nanoscale_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/figure_for_news_on_nanoscale_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":176445,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/figure_for_news_on_nanoscale_0.jpg?itok=kRhGGCkG"}}},"media_ids":["302881"],"groups":[{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[{"id":"95341","name":"DNA with RNA intrusions"},{"id":"13560","name":"Francesca Storici"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"305841":{"#nid":"305841","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Expanding Options - Project ENGAGES Student Finds New Posse to Ride With","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe second in a series of stories about Project ENGAGES, which recently began its second year at the Petit Institute.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn his old job, Solomon McBride rarely did anything more challenging than stick groceries in a bag. In his current job, he\u2019s performing experiments in a well-equipped lab, researching the negative effects antiretroviral drugs can have on the cardiovascular systems of HIV patients.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESo yeah, the 18-year-old McBride likes his current job way more than his last job. Except, it\u2019s not exactly a job. It\u2019s more like an educational opportunity. And soon, he\u2019ll have to give it up, but that\u2019s good thing, because better things await McBride, a second-year Project ENGAGES student who will start attending Brandeis University near Boston, this fall on a Posse Scholarship. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIf you\u2019ve spent any time at the Parker H. Petit Institute for Biotechnology and Bioscience, chances are good that you\u2019ve seen McBride or his fellow students in Project ENGAGES, a high school education program created through the NSF Science and Technology Center on the Emergent Behaviors of Integrated Cellular Systems (EBICS, a research center that is supported and resides in the Petit Institute). \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EDeveloped last year at the Georgia Institute of Technology in partnership with Coretta Scott King Young Women\u0027s Leadership Academy and B.E.S.T Academy, two minority-serving public high schools in the City of Atlanta, the program aims to serve \u201ca community of children who did not see themselves as belonging or fitting in with a place like Georgia Tech,\u201d according to Lakeita Servance, who oversees Project ENGAGES as the EBICS\u2019 (and Petit Institute\u2019s) education outreach manager. \u201cWe\u2019re also introducing students to a broader field of science. Studying biology doesn\u2019t mean that you can only be a doctor, so this program demonstrates that you can do a number of different things, that you have choices and options.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAnd McBride, who recently graduated from the B.E.S.T. Academy, likes his expanded options. He\u2019d been thinking along the lines of careers in film, or economics, but after more than a year studying and working in Manu Platt\u2019s lab he says, \u201cscience is wide open. I always liked science, but doubted myself, so I was hesitant. But now I feel like research is definitely something I want to do, and the experience here has given me a foundation for the college experience. I understand the mindset it takes now.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EDuring the school year, students involved in Project ENGAGES who are on the biotechnology track (like McBride) commit to working 12 to 15 hours a week in a Georgia Tech bio lab (there is also now an engineering track, developed under the leadership of the Georgia Tech Research Institute). During the summer, it goes up to 40 hours a week. Students are paid $9 an hour for their time \u2013 time they otherwise would have spent bagging groceries or flipping burgers, probably. So there is a sense not only of working for a grade, but actually producing results in the lab, helping to make hands on discoveries. That\u2019s what hooked McBride, who also appreciates the commitment of his mentors and lab partners (undergrads, PhD students, post-docs, etc.). \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cWe get a wage, so it\u2019s a job that we take seriously,\u201d McBride says. \u201cI\u2019m sure it\u2019s not easy to have a bunch of high school students in your labs, but they\u2019ve given us responsibilities, they treat us like adults. There\u2019s a sense of importance to what we\u2019re doing, and you have to get it right. You learn it. And you get the hands on experience, working with the equipment, doing the experiments. You see the cause and effect. You make the connections. It all comes together.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMcBride comes from a family that places a high value on a college education, so his academic pursuits are grounded, to some degree, close to the heart. He has three older sisters who have set an inspirational pace. One graduated from Howard University, another from Swarthmore, and another is going to art school in Chicago. So, McBride is carrying on a bit of the family tradition, and when he gets to Boston, he\u2019ll be a much more confident version of himself. Part of that is the Project ENGAGES experience, but the deeper source comes from his time at the B.E.S.T. Academy. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cI started there in the sixth grade, the first class at the school,\u201d he says. \u201cIf you asked me then, I\u2019d have said, \u2018get me out of here right now!\u2019 But looking back, it was a great experience, partly due to the challenges a new school faces. You\u2019re a startup, learning how to stand on your feet, and you face many problems, you know, like growing pains. You go through that and you get a sense of resilience that you\u2019re going to need throughout life.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHe showed plenty of resilience through an extensive Posse Scholar recruitment process \u2013 about 1,200 students in the Atlanta region applied for the 61 scholarships that were ultimately awarded. The scholarships come from the 25-year-old Posse Foundation, a U.S. non-profit organization that identifies, recruits and trains students with academic and leadership potential. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe scholars are then organized in supportive, often multicultural teams (or, \u201cposses\u201d of 10 students) comprised of students from the same city, and Posse Foundation partner colleges and universities award four-year, full-tuition leadership scholarships. Then, for eight months before beginning their college careers, the Posse Scholars attend weekly pre-collegiate training meetings, getting to know the members of their posse, and generally preparing for the academic, social and personal challenges ahead. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EGetting through the door involved three rounds of interviews. Before the first round, McBride asked Bob Nerem, founding director of the Petit Institute who co-founded Project ENGAGES with assistant professor Manu Platt last year, to write a letter of recommendation \u2013 students are asked to supply this, and typically it comes from one of their high school teachers. The first question\u0026nbsp;McBride got from the first interviewer was, How in the world did get a letter from a Georgia Tech professor? The answer is, Project ENGAGES. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMcBride has met with his posse weekly since finding out he won the scholarship in December. They\u2019re all Atlanta kids and all are African-American, which is a first for Posse, which serves (and has offices in) nine U.S. cities, and strives for a diverse collection of scholars. Project ENGAGES also puts a premium on diversity, integrating its group of entirely African-American high school students with the wide-ranging cultural melting pot that is the Petit Institute. So, McBride was a little surprised when he first met his monochromatic posse. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cIt was weird at first, but then you get to know your posse and you realize that diversity doesn\u2019t just mean skin color,\u201d McBride ways. \u201cMy posse is made up of people from entirely different backgrounds, people with completely different life experiences, whether from an economic or family standpoint or otherwise.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHe expects the lessons of integrative communities to continue at Brandeis, and he is open minded about the educational possibilities, which he believes, like science, are wide open. McBride isn\u2019t sure yet what he\u2019ll major in, but he\u2019s certain it will be related to scientific research. In the short term, however, he knows exactly what he wants to be: the next John Ewing. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EEwing, an undergrad at Vanderbilt University, where he also stars on the cross-country team, has been working in Nerem\u2019s lab the past four summers. So, Ewing\u2019s summertime role has evolved with the infusion of high school students in Petit Institute labs. There were 10 students in the first Project ENGAGES biotech class last year, all of whom returned to 40-hour status this summer, plus 10 new students on the biotech track, who began the summer session with a boot camp, and have only recently moved into labs. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cBoot camp is a lot to get through, but once they get in the lab, they start putting it all together, and that\u2019s my favorite part,\u201d says Ewing, a rising senior at Vanderbilt who grew up in Atlanta and plans to go to medical school. \u201cYou see how they react once they are paired with their mentors, you see the change between that first day, when research mentors present their projects, to the last day, when the high school students present their projects. They\u2019ve gone from not really knowing what\u2019s going on to being able to present and own a piece of a research project. That\u2019s a really cool transformation.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt\u2019s a transformation he\u2019s had a guiding hand in. Ewing helps organize the students, gives talks on cell biology, helps the kids with their research presentations \u2013 an all-around utility player with a friendly ear for the high school kids who are really just a few years younger than he is. And as an Atlanta guy who comes home every year and brings something back to the Georgia Tech community, he\u2019s set an example for McBride, who envisions coming back to the Petit Institute to fill a similar kind of mentor\u2019s role. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cJohn has had a huge impact on the program, and on me,\u201d says McBride. \u201cNot just for the four weeks of boot camp, but through the summer. I\u2019m not sure he realizes it, but the example he sets, his dedication and support, is something we all admire. So yeah, I do want to be the next John Ewing. That would be pretty cool.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"The second in a series of stories about Project ENGAGES, in its second year at the Petit Institute."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe second in a series of stories about Project ENGAGES, in its second year at the Petit Institute.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The second in a series of stories about Project ENGAGES, in its second year at the Petit Institute."}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-06-30 09:23:36","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:41","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-06-30T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-06-30T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"305831":{"id":"305831","type":"image","title":"Project ENGAGES student, Solomon McBride","body":null,"created":"1449244668","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:57:48","changed":"1475895015","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:15","alt":"Project ENGAGES student, Solomon McBride","file":{"fid":"199722","name":"solomon_mcbride.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/solomon_mcbride_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/solomon_mcbride_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":647552,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/solomon_mcbride_0.jpg?itok=WwhUnVfD"}},"305851":{"id":"305851","type":"image","title":"John Ewing, undergraduate mentor to Project ENGAGES student, Solomon McBride","body":null,"created":"1449244668","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:57:48","changed":"1475895015","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:15","alt":"John Ewing, undergraduate mentor to Project ENGAGES student, Solomon McBride","file":{"fid":"199723","name":"mcbride_and_ewing.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/mcbride_and_ewing_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/mcbride_and_ewing_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1402074,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/mcbride_and_ewing_0.jpg?itok=kvFMuRNq"}}},"media_ids":["305831","305851"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/projectengage.gatech.edu\/","title":"Project ENGAGES website"}],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"126581","name":"go-ProjectEngages"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for \u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering \u0026amp; Biosciencer\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"305331":{"#nid":"305331","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Man\u0027s (New) Best Friends","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe venomous sidewinder rattlesnake has always been able to kill you\u2014but now it could help save you, too. It\u2019s just one of the unlikely species inspiring Georgia Tech researchers to improve lives, animal and human alike.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDespite the many famous animals that populate the annals of Georgia Tech lore\u2014Sideways, Stumpy\u2019s bear, the St. Bernards of Lambda Chi\u2014for many years, the Institute rarely engaged with animals in an academic capacity. Even as recently as the late 1990s, every single research animal on Tech\u2019s campus was contained in a single tank inside a lab in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. The sum total: six goldfish.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the ensuing years, Georgia Tech researchers have expanded their focus to more fully explore the intersection of engineering and the natural world. And as they have, one theme has emerged again and again: For as much as we still have to learn about animals, they may have even more to teach us about ourselves.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThese days, animals are helping researchers to better understand not only animals themselves but also the wider world, including humankind\u2019s place within it\u2014our physiology, our brains, our interactions with our environments. Animals are inspiring Georgia Tech\u2019s faculty and students to create advanced robots, medical technology and improved prosthetics, among other developments that will shape the future, both saving and improving human lives.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOften, these animals aren\u2019t the types that you would expect to be saving people. Take the sidewinder rattlesnake.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s best known for lying in wait in sandy stretches of the Southwest, ready to strike any prey that comes within reach and inject it with venom.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut the sidewinder\u2019s unique motion that carves an arcing trail through the desert is proving key to researchers who seek to build a robot capable of moving across sand.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat is but one of a growing number of animal-related projects taking place on campus. As these endeavors have increased, Georgia Tech has taken steps to manage and oversee such work.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAll research involving animals is conducted under strict guidelines ensuring that as few animals as possible are used in research, and that those animals are treated humanely. Animals have given much to researchers, and so researchers do their part to give something back.\u003Cbr \/\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003EHere, we look at just a small sampling of the ways in which animals are helping Georgia Tech researchers transform the world.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EINSPIRING ROBOTS\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBiologically inspired robotics has developed into a major focus at the Institute, with multiple labs looking to the animal kingdom for inspiration. One challenge that has long vexed researchers is the ability to traverse across sand. It\u2019s a tricky prospect, as sandy surfaces can take on the properties of a solid, a liquid and even a gas.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut while robots struggle with the surface, various animals are able to move across sand, including lizards, sea turtles and snakes. Now Tech roboticists are mining the creatures\u2019 behavior for their evolutionarily perfected secrets.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnimals are inspiring Tech\u2019s faculty and students to create advanced robots, medical technology and improved prosthetics, among other developments that will shape the future, both saving and improving human lives.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA robotics team led by Dan Goldman, an assistant [associate] professor in the School of Physics, and David Hu, an assistant [associate] professor of mechanical engineering, began performing comparative studies on how sea turtles and sandfish (which essentially swim on land) move over sand.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThen they turned to snakes.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne snake-based robot that came out of the lab\u2014known as Scalybot\u2014was effective on many surfaces, but it always got stuck in sand. Many real snakes struggle with sand, too.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThey partnered with Joe Mendelson, curator of herpetology at Zoo Atlanta and an adjunct professor at Tech, to study a snake that\u2019s at ease on sand: the sidewinder rattlesnake.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThey\u2019re famous for their funky sideways locomotion through sand dunes,\u201d Mendelson says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech prohibits venomous snakes on campus, and Tech researchers themselves can\u2019t handle poisonous animals. Mendelson\u2019s position at Zoo Atlanta allowed him to collect sidewinders from Arizona and conduct the research at the zoo in \u201cthe world\u2019s most expensive sandbox.\u201d Tech\u2019s researchers simply observed the results.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe team now has a firm understanding of how sidewinders handle sandy slopes, and they\u2019re examining how the snakes navigate obstructions. While sidewinder-style robots have obvious uses\u2014search-and-rescue missions, military operations, planetary exploration\u2014research partners from Harvard University have suggested sending the robots into sand-filled tunnels in Egyptian ruins.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cA robot can\u2019t go down a sand-choked tunnel underground\u2014only a snake can do that,\u201d Mendelson says. \u201cSo we need a sidewinding robot with a camera that can look around. Then [if something of value is down there] you can put in the effort to dig it out.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe needs of robots extend far beyond traversing sand, and inspiration has come from some surprising places. Hu received a lot of attention in 2012 for publishing a study of the \u201cwet-dog shake\u201d\u2014when dogs shake wildly to dry themselves.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe physics of the wet-dog shake are impressive\u2014dogs can shake themselves 70 percent dry in just a fraction of a second. While the research might seem silly, it does have useful implications. Hu says the research could be used for improved drying technology or in robotics.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIn the future, self-cleaning and self-drying may arise as an important capability for cameras and other equipment subject to wet or dusty conditions,\u201d he says.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIMPROVING HUMAN LIVES\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe School of Applied Physiology is home to the Comparative Neuromechanics Lab, where humans, rats and other creatures run on instrumented treadmills. Meanwhile, researchers gather data on how animals move.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis comparative data reveals a wealth of information on how healthy animals move, and how their bodies compensate after an injury. The findings are critical to the development of new approaches to rehabilitation of human and animal patients.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis research could be a potential alternative to bone-grafting operations.\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe lab\u2019s director, associate professor Young-Hui Chang, says he\u2019d wanted to study animal locomotion ever since growing up watching animals in National Geographic documentaries.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe lab\u2019s data also is being used in Tech\u2019s Center for Prosthetic and Orthotic Research and Education to design and test new prosthetics, which are changing the lives of humans with missing limbs.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the biotech quad on campus, the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences is focused largely on studying disease and injury and developing innovative treatments. One recent study showed that delivering stem cells on a polymer scaffold to treat large areas of missing bone led to improved results compared to using a scaffold alone. This research\u2014conducted on rats\u2014could be a potential alternative to bone-grafting operations.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMassive bone injuries are among the most challenging problems that orthopedic surgeons face, and they are commonly seen as a result of accidents as well as in soldiers returning from war,\u201d says the study\u2019s lead author, Robert Guldberg, a professor of mechanical engineering and the Institute\u2019s executive director. \u201cThis study shows that there is promise in treating these injuries by delivering stem cells to the injury site. These are injuries that would not heal without significant medical intervention.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHELPING ANIMALS\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESome researchers on campus have dedicated their time to developing models of animals. One team including researchers from applied physiology and biomedical engineering has developed a 3-D computer model that can be studied at almost the same level of detail as a physical specimen.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile the model can\u2019t entirely replace live animals in experiments, it can greatly reduce the numbers that are used. The principal author of the model, Nathan Bunderson, also is in the process of making the model commercially available for educational purposes.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnother modeling effort that is providing a greater understanding of animals comes from the lab of Tech associate professor of physics Flavio Fenton.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFenton has created extensive models of hearts after studying fish, mice and horses. His detailed electronic models are a tool to researchers and veterinarians around the world.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne project is focused on fostering a more symbiotic relationship between pets and humans.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Tech-based Facilitating Interactions for Dogs with Occupations (FIDO) is an effort led by faculty member and dog lover Melody Jackson, PhD Computer Science.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EJackson, an associate professor of computer science and director of Tech\u2019s Center for Biointerface Research, created a vest for canines that is equipped with several sensors.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA dog can trigger a sensor by nipping or nudging it, movements that send audible cues to the dog\u2019s owner. The technology could be of use for service or rescue dogs.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cCurrently, dogs can only communicate with people by barking or through body language. Sometimes that isn\u2019t good enough,\u201d Jackson says. \u201cThe sensors can give them a voice they\u2019ve never had.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe FIDO vest for canines is equipped with several sensors. A dog can trigger a sensor by nipping or nudging it, movement that send audible cues to the dog\u2019s owner\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe FIDO vest for canines is equipped with several sensors. A dog can trigger a sensor by nipping or nudging it, movements that send audible cues to the dog\u2019s owner.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECaring for Research Animals\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAll Tech researchers whose work involves live specimens use as few animals as possible and follow strict regulations to ensure humane treatment.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThese regulations are enforced by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, a group that monitors all research and teaching activities at Georgia Tech involving vertebrate animals and makes certain it follows guidelines in the Federal Animal Welfare Act.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe IACUC reviews any activity involving animals before animals are used, and the committee meets monthly to review protocols. IACUC responsibilities include frequent inspections and documentation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAt the deepest level, I owe animals the best possible care,\u201d says Richard Nichols, professor and chair of the School of Applied Physiology at Tech and director of the Neurophysiology Lab, whose animal research augments his study of the physiology of human locomotion. \u201cI feel particularly qualified to make sure of the humane treatment of my animals, and I regard it as a personal obligation.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELearn more about the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/researchintegrity.gatech.edu\/about-iacuc\/\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee\u003C\/a\u003E and the Institute\u2019s policies regarding research animals.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWritten by: Van Jensen\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"The ways in which animals are helping Georgia Tech researchers transform the world."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe ways in which animals are helping Georgia Tech researchers transform the world.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The ways in which animals are helping Georgia Tech researchers transform the world."}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-06-26 14:43:20","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:41","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-06-26T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-06-26T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"305341":{"id":"305341","type":"image","title":"Georgia Tech\u0027s robotics team studied how sandfish move over sand.","body":null,"created":"1449244637","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:57:17","changed":"1475895012","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:12","alt":"Georgia Tech\u0027s robotics team studied how sandfish move over sand.","file":{"fid":"199688","name":"goldmandan_article_6.2014_-_sandfish_lizard.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/goldmandan_article_6.2014_-_sandfish_lizard_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/goldmandan_article_6.2014_-_sandfish_lizard_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":135243,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/goldmandan_article_6.2014_-_sandfish_lizard_0.jpg?itok=6D8qHjfi"}}},"media_ids":["305341"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/guldberglab.gatech.edu\/","title":"Guldberg Musculoskeletal Research Lab"},{"url":"http:\/\/crablab.gatech.edu\/","title":"Goldman CRAB lab"},{"url":"http:\/\/hoogle.gatech.edu\/","title":"David Hu Research Website"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.ap.gatech.edu\/Nichols\/NeurophysiologyLab.php","title":"Neurophysiology Lab"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.ap.gatech.edu\/Chang\/CNL.php","title":"Comparative Neuromechanics Laboratory"}],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EVan Jensen\u003Cbr \/\u003EGeorgia Tech\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["connect@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"305121":{"#nid":"305121","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Stanley Miller\u2019s Forgotten Experiments, Analyzed","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EStanley Miller, the chemist whose landmark experiment published in 1953 showed how some of the molecules of life could have formed on a young Earth, left behind boxes of experimental samples that he never analyzed. The first-ever analysis of some of Miller\u2019s old samples has revealed another way that important molecules could have formed on early Earth.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe study discovered a path from simple to complex compounds amid Earth\u2019s prebiotic soup. More than 4 billion years ago, amino acids could have been attached together, forming peptides. These peptides ultimately may have led to the proteins and enzymes necessary for life\u2019s biochemistry, as we know it.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the new study, scientists analyzed samples from an experiment Miller performed in 1958. To the reaction flask, Miller added a chemical that at the time wasn\u2019t widely thought to have been available on early Earth. The reaction had successfully formed peptides, the new study found. The new study also successfully replicated the experiment and explained why the reaction works.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt was clear that the results from this old experiment weren\u2019t some sort of artifact. They were real,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/scrippsscholars.ucsd.edu\/jbada\u0022\u003EJeffrey Bada\u003C\/a\u003E, distinguished professor of marine chemistry at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the UC San Diego. Bada was a former student and colleague of Miller\u2019s.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe study was supported by the Center for Chemical Evolution at the Georgia Institute of Technology, which is jointly supported by the National Science Foundation and the NASA Astrobiology Program. The study was published online June 25 in the journal \u003Cem\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1002\/anie.201403683\/abstract\u0022\u003EAngewandte Chemie International Edition\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E.The work was primarily a collaboration between UC San Diego and the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. Eric Parker, the study\u2019s lead author, was an undergraduate student in Bada\u2019s laboratory and is now a graduate student at Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EJeffrey Bada was Stanley Miller\u2019s second graduate student. The two were close and collaborated throughout Miller\u2019s career. After Miller suffered a severe stroke in 1999, Bada inherited boxes of experimental samples from Miller\u2019s lab. While sorting through the boxes, Bada saw \u201celectric discharge sample\u201d in Miller\u2019s handwriting on the outside of one box.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI opened it up and inside were all these other little boxes,\u201d Bada said. \u201cI started looking at them, and realized they were from all his original experiments; the ones he did in 1953 that he wrote the famous paper in \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.sciencemag.org\/content\/117\/3046\/528\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EScience\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E on, plus a whole assortment of others related to that. It\u2019s something that should rightfully end up in the Smithsonian.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe boxes of unanalyzed samples had been preserved and carefully marked, down to the page number where the experiment was described in Miller\u2019s laboratory notebooks. The researchers verified that the contents of the box of samples were from an electric discharge experiment conducted with cyanamide in 1958 when Miller was at the Department of Biochemistry at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAn electric discharge experiment simulates early Earth conditions using relatively simple starting materials. The reaction is ignited by a spark, simulating lightning, which was likely very common on the early Earth.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe 1958 reaction samples were analyzed by Parker and his current mentor, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ww2.chemistry.gatech.edu\/fernandez\/\u0022\u003EFacundo M. Fern\u00e1ndez\u003C\/a\u003E, a professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Georgia Tech. They conducted liquid chromatography- and mass spectrometry-based analyses and found that the reaction samples from 1958 contained peptides. Scientists from NASA\u2019s Johnson Space Center and Goddard Space Flight Center were also involved in the analysis.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research team then set out to replicate the experiment. Parker designed a way to do the experiment using modern equipment and confirmed that the reaction created peptides.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhat we found were some of the same products of polymerization that we found in the original samples,\u201d Parker said. \u201cThis corroborated the data that we collected from analyzing the original samples.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the experiment from 1958, Stanley Miller had the idea to use the organic compound cyanamide in the reaction.\u0026nbsp; Scientists had previously thought that the reaction with cyanamide would work only in acidic conditions, which likely wasn\u2019t widely available on early Earth. The new study showed that reactive intermediates produced during the synthesis of amino acids enhanced peptide formation under the basic conditions associated with the spark discharge experiment.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhat we\u2019ve done is shown that you don\u2019t need acid conditions; you just need to have the intermediates involved in amino acid synthesis there, which is very reasonable,\u201d Bada said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhy Miller added cyanamide to the reaction will probably never be known. Bada can only speculate. In 1958, Miller was at Columbia University in New York City. Researchers at both Columbia and the close-by Rockefeller Institute were at the center of studies on how to analyze and make peptides and proteins in the lab, which had been demonstrated for the first time in 1953 (the same year that Miller published his famous origin of life paper). Perhaps while having coffee with colleagues someone suggested that cyanamide \u2013 a chemical used in the production of pharmaceuticals \u2013 might have been available on the early Earth and might help make peptides if added to Miller\u2019s reaction.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cEverybody who would have been there and could verify this is gone, so we\u2019re just left to scratch our heads and say \u2018how\u2019d he get this idea before anyone else,\u2019\u201d Bada said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe latest study is part of an ongoing analysis of Stanley Miller\u2019s old experiments. In 2008\u003Cstrong\u003E, \u003C\/strong\u003Ethe research team found samples from 1953 that showed a \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/18927386\u0022\u003Emuch more efficient synthesis\u003C\/a\u003E than Stanley published in \u003Cem\u003EScience\u003C\/em\u003E in 1953. In 2011, the researchers analyzed a 1958 \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/21422282\u0022\u003Eexperiment that used hydrogen sulfide\u003C\/a\u003E as a gas in the electric discharge experiment. The reactions produced a more diverse array of amino acids that had been synthesized in Miller\u2019s famous 1953 study. Eric Parker was the lead author on the 2011 study.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s been an amazing opportunity to work with a piece of scientific history,\u201d Parker said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis research is supported by the Center for Chemical Evolution at the Georgia Institute of Technology, which is jointly supported by the National Science Foundation and the NASA Astrobiology Program under award number NSF CHE-1004570. Any conclusions or opinions are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the sponsoring agencies.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECITATION\u003C\/strong\u003E: Eric T. Parker, et al., \u201cA Plausible Simultaneous Synthesis of Amino Acids and Simple Peptides on the Primordial Earth.\u201d (\u003Cem\u003EAngewandte Chemie\u003C\/em\u003E, June 2014). \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1002\/anie.201403683\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1002\/anie.201403683\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003Cbr \/\u003E Georgia Institute of Technology\u003Cbr \/\u003E 177 North Avenue\u003Cbr \/\u003E Atlanta, Georgia\u0026nbsp; 30332-0181\u0026nbsp; USA\u003Cbr \/\u003E \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/GTResearchNews\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E@GTResearchNews\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts\u003C\/strong\u003E: Brett Israel (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/btiatl\u0022\u003E@btiatl\u003C\/a\u003E) (404-385-1933) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or John Toon (404-894-6986) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: Brett Israel\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EStanley Miller, the chemist whose landmark experiment published in 1953 showed how some of the molecules of life could have formed on a young Earth, left behind boxes of experimental samples that he never analyzed. The first-ever analysis of some of Miller\u2019s old samples has revealed another way that important molecules could have formed on early Earth.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The first-ever analysis of some of Stanley Miller\u2019s old samples has revealed another way that important molecules could have formed on early Earth."}],"uid":"27902","created_gmt":"2014-06-25 13:09:26","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:41","author":"Brett Israel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-06-25T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-06-25T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"305081":{"id":"305081","type":"image","title":"Stanley Miller\u0027s 1958 experimental samples","body":null,"created":"1449244637","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:57:17","changed":"1475895012","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:12","alt":"Stanley Miller\u0027s 1958 experimental samples","file":{"fid":"199677","name":"siocomm_a_bada_cyanamide_014.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/siocomm_a_bada_cyanamide_014_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/siocomm_a_bada_cyanamide_014_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":495969,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/siocomm_a_bada_cyanamide_014_0.jpg?itok=uhyGpTGx"}},"305091":{"id":"305091","type":"image","title":"Spark discharge experiment","body":null,"created":"1449244637","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:57:17","changed":"1475895012","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:12","alt":"Spark discharge experiment","file":{"fid":"199678","name":"spark_close_up_pic_jpeg_2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/spark_close_up_pic_jpeg_2_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/spark_close_up_pic_jpeg_2_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":228607,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/spark_close_up_pic_jpeg_2_0.jpg?itok=gnlwzZj3"}},"305101":{"id":"305101","type":"image","title":"Stanley Miller","body":null,"created":"1449244637","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:57:17","changed":"1475895012","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:12","alt":"Stanley Miller","file":{"fid":"199679","name":"miller.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/miller_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/miller_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":339136,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/miller_0.jpg?itok=CqB0gVYj"}}},"media_ids":["305081","305091","305101"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[{"id":"109501","name":"amino acids"},{"id":"10339","name":"center for chemical evolution"},{"id":"109511","name":"molecules of life"},{"id":"171338","name":"Stanley Miller"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71881","name":"Science and Technology"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBrett Israel\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404-385-1933\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"304561":{"#nid":"304561","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Project ENGAGES - High School Education Program Not Your Typical Teenager Experience","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe first in a series of stories about Project ENGAGES, which begins its second year at the Petit Institute.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EKatrina Burch will be a high school senior when the fall semester begins at Coretta Scott King Young Women\u0027s Leadership Academy, but she\u2019s already got a year of college lab experience behind her with more to come. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cThis isn\u2019t the typical teenager experience,\u201d says Burch, who is beginning her second year in Project ENGAGES, a high school education program created through the NSF Science and Technology Center on the Emergent Behaviors of Integrated Cellular Systems (EBICS, a research center that is supported and resides in the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience). \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cThis is nothing like working at a fast food restaurant,\u201d Burch says. \u201cI\u2019m working on all of this expensive equipment, with researchers who depend on me to get my work done. And summertime is when they expect us students to really crank it out.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELast summer, she was part of the inaugural class of Project ENGAGES (which stands for Engaging New Generations at Georgia Tech through Engineering and Science). Developed as a partnership between the Georgia Institute of Technology, the Coretta Scott King Young Women\u2019s Leadership Academy and B.E.S.T. Academy, the program aims to raise awareness of students in economically-challenged, minority-serving public schools to the world of engineering, science and technology, while also improving the high schools\u2019 current science education program. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThis summer, Burch begins her second year in the program, a fully integrated member of Manu Platt\u2019s lab in the Petit Institute. Meanwhile, a new group of high school students is nearing the end of their four-week ENGAGES boot camp, and moving into different labs, where they will receive real-world, hands-on experience under the guidance of Georgia Institute of Technology scientists and engineers. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EPlatt, assistant professor and Georgia Cancer Coalition Distinguished Cancer Scholar at the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, and Bob Nerem, founding director of the Petit Institute (and Professor Emeritus in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering) co-founded Project ENGAGES as a natural offshoot of EBICS, a center comprised of a national network of top-flight institutions, including (among others) the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Morehouse College and the University of Georgia, in addition to Georgia Tech. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWith an overarching mission to creating a new scientific discipline for building living, multi-cellular machines, EBICS (whose leaders are meeting in their fourth annual retreat this week, in Illinois) also places a heavy emphasis on diversity in all aspects as it strives to develop the next generation of researchers and leaders, people like Katrina Burch, who has set an ambitious, broad-minded goal, \u201cto learn how to see the bigger picture of the world and do something great.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ERight now, she\u2019d be content with being viewed as just another scientist in the lab, \u201cand not just a high schooler.\u201d Project ENGAGES demands a 40-hour work week from its high school students during the summer, and about 15 hours a week during the school year. So far, Burch has thrown herself into the work. \u201cKatrina constantly impresses me with her enthusiasm and zeal for research,\u201d says Kristi M. Porter, her mentor in the Platt lab. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBurch, who was born in North Carolina, grew up in Atlanta, raised by her mom, the only daughter with an older brother who is also a high school senior, and a younger brother who was born with a genetic disorder called di George syndrome. \u201cIt can take on many forms, but in my little brother\u2019s case its meant organ failure, autism, developmental delays,\u201d says Burch. \u201cIt\u2019s different for every kid.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESame could be said for formal education, she says \u2013 her older brother hasn\u2019t decided if he wants to go to college yet, so Katrina could be the first person in her family to make that step. Then again, she says, \u201cschool has always been my thing,\u201d and she\u2019s narrowed her college choices to Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt and Florida A\u0026amp;M. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Project ENGAGES experience \u2013 actually working, for a paycheck, in a university biotech lab \u2013 makes her feel like she understands what it takes to be a college student and it\u2019s helped confirm something she says her teachers always told her, something she\u2019s bought into. \u201cPay attention, do what you have to do, and people will pay you to come and learn. That\u2019s what they said,\u201d Burch recalls. \u201cI feel like that\u2019s the easiest route for me. I feel like that\u2019s the smart route.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"The first in a series of stories about Project ENGAGES, which begins its second year at the Petit Institute."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe first in a series of stories about Project ENGAGES, which begins its second year at the Petit Institute.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The first in a series of stories about Project ENGAGES, which begins its second year at the Petit Institute."}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-06-23 13:47:23","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:37","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-06-23T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-06-23T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"304581":{"id":"304581","type":"image","title":"Katrina Burch, a 2nd year Project ENGAGES student","body":null,"created":"1449244637","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:57:17","changed":"1475895009","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:09","alt":"Katrina Burch, a 2nd year Project ENGAGES student","file":{"fid":"199663","name":"burchkatrina-engages.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/burchkatrina-engages_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/burchkatrina-engages_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":719626,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/burchkatrina-engages_0.jpg?itok=n3WbtIMS"}},"304881":{"id":"304881","type":"image","title":"2014 Class of Project ENGAGES high school students","body":null,"created":"1449244637","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:57:17","changed":"1475895012","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:12","alt":"2014 Class of Project ENGAGES high school students","file":{"fid":"199671","name":"2014_project_engages_group_picture.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/2014_project_engages_group_picture_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/2014_project_engages_group_picture_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2748287,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/2014_project_engages_group_picture_0.jpg?itok=PMUI0jLv"}}},"media_ids":["304581","304881"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/projectengage.gatech.edu\/","title":"Project ENGAGES website"}],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[{"id":"42941","name":"Art Research"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"126581","name":"go-ProjectEngages"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering \u0026amp; Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"303831":{"#nid":"303831","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Tools For Learning","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBME HealthReach taking education to the clinic and the bedside.\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EDurazi Savasir has seen the transformation, when the muddy unfamiliar gives way to comprehension\u2019s dawning. He\u2019s seen it as it happens: the switch going on, revealing the \u201cof course!\u201d moment, illuminated in a child\u2019s face. Savasir has seen it because he helped develop the switch.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cTheir eyes light up and they get excited and you can see the information clicking inside their heads,\u201d says Savasir, one of the undergraduate students helping to teach math and science to young hospitalized patients using their own disease as the impetus and catalyst for learning through a program called BME HealthReach. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBME HealthReach, funded directly through Dr. Wilbur Lam\u2019s NSF CAREER grant (Understanding the Contraction Biomechanics of Platelets at the Single-Cell Level), an educational K-12 outreach program that allows undergrad students (like Savasir) in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) to design interactive teaching modules directed toward in-patients and clinical patients at Children\u2019s Healthcare of Atlanta\u2019s Egleston and Hughes-Spalding hospitals. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s well known and well documented that chronically ill children are at risk when it comes to school performance, for multiple reasons,\u201d says Lam, an assistant professor and researcher in BME, and a pediatrician who treats patients at Children\u2019s. \u201cThey\u2019re not feeling well, they\u2019re in the hospital quite a bit, missing school days. There are psychological and behavioral issues, all of which put them at risk. The thought we had was, disease and medicine ultimately are at the core of the issue, and these are scientific concepts. So, maybe we can actually enable a child who is chronically ill to leverage their disease to learn about science and math.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELast summer, Lam (principal investigator in BME HealthReach) and Elaissa Hardy (co-investigator) assembled a class of 12 BME undergraduates in a course called BMED 4803, charging them with devising and ultimately implementing a series of interactive activities that would work in a clinical setting, or at a child\u2019s bedside, to spark an understanding of math and science principles. Under Hardy\u2019s direction, the students developed several hands-on activities that have become a hit with young patients battling sickle cell disease. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0022As a practicing pediatric hematologist, I see a lot of patients with sickle cell disease at Children\u0027s, so our obvious initial focus is on that particular disease,\u0022 says Lam. \u0022We plan to expand our reach to cystic fibrosis patients in the fall, and we\u0027ve already spoken with some of the specialists there.\u0022 \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAccording to Hardy, the goal is to turn the disease into a potential learning advantage, into motivation to learn about the scientific processes of their disease, which can spark an overall interest in science. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cWe ask our undergrads, the teachers in this program, to come up with a way to teach fractions, for example,\u201d Hardy says, explaining a Lego tower contrivance to help explain, say, how a 12-hour day in the hospital is broken up into different parts (meals, examinations, sleep, and so forth). \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ENaturally, hospital-based supplies and equipment (such as IV poles and spirometers) are used for some hands-on science and math enrichment, as well as other common educational tools (rulers, calculators, and so forth). Meanwhile, the BME undergrads, or teachers, who have already undertaken a diverse, multi-disciplinary scientific and mathematic curriculum, integrate the concepts they\u2019ve learned into their teaching of young patients, emphasizing that interdisciplinary nature of medicine (biology, physics, chemistry, and math). \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBME HealthReach follows statewide educational standards for K-12 science and math, focusing on topics that include (among other things) cell structure and function, the purpose of major human body organ systems, heredity and evolution. The BME undergrads are helping their young students get a handle on computational skills to solve real-world problems, with the hope, according to Hardy, to \u201cinspire our pediatric patients to become future researchers, physicians, and engineers who, because of their disease, will develop a true passion for science and math.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAlong the way, there is some actual engineering work being done as BME undergrads spend a semester designing and improving different activities that demonstrate processes like oxygen circulation, or allow a child patient to actually make blood. Well, sort of. This is one of the more popular activities. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EEach patient\/student makes his own mason jar of blood to take home, to help understand the different parts of blood function: plasma (corn syrup), red and white blood cells (represented by appropriately colored beads) and platelets (pearl-colored beads). When it\u2019s all mixed together, it looks like a mason jar of thick moonshine, swimming with plastic beads. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ENot only does the exercise teach a student about the composition of blood, but there is an opportunity to learn a little bit about sickle cell disease. \u201cOne of the things about sickle cell disease is, these kids need to stay hydrated. They are constantly told to drink more water, drink more fluids, and they don\u2019t typically have a visual for that,\u201d says Hardy, pouring water into one of the mason jars, mixing it up, changing the viscosity of the faux blood. \u201cSee, it can be a powerful visual for a kid.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe pieces and parts of the hands-on tools created by the BME undergrads are simple stuff, made of plastic, laminated visual aids, and odd bits of candy. But they demonstrate essential biological processes: A concave piece of red candy plays a normal, healthy red blood cell, transports an oxygen molecule (a small blue M\u0026amp;M) like it\u2019s supposed to, through a laminated model of the human body; a banana-flavored (and shaped) piece of candy represents the sickle cell, which can\u2019t adequately transport oxygen. It\u2019s a lesson about basic cell function, using a disease the child is living with every day, and a simple, elegant tool. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cThe process of making these activities is a subtle application of the stuff we\u2019ve learned in our engineering classes,\u201d says Savasir, a third-year student majoring in biomedical engineering. He came to the Georgia Institute of Technology with the intention of eventually going to medical school, and biomedical engineering seemed like the perfect undergraduate avenue toward that. But something happened since Savasir signed up for BMED 4803 (i.e., BME HealthReach) last summer. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELike many of his fellow BME HealthReach undergrads, Savasir wanted to be a physician, because when they thought of \u201cmedicine,\u201d the first profession they thought of was, \u201cdoctor.\u201d But all of the face-to-face time with young patients, and the hours spent in research and design, and the hours spent in a hospital setting, have given them something else to think about, something a little bigger. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cAfter all this, I don\u2019t know if I want to go to medical school, because this experience has given me a better feel for academia,\u201d he says. \u201cIt hasn\u2019t turned me off medical school and it hasn\u2019t made me not want to be a doctor. But BME HealthReach has made me reconsider my options. It\u2019s broadened my view.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"BME HealthReach taking education to the clinic and the bedside."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBME HealthReach taking education to the clinic and the bedside.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"BME HealthReach taking education to the clinic and the bedside."}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-06-18 13:32:12","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:37","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-06-23T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-06-23T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"303851":{"id":"303851","type":"image","title":"Elaissa Hardy, PhD, Co-Investigator in HealthReach, and undergraduate Durazi Savasir.","body":null,"created":"1449244609","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:56:49","changed":"1475895009","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:09","alt":"Elaissa Hardy, PhD, Co-Investigator in HealthReach, and undergraduate Durazi Savasir.","file":{"fid":"199633","name":"lamwilburhealthreacharticle6.2014.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/lamwilburhealthreacharticle6.2014_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/lamwilburhealthreacharticle6.2014_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1923977,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/lamwilburhealthreacharticle6.2014_0.jpg?itok=QCMPirkx"}},"301291":{"id":"301291","type":"image","title":"Wilbur Lam, MD, PhD - Professor, Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech \u0026 Emory University","body":null,"created":"1449244572","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:56:12","changed":"1490466440","gmt_changed":"2017-03-25 18:27:20","alt":"","file":{"fid":"199550","name":"lamwilburwipeboard.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/lamwilburwipeboard_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/lamwilburwipeboard_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":785756,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/lamwilburwipeboard_0.jpg?itok=UuIC7rYn"}}},"media_ids":["303851","301291"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/lamlab.gatech.edu\/healthreach.html","title":"Healthreach\/Lam lab website"}],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for \u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering \u0026amp; Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"303911":{"#nid":"303911","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Family Affair","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFirst \u2018Bring Your Child\/Grandchild to Work Day\u2019 a Hit with BME Community.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003EBrains and hearts and eyes \u2013 these are among the gooey, essential elements that helped make the first \u2018Bring Your Child to Work Day\u2019 (Friday, June 13) at the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) a success. Well, that and face painting. And silly putty. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFaculty and staff brought their kids (25 in total, ages 2 to 14) for a day of fun and learning, and department chair Ravi Bellamkonda hopes the community building event will become an annual tradition. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cWe are interested in building the best possible BME department in the world, and this is only possible when our faculty, staff and students view the department as part of their family,\u201d says Bellamkonda. \u201cThis event is one of many we envision to invite not just our faculty, staff and students to share what they do with their children, but also to celebrate all of them as a whole, not just the \u2018work\u2019 part of them.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe lines between work, family and recreation converged, or were blurred, for all the participants last Friday. In some cases, it was mainly about the recreation. Shannon and Tom Barker (director of graduate training, and associate professor\/Petit Faculty Fellow, respectively, in the Coulter Department) brought their kids, who had a blast, according to Shannon. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cIt was wonderful to interact with faculty and staff outside of our normal work routines,\u201d she says. \u201cMy daughter is still talking about it, which is pretty high praise given the attention span of a four year old. Given my kids young age, their favorite part was after lunch: the bouncy house and the balloon man, as my daughter calls him, who made her a treasured pink pony.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBasically, this was the ultimate show-and-tell experience, with lab tours, demonstrations, experiments and games for the kids, and it definitely left an impression. \u201cI liked the face painting and touching the pig\u2019s eyeball. Science is awesome,\u201d says six-year-old Emma Sullivan, whose mom, Shannon Sullivan, graduate program coordinator for the Coulter Department, adds, \u201cIt was a great opportunity to expose her to science in a unique way, but mostly it was just plain fun for both of us.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThat\u2019s exactly the kind of reaction Bellamkonda was going for. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cWe do some amazing things in the department in terms of our research and we are always happy to open our doors to children, to interest them in science and engineering,\u201d says Bellamkonda, who saw only happy faces (many of them painted), and people delighted with activities that also included, \u201ctouching brains and dissecting eyes and touching hearts and learning about optics and materials.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EA range of demonstrations was designed for kids to learn scientific principles used in bio-complex labs, with an emphasis on hands-on fun, according to Ph.D. student Kyle Blum, an NIH Computational Neuroscience Trainee, who participated in the demos as well as the tour of Professor Lena Ting\u2019s lab.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cMy two favorite demos were the cardiovascular demo, in which we had dissections of pig and chicken hearts prepared for the kids to learn about how blood is pumped through our bodies, and the edible cell demo, in which kids made their own large-scale cells out of candy that resembled different cellular organelles, and learned about what each of them does along the way,\u201d Blum says.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E \u201cFor the Ting Lab tour, we had demonstrations set up for the kids with their parents and grandparents to teach them how we study sensorimotor control of posture and balance,\u201d he adds. \u201cWe were able to demonstrate how we elicit reactive postural responses experimentally by having volunteers stand on our motorized platform and moving it to throw them off balance. In addition to the platform, we showed them how we can record their motions and use electromyography to measure the neural response to the movement of the platform. It was great to see both the kids and their parents asking questions about what our lab does, and hopefully learning about neuroscience from the experience.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBounce houses in the bio-complex, a hands-on experiments table, the lab tours filled with kids wearing lab coats, balloons and ice cream \u2013 all in all, not your typical day at the office. Donna Sibble, business administrator in the Coulter Department, brought her grandson Julian, who enjoyed the magic show (Professor Garrett Stanley, complete with cape) and the experiments, but was especially thrilled to visit Ross Ethier\u2019s lab, where they were dissecting a pig\u2019s eyeball. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cOn our way home,\u201d Donna says, \u201che pleaded with me to stop by the store to buy Borax and Elmer\u2019s Glue so that he could replicate the \u2018silly putty\u2019 he made at the experiment table. I truly look forward to bringing him again next year.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"First \u2018Bring Your Child\/Grandchild to Work Day\u2019 a Hit with BME Community."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFirst \u2018Bring Your Child\/Grandchild to Work Day\u2019 a Hit with BME Community.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"First \u2018Bring Your Child\/Grandchild to Work Day\u2019 a Hit with BME Community."}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-06-19 07:28:52","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:37","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-06-19T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-06-19T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"303981":{"id":"303981","type":"image","title":"Kids and grandkids of BME faculty \u0026 staff enjoyed hands-on demonstrations in high-tech 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02:50:09","alt":"Tapping into the scientific curiosity of the young visitors at BME\u0027s Bring Your Child\/Grandchild to Work Day","file":{"fid":"199639","name":"14434333461_e35bf32c7d_b.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/14434333461_e35bf32c7d_b_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/14434333461_e35bf32c7d_b_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":170522,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/14434333461_e35bf32c7d_b_0.jpg?itok=_wV6_Ecq"}},"303991":{"id":"303991","type":"image","title":"Georgia Tech graduate students teach the visiting kids all about the human body","body":null,"created":"1449244609","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:56:49","changed":"1475895009","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:09","alt":"Georgia Tech graduate students teach the visiting kids all about the human 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visitor","file":{"fid":"199640","name":"14251262577_eb1abccca8_b.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/14251262577_eb1abccca8_b_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/14251262577_eb1abccca8_b_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":215972,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/14251262577_eb1abccca8_b_0.jpg?itok=A-M0HQoM"}}},"media_ids":["303981","304011","303991","303971","304031"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.bme.gatech.edu\/","title":"Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering"}],"groups":[{"id":"1254","name":"Wallace H. Coulter Dept. of Biomedical Engineering"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering \u0026amp; Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"303081":{"#nid":"303081","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Genomic Sequencing Hits the Fast Lane","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ENew sequencing machine in Vannberg lab speeds up the pace of research and analysis.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003EIt took a global community of scientists more than 10 years and almost $3 billion to sequence the first complete human genome. That was in 2003. Today, Georgia Institute of Technology scientist Fred Vannberg can do it in a day, at a microscopic fraction of the cost, thanks to a new piece of equipment in his lab, and his own expertise in genetic statistics. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cWe\u2019re plowing away and helping whomever needs sequencing right now,\u201d says Vannberg, indicating the HiSeq 2500 System, a next-generation sequencing machine that is helping to revolutionize genomic research. \u201cThe idea is to give researchers direct access to this kind of technology. So, instead of waiting six to seven weeks for a single set of experiments, we can have it done within a week. Or, if they have samples ready, we can load it and have the data the next day.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESlated to become part of the vast and growing Core Facilities at the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, the HiSeq 2500 (made by Illumina) already is getting a workout from researchers and institutions across the spectrum, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, and John McDonald, professor in the School of Biology and director of the Integrated Cancer Research Center. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMcDonald says the combination of the high-throughput sequencer with Vannberg at the helm is a win-win for Georgia Tech and the wider research community. Vannberg, assistant professor in the School of Biology, joined Georgia Tech in 2011, following a stint as director of the sequencing program at the Dana Farber Cancer Center at Harvard. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cWe are fortunate to not only have a state of the art sequencing platform at Georgia Tech but to have a skilled and experienced individual such as Fred to oversee the facility,\u201d says McDonald. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThere are plenty of companies offering sequencing services, McDonald says, but typicallly the turnaround time, \u201cis simply too long for most research applications, so having our own in-house facility, where the turnaround time is a few days, is absolutely essential for most research applications.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMcDonald\u2019s research team is using the HiSeq 2500 to develop (in collaboration with Vannberg and King Jordan (associate professor in the School of Biology, and director of the Bioinformatics Graduate Program) algorithms to predict optimal personalized drug therapies, based on the genomic profiles of individual patient tumors. \u201cRapid genomic profiling \u2013 DNA and RNA sequencing \u2013 of patient samples is critical to this program,\u201d McDonald adds. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EGeorgia Tech got its new machine through the largesse of the Georgia Research Alliance (GRA), who funded the $803,000 sequencer. It\u2019s part of an ongoing effort to bring world-class research talent and capacity to the state, says GRA senior vice president Susan Shows, who heads up the alliance\u2019s investment portfolio, which includes the award-winning Eminent Scholars Program and more than $600 million of strategic research infrastructure at Georgia\u0027s six leading research universities. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cGRA can make a huge difference in helping to outfit labs, which allows our universities to be more competitive,\u201d Shows says. \u201cA tool like this sequencer is something that no one faculty member can use full time, so we\u2019re trying to help universities create these core facilities so that everyone gets their money\u2019s worth. And this sequencer may open the door to grants that researchers haven\u2019t been able to go after before.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EVannberg\u2019s lab is already operating kind of like a core facility, attracting a broad cross-section of research disciplines. For example, on this day, Vannberg is reading DNA from a child patient, \u201ctrying to understand the ecology of what\u2019s going on in the lung.\u201d The night before, it was a tumor sample from a patient with ovarian cancer. Vannberg and his research team also are developing software to analyze the resulting data, which is really huge \u2013 350 million sequence reads from DNA in that child\u2019s lung, for instance. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMeanwhile, the details that will result in the HiSeq 2500 becoming part of core facilities are still being finalized, according Steve Woodard, manager of the Petit Institute core facilities. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s definitely being used as a shared resource from a variety of people in different disciplines,\u201d says Woodard, who is genuinely thrilled by the research potential of the HiSeq 2500. \u201cIt brings us closer to understanding why one person gets a disease and another person does not. So, it\u2019s helping to facilitate the dawn of individualized medicine.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"New sequencing machine in Vannberg lab speeds up the pace of research and analysis"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ENew sequencing machine in Vannberg lab speeds up the pace of research and analysis.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"New sequencing machine in Vannberg lab speeds up the pace of research and analysis."}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-06-13 12:22:26","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:33","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-06-13T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-06-13T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"302161":{"id":"302161","type":"image","title":"Fred Vannberg","body":null,"created":"1449244592","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:56:32","changed":"1493147592","gmt_changed":"2017-04-25 19:13:12","alt":"","file":{"fid":"199575","name":"vannbergfred2014.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/vannbergfred2014_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/vannbergfred2014_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":981984,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/vannbergfred2014_0.jpg?itok=gFSf3Cop"}},"302171":{"id":"302171","type":"image","title":"Shweta Biliya and Fred Vannberg","body":null,"created":"1449244592","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:56:32","changed":"1493085727","gmt_changed":"2017-04-25 02:02:07","alt":"","file":{"fid":"199576","name":"vannbergfredwithbiliyashweta.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/vannbergfredwithbiliyashweta_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/vannbergfredwithbiliyashweta_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":601959,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/vannbergfredwithbiliyashweta_0.jpg?itok=rw_hyHM8"}}},"media_ids":["302161","302171"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/vannberg.biology.gatech.edu:8080\/VannbergLab\/home.html","title":"Vannberg lab website"},{"url":"http:\/\/icrc.gatech.edu\/","title":"Integrated Cancer Research Center website"}],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@bme.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering \u0026amp; Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@bme.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"302951":{"#nid":"302951","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Going Inside an Ant Raft","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThree years ago, Georgia Institute of Technology researchers took a close look at \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.news.gatech.edu\/2011\/04\/26\/how-fire-ants-build-waterproof-rafts\u0022\u003Ehow fire ants work together to build waterproof rafts\u003C\/a\u003E to stay alive. By looking at the edges and tops of rafts, the team discovered that ants grip each other with their mandibles and legs at a force of 400 times their body weight.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENow, the researchers have taken an even closer peek. They froze ant rafts and scanned them with a miniature CT scan machine to look at the strongest part of the structure \u2013 the inside \u2013 to discover how opaque ants connect, arrange and orient themselves with each other.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cNow we can see how every brick is connected,\u201d said Georgia Tech Assistant Professor David Hu. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of like looking inside a warehouse and seeing the scaffolding and I-beams.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe found a lot of beams.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOn average, each ant in a raft connects to 4.8 neighbors. Ants have six legs, but using their claws, adhesive pads and mandibles, each critter averages nearly 14 connections. Large ants can have up to 21. Out of the 440 ants scanned, 99 percent of them had all of their legs attached to their neighbors. The connectivity produces enough strength to keep rafts intact despite the pull of rough currents.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHu and his team also noticed that the insects use their legs to extend the distances between their neighbors.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIncreasing the distance keeps the raft porous and buoyant, allowing the structure to stay afloat and bounce back to the surface when strong river currents submerge it,\u201d said Nathan Mlot, a Georgia Tech graduate student in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering who worked on both studies.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMlot and the rest of the research team also found that smaller ants tend to fill in the spaces around large ants. This keeps water from seeping in and prevents weak spots in the raft. The insects, large and small, arrange perpendicularly rather than parallel. This adds to the adaptability of the raft, allowing it to expand and contract based on the conditions. The same is true when ants build towers and bridges for safety and survivability.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne thing the CT scan can\u2019t solve, however: how the ants know where to go and what to do. Their cooperation is a mystery the research team hasn\u2019t figured out \u2013 yet. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cFire ants are special engineers,\u201d said Hu, a faculty member in the Schools of Mechanical Engineering and Biology. \u201cThey are the bricklayers and the bricks. Somehow they build and repair their structures without a leader or knowing what is happening. They just react and interact.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBetter understanding of this phenomenon could lead to new applications for people and machines. For instance, Hu envisions robots than can link together to build larger robots or bridges made of materials that can self-repair.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIf ants can do it, maybe humans can create things that can too.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis study appears in the June 11 edition of \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/jeb.biologists.org\/content\/217\/12\/2089.abstract\u0022\u003EThe Journal of Experimental Biology\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022Author\u0022\u003EReference: Foster, P. C., Mlot, N. J., Lin, A. and Hu, D. L. (2014). Fire ants actively control spacing and orientation within self-assemblages. \u003Cem\u003EJ. Exp. Biol.\u003C\/em\u003E 217, 2089-2100.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis research was partially supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under grant PHY-1255127. Any conclusions expressed are those of the principal investigator and may not necessarily represent the official views of the NSF.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis material is based upon work supported by the Army Research Office under Award Number \u003C\/em\u003EW911NF-12-R-0011\u003Cem\u003E. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Army Research Office.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Researchers look to CT scan to visualize connectivity phenomenon"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EResearcher froze ant rafts and scanned them with a miniature CT scan machine to look at the strongest part of the structure \u2013 the inside \u2013 to discover how opaque ants connect, arrange and orient themselves with each other.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"On average, each ant in a raft connects to 4.8 neighbors and has 14 connections."}],"uid":"27560","created_gmt":"2014-06-12 09:19:48","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:33","author":"Jason Maderer","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-06-12T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-06-12T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"302911":{"id":"302911","type":"image","title":"Ant raft","body":null,"created":"1449244592","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:56:32","changed":"1475895007","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:07","alt":"Ant raft","file":{"fid":"199599","name":"ant_raft.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ant_raft.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ant_raft.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":995240,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/ant_raft.jpg?itok=pTt3Pbkd"}},"302891":{"id":"302891","type":"image","title":"Microscopic view of ants","body":null,"created":"1449244592","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:56:32","changed":"1475895007","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:07","alt":"Microscopic view of ants","file":{"fid":"199597","name":"ants.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ants_0.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ants_0.png","mime":"image\/png","size":1702811,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/ants_0.png?itok=Wy5_TnIp"}},"302901":{"id":"302901","type":"image","title":"Ant assemblages","body":null,"created":"1449244592","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:56:32","changed":"1475895007","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:07","alt":"Ant assemblages","file":{"fid":"199598","name":"assemblages.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/assemblages_0.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/assemblages_0.png","mime":"image\/png","size":2882302,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/assemblages_0.png?itok=oqIkE5qT"}}},"media_ids":["302911","302891","302901"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/jeb.biologists.org\/content\/217\/12\/2089.abstract","title":"Journal Article"},{"url":"http:\/\/hoogle.gatech.edu\/","title":"David Hu Research Website"},{"url":"http:\/\/coe.gatech.edu\/schools\/me","title":"George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/","title":"School of Biology"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"66521","name":"ant"},{"id":"20471","name":"Ants"},{"id":"95361","name":"CT Scan"},{"id":"297","name":"David Hu"},{"id":"14335","name":"Fire Ants"},{"id":"95351","name":"Raft"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39471","name":"Materials"},{"id":"39521","name":"Robotics"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71881","name":"Science and Technology"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJason Maderer\u003Cbr \/\u003EMedia Relations\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:maderer@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emaderer@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-385-2966\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["maderer@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"307201":{"#nid":"307201","#data":{"type":"news","title":"A Smarter and Safer Military","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EArtificial clotting agents for minimizing blood loss from battle injuries. A radar jamming system that literally learns on the fly. Security systems designed specifically to protect utilities from cyber attacks. Georgia Tech has been on the cutting edge of defense research and development for decades, and these are just a few of the latest technologies being developed on campus for military purposes. Tech researchers may not specialize in big-ticket, high-profile weapons projects\u2014those are usually the purview of major defense contractors\u2014but they play an instrumental role in developing the underlying technologies and platforms to help determine how future wars may be fought and how lives may be spared.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe have the license to think ahead of what might be next, to think about the military scenarios that might eventually involve the United States, and the kind of technologies that can be most useful,\u201d says Steve Cross, executive vice president for research at Georgia Tech. As such, Tech ranks among the top 10 academic institutions in the country that support the U.S. Department of Defense, and the overall defense industry and intelligence community, Cross says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBryan Clark, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments\u2014a nonprofit public policy think tank\u2014agrees about Tech\u2019s crucial role in defense R\u0026amp;D. Clark says Tech stands apart from most research universities in its strong relationship with the U.S. government and defense contractors. Only a few such as Tech \u201cact as kind of an adjunct to government labs,\u201d Clark says. Through the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) and within Tech\u2019s nationally ranked academic units, the Institute asa whole conducts a broad array of both basic and applied research, including in areas such as unmanned systems, computer miniaturization, electromagnetics and cyber warfare, that\u2019s beyond the norm for academic institutions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn FY2013, Tech received a total of $640 million in research awards from all sources. Of that, the DoD granted the Institute $301.4 million for defense research, with the lion\u2019s share ($263.6 million) going to GTRI. Established as the Engineering Experiment Station in 1934, GTRI took off in World War II when researchers, supported by faculty at the School of Physics and the School of Electrical Engineering, started work on microwave technology in support of military radar development. Then, with the beginning of the Cold War, researchers deepened their involvement in electronic warfare while adding computers to their arsenal. Most recently, GTRI has been focusing a lot of its efforts countering cyber attacks. \u201cThat\u2019s been a large growth area here as the cyber threat has become a much greater risk,\u201d Cross says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThough defense-funded technology developed at Tech clearly has a military use in mind, there are civilian applications as well. For example, a pattern-recognition software program designed to anticipate an adversary\u2019s moves could be used to analyze a patient\u2019s electronic medical history and suggest courses of treatment. Similarly, all the robotics, manufacturing, sensor and computer vision technologies employed in a weapons system could help \u201cautomate an industrial processing plant, which may be dirty, smelly and really an unsafe place,\u201d Cross says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the stories to come, we examine some of the newest defense technologies being researched and developed at Tech.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EStaunching Blood Loss on the Battlefield\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETech biomedical engineers are developing a new medical treatment that could save the lives of troops who have suffered serious injury on the battlefield. Funded by the Department of Defense (DoD) and the National Institutes of Health, a GT team is developing artificial blood platelets that, when injected intravenously, would force wounds to form a scab much faster than the human body does on its own.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe goal is to develop technology to help wounded warriors stop bleeding,\u201d says Thomas Barker, associate professor of biomedical engineering. The hope is that, for frontline troops fighting at remote locations, the artificial blood platelets could significantly reduce combat fatalities. Barker imagines scenarios where the injection could even be taken prophylactically by soldiers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cObviously the technology allows you to treat combat wounds, but we think you might be able to take this before battle to boost your clotting system, too,\u201d he says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe artificial blood platelets, which are composed of hydrogels, are activated by the body\u2019s own mechanisms when a person is wounded. \u201cThe particles stick to the wound where bleeding is occurring and help the body stop blood loss,\u201d Barker says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBarker and his team have been working on the new technology for about two years and have already demonstrated the artificial blood platelets in animal models. Those trials showed that the artificial platelets could clot blood 30 percent faster than the body\u2019s own natural processes alone. However, the researchers have yet to perform human testing.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the civilian world, there are even more immense ramifications of this research. Not only could artificial blood platelets help stop blood loss from injuries, they could also improve recovery from surgery and aid those suffering from blood disorders.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThey could be used following massive trauma or in patients with clotting disorders like hemophilia, or to solve clotting problems associated with chemotherapy,\u201d Barker says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe platelets research is currently in preclinical trials, and Tech\u2019s biomedical engineering team is in discussion with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to move the process forward. Though the technology is still in its early stages, with the FDA\u2019s approval, it could find its way into the hands of doctors both on and off the battlefield soon.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe\u2019re hoping that these blood platelets could be available and making a positive impact within a few years,\u201d Barker says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EProtecting Public Utilities from Cyber Attacks\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThere are many ways to attack a nation\u2019s weak points. One of the sneakier methods is to hack the computer network of a public utility and wreak all sorts of sabotage, such as programming turbines to fail or, in the case of a power company, causing a blackout.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELast September, the Department of Energy awarded a consortium led by the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) and other Georgia Tech academic departments $5 million to develop a security suite to safeguard electrical utilities from cyber attack. At present, a determined hacker can insert malicious commands into the industrial control system of a utility, trip a circuit breaker and cause an electrical grid to fail, says GTRI research scientist Seth Walters, one of the principal investigators on the three-year project.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe idea, of course, is to stop such malicious commands. But how can you identify them?\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOne of the challenges is that the electrical grid and the utilities on it are all designed to operate in a certain way,\u201d Walters says. \u201cAnd part of their fundamental operations includes command-and-control messages that might be dangerous at one particular time but harmless at another time.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the past, IT security professionals tended to apply traditional corporate network solutions to the electrical grid. However, this cut-and-paste approach did not quite work out given the differences between the two systems, Walters says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne major issue is that a utility network has serious data sequencing requirements to function properly. \u201cYou can\u2019t just take an enterprise system security tool and apply it to an industrial control system network because you might harm the timeliness of information that\u2019s being transmitted,\u201d he says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo defend a utility, a software engineer needs to understand the industrial control system network well enough to distinguish a harmful command-and-control message from an innocuous one. That means installing the right intrusion detection sensors and having a simulation tool that can model a command\u2019s future effect immediately in the present.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe key to this technology is the ability to perform faster-than-real-time simulation of the system,\u201d says Sakis Meliopoulos, MS EE74, PhD EE 76, professor of computer engineering at Tech. \u201cThis means we need to determine what will happen to the system for the next one to two minutes with computations that can be performed in fractions of a second.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis approach will require more computing power of the network. In addition, there will be time delays on commands, but that, Meliopoulos says, \u201cwill be minimal.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe project is set to begin in another month or two.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETesting UAV Sensors on the Cheap\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGot an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) sensor payload in need of testing? Well, Georgia Tech is set to offer defense customers an experimental aircraft on which to place it\u2014at a fraction of the cost it would take to integrate that same payload on a conventional UAV.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe new test bed is called the GTRI Airborne Unmanned Sensor System (GAUSS). \u201cIt gives us the ability to offer proof of principle tests to customers at a price that\u2019s reasonable, at a schedule that\u2019s reasonable,\u201d says Mike Brinkmann, MS EE 91, principal research engineer for sensor packages for the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGAUSS is based on the Griffon Aerospace Outlaw ER test UAV, which Tech purchased from Griffon and subsequently modified. The test bed has a 16-foot wingspan and weighs about 140 pounds, with a 35-pound payload capacity. Under Georgia Tech\u2019s authorization from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), GAUSS can operate at a maximum ceiling of 5,000 feet, but it is capable of flying higher.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESome of the modifications GTRI researchers made to the Outlaw ER are immediately apparent. \u201cIn particular, we put pods on the wings to carry the radar system and power supply, and we made some modifications internally,\u201d says Mike Heiges, AE 85, MS AE 86, PhD AE 89, GTRI\u2019s principal aircraft research engineer for the project.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo prove it can test a variety of sensors on GAUSS, GTRI is integrating three different systems. The first is a visual light camera, the second is an RF signal detection package; and the third is a four-channel, side-looking radar designed to map the ground.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe radar is one of the first systems with these capabilities designed to be fitted on an aircraft as small as the GAUSS, and should be flying onboard it soon. \u201cThe two sensors that we have\u2014the signals recorder and also the radar\u2014we\u2019re hoping will open some doors for GTRI to conduct sponsored research with a number of customers that would like to have combinations or variations on those things,\u201d Brinkmann says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHeiges adds that GRTI has an advantage over potential competitors because the Insitute has authorizations from the FAA to allow it to fly the GAUSS at several locations around the country.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThat\u2019s a huge deal,\u201d Brinkmann says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ERadar Jamming with an \u201cAngry Kitten\u201d\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe rules of electronic warfare are simple. Make the most of the electromagnetic spectrum and deny the other guys access to it. In other words, jam them. But actual radar jamming is easier said than done given the emergence of frequency-hopping radar and communications networks being used by today\u2019s military aircraft.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESo Georgia Tech Research Institute engineers began work last June on integrating machine-learning algorithms into Angry Kitten, a developmental jamming system designed to employ new electronic attack and shielding techniques.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Angry Kitten team hopes that, by incorporating an adaptive learning approach into jammers, they will get a system \u201cthat can think on the fly\u201d and overcome the electronic protection of advanced targets, says GTRI research engineer Stan Sutphin, MS ECE 12.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe result of three years of internal R\u0026amp;D projects, Angry Kitten probes the vulnerabilities of friendly sensor systems before they are deployed on the battlefield. In addition, Angry Kitten serves as a test bed for new forms of electronic attack, which might be used against an opponent. In doing so, it explores techniques and technologies not employed in jammers built under programs of record, which tend to focus on broader bandwidth and more power.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe current challenge the GTRI electronic warfare tool is tackling is waveform agile systems.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe standard approach to jamming is to first identify the target and then choose a corresponding electronic attack from a library of jamming techniques. However, this attack-by-rote does not account for enemy adaptation. As emitters\u2014communications systems and radars\u2014get more advanced, they behave less predictably and finding \u201ca canned response for them gets to be very difficult,\u201d Sutphin says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBy contrast, a machine-learning algorithm will teach the jammer to learn from past experiences, so that when it encounters the same type of target again, its response will be more sophisticated and hopefully, faster and more successful. If a technique failed the last time, a jammer might try a variant and watch how the target responds to it and adjust accordingly with a feedback loop.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThere has been a huge interest from the Department of Defense in Angry Kitten-like technology,\u201d Sutphin says, noting that the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is pursuing its own Adaptive Radar Countermeasures program, which takes a similar approach.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHelping Helicopters Fight a Dread Enemy: Ice\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe American Helicopter Society does not give just anyone a Howard Hughes Award. In April, Lakshmi Sankar, MS AE 75, PhD AE 77, associate chair of Georgia Tech\u2019s School of Aerospace Engineering, shared this honor with a government-industry team seeking to model ice formation on helicopter rotors\u2014an effort that aims to improve flight safety, reduce the cost of all-weather certification and help develop the U.S. military\u2019s Future Vertical Lift helicopters.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIce formation on the blades of a helicopter is a serious problem. \u201cThe leading edge is very important for lift production,\u201d Sankar says. \u201cIf you have a big chunk of ice over the leading edge, then the rotor may stall and the helicopter will lose altitude.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhat\u2019s more, uneven ice formation on the blades can cause vibrations, putting stress on components, and ice flying off the main rotor can damage the tail rotor or another sensitive part of the helicopter. Finally, even if the worst does not happen, ice on the blades increases drag on the helicopter and increases fuel consumption.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAirplanes typically rely on anti-icing technology to melt ice on their wings. However, helicopters have limited heating capabilities given their small engines, which supply the electricity on the heaters to the blades. \u201cSo this is a very important issue, to be able to predict how much ice will accumulate, how much will it melt, is it going to break or fly off because of the centrifugal forces on the blade,\u201d Sankar says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn 2011, Georgia Tech partnered with NASA Glenn Research Center and leading aerospace companies to work on the High Fidelity Icing Analysis and Validation for Rotorcraft project. As part of that project, Sankar and his team developed a software model that combines aerodynamics with the structural dynamics of a rotor blade bending under a load\u2014and then combined it with LEWICE, a NASA Glenn program that models ice accretion.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIf the model is proven accurate, certifying helicopters for all-weather operations will be cheaper because fewer test flights will be required. Likewise, it could prevent mid-development redesigns of rotor blades because the computer model could test designs even before a vehicle is built. In addition, Sankar sees the model supporting the development of Future Vertical Lift, i.e. the next generation of, helicopters.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESo far, the model has fared well against wind tunnel and flight tests, but more research is required. \u201cHopefully, the government will give us some more funding,\u201d Sankar says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFighting the Hidden Effects of Bomb Blasts\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETime will tell whether the data collected from soldiers caught in roadside bombings will correlate with late-onset brain injuries. But thanks to the Integrated Blast Effects Sensor Suite (I-BESS), developed at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), medical professionals may have some incident histories from which to draw conclusions about the effects of high G-force acceleration and overpressure on the human body.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn July 2011, the U.S. Army Rapid Equipping Force tapped GTRI to create what became I-BESS. Then-vice chief of staff of the U.S. Army, Gen. Peter Chiarelli wanted to address the \u201cinvisible injury\u201d\u2014traumatic brain injury\u2014and he needed to do it quickly. The opportunity to collect data was disappearing due to the impending drawdown in Afghanistan, says Brian Liu, EE 05, the head of the Advanced Human Integration Branch at GTRI\u2019s Electronic Systems Laboratory.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERacing against the clock, GRTI researchers started fielding I-BESS in the summer of 2012. For dismounted soldiers, a mix of accelerometers, gyros and pressure transducers were installed into standard vests and headgear. These devices record, time-stamp and measure the effects of an encounter with a roadside bomb. Similarly, there are sensors affixed to the hull of soldiers\u2019 vehicles and inserted inside their seats, with all the systems uploading data to a central storage unit.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cSo the system not only is on the soldier, but it\u2019s also on the frame of the vehicle and also on the seat of the vehicle. And those are all integrated and time-tagged so that the data would allow you to go back and reconstruct which soldier was in which seat and what the soldier experienced,\u201d Liu says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn developing I-BESS, Liu and his team looked to leverage componentry already used in the commercial world. However, the wholesale borrowing of equipment was simply not possible. They couldn\u2019t just take, for example, a vehicle sensor used in NASCAR races to record crash data because the crumpling of a car frame \u201cis a very different event, dynamically, from an explosion,\u201d he says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESince I-BESS\u2019s initial fielding, GTRI has already collected data from troops and passed it along to the Army\u2019s Joint Trauma Analysis and Prevention of Injury in Combat Program. Now the GTRI team is discussing next steps. \u201cWe are working with the Army to look at some of their requirements for future soldier sensor systems that are not identical to I-BESS, but are similar in nature and similar in mission,\u201d he says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESaving Energy and Money on Military Outposts\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETransporting fuel to a remote U.S. military outpost in Afghanistan is no easy feat. There are unpaved roads; there are Taliban ambushes. So it\u2019s best that when the fuel does arrive, it\u2019s to be used sparingly.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat\u2019s why researchers at Georgia Tech are working with the Office of Naval Research to develop computer modeling tools that optimize energy consumption at forward operating bases, says Yogendra Joshi, the John M. McKenney and Warren D. Shiver Distinguished Chair at Georgia Tech\u2019s Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo fully appreciate the situation, consider that it reportedly takes 22 gallons of fuel per day to sustain a soldier or Marine in the field, and thanks to the difficult logistical situation in Afghanistan, the price per gallon is astronomical. \u201cWe\u2019re talking about fuel that is not $3.90 per gallon, but about an estimated $200 per gallon delivered at a forward operating base,\u201d Joshi says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe software tools Joshi and his team are working on would allow the military to use its liquid fuels as efficiently as possible by simulating the power consumption of appliances found on a given base. Georgia Tech is focusing its efforts on heating, cooling, lighting and energy storage technologies because of its significant resident expertise in those fields, Joshi says. The idea is to optimize the electricity consumption by those systems.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOnce the software tools are proven to match real-word power consumption at remote bases, they could be scaled up and applied to large installations, potentially reducing liquid fuel consumption significantly. In addition, the models, while being developed for the military, could also be used for disaster relief or other civil applications\u2014anywhere that might be \u201coff-grid,\u201d Joshi says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe project started this January and is projected to run for four years.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDesigning Super Long-Lasting Computers\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThink of the perfect embedded computer. Think of a computer so energy-efficient that it can last 75 times longer than today\u2019s systems. Researchers at Georgia Tech are helping the Defense Advanced Projects Research Agency (DARPA) develop such a computer as part of an initiative called Power Efficiency Revolution for Embedded Computing Technologies, or PERFECT.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe program is looking at how do we come to a new paradigm of computing where running time isn\u2019t necessarily the constraint, but how much power and battery that we have available is really the new constraint,\u201d says David Bader, executive director of high-performance computing at the School of Computational Science and Engineering.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIf the project is successful, it could result in computers far smaller and orders of magnitude more efficient than today\u2019s machines. It could also mean that the computer mounted tomorrow on an unmanned aircraft or ground vehicle, or even worn by a soldier would use less energy than a larger device, while still being as powerful.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech\u2019s part in the DARPA-led PERFECT effort is called GRATEFUL, which stands for Graph Analysis Tackling power-Efficiency, Uncertainty and Locality. Headed by Bader and co-investigator Jason Riedy, GRATEFUL focuses on algorithms that would process vast stores of data and turn it into a graphical representation in the most energy-efficient way possible.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe ultimate goal is to get an algorithmic framework that delivers supercomputer capabilities on a small, power-restricted platform.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne approach to reducing power consumption is to reduce the level of data collection. For example, when looking for a needle in a haystack, you don\u2019t necessarily need to inspect every piece of hay. \u201cWhat we\u2019re looking at is collecting the minimal data necessary to make accurate decisions,\u201d Bader says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor now, the Tech team is applying GRATEFUL to social network analysis. But that same technology could also be used for any number of security applications, such as identifying hackers trying to break into a network. And, eventually, the technology developed under GRATEFUL could find its way onto smaller, more efficient computers in unmanned aerial vehicles or worn by soldiers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe team is currently one year into a potentially five-year effort. Bader says most of the work is still in the elementary stages, but the team is developing proofs of concept software. \u201cOur goal is to create architecture-independent software that can run across multiple hardware platforms and still perform extremely well,\u201d he says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPushing the Envelope with Mini-Radars\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Institute has a long history in developing radar systems, which harkens back to World War II. Today, Tech researchers are working to develop radar systems that are much smaller and lighter than anything currently deployed through a new type of wideband, tunable, true time delay.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EModern active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars are complex affairs. They rely on electrical delay cabling to help keep all the electromagnetic pulses firing to and from individual transmit\/receive modules in proper sequence.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut separating electrical pulses, which travel essentially at the speed of light, requires lots of cabling\u2014meters of it, in fact. And all this cabling takes up space, weight and power inside the radar, says Kyle Davis, EE 09, MS ECE 13, a research engineer at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI). By contrast, Georgia Tech\u2019s new wideband, tunable, true time delay, which is a device used to slow down an electronic signal, uses thin strips of coated film to convert radio frequency (RF) energy into sound waves and then back into RF energy.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESound waves travel far slower than light waves, so the new device does not require meters of spooling between Point A and Point B to create a signal delay. \u201cOur lengths are on the order of micrometers,\u201d says Davis, adding that this translates into smaller, lighter radars.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFacilitating the operation of the Institute\u2019s acoustic time-delay device are film-based strips of material. \u201cOur materials were sputtered thin films: metals and dielectrics and a piezoelectric layer of zinc oxide,\u201d says Ryan Westafer, CmpE 05, MS ECE 06, PhD ECE 11, a GTRI project research engineer.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDavis says the RF energy-acoustic wave technology being developed at Tech could be used for beam-steering in AESA radars. In addition, it could be leveraged for electronic warfare beam-forming and beam-steering, power amp linearization, electronic countermeasures, radar and antenna testing, and RF interferometers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe wideband, tunable, true time delay project started about three years ago using internal Institute funding, and with enough money, the team could finish development relatively quickly. \u201cThe current components have a path to being very robust,\u201d Davis says. \u201cIf a program had sufficient funding to rapidly mature this technology, two to three years would not be out of the question.\u201d All the team needs to make this happen is an external funding partner.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStudying Animals to Build Smarter Robots\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECan studying the mating behavior of birds help the U.S. military develop better unmanned systems? That\u2019s what Ronald Arkin, a roboticist at Georgia Tech\u2019s College of Computing, and other researchers aim to find out as part of the U.S. Navy-funded Heterogeneous Unmanned Networked Teams (HUNT) Project.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EInitiated in 2008, the HUNT Project is a multi-phased study that looks at assorted animal interactions\u2014from wolves stalking an elk to squirrels hiding acorn caches\u2014as inspiration for developing new algorithms to guide intelligent autonomous systems. For now, Arkin has been working with computer models and little bots in the lab. But things can always scale up to larger, more robust unmanned vehicles.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThat\u2019s the beauty of the basic research,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s not limited to a physical type of platform.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne of the earliest subjects of HUNT was \u201clekking\u201d behavior in birds, in which a group of males gathers around\u2014but not too closely\u2014a very handsome specimen (a \u201chotshot\u201d) in order to mate with females. This became the basis for seeing how one could distribute autonomous systems behind enemy lines \u201cwithout using strict formation control\u201d but in a way that \u201cmaximizes the likelihood of encounter\u201d with the enemy, Arkin says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn 2010 and 2011, Arkin and his team moved on to wolf packs. Initially, they thought the wolves coordinated with each other when hunting elk. But Dan MacNulty, a professor of wildlife ecology at Utah State University, disabused them of that notion. \u201cWhen we brought Dan in the first time, he informed us that there is no coordination,\u201d he says. \u201cThey are all individual, greedy agents.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESo how exactly did they work as a pack without explicit rules or communication? One possible explanation was that a predator chasing down an elk indicated to the others that the hunted animal was weak. So applying a probabilistic model to the stage of a hunt, Arkin tried to \u201creplicate that behavior in robotic systems to see if we could do the same sort of thing both in simulations and platforms.\u201d And he succeeded.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFollowing on the wolf pack research, Arkin then looked at bird mobbing, in which birds gather to drive off a stronger predator. Did it make sense for a weak bird to feign strength and participate in the mobbing? His simulations demonstrated that under certain conditions, yes, it did. And those same lessons could be applied to a low-power robot or one that\u2019s out of ammo.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EArkin is now looking more broadly at robot deception. But, he explains, ultimately all of the pieces of HUNT relate to one another as examples of biologically inspired group behaviors.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Thomas Barker among group of Georgia Tech researchers developing new defense technologies for the military."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThomas Barker among group of Georgia Tech researchers developing new defense technologies for the military.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Thomas Barker among group of Georgia Tech researchers developing new defense technologies for the military."}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-07-08 10:39:38","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:41","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-06-11T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-06-11T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"307171":{"id":"307171","type":"image","title":"Thomas Barker, PhD, and postdoc Ashley Brown examining artificial blood platelets that are composed of hydrogels that are activated by the body\u0027s own mechanisms when a person is wounded.","body":null,"created":"1449244708","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:58:28","changed":"1475895015","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:15","alt":"Thomas Barker, PhD, and postdoc Ashley Brown examining artificial blood platelets that are composed of hydrogels that are activated by the body\u0027s own mechanisms when a person is wounded.","file":{"fid":"199764","name":"tbarker_artificial-plateletssm_0.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tbarker_artificial-plateletssm_0_1.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tbarker_artificial-plateletssm_0_1.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":334210,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tbarker_artificial-plateletssm_0_1.jpg?itok=g-B_qp-N"}},"307181":{"id":"307181","type":"image","title":"Helicopters have to contend with the serious problem of ice","body":null,"created":"1449244708","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:58:28","changed":"1475895015","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:15","alt":"Helicopters have to contend with the serious problem of ice","file":{"fid":"199765","name":"helicopter-rotor-ice-e1402509134348.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/helicopter-rotor-ice-e1402509134348_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/helicopter-rotor-ice-e1402509134348_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":683022,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/helicopter-rotor-ice-e1402509134348_0.jpg?itok=XwLb-EoO"}},"307191":{"id":"307191","type":"image","title":"Researchers are studying animal behaviors to build smarter robots for use in the military","body":null,"created":"1449244708","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:58:28","changed":"1475895015","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:15","alt":"Researchers are studying animal behaviors to build smarter robots for use in the military","file":{"fid":"199766","name":"animal-behavior-e1402509758773_0.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/animal-behavior-e1402509758773_0_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/animal-behavior-e1402509758773_0_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":850467,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/animal-behavior-e1402509758773_0_0.jpg?itok=Q8nw_Hbl"}}},"media_ids":["307171","307181","307191"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/barker.bme.gatech.edu\/MBEL_website\/the_lab.html","title":"Barker lab"}],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"39451","name":"Electronics and Nanotechnology"},{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"},{"id":"39481","name":"National Security"},{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"},{"id":"39521","name":"Robotics"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBy Erik Schecter and Dave Majumdar\u003Cbr \/\u003EGT Alumni Magazine\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["editor@alumni.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"301361":{"#nid":"301361","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech\u0027s Training Program for Rationally Designed, Integrative Biomaterials Gets Bigger","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ENational Institutes of Health renew training grant, adds slots for more students.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003EThe Georgia Tech Training Program for Rationally Designed, Integrative Biomaterials, or GTBioMAT, just got a substantial vote of confidence from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EGTBioMAT, designed to train pre-doctoral students in the development of the next generation of integrative biomaterials, was launched five years ago with a grant from the NIH\u2019s National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cThe good news is, the grant has been renewed for another five years, but what\u2019s really exciting is, we got an increased number of slots, which I think shows that the NIH is excited about what we\u2019re doing,\u201d says Johnna Temenoff, associate professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, and one of GTBioMAT\u2019s co-directors. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe grant, which previously covered four trainee slots will now support six (the next group of trainees will be announced later this summer). GTBioMAT is a two-year program, with a new group of trainees selected each year. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cThey get hands-on experience that they can use in their own research or in their careers,\u201d says GTBioMAT co-director Julia Babensee, associate professor in the Coulter Department. \u201cPart of the rationale for this grant is that we, as biomaterial scientists, need to develop new biomaterials that will function in smarter ways and interact in the body in better ways, and we need to address those issues through training students who will be able to make their own materials and become competent in that.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe continuing support of the GTBioMAT program by the NIH is also an acknowledgement of the Georgia Institute of Technology\u2019s stature in the field, according to Babensee. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cWe\u2019ve got the strongest biomaterials faculty in the U.S., if not the world, right here,\u201d she says. \u201cMany of the faculty have won Society for Biomaterials awards. We\u2019re recognized as thought leaders, and one of our aims is to train future leaders for the biomaterials community. I think this training grant is a recognition of that.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience is currently home to four different training grant programs. But this one is unique because, Temenoff says, \u201cit requires students to do at least two semester-long lab rotations before they pick their advisor.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt\u2019s all about exposure, giving trainees a glimpse into different worlds within the biomaterials universe. One lab rotation focuses on biomaterials synthesis, the other on applications. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cSome of these students will go into industry, some into academia,\u201d Babensee says. \u201cThe lab rotations give them a chance to have broader contact with the research going on here, and to make better, more informed decisions about what direction they\u2019ll ultimately go in.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe program is only five years old, and it typically takes someone four or five years to get a Ph.D. So there is no clear sense yet of what direction GTBioMAT trainees are going in. Check back in another five years or so, suggests Babensee, who is helping to plan another potential route for Georgia Tech\u2019s scientists in training, which could lead to broader opportunities for moving therapeutic concepts toward commercialization. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cWe\u2019ve been talking about an immunoengineering training grant,\u201d she says. \u201cThis is another area, like biomaterials, that has sort of grown from the grassroots here at Georgia Tech. We\u2019re uniquely positioned. A lot of biomaterials work is in the immunoengineering area, so there\u2019s going to be crossover, which means translational strength.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"National Institutes of Health renew training grant, adds slots for more students."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ENational Institutes of Health renew training grant, adds slots for more students.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"National Institutes of Health renew training grant, adds slots for more students."}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-06-05 07:53:14","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:33","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-06-09T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-06-09T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"302141":{"id":"302141","type":"image","title":"Johnna Temenoff, PhD - Co-director of GTBioMAT program, associate professor in the Wallace H. 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Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering","body":null,"created":"1449244592","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:56:32","changed":"1475894833","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:47:13","alt":"Julia Babensee PhD - Co-director of GTBioMAT program, associate professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering","file":{"fid":"199574","name":"babenseejulia-square.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/babenseejulia-square_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/babenseejulia-square_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1594887,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/babenseejulia-square_0.jpg?itok=7-LixmDH"}}},"media_ids":["302141","302151"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.ibb.gatech.edu\/about-gt-biomat","title":"GT BioMAT program"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.ibb.gatech.edu\/","title":"Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[{"id":"42911","name":"Education"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"14370","name":"Johnna Temenoff"},{"id":"14197","name":"Julia babensee"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering \u0026amp; Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"301901":{"#nid":"301901","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Techniques Symposium","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA broad range of expertise on display at annual event.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EGeorge Gershwin once said that great composers spend, \u201cmost of their time studying. Feeling alone won\u2019t do the job. A man also needs technique.\u201d Everyone who took part in the annual Techniques Symposium (June 3-4 in the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience) knows that it works the same way for scientists. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe symposium is a training event that gives students seminars and hands-on workshops in laboratory techniques, software and analysis (as well as scientific communication). Open to students from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory, Morehouse and Georgia State, the event is organized by the Research Committee of the Bioengineering and Bioscience Unified Graduate Students (BBUGS), the core graduate student group for the bio-community at Tech. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cStudents and researchers who participate in the symposium are able to listen to seminars or see demonstrations from experts in that given technique,\u201d says Ariel Kniss, one of the BBUGS co-chairs of the event. \u201cIt brings together students and resources to further their educational and research goals.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFor some students, the event is something of an eye-opener, offering a broad glimpse into a range of topics and techniques.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E \u201cDuring my first year of graduate school, I was hesitant about starting in a new lab with little experience in their techniques. I wish I knew about a symposium like this,\u201d says Yusuf Uddin, the event\u2019s other co-chair, and a second-year grad student in biology. His first Techniques Symposium is the one he just helped organize. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cI think the most useful aspect of the Techniques Symposium is learning how to use the instruments, products and software available to us in a more efficient way,\u201d Uddin says. \u201cIt gives us the chance to network with friends and speakers and the chance to experience new methods in science and engineering.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe various training sessions, spread out over two days, were conducted by Georgia Tech staff and faculty, and also technical representatives from some of the event sponsors (which included BD Biosciences, Lonza, Quanta Biosciences and Fischer Scientific). A lot of information is shared over two days, typically in one-hour chunks. So, the challenge for core facilities lab managers is how to make it all relevant for groups of inquisitive students. They have their ways. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cIt takes a few hours to train properly on this equipment,\u201d says Andrew Shaw, who manages the confocal microscope laboratory. \u201cThe symposium isn\u2019t the place for that kind of intensive training, because there isn\u2019t the time for that, so I try to talk to the students about what would be the correct microscope for their particular experiment.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAqua Asberry, who manages the histology lab, sees the symposium as an opportunity to introduce her area of expertise to students because, she says, \u201ca lot of people don\u2019t even know the facility exists. So, in addition to educating on techniques, it\u2019s about exposure. I tend to teach histology as if they don\u2019t know anything about it, like they never heard of it, and I try not to lose my audience. So far, so good.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe symposium is geared toward grad students and post-doctoral fellows in bioengineering and bioscience, but undergrads like Brian Sanner also are invited to attend. \u201cI found it valuable to get an introduction to a wide variety of techniques, which will aid me in the future as I decide which will be useful in designing experiments,\u201d says Sanner. \u201cI also found it useful that in some of the sessions, such as the histology core, counted as training, so I can begin using the lab immediately.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"A broad range of expertise on display at annual event."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA broad range of expertise on display at annual event.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A broad range of expertise on display at annual event."}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-06-06 07:32:11","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:33","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-06-06T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-06-06T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"301921":{"id":"301921","type":"image","title":"Ariel Kniss and Yusuf Uddin - BBUGS Co-organizers of 2014 Techniques Symposium","body":null,"created":"1449244592","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:56:32","changed":"1475895007","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:07","alt":"Ariel Kniss and Yusuf Uddin - BBUGS Co-organizers of 2014 Techniques Symposium","file":{"fid":"199565","name":"ariel_and_yusuf2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ariel_and_yusuf2_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ariel_and_yusuf2_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":742110,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/ariel_and_yusuf2_0.jpg?itok=MWm0HPqe"}},"301931":{"id":"301931","type":"image","title":"Brennan Torstrick (Guldberg lab), shows undergraduate, Brian Sanner, around the histology core lab.","body":null,"created":"1449244592","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:56:32","changed":"1475895007","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:07","alt":"Brennan Torstrick (Guldberg lab), shows undergraduate, Brian Sanner, around the histology core lab.","file":{"fid":"199566","name":"brennan_and_brian-cropped.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/brennan_and_brian-cropped_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/brennan_and_brian-cropped_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":989934,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/brennan_and_brian-cropped_0.jpg?itok=idSnuzxk"}},"301951":{"id":"301951","type":"image","title":"Phil Keegan (Platt lab) gives seminar on Zymography \u0026 Western Blotting","body":null,"created":"1449244592","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:56:32","changed":"1475895007","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:07","alt":"Phil Keegan (Platt lab) gives seminar on Zymography \u0026 Western Blotting","file":{"fid":"199568","name":"phil_keegan_symposium_-_cropped.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/phil_keegan_symposium_-_cropped_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/phil_keegan_symposium_-_cropped_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":999398,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/phil_keegan_symposium_-_cropped_0.jpg?itok=PdwxXjqs"}},"301941":{"id":"301941","type":"image","title":"Nassir Mokarram (Bellamkonda lab) receives instruction from Nadia Boguslavsky, manager of the the Petit Institute\u0027s Bioscience Lab.","body":null,"created":"1449244592","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:56:32","changed":"1475895007","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:07","alt":"Nassir Mokarram (Bellamkonda lab) receives instruction from Nadia Boguslavsky, manager of the the Petit Institute\u0027s Bioscience Lab.","file":{"fid":"199567","name":"nadia_symposium-cropped.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/nadia_symposium-cropped_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/nadia_symposium-cropped_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1140362,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/nadia_symposium-cropped_0.jpg?itok=aDbcmgzx"}}},"media_ids":["301921","301931","301951","301941"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/techniques.gatech.edu\/","title":"Techniques Symposium website"},{"url":"http:\/\/bbugs.gatech.edu\/","title":"BBUGS website"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.ibb.gatech.edu\/","title":"Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering \u0026amp; Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"301081":{"#nid":"301081","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Lasting Impact","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECellular \u0026amp; Tissue Engineering (CTEng) training program building biotech leaders.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe biotech industry keeps evolving, as discoveries are made and concepts become reality, making the transition from gray matter to the lab and eventually to the clinic or bedside or marketplace. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt takes well-trained, creative and nimble-minded humans to keep this massive, growing machine moving, which is why Andr\u00e9s J. Garc\u00eda always gets a little thrilled when he introduces a new crop of trainees for the Georgia Tech Training Program in Cellular and Tissue Engineering (CTEng), like he did recently. They are: Tom Bongiorno, Jose Garc\u00eda, Joscelyn Mejias, and Sanjoli Sur. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cThis is the next generation of leaders for the biotech industry,\u201d says Garc\u00eda, director of the CTEng training program, who holds the Rae and Frank H. Neely Chair in Mechanical Engineering and George W. Woodruff Professorship. \u201cThese are the people who are going to have an impact in the field. That\u2019s who we\u2019re trying to develop with this program.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAnd they\u2019ve been doing it for more than a quarter century, thanks to sponsorship from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the NIH. The grant provides eight training slots per year and supports students for two years, or four new trainees each year, who join a comprehensive, integrated training program that comprises fundamental and interdisciplinary courses, multiple activities to promote interactions with training faculty and industry representatives, an industrial internship program and an industrial partners symposium. The CTEng training program also features a short course called \u2018Learn about Industry From the Experts\u2019 (LIFE), a clinical seminar series, and a trainee journal club. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EProfessor Garc\u00eda says the broad range of activities and offerings not only contributes to the trainees\u2019 knowledge and skillsets, but really helps them make vital career decisions. That\u2019s what new trainee Joscelyn Mejias is banking on. \u201cIn terms of potential career opportunities, I think the internship requirement will be useful to understanding and eventually deciding whether I would prefer a career in industry or academia,\u201d she says. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt worked the same way for trainees who have been through the program, graduated and gone on to pursue their careers. And for some who already had an idea of where they might be headed after Georgia Tech, the CTEng training program solidified their decision or helped make their paths a bit smoother. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cI worked in the biotech industry for four years before going to Tech for grad school, so I had an industry orientation, but the seminar series and the industry partnerships really gives students exposure to real world thinking, which I thought was very useful,\u201d says Chris Gemmiti, who earned his Ph.D. in 2006 and is now managing partner of Ridgewood Consulting, a firm he founded, focused on biologic and device development. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETed Lee, who graduated in December and is now a biomaterials scientist in advanced research for San Diego-based Dexcom, says he also had an industrial career in mind, and the training program helped open some doors. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cWith respect to research, the training grant was helpful to interact with people in other labs and talk about science that was tangentially related to your specific project. So, it helps you diversify your knowledge base and talk with others in varying areas of expertise,\u201d says Lee. \u201cBut mostly, it gave me the opportunity to have an industry internship, which is critical for finding a job after graduation. If I didn\u2019t have industry experience, I would not have found a good job, period. Furthermore, the prestige of an NIH grant always looks good on your resume.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Cellular \u0026 Tissue Engineering (CTEng) training program building biotech leaders."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ECellular \u0026amp; Tissue Engineering (CTEng) training program building biotech leaders.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Cellular \u0026 Tissue Engineering (CTEng) training program building biotech leaders."}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-06-04 09:07:33","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:33","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-06-05T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-06-05T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"301721":{"id":"301721","type":"image","title":"Cellular \u0026 Tissue Engineering training grant at Georgia Tech","body":null,"created":"1449244592","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:56:32","changed":"1475895004","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:04","alt":"Cellular \u0026 Tissue Engineering training grant at Georgia Tech","file":{"fid":"199561","name":"bigstock-portrait-of-a-female-researche-16436960-smaller.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bigstock-portrait-of-a-female-researche-16436960-smaller_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bigstock-portrait-of-a-female-researche-16436960-smaller_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1847994,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/bigstock-portrait-of-a-female-researche-16436960-smaller_0.jpg?itok=fJhopiJc"}}},"media_ids":["301721"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/ibb.gatech.edu\/cellular-tissue-engineering","title":"Cellular \u0026 Tissue Engineering Training Grant"}],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for \u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering \u0026amp; Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"301241":{"#nid":"301241","#data":{"type":"news","title":"How Red Tide Knocks Out Its Competition","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ENew research reveals how the algae behind red tide thoroughly disables \u2013 but doesn\u2019t kill \u2013 other species of algae. The study shows how chemical signaling between algae can trigger big changes in the marine ecosystem.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMarine algae fight other species of algae for nutrients and light, and, ultimately, survival. The algae that cause red tides, the algal blooms that color blue ocean waters red, carry an arsenal of molecules that disable some other algae. The incapacitated algae don\u2019t necessarily die, but their growth grinds to a halt. This could explain part of why blooms can be maintained despite the presence of competitors. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the new study, scientists used cutting-edge tools in an attempt to solve an old ecological mystery: Why do some algae boom and some algae bust? The research team used cultured strains of the algae that cause red tide, exposed competitor algae to its exuded chemicals, and then took a molecular inventory of the competitor algae\u2019s growth and metabolism pathways. Red tide exposure significantly slowed the competitor algae\u2019s growth and compromised its ability to maintain healthy cell membranes. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur study describes the physiological responses of competitors exposed to red tide compounds, and indicates why certain competitor species may be sensitive to these compounds while other species remain relatively resistant,\u201d said Kelsey Poulson-Ellestad, a former graduate student at the Georgia Institute of Technology, now at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and the study\u2019s co-first author, along with Christina Jones, a Georgia Tech graduate student. \u201cThis can help us determine mechanisms that influence species composition in planktonic communities exposed to red tides, and suggests that these chemical cues could alter large-scale ecosystem phenomena, such as the funneling of material and energy through marine food webs.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe study was sponsored by the National Science Foundation and was published June 2 in the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.pnas.org\/cgi\/doi\/10.1073\/pnas.1402130111%20\u0022\u003EOnline Early Edition of the journal \u003Cem\u003EProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E (PNAS). The work was a collaboration between Georgia Tech, the University of Washington, and the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe algae that form red tide in the Gulf of Mexico are dinoflagellates called Karenia brevis, or just Karenia by scientists. Karenia makes neurotoxins that are toxic to humans and fish. Karenia also makes small molecules that are toxic to other marine algae, which is what the new study analyzed. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIn this study we employed a global look at the metabolism of these competitors to take an unbiased approach to ask how are they being affected by these non-lethal, subtle chemicals that are released by Karenia,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.kubaneklab.biology.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EJulia Kubanek\u003C\/a\u003E, Poulson-Ellestad\u2019s graduate mentor and a professor in the School of Biology and the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Georgia Tech. \u201cBy studying both the proteins and metabolites, which interact to form metabolic pathways, we put together a picture of what\u2019s happening inside the competitor algal cells when they\u2019re extremely stressed.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research team used a combination of mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to form a holistic picture of what\u2019s happening inside the competitor algae. The study is the first time that metabolites and proteins were measured simultaneously to study ecological competition.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022A key aspect of this study was the use of high-resolution metabolomic tools based on mass spectrometry,\u0022 said \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ww2.chemistry.gatech.edu\/fernandez\/\u0022\u003EFacundo M. Fern\u00e1ndez\u003C\/a\u003E, a professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, whose lab ran the mass spectrometry analysis. \u0022This allowed us to detect and identify metabolites affected by exposure to red tide microorganisms.\u201d \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMass spectrometry was also used for analysis of proteins, an approach called proteomics, led by Brook Nunn at the University of Washington.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research team discovered that red tide disrupts multiple physiological pathways in the competitor diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana. Red tide disrupted the energy metabolism and cellular protection mechanisms, inhibited their ability to regulate fluids and increased oxidative stress. T. pseudonana exposed to red tide toxins grew 85 percent slower than unexposed algae.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis competitor that\u2019s being affected by red tide is suffering a globally upset state,\u201d Kubanek said. \u201cIt\u2019s nothing like what it would be in a healthy, normal cell.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe work shows that chemical cues in the plankton have the potential to alter large-scale ecosystem processes including primary production and nutrient cycling in the ocean. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research team found that another competitor diatom, Asterionellopsis glacialis, which frequently co-occurs with Karenia red tides, was partially resistant to red tide, suggesting that co-occurring species may have evolved partial resistance to red tide via robust metabolic pathways. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOther work in Kubanek\u2019s lab is examining red tide and its competition in the field to see how these interactions unfold in the wild.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cKarenia is a big mystery. It has these periodic blooms that happen most years now, but what\u2019s shaping that cycle is unclear,\u201d Kubanek said. \u201cThe role of competitive chemical cues in these interactions is also not well understood.\u201d \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis research is supported by the National Science Foundation under award number OCE-1060300. Any conclusions or opinions are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the sponsoring agency.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECITATION\u003C\/strong\u003E: Kelsey L. Poulson-Ellestad, et al., \u201cMetabolomics and proteomics reveal impacts of chemically mediated competition on marine plankton.\u201d (June, \u003Cem\u003EPNAS\u003C\/em\u003E) \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.pnas.org\/cgi\/doi\/10.1073\/pnas.1402130111%20\u0022\u003Ewww.pnas.org\/cgi\/doi\/10.1073\/pnas.1402130111 \u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E177 North Avenue\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, Georgia 30332-0181 USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/gtresearchnews\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E@GTResearchNews\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts:\u003C\/strong\u003E Brett Israel (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/btiatl\u0022\u003E@btiatl\u003C\/a\u003E) (404-385-1933) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or John Toon (404-894-6986) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: Brett Israel\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ENew research reveals how the algae behind red tide thoroughly disables \u2013 but doesn\u2019t kill \u2013 other species of algae. The study shows how chemical signaling between algae can trigger big changes in the marine ecosystem.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"New research reveals how the algae behind red tide thoroughly disables \u2013 but doesn\u2019t kill \u2013 other species of algae."}],"uid":"27902","created_gmt":"2014-06-04 11:15:07","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:33","author":"Brett Israel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-06-04T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-06-04T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"301231":{"id":"301231","type":"image","title":"Red tide sampling","body":null,"created":"1449244572","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:56:12","changed":"1475895004","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:04","alt":"Red tide sampling","file":{"fid":"199547","name":"kelseyfield.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/kelseyfield_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/kelseyfield_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2588234,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/kelseyfield_0.jpg?itok=AaSHTfEQ"}},"301221":{"id":"301221","type":"image","title":"Red tide","body":null,"created":"1449244572","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:56:12","changed":"1475895004","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:04","alt":"Red tide","file":{"fid":"199546","name":"kbrevisbloom.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/kbrevisbloom_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/kbrevisbloom_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":514284,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/kbrevisbloom_0.jpg?itok=UUIuseXN"}}},"media_ids":["301231","301221"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"154","name":"Environment"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[{"id":"17301","name":"Facundo Fernandez"},{"id":"4647","name":"Julia Kubanek"},{"id":"75851","name":"Karenia brevis"},{"id":"94651","name":"red tide"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71911","name":"Earth and Environment"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBrett Israel\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404-385-1933\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/btiatl\u0022\u003E@btiatl\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"301261":{"#nid":"301261","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Starring Role for Atlantic Pediatric Device Consortium (APDC)","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta-based consortium on leading edge of pediatric device development.\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMost children are healthy, so they comprise a small percent of the healthcare industry\u2019s profit base, which makes the development of purpose-driven pediatric devices very challenging. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cThere are many challenges, but two major ones, probably,\u201d says David Ku, the Lawrence P. Huang Chair Professor of Engineering Entrepreneurship, who leads the Atlantic Pediatric Device Consortium (APDC), which is based at the Georgia Institute of Technology. \u201cOne is that the market size for all pediatric devices is small compared to adults. There is a lower return on investment, too low to garner much attention, so medical device companies or investors typically have less interest in pediatrics.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWay less, in fact. According to the nonprofit Institute for Pediatric Innovation, about 6% of healthcare dollars are spent on children, who are overwhelmingly outnumbered by adults (by a 4-to-1 ratio), who tend to have a lot more health problems, making grown-up medicine a much safer and therefore more prevalent investment. Consequently, there aren\u2019t many options designed explicitly for children, which gets to the second problem on Ku\u2019s list. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cThe second thing is, designing medical devices just for children isn\u2019t easy,\u201d he says. \u201cMost devices are built with adults in mind, and we try to scale them down, but you almost have to create a different device, because it\u2019s not just a matter of size and proportional scaling. Children\u2019s bodies are growing, and they may have long-term needs that change over time.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESo, to address those specific pediatric needs, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) created the Pediatric Device Consortia Grant Program in 2009. The effort has been inspiring medical device projects across the country, and the APDC (one of seven FDA consortia in the country) has taken a starring role, making the Georgia Institute of Technology a leader in the development of pediatric technologies. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAPDC, founded in 2011, is a partnership between Georgia Tech, Emory University, Children\u2019s Healthcare of Atlanta and the Virginia Commonwealth University (APDC\u2019s founding leader, Barbara Boyan, former dean for research in Tech\u2019s College of Engineering, is now dean of VCU\u2019s School of Engineering). \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe consortium exists to increase accessibility of pediatric medical devices by helping researchers and entrepreneurs develop and commercialize them more efficiently. Interest in the effort has manifested in the form of large investments, such as the $20 million joint venture by Tech and Children\u2019s (announced in June 2012) for developing solutions to improve kids\u2019 health, and more recently, a $3.5 million award from the FDA to the APDC announced early this year. In addition to that, APDC administers seed grants each year in its annual Pediatric Device Innovation Competition. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn April, APDC awarded seed grants (in the $30,000 to $50,000 range, according to Martha Willis, APDC program manager) to eight projects selected by a panel of physicians, scientists and business leaders. One of the most promising is an adaptable implant to treat cleft palate, developed by Ku at Georgia Tech. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECleft palate is a congenital defect that causes major speech and swallowing problems for young children, with potential social implications, because it is unsightly. The usual best strategy is to repair the defect during infancy, before swallowing and speech problems develop. But surgical correction is a challenge because of growth issues. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cEarly closure leads to growth restrictions, and late closure leads to defects in speech. So the question is, how do you get something that fits in there and grows with the child,\u201d says Ku, who answered the question by using material developed at Georgia Tech about 15 years ago. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EPolyvinyl alcohol cryogel (PVA-C) is a biocompatible material that is easily molded into a design that can resist pressure while allowing for growth of a child\u2019s mouth. \u201cThis is a soft and compliant hydrogel, easy to clean and it can be molded in the physician\u2019s office,\u201d says Ku. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt\u2019s a new, long-term version of the palatal obturator, which is typically a short-term prosthetic. And because Ku\u2019s device is a more advanced and adaptable version of a device that already exists, the regulatory pathway to commercialization (and a child\u2019s mouth) is less burdensome, thanks to a law passed almost 40 years ago. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn May 1976, the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FD\u0026amp;C) was amended to include medical devices. Specifically, section 510(k) of the FD\u0026amp;C allows the FDA to determine whether a new device is somehow equivalent to commercial devices that existed before May 1976. If deemed \u201csubstantially equivalent,\u201d a new device doesn\u2019t have to go through premarket approval. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s possible to get this cleared and to the marketplace in two years, instead of the 10-year timeframe that is typical for some new devices. By appropriate design, the cost to bring this to market is on the order of $2 million to $5 million, versus $50 million to $75 million,\u201d says Ku, who began his career as a surgeon before moving fulltime into research at the Parker H. Petit Institute of Bioengineering and Bioscience. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EKu\u2019s device provides a physiological correction for cleft palate. Full correction through surgery comes around the age of 5, but by then, ideally, the child patient has learned to speak, and to create the hard, pressure consonant sounds (that a cleft palate hinders), thanks to an effective, efficient device. Ku, who is Regents\u0027 Professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, will use the seed grant to provide design control documentation and prepare for FDA 510(k) application. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe idea behind the seed grant program is to kick start promising projects that have a good chance of securing larger sums of venture capital later on. It\u2019s a strategy that has worked very well for one of APDC\u2019s early seed grant recipients. When APDC was started in 2011, says Wilbur Lam, \u201cwe had to pitch a handful of ideas to the FDA to show that we here in Atlanta had the technologies and infrastructure, as well as the commercialization know how, to take a handful projects to the next round of development.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESo, he pitched CellScope, Inc., and its mobile microscope product, the Remotoscope, a clip-on attachment and app combination that turns your iPhone into an otoscope. Lam, an assistant professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Dept. of Biomedical Engineering, started the project with his colleagues at the University of California, Berkeley, and brought it with him when he joined the faculty at Georgia Tech in 2011, when CellScope secured $50,000 in seed money from FDA through APDC. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cThe bottom line is, APDC allowed CellScope to receive initial funding to develop the technology further, enabled us to work on the hardware and perhaps most importantly, gave us street cred, which enabled us to find venture capital funding and take our company to the next level,\u201d says Lam, a pediatrician and researcher whose company is now supported by funding from Khosla Ventures, a Silicon Valley firm. \u201cIn terms of commercialization, we\u2019re very close.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe idea behind the Remotoscope is, basically, to allow parents at home to use their cell phone\u2019s camera and flash to provide light for otoscopic images. Mom can take a snapshot of her child\u2019s inner ear, then send it electronically to the pediatrician for a remote diagnosis. The devices have been distributed to physicians across the country for their initial testing. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cWe\u2019re about to do a study with our partners at Children\u2019s Healthcare of Atlanta, in terms of getting these devices to families of children with chronic ear infections, to see if we can use the device to save healthcare expenditures by preventing emergency room visits,\u201d says Lam, a Petit Institute researcher based at Emory, who treats patients at Children\u2019s. \u201cOver time, we hope it\u2019ll also help reduce unnecessary antibiotic use.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHis thought is, because physicians will be able to check for infections more frequently now, they can cut back on prescribing drugs for infections that can improve on their own. Because time is usually pretty short during an office visit, pediatricians often prescribe an antibiotic whether the infection is caused by bacteria, or a virus (which antibiotics can\u2019t fix), and this can eventually result in antibiotic resistance, therefore limiting the drug\u2019s ability to fight bacterial infections (which antibiotics are designed to cure). \u201cThis is a big public health issue, the issue of antibiotic resistance,\u201d says Lam, a co-director of APDC and one of the consortium\u2019s principal investigators. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe seed grant program doesn\u2019t guarantee a device\u2019s commercialization and success, but it does provide an important boost for the researcher who is putting purpose ahead of profit on the development path.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E \u201cYou know, $50,000 isn\u2019t much in the scheme of things,\u201d Lam says, \u201cbut sometimes that can be just enough to enable an inventor to take the next step. It allows creative people to move forward with great ideas that can have a big impact down the road.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Atlanta-based consortium on leading edge of pediatric device development."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAtlanta-based consortium on leading edge of pediatric device development.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Atlanta-based consortium on leading edge of pediatric device development."}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-06-04 12:20:37","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:33","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-06-04T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-06-04T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"301281":{"id":"301281","type":"image","title":"David Ku, PhD - Executive Director, Atlantic Pediatric Device Consortium (APDC)","body":null,"created":"1449244572","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:56:12","changed":"1475895004","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:04","alt":"David Ku, PhD - Executive Director, Atlantic Pediatric Device Consortium (APDC)","file":{"fid":"199549","name":"kudavidmural-cropped.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/kudavidmural-cropped_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/kudavidmural-cropped_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1819491,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/kudavidmural-cropped_0.jpg?itok=FPDmCfO0"}},"301291":{"id":"301291","type":"image","title":"Wilbur Lam, MD, PhD - Professor, Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech \u0026 Emory University","body":null,"created":"1449244572","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:56:12","changed":"1490466440","gmt_changed":"2017-03-25 18:27:20","alt":"","file":{"fid":"199550","name":"lamwilburwipeboard.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/lamwilburwipeboard_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/lamwilburwipeboard_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":785756,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/lamwilburwipeboard_0.jpg?itok=UuIC7rYn"}}},"media_ids":["301281","301291"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/pediatricdevicesatlanta.org\/","title":"Atlanta Pediatric Device Consortium"},{"url":"https:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/faculty\/ku","title":"Ku profile"},{"url":"http:\/\/lamlab.gatech.edu\/","title":"Lam lab"}],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[{"id":"42941","name":"Art Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"147071","name":"go_apdc"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering \u0026amp; Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"300531":{"#nid":"300531","#data":{"type":"news","title":"New Faculty Leadership for the Petit Scholars Program","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETom Barker to serve as new faculty advisor.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Parker H. Petit Institute announced that Thomas Barker, a Petit Faculty Fellow and associate professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME), will serve as the new faculty advisor to the Petit Undergraduate Research Scholars program beginning in 2014. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBarker\u2019s lab has served as a mentoring and training ground for a number of undergraduate students during his years at Georgia Tech and he has regularly served on the annual review committees to select incoming scholars. Barker has personally advised over 50 undergraduate researchers including over 25 that have received Georgia Tech\u2019s Presidential Undergraduate Scholar Award, 3 NSF-ERC Research Experiences for Undergraduate (REU) awardees, and 6 Petit Scholars. Barker is also the primary faculty mentor for Georgia Tech\u2019s Undergraduate iGEM (International Genetically Engineered Machines competition) team. Seventeen (17) of Barker\u2019s undergraduate researchers have published in peer-reviewed journals and 2 have received the College of Engineering\u2019s high award for undergraduate research.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0022I\u0027m excited and honored to become the Faculty Advisor for the Petit Scholars Program. Research is at the core of Georgia Tech\u0027s mission and I relish the opportunity to help nurture the next generation of great scientists and engineers. The Petit Scholars program is the flagship undergraduate research program in biosciences at Georgia Tech and I look forward to continuing its growth and impact.\u0022\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cWith Tom\u0027s long history of mentoring and training undergraduate students and his ongoing support of the program over the years, we are looking forward to this next generation of leadership in the Petit Scholars program,\u201d said Bob Guldberg, PhD, Executive Director of the Petit Institute.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESince 2007, the program has been lead by Todd McDevitt, Carol Ann and David D. Flanagan Professor in BME and the director of the Stem Cell Engineering Center at Georgia Tech. Under his leadership, the Petit Scholars program flourished after McDevitt overhauled the application and review process, drawing a richer, more diverse pool of top undergrads to more than double the number of annual scholars. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOriginally established as a summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program from a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant awarded to the Georgia Tech\/Emory Center for Tissue Engineering, the program was expanded to a full year research opportunity that has funded more than 200 elite undergraduate bioengineering and bioscience scholars from Atlanta area universities to date.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Tom Barker to serve as new faculty advisor."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETom Barker to serve as new faculty advisor.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Tom Barker to serve as new faculty advisor."}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-06-02 10:30:42","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:29","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-06-02T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-06-02T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"300541":{"id":"300541","type":"image","title":"Tom Barker, PhD - New faculty advisor to the Petit Undergraduate Research Scholars program","body":null,"created":"1449244572","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:56:12","changed":"1475895004","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:04","alt":"Tom Barker, PhD - New faculty advisor to the Petit Undergraduate Research Scholars program","file":{"fid":"199522","name":"barker_-_headshot.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/barker_-_headshot_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/barker_-_headshot_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":90952,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/barker_-_headshot_0.jpg?itok=YKbrDusE"}}},"media_ids":["300541"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.ibb.gatech.edu\/petit-scholars","title":"Petit Scholars info and application"},{"url":"http:\/\/barker.bme.gatech.edu\/MBEL_website\/the_lab.html","title":"Barker lab"}],"groups":[{"id":"1254","name":"Wallace H. Coulter Dept. of Biomedical Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"42911","name":"Education"},{"id":"132","name":"Institute Leadership"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:colly.mitchell@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EColly Mitchell\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EPetit Scholars Program Administrator\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["colly.mitchell@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"300271":{"#nid":"300271","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Gene Expression Signature Identifies Patients at Higher Risk for Cardiovascular Death","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA study of 338 patients with coronary artery disease has identified a gene expression profile associated with an elevated risk of cardiovascular death. Used with other indicators such as biochemical markers and family history, the profile \u2013 based on a simple blood test \u2013 may help identify patients who could benefit from personalized treatment and counseling designed to address risk factors.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearchers found the risk signature by comparing gene expression profiles in 31 study subjects who died of cardiovascular causes against the profiles of living members of the study group. Twenty-five of the 31 deaths occurred in the group with the high-risk profile, though coronary deaths were also recorded among the lower risk members of the study group. All of the patients studied had coronary artery disease (CAD), and about one in five had suffered a heart attack prior to the study.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University and Princeton University participated in the study, which obtained gene expression profiles from blood samples taken from patients undergoing cardiac catheterization at Emory University clinics in Atlanta. The results were published in the open-access journal \u003Cem\u003EGenome Medicine\u003C\/em\u003E on May 29, 2014.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe envision that with our gene expression-based marker, plus some biochemical markers, genotype information and family history, we could produce a tiered evaluation of people\u2019s risks of adverse coronary events,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/people\/gregory-gibson\u0022\u003EGregory Gibson\u003C\/a\u003E, director of the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/cig.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ECenter for Integrative Genomics\u003C\/a\u003E at Georgia Tech and one of the study\u2019s senior authors. \u201cThis could lead to a personalized medicine approach for people recovering from heart attack or coronary artery bypass grafting.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECoronary artery disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States. Manifested in the narrowing of blood vessels through the buildup of plaque, CAD sets the stage for heart attacks and long-term heart failure.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs many as half of Americans over the age of 50 suffer from CAD to some extent, so the researchers wondered if they could single out those with the highest risk of death. From a cohort of more than 3,000 persons known as the Emory Cardiovascular Biobank (EmCD), they selected two groups of patients for extensive gene expression analysis based on blood samples.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAfter following the patients for as long as five years, the researchers examined gene expression patterns in a total of 31 persons from the study group who had suffered coronary deaths. Comparing these patterns against those of other study subjects revealed a pattern in which genes affecting inflammation were up-regulated, while genes affecting T-lymphocytes were down-regulated.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe patients studied ranged in age from 51 to 73, were mostly Caucasian, and 65 percent male. Seventy percent of the subjects had significant CAD, and 18 percent were experiencing an acute myocardial infarction when blood samples were taken. Gene expression was analyzed using microarrays and two different normalization procedures to control for technical and biological covariates. Whole genome genotyping was used to support comparative genome-wide association studies of gene expression. Two phases of the study were conducted independently with the two different groups, and produced similar results.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhat\u2019s new in this research is the recognition that this risk pathway exists and that it relates to particular aspects of immune system functions that include T-cell signaling,\u201d said Gibson, who is also a professor in Georgia Tech\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Biology\u003C\/a\u003E. \u201cWe went beyond the signature of coronary artery disease to really provide a signature for adverse outcomes in that high-risk population.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe pattern, said Gibson, doesn\u2019t indicate the causes of the disease. The researchers would now like to expand the study to include a larger group of patients and learn more about what causes the disease. They\u2019d also like to know whether the risks can be reversed through diet, exercise or drug therapy.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECardiologist \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/medicine.emory.edu\/about_us\/our_people\/faculty-directory\/quyyumi-arshed-ali.html\u0022\u003EArshed Quyyumi\u003C\/a\u003E, the paper\u2019s other senior author, directs Emory University\u2019s Clinical Cardiovascular Research Center and created the Biobank five years ago to facilitate cardiovascular research. He says that identifying patients at highest risk could help encourage their compliance with treatment programs, and prioritize introduction of newer therapeutics, such as cholesterol lowering medications like PCSK9 inhibitors.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cA number of patients with CAD are currently not maximally treated,\u201d said Quyyumi, who is a professor in Emory\u2019s School of Medicine. \u201cIn those that appear to have been prescribed adequate medication, a significant proportion of subjects are non-compliant with their medications. Thus, knowledge of a high risk genetic profile in a patient can prompt both the patient and physician to maximize currently available medications and improve patient compliance.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EApproximately 15,000 genes are expressed in human blood, but analyzing them is not as daunting as it sounds. Most of the gene expression is correlated, so there may be only a few dozen independent measurements that can be related to disease states, Gibson said. In the study, researchers identified nine \u201caxes\u201d that represented specific biological pathways to disease. Two of them were relevant to the high-risk profile.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGibson believes identifying the high-risk signatures in CAD patients may lead to opportunities for improving their health.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur dream would be a hand-held device that would allow patients to take a droplet of blood, much like diabetics do today, and obtain an evaluation of these transcripts that they could track at home,\u201d he said. \u201cIf we can use this information to help people adopt healthier behaviors, it will be very positive.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to those already mentioned, the co-authors include Jinhee Kim, from the Georgia Tech School of Biology; Nima Ghasemzadeh and Danny Eapen from the Emory University School of Medicine, and John Storey and Neo Christopher Chung from the Lewis-Sigler Institute at Princeton University.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECITATION\u003C\/strong\u003E: Jinhee Kim, Nima Ghasemzadeh, Danny J. Eapen, Neo Christopher Chung, John D. Storey, Arshed A. Quyyumi and Greg Gibson, \u201cGene expression profiles associated with acute myocardial infarction and risk of cardiovascular death.\u201d (Genome Medicine 2014).\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/genomemedicine.com\/content\/6\/5\/40\u0022 title=\u0022http:\/\/genomemedicine.com\/content\/6\/5\/40\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/genomemedicine.com\/content\/6\/5\/40\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E177 North Avenue\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, Georgia\u0026nbsp; 30332-0181\u0026nbsp; USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) (404-894-6986) or Brett Israel (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) (404-385-1933)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA study of 338 patients with coronary artery disease has identified a gene expression profile associated with an elevated risk of cardiovascular death. Used with other indicators such as biochemical markers and family history, the profile \u2013 based on a simple blood test \u2013 may help identify patients who could benefit from personalized treatment and counseling designed to address risk factors.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A study of 338 patients with coronary artery disease has identified a gene expression profile associated with an elevated risk of cardiovascular death."}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2014-05-29 16:01:13","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:29","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-05-29T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-05-29T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"300251":{"id":"300251","type":"image","title":"Gene Expression Signature","body":null,"created":"1449244572","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:56:12","changed":"1475895000","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:00","alt":"Gene Expression Signature","file":{"fid":"199514","name":"gene-expression-gibson.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gene-expression-gibson_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gene-expression-gibson_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":812396,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/gene-expression-gibson_0.jpg?itok=LvsnkJwy"}},"300261":{"id":"300261","type":"image","title":"Gene Expression Signature2","body":null,"created":"1449244572","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:56:12","changed":"1475895000","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:00","alt":"Gene Expression Signature2","file":{"fid":"199515","name":"mm12201-07jk035a-quyyumi.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/mm12201-07jk035a-quyyumi_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/mm12201-07jk035a-quyyumi_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1575638,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/mm12201-07jk035a-quyyumi_0.jpg?itok=La-E5Tes"}}},"media_ids":["300251","300261"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"2581","name":"cardiology"},{"id":"94281","name":"cardiovasular death"},{"id":"94271","name":"coronary artery disease"},{"id":"7092","name":"gene expression"},{"id":"10645","name":"Greg Gibson"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"39431","name":"Data Engineering and Science"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71891","name":"Health and Medicine"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearch News\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E(404) 894-6986\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"300011":{"#nid":"300011","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Engineering a Better Way to Rebuild Bone Inside the Body","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETraumatic bone injuries such as blast wounds are often so severe that the body can\u2019t effectively repair the damage on its own. To aid the recovery, clinicians inject patients with proteins called growth factors. The treatment is costly, requiring large amounts of expensive growth factors. The growth factors also disperse, creating unwanted bone formation in the area around the injury.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA new technology under development at the Georgia Institute of Technology could one day provide more efficient delivery of the bone regenerating growth factors with greater accuracy and at a lower cost.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn a recent study, researchers bound the most clinically-used growth factor with microparticles of the drug heparin at concentrations up to 1,000-fold higher than previously reported. The growth factor, called bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2), also remained bioactive after long periods of time spent bound to the microparticles.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe net result is more efficient and spatially controlled delivery of this very potent and very valuable protein,\u201d said\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.bme.gatech.edu\/facultystaff\/faculty_record.php?id=78\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ETodd McDevitt\u003C\/a\u003E, an associate professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University. McDevitt is also the director of Georgia Tech\u2019s Stem Cell Engineering Center.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe study was sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). The research results were published May 28 in the online edition\u0026nbsp;of the journal\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S0142961214005547\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EBiomaterials\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E. The work was a joint effort of several labs that are part of Georgia Tech\u2019s Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience.\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/stemcelligert.gatech.edu\/profile\/associate\/marian-hettiaratchi\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EMarian\u0026nbsp;Hettiaratchi\u003C\/a\u003E, a graduate student in McDevitt\u0027s lab, was the paper\u0027s lead author.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis paper is a great example of the type of collaborative interdisciplinary research success that is enabled by three independent research groups working together towards solving a significant problem,\u201d said\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.bme.gatech.edu\/facultystaff\/faculty_record.php?id=17\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ERobert Guldberg\u003C\/a\u003E, executive director of the Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience. \u201cWe are very excited about the potential for the heparin microparticle technology to improve the safety and efficacy of recombinant protein delivery for tissue regeneration clinical applications.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research team developed a method of fabricating pure heparin microparticles from a modified heparin methacrylamide species that can be thermally cross-linked to growth factors. The technology avoids the bulky materials currently used to deliver growth factors.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHeparin is a widely used anticoagulant with chemical properties that make it ideal for binding to growth factors. The researchers found that heparin microparticles bound BMP-2 with high affinity, exceeding the maximum reported growth factor binding capacity of other heparin-containing biomaterials by greater than 1,000-fold.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECurrent BMP-2 delivery techniques use a collagen sponge, which releases large amounts of the drug in an initial burst. To compensate for the high initial dose, excess growth factor is loaded into the sponge, leading to non-specific and inefficient delivery of the drug. The new study reported that BMP-2 stayed tightly bound to the heparin microparticles, so it is released slowly over time. After 28 days, just 25 percent of the growth factor had been released from the microparticles.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The microparticles developed in this work have an extremely high loading capacity for BMP-2, which represents an advantage over current technologies,\u201d said\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.bme.gatech.edu\/facultystaff\/faculty_record.php?id=84\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EJohnna Temenoff\u003C\/a\u003E, an associate professor in the Coulter Department. \u201cThese microparticles can localize high concentrations of protein therapeutics in an area of tissue damage without introducing large amounts of biomaterial that may take up space and prevent new tissue formation.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBMP-2 also maintained its bioactivity as it was released from microparticles during an in vitro assay. BMP-2-loaded microparticles in physical contact with cell culture also stimulated an increase in the number of cells.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFuture work in the project will be to ensure that the growth factor maintains its bioactivity in vivo when bound to the heparin microparticles.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIf we can get a more robust response by actually using less growth factor, then I think we\u2019re on to something that can be a more efficient delivery system,\u201d McDevitt said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis research is supported by a Transformative Research Award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), award number (TR01 AR062006), and the National Science Foundation (NSF), under award number DMR 1207045. Any conclusions or opinions are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the sponsoring agencies.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECITATION\u003C\/strong\u003E: Marian H. Hettiaratchi, et al., \u201cHeparin Microparticle Effects on Presentation and Bioactivity of Bone Morphogenetic Protein-2.\u201d (\u003Cem\u003EBiomaterials\u003C\/em\u003E, May 2014).\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S0142961214005547\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1016\/j.biomaterials.2014.05.011\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E177 North Avenue\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, Georgia 30332-0181 USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/GTResearchNews\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E@GTResearchNews\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;Brett Israel (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/btiatl\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E@btiatl\u003C\/a\u003E) (404-385-1933) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or John Toon (404-894-6986) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;Brett Israel\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETraumatic bone injuries such as blast wounds are often so severe that the body can\u2019t effectively repair the damage on its own. To aid the recovery, clinicians inject patients with proteins called growth factors. The treatment is costly, requiring large amounts of expensive growth factors. The growth factors also disperse, creating unwanted bone formation in the area around the injury.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA new technology under development at the Georgia Institute of Technology could one day provide more efficient delivery of the bone regenerating growth factors with greater accuracy and at a lower cost.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A new technology under development at the Georgia Institute of Technology could one day provide more efficient delivery of the bone regenerating growth factors with greater accuracy and at a lower cost."}],"uid":"27902","created_gmt":"2014-05-29 09:55:47","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:29","author":"Brett Israel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-05-29T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-05-29T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"300151":{"id":"300151","type":"image","title":"BMP-2 binding heparin","body":null,"created":"1449244572","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:56:12","changed":"1475895000","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:00","alt":"BMP-2 binding heparin","file":{"fid":"199510","name":"bmp-schematic_heparin.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bmp-schematic_heparin_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bmp-schematic_heparin_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":62399,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/bmp-schematic_heparin_0.jpg?itok=zEyzIDNT"}}},"media_ids":["300151"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"94191","name":"bmp-2"},{"id":"530","name":"bone"},{"id":"94201","name":"heparin"},{"id":"167130","name":"Stem Cells"},{"id":"760","name":"Todd McDevitt"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71891","name":"Health and Medicine"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBrett Israel\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404-385-1933\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"299851":{"#nid":"299851","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Gary S. May Elected Vice Chair of the Engineering Deans Council Executive Board","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGary S. May, dean of the College of Engineering, has been elected to serve a two-year term as vice chair of the Engineering Deans Council Executive Board. The Council is composed of a representative from each of the engineering college members and interested affiliate members of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EServing as the leadership organization of engineering deans in the U.S., the Council currently has 344 members, representing more than 90 percent of all U.S. engineering deans. The Engineering Council is charged with providing vision and leadership on engineering education, research, and engagement; influencing U.S. policy on engineering education and research; and promoting diversity in all aspects of engineering education, research, and engagement. Founded in 1893, the American Society for Engineering Education is a nonprofit organization of individuals and institutions committed to furthering education in engineering and engineering technology.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr. May was named Georgia Tech\u0027s Dean of Engineering after a national search assuming the position in July, 2011. He serves as the chief academic officer of the college and provides leadership to more than 400 faculty members and 13,000 students. The College of Engineering at Georgia Tech is the largest producer of engineering graduates in the United States. Prior to his current appointment, Dr. May was the Steve W. Chaddick School Chair of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Gary S. May, dean of the College of Engineering, has been elected to serve a two-year term as vice chair of the Engineering Deans Council Executive Board."}],"uid":"27863","created_gmt":"2014-05-28 10:22:42","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:29","author":"Christa Ernst","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-05-28T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-05-28T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"299841":{"id":"299841","type":"image","title":"Gary May","body":null,"created":"1449244552","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:55:52","changed":"1475895000","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:00","alt":"Gary May","file":{"fid":"199506","name":"dean_may.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/dean_may_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/dean_may_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":62955,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/dean_may_0.jpg?itok=QD7YC5S3"}}},"media_ids":["299841"],"groups":[{"id":"1271","name":"NanoTECH"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"132","name":"Institute Leadership"}],"keywords":[{"id":"94161","name":"College of Engineering; Gary May"},{"id":"12701","name":"Institute for Electronics and Nanotechnology"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39451","name":"Electronics and Nanotechnology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"Kay Kinard; Director of Communications, College of Engineering\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["kay.kinard@coe.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"299671":{"#nid":"299671","#data":{"type":"news","title":"M.G. Finn Named Interim Chair of the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFinn brings something special to this new role.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003EATLANTA -\u0026nbsp;Georgia Tech Chemistry and Biochemistry\u2019s Professor M.G. Finn is the new interim chair of the school. With a range of interests from immunology to organic synthesis to materials science, Finn brings something special to this new role.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe have an important dual mission at Georgia Tech, to educate students at all levels and to do world-class research,\u201d shared Finn. \u201cThe chair\u2019s office can be strongly enabling to both endeavors. I look forward to working with the remarkable faculty and staff of the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry. We have a lot of exciting things to do.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFinn will take over from the current chair, Professor Andrew Lyon.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFinn works in a variety of fields within chemistry and biochemistry. He uses powerful methods of molecular synthesis to advance the field of medicine through the development of vaccines, antiviral agents, diagnostic agents, and drugs to combat tobacco addiction. Finn realizes the potential at the interface between chemistry and biology to greatly benefit human health and uncover important fundamental insights into how molecules behave. With his experience in polymer synthesis, bioanalytical chemistry, and immunology, his ideas are sure to encourage those in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry to connect to other fields and applications.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022In M.G. Finn we are fortunate to have world-class science, a passion for education, and vision that includes a focus on empowering Georgia Tech research efficiently through first-rate shared facilities,\u0022 said Paul Goldbart, dean of the College of Sciences. \u0022My colleagues and I are truly delighted to welcome him to the college\u0027s leadership team.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBefore being recruited to Georgia Tech in 2012 in chemical biology, Finn spent fourteen years with the Scripps Research Institute, exploring viruses and molecules that have high potential for drug development. From 2000 to 2010, Finn ranked as the 33rd most highly cited chemist in the world and has since continued publishing from his labs in the Molecular Science and Engineering and Boggs Buildings.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFinn received his B.S. from the California Institute of Technology in 1980 and his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1986.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Finn brings something special to this new role."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFinn brings something special to this new role.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Finn brings something special to this new role"}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-05-27 13:40:28","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:29","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-05-27T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-05-27T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"299691":{"id":"299691","type":"image","title":"M.G. Finn, Phd, is named interim chair of GT\u0027s chemistry \u0026 biochemistry department","body":null,"created":"1449244552","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:55:52","changed":"1475895000","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:00","alt":"M.G. Finn, Phd, is named interim chair of GT\u0027s chemistry \u0026 biochemistry department","file":{"fid":"199499","name":"finnmg2014.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/finnmg2014_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/finnmg2014_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2504071,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/finnmg2014_0.jpg?itok=fHP0BhHl"}}},"media_ids":["299691"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/ww2.chemistry.gatech.edu\/groups\/finn\/","title":"Finn lab website"}],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[{"id":"132","name":"Institute Leadership"},{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:drakeleep@gatech.edu\u0022\u003EDrake Lee-Patterson\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EGT Communications\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["drakeleep@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"299571":{"#nid":"299571","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Garc\u00eda Named as Rae S. and Frank H. Neely Endowed Chair","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAndr\u00e9s J. Garc\u00eda, a pioneering researcher who heads up a cellular and bioengineering lab in the Parker H. Petit Institute of Bioengineering and Bioscience, recently added another distinction to a growing list when he was selected to hold the brand new Rae S. and Frank H. Neely Endowed Chair in the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis is truly an honor,\u201d says Garc\u00eda, a Regents\u2019 Professor who currently holds a George W. Woodruff Professorship in the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, which he describes as, \u201can exceptional unit to work in that has always provided me with tremendous support and encouragement.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe honor became official at the May 20\u003Csup\u003Eth\u003C\/sup\u003E meeting of the University System of Georgia\u2019s Board of Regents, and it comes almost exactly 110 years after Frank H. Neely graduated with his B.S. in mechanical engineering and embarked on a long and successful business career (most notably, he was president and chairman of the board at Rich\u2019s Department Store).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut Neely, who died in 1979 and whose philanthropic support of Georgia Tech remained strong throughout (and, obviously, after) his life, made his greatest contributions as one of Atlanta\u2019s prominent civic leaders for decades, even serving as director, deputy chairman and eventually chairman (for 16 years) of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs president of the Rich Foundation, Neely oversaw grants to Emory University and Georgia Tech. He held several federal appointments (under Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy), and was instrumental in bringing a nuclear reactor to Georgia Tech\u2019s campus (in 1963 Georgia Tech dedicated the Neely Nuclear Research Center). Neely and his wife, Rae (a renowned poet and the first research director for the Georgia Department of Education) also established a professorship at Georgia Tech, and donated, among other things, artwork and acres of land.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnd now, the corpus of the Neely fund has grown to an amount that allowed the creation of two endowed chairs, one held by Garc\u00eda, the other by Samuel Graham (whose focus is on micro and nano engineering). Professor William J. Wepfer, Eugene C. Gwaltney, Jr. Chair of the Woodruff School, appointed a committee of senior Woodruff School Chair holders (which included Petit Institute Executive Director Bob Guldberg), who reviewed all Woodruff School full professors before recommending Garc\u00eda and Graham.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis distinction is due to all the hard work of my students and postdocs, awesome collaborators, excellent staff, and the fantastic environment of Georgia Tech,\u201d says Garc\u00eda, whose own research integrates innovative engineering, materials science and cell biology concepts and technologies with the essential goal of developing better strategies for regenerative medicine.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Garc\u00eda was selected to hold the brand new Rae S. and Frank H. Neely Endowed Chair in the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAndr\u00e9s J. Garc\u00eda, a pioneering researcher who heads up a cellular and bioengineering lab in the Parker H. Petit Institute of Bioengineering and Bioscience, recently added another distinction to a growing list when he was selected to hold the brand new Rae S. and Frank H. Neely Endowed Chair in the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Garc\u00eda was selected to hold the brand new Rae S. and Frank H. Neely Endowed Chair in the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering."}],"uid":"27224","created_gmt":"2014-05-25 10:26:56","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:29","author":"Megan McDevitt","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-05-25T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-05-25T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"296521":{"id":"296521","type":"image","title":"Andr\u00e9s Garc\u00eda, PhD - Regents\u2019 Professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech","body":null,"created":"1449244530","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:55:30","changed":"1475894995","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:55","alt":"Andr\u00e9s Garc\u00eda, PhD - Regents\u2019 Professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech","file":{"fid":"199414","name":"garciaandres-may2014.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/garciaandres-may2014_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/garciaandres-may2014_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1055524,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/garciaandres-may2014_0.jpg?itok=bzWJHeuY"}}},"media_ids":["296521"],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"539","name":"Andres Garcia"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering \u0026amp; Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"299151":{"#nid":"299151","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Four Georgia Tech Researchers Recognized as Top 20 Medical Researchers in the State","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFour scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology are among the top medical researchers in Georgia, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFour scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology are among the top medical researchers in Georgia, according to the \u003Cem\u003EAtlanta Business Chronicle\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003Ein a recent cover story (May 16-22 edition). But to hear them tell it, the number could easily be much higher.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s a nice honor, to be recognized like this, but all of us are engaged in a number of collaborative efforts, so any successes we achieve individually represent the efforts of a broad community of our collaborators and colleagues,\u201d says Todd McDevitt, Carol Ann and David D. Flanagan professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering and also director of the Stem Cell Engineering Center. \u201cCollectively, we\u2019re a lot stronger than the individual pieces alone.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMcDevitt, along with Ravi Bellamkonda, Ross Ethier and Krishnendu Roy are among the 20 scientists featured in the article by Ellie Hensley, who writes, \u201cRespected research universities like Georgia Tech and Emory University draw top talent, and a high level of collaborations between institutions like these creates a unique environment for scientists in the state.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIndeed, partnerships with other institutions \u2013 like the one between Georgia Tech and Emory resulting in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering \u2013 are a big reason these scientists happen to be here.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThat was very important to me. The collaborative effort is definitely something that attracted me to Georgia Tech \u2013 that, and also the opportunity to work with highly talented people who work in similar research areas,\u201d says Roy, Carol Ann and David D. Flanagan Professor and Director of the Center for Immunoengineering at Georgia Tech, who came here from the University of Texas at Austin last summer.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERegarding the Georgia Tech-Emory collaboration, Ethier adds, \u201cThe idea of a partnership between public and private universities is certainly unusual, and a testament to people having vision and foresight.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEthier, the Georgia Research Alliance (GRA) Lawrence L. Gellerstedt, Jr. Eminent Scholar in Bioengineering, researches the biomechanics of cells and whole organs, targetting, among other things, glaucoma and new ways to treat the condition, which is the second most common cause of blindness. But it takes a collaborative, interdisciplinary approach, and enthusiastic support and leadership from a variety of sources, to make groundbreaking discoveries, and all of that is in place here, enough of it to have lured Ethier from the UK to Atlanta.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe GRA provided me with the infrastructure to kick-start my research here, and that was really important,\u201d says Ethier. \u201cAnd there\u2019s a can-do attitude here that\u2019s so refreshing. You\u2019re talking to folks, you ask a question and they tend to say, \u2018yeah, we can figure out a way to make that happen.\u2019\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat willingness to make things happen \u2013 and also to take risks \u2013 is one of the human (and institutional) elements that appeals most to Bellamkonda, who chairs the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, and researches neural tissue engineering and cancer and is working to develop targeted drug delivery for brain tumor therapy.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIn my mind, we have a can-do, fearless attitude in medical research that perhaps comes from the influence of engineering thought in medicine,\u201d he says. \u201cIn my personal case, I\u0027ve realized somewhere along the way that research is not about building a career \u2013 its about making progress and having an impact. Kids and older patients who might benefit from our research don\u0027t have the luxury of time \u2013 they need the advances we are working on today.\u0026nbsp;And for this reason, it is worth taking on higher risk, high reward projects to complement more incremental research.\u0026nbsp;These two elements - not being afraid of failure, and the need to make progress at a different pace than the field as a whole is moving, lead to breakthroughs in my mind.\u0026nbsp;And my experience is completely consistent with this.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAtlanta and Georgia, while not yet in the same league with longtime bio centers like Boston or San Francisco, is nonetheless a powerful and growing hub of activity. The state is 12\u003Csup\u003Eth\u003C\/sup\u003E in research funding, and Atlanta is fifth in research expenditures, according to the article in the \u003Cem\u003EAtlanta Business Chronicle\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESo, these four scientists, and their colleagues at Georgia Tech and across the state, are the architects of a new age in medical research. And Georgia\u2019s institutions and researchers already are setting the pace in some fields. The next big step, of course, is translating this research into commercial use, and part of that involves the creation or development of new jobs to transform the growing health industry.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETake, for example, the NSF-funded Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) program in stem cell biomanufacturing. Awarded to Georgia Tech in 2010, the program is designed to educate and train the first generation of Ph.D. students in the translation and commercialization of stem cell technologies for diagnostic and therapeutic applications.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe\u2019re at an exciting point in Georgia where new initiatives are originating and ready to take off,\u201d McDevitt says. \u201cWe\u2019re not a traditional hub, where they\u2019ve got an established culture. We\u2019re still creating ours, and being at the forefront of leading new fields is exhilarating. We can have a significant impact in defining what the goals and objectives are going to be, and that will really inform industry.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Four scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology are among the top medical researchers in Georgia, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFour scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology are among the top medical researchers in Georgia, according to the\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003EAtlanta Business Chronicle\u003C\/em\u003E\u0026nbsp;in a recent cover story (May 16-22 edition). But to hear them tell it, the number could easily be much higher.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Four scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology are among the top medical researchers in Georgia, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle."}],"uid":"27224","created_gmt":"2014-05-21 17:55:59","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:29","author":"Megan McDevitt","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-05-21T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-05-21T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"299161":{"id":"299161","type":"image","title":"Four Researchers","body":null,"created":"1449244552","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:55:52","changed":"1475895000","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:00","alt":"Four Researchers","file":{"fid":"199487","name":"fourresearchers2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/fourresearchers2_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/fourresearchers2_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1455809,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/fourresearchers2_0.jpg?itok=thG-TcLX"}}},"media_ids":["299161"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/mcdevitt.gatech.edu\/","title":"McDevitt Research Lab"},{"url":"http:\/\/ethier.gatech.edu\/","title":"Ethier lab"},{"url":"http:\/\/roylab.gatech.edu\/roy\/index.html","title":"Roy lab website"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.ravi.gatech.edu\/","title":"Bellamkonda lab website"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.ibb.gatech.edu\/","title":"Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"12515","name":"College of Engineering; Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering; Emory; Children\u0027s Healthcare of Atlanta; pediatric nanomedicine;  Gang Bao"},{"id":"93761","name":"Krish Roy"},{"id":"2471","name":"Ravi Bellamkonda"},{"id":"41331","name":"Ross Ethier"},{"id":"760","name":"Todd McDevitt"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute\u003Cbr \/\u003Efor Bioengineering and Bioscience\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"297941":{"#nid":"297941","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Bobby Jones Classic for Chiari \u0026 Syringomyelia Foundation","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBiomedical Engineering\u0026nbsp;students on a mission to make golf more accessible for young players.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis year\u2019s Bobby Jones Classic tournament at East Lake Golf Club launches the beginning of a new partnership for the Georgia Institute of Technology, designed to increase accessibility to the sport for kings for a diverse, new, young crop of players, and it\u2019s largely thanks to the legacy of an Atlanta legend sometimes known as The Emperor Jones. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBefore he became roundly acclaimed as the greatest golfer of his generation, Robert Tyre Jones was a hell of an engineer, a graduate of Georgia Tech: Mechanical Engineering, Class of 1922. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe next year, he won the first of his record four U.S. Opens and, as almost everyone who has picked up a putter knows, Bobby Jones kept on playing championship golf like no one else has since, retiring as a competitor (a lifelong amateur) in 1930, after completing the only Grand Slam in the history of the sport, winning all four major championships in the same year. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhat everyone may not know is, Jones, who died in 1971, was engaged in a painful battle with syringomyelia for much of his life. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cSyringomyelia is a tough word to say, and it\u2019s a tough condition to have as well, a fluid-filled cavity in the spinal cord that swells and presses against the spine itself,\u201d says Paul Farrell, chairman and founding member of the Board of Directors of the Chiari \u0026amp; Syringomyelia Foundation (CSF), who is battling the same affliction Jones had \u2013 well, the same two \u201cafflictions,\u201d if you count golf, as many duffers with a wry sense of humor typically do. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cI have, unfortunately, lost the use of my legs 15 years ago, so I use a wheelchair,\u201d Farrell says. \u201cBut I was and I remain a very avid golfer.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThis combination of circumstances makes the annual Bobby Jones Classic for CSF (May 18-19 at East Lake) a particularly profound event for Farrell, as it not only commemorates Jones the golfer, but is a major fundraiser for CSF, which exists to raise awareness and advance research of Chiari malformation (the most common cause of syringomyelia) and related disorders. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cThe Jones family has been very supportive of us, letting us use Bobby Jones\u2019 name and likeness to help us raise money for research,\u201d Farrell says. \u201cThey have really helped us get off to a fast start. We\u2019ve been an organization for about six years, and we\u2019re already funding research.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThis year\u2019s tournament marks the beginning of a new phase in research, with Georgia Tech capstone students taking the lead role. CSF was to make it public during this tournament at East Lake \u2013 fittingly, Jones\u2019 home course, where the idea for the project came to Farrell and CSF Executive Director Dorothy Poppe. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELast year, as part of the opening ceremony for the PGA\u2019s TOUR Championship, the culminating event of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedEx Cup, two children from the vaunted First Tee program in the East Lake community, teed off to start the day. Farrell, who plays using a special golf cart designed for people with mobility challenges which has hand controls and a single swivel seat that can actually line a player up with his or her shot, was discussing the challenges of golf for disabled people with Poppe. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cWe were talking about my ability to play golf, then we were looking at these kids, and thought, it\u2019s terrific they\u2019ve got kids playing golf, but unfortunately, a child with physical limitations couldn\u2019t,\u201d Farrell says. \u201cThey\u2019ve got handicap accessible golf carts that are fantastic for an adult, but not for a child.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThat\u2019s when Poppe started down the \u201cwhat if\u201d road, as in, \u201cwhat if we could come up with something for kids who deal with paralysis or limb loss or other mobility issues, some kind of vehicle that can help stand them up to swing a club. It could be a cart, or maybe something like a Segway \u2013 we don\u2019t know yet,\u201d Poppe adds. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThey don\u2019t know yet because Georgia Tech\u2019s capstone students haven\u2019t designed it yet. The impromptu brainstorming last year has become this year\u2019s undergraduate capstone project in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME). Poppe approached the BME folks, and James Rains is running giddily with the idea. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s a great idea, a real collaborative effort,\u201d says Rains, design instructor and director of the BME Capstone Design program. \u201cDorothy\u2019s idea was to partner with us, with golf cart companies, get the PGA [Professional Golf Association] involved.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EEvery semester, capstone seniors apply what they\u2019ve learned to a real design problem. Since there isn\u2019t currently anything designed for children with disabilities to play golf, this qualifies, and Rains hopes to confront it with a versatile team. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cWe will actually want this to be a multidisciplinary team,\u201d he says. \u201cOriginally, they approached BME, but we want to pull in expertise from mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, industrial design, a diverse set of skills working in concert to solve this problem.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOr, it may be two teams working on different aspects of the problem, Rains adds. He won\u2019t know the makeup until the fall semester, when the next capstone class begins, and he can gauge student interest \u2013 he only wants students to work on projects they are passionate about. This isn\u2019t just for a grade. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cSome programs look at theoretical problems and aren\u2019t really interested in a real-world solution,\u201d Rains says. \u201cWe\u2019re interested in designing something tangible, and we don\u2019t know what that will be yet.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cRight now we\u2019re working with different companies, identifying partners willing to give us support and equipment \u2013 we don\u2019t want to start inventing golf carts from zero, in other words. That\u2019s another thing. Maybe this thing won\u2019t be a cart, per se. That\u2019s something the students have to figure out. So, we\u2019re not telling them to make a better golf cart. We\u2019re telling them to give access to people who don\u2019t have it.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe CSF-sponsored team (or teams) will work fall semester with the goal of having a working prototype \u2013 proof of concept \u2013 before the annual Capstone Design Expo in December, when student teams from different disciplines pitch their stuff to a panel of judges, competing for cash prizes. And after that, who knows? Farrell, it turns out, is a patent attorney, so he\u2019s thinking long-term, and Poppe says her organization\u2019s interest extends well beyond December. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u2018\u2019This is a concept we are keeping close tabs on and with Georgia Tech\u2019s help we plan to see this through,\u201d Poppe says. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to think along a broad spectrum about accessibility, and the ability to play golf is one part of that. Imagine if we could design a way for children with disabilities to play golf? It could be a sport for them that lasts a lifetime.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Biomedical Engineering Capstone students on a mission to make golf more accessible for young players."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBiomedical Engineering\u0026nbsp;students on a mission to make golf more accessible for young players.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Biomedical Engineering Capstone students on a mission to make golf more accessible for young players."}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-05-16 08:07:03","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:26","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-05-19T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-05-19T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"297981":{"id":"297981","type":"image","title":"James Rains - design instructor and director of the BME Capstone Design program","body":null,"created":"1449244530","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:55:30","changed":"1475894998","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:58","alt":"James Rains - design instructor and director of the BME Capstone Design program","file":{"fid":"199458","name":"rainsjamessrdesignproject.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/rainsjamessrdesignproject_0.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/rainsjamessrdesignproject_0.png","mime":"image\/png","size":498950,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/rainsjamessrdesignproject_0.png?itok=X1UKv2m7"}},"297991":{"id":"297991","type":"image","title":"Bobby Jones - One of the greatest golfers of his generation and a GT alum from the class of 1922 in Mechanical Engineering","body":null,"created":"1449244530","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:55:30","changed":"1475894998","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:58","alt":"Bobby Jones - One of the greatest golfers of his generation and a GT alum from the class of 1922 in Mechanical Engineering","file":{"fid":"199459","name":"bobby_jones_c1921.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bobby_jones_c1921_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bobby_jones_c1921_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":517565,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/bobby_jones_c1921_0.jpg?itok=XJ98_Oyn"}}},"media_ids":["297981","297991"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.csfinfo.org\/","title":"Chiari \u0026 Syringomyelia Foundation"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.bobbyjonesclassic.com\/","title":"Bobby Jones Classic website"}],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[{"id":"42901","name":"Community"},{"id":"133","name":"Special Events and Guest Speakers"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute\u003Cbr \/\u003Efor Bioengineering \u0026amp; Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"298171":{"#nid":"298171","#data":{"type":"news","title":"BioEngineering Day - A Day of Firsts","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EChris Ruffin, the longtime academic advisor for the BioEngineering Graduate Program (BioE), died last summer, leaving behind a lot of friends who remember the positive spirit he brought to the job every day. That spirit was rekindled by the throng of students, faculty and staff at the first ever BioE Day (Monday, May 12), and it was felt keenly by Patricia Pacheco, who knew Ruffin well.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cHe had 100-plus students to work with, but he treated all of us like we were individuals, really went above and beyond to make sure everything went smoothly for every student who came in,\u201d says Pacheco, inaugural winner of the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/bioengineering.gatech.edu\/hg_news\/290301\u0022\u003EChris Ruffin Graduate Leadership Award,\u003C\/a\u003E announced at BioE Day.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPacheco is a fifth year Ph.D. student in Todd Sulchek\u0027s lab, has a string of honors and awards behind her, including: an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, Goizueta Foundation Fellowship, NIH-Georgia Tech Biomaterials Training Grant, and the Georgia Institute of Technology Presidential Fellowship.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe\u2019s also been a busy participant in the Graduate Leadership Program, which gets to the heart of the Ruffin Award. Among other things, she\u2019s served as Education and Outreach co-chair for the Bioengineering and Bioscience Unified Graduate Students (BBUGS), ambassador and interim vice president of the Georgia Tech Salsa Club, been a mentor to other students, and has been active on the Bioengineering Graduate Student Advisory Committee (BGSAC) and the Latino Organization of Graduate Students.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESo basically, she does Ruffin\u2019s legacy proud, according to Robert Butera, bioengineering professor and former program director for BioE (2005-2008), who says, \u201cit\u2019s totally appropriate to name a graduate student leadership award after Chris, because he wasn\u2019t just a staff person, he was a leader. Running the BioE program is an important task, with a lot of moving parts, and it required him to interface with all the participating schools and their own rules and cultures. He made it look effortless and easy.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Ruffin Award, like BioE Day, was invented and defined by students in the BioE community. \u201cThey made the nominations, set the criteria,\u201d says Butera, who was asked at the last minute to be the award presented, and notes that Pacheco \u201cplayed a critical role in motivating other students and pitching in to volunteer and help lead student organizations.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAndr\u00e9s Garc\u00eda, current BioE program director, was approached in the spring by students who wanted to create a special day focused on the BioE community, before anyone really was sure what shape it would take. Grad students Jessica Butts and Katie Hammersmith, the BioE co-chairs, originally figured on a program that would last a couple of hours, but as the idea developed, \u201cwe realized we had enough programming to make it a whole day,\u201d says Hammersmith.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe morning began with rapid-fire presentations by students (Ph.D. student Jenna Wilson, from Todd McDevitt\u0027s lab and an NSF-IGERT Stem Cell Biomanufacturing Trainee and GAANN Fellow, won this award). The poster presentation contest was won by Ph.D. students Tom Bongiorno (Todd Sulchek\u0027s lab) and Lauren Priddy (Bob Guldberg\u0027s lab). Bongiorno, also an NSF-IGERT Stem Cell Biomanufacturing Trainee, also\u0026nbsp;won the award for outstanding paper. Jonathan Newman (Steve Potter\u0027s lab), who earned his Ph.D. in 2013, won the outstanding thesis award. Julie Champion, an assistant professor in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and a member of the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences, was named outstanding advisor.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cSince it was the first year, we weren\u0027t sure what to expect for the turnout, but it ended up being very well attended. We are really looking forward to the event growing in future years,\u201d Hammersmith says. \u201cWe were impressed with the attendance by programs outside of Petit Institute who came to inform students about the many opportunities to enrich their graduate education as well as the high-quality presentations by students.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThere was a cookout, there were games, the highlight being the faculty-student water balloon toss \u2013 the winners were assistant professor J. Brandon Dixon and grad student Josh Hooks, i.e., they were the last team standing (dry). But a major unifying theme to the first BioE Day had to be the Ruffin Award\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI knew Chris, knew him really well, and what kind a person he was,\u201d Pacheco says. \u201cSo, I\u2019m very honored.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"The first BioE Day showcased faculty and student presentations, community-building games and several new awards, including the first annual Chris Ruffin Award."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFirst BioE Day showed student presentations, community-building games and several new awards, including the first annual Chris Ruffin Leadership Award.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The first BioE Day showed student presentations, community-building games and several new awards, including the first annual Chris Ruffin Award."}],"uid":"27224","created_gmt":"2014-05-17 10:31:35","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:26","author":"Megan McDevitt","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-05-17T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-05-17T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"298181":{"id":"298181","type":"image","title":"Patricia Pacheco","body":null,"created":"1449244552","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:55:52","changed":"1475894998","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:58","alt":"Patricia Pacheco","file":{"fid":"199464","name":"patricia.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/patricia_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/patricia_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":43694,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/patricia_0.jpg?itok=aXnu46av"}},"298201":{"id":"298201","type":"image","title":"Julie Champion Lecturing","body":null,"created":"1449244552","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:55:52","changed":"1475894998","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:58","alt":"Julie Champion Lecturing","file":{"fid":"199466","name":"img_4640.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/img_4640_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/img_4640_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1623191,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/img_4640_0.jpg?itok=rBBwxXvT"}},"298211":{"id":"298211","type":"image","title":"BioEngineering Day - A Day of Firsts","body":null,"created":"1449244552","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:55:52","changed":"1475894998","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:58","alt":"BioEngineering Day - A Day of Firsts","file":{"fid":"199467","name":"image_0.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/image_0_0.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/image_0_0.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":801942,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/image_0_0.jpeg?itok=ke2wsvFm"}},"298191":{"id":"298191","type":"image","title":"Brandon Dixon","body":null,"created":"1449244552","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:55:52","changed":"1475894998","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:58","alt":"Brandon Dixon","file":{"fid":"199465","name":"image_5.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/image_5_0.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/image_5_0.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":334099,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/image_5_0.jpeg?itok=PP7xSLWT"}}},"media_ids":["298181","298201","298211","298191"],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"569","name":"bioengineering"},{"id":"93491","name":"Chris Ruffin"},{"id":"497","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for \u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EBioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"298111":{"#nid":"298111","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Call for Applications to Atlanta BEST Program","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Tech trainees encouraged to apply - deadline July 1st\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EDo you want help exploring all of the career options available to PhD Scientists and Engineers going into the biomedical workforce?\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe NIH funded Atlanta Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training (BEST) Program has been establish to help PhD Students and Postdocs in the biological, biomedical , and STEM fields explore career paths beyond faculty positions.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gs.emory.edu\/best\u0022\u003EBEST Program\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EApplicants from Georgia Tech can now apply to be part of the 2nd cohort of Trainees (application open from May 15-July 1, see attached guidelines for details). The Cohort 2 program will begin in September 2014.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETrainees will be part of the Atlanta BEST program for 2 years, where they will receive:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u0026nbsp;leadership training\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003Elearn about the business and legal side of biomedical research\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003Egain valuable self-awareness\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003Egain insight into possible career options that fit career goals and personal values\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003Eaccess a powerful network of professionals in a variety of fields\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe expected time commitment in the first year is about 1-3 hours a week, with optional workshops and events throughout their time in the program. In the second year, informational interviews and internships will be set up. Internships are flexible and will vary by trainee.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETO APPLY:\u003C\/strong\u003E contact \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:tamara.e.hutto@emory.edu\u0022\u003ETami Hutto\u003C\/a\u003E for application\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Georgia Tech trainees encouraged to apply - deadline July 1st"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech trainees encouraged to apply - deadline July 1st\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech trainees encouraged to apply - deadline July 1st"}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-05-16 12:42:26","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:26","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-05-16T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-05-16T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"298121":{"id":"298121","type":"image","title":"BEST Program trainees","body":null,"created":"1449244552","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:55:52","changed":"1475894998","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:58","alt":"BEST Program trainees","file":{"fid":"199461","name":"mccartynael.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/mccartynael_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/mccartynael_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1590303,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/mccartynael_0.jpg?itok=6iaemUej"}}},"media_ids":["298121"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.gs.emory.edu\/best","title":"BEST program website"}],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[{"id":"42941","name":"Art Research"},{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:tamara.e.hutto@emory.edu\u0022\u003ETami Hutto\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003ECoordinator, BEST Program\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["tamara.e.hutto@emory.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"297801":{"#nid":"297801","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Making Money from Lignin: Roadmap Shows How to Improve Lignocellulosic Biofuel Biorefining","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;When making cellulosic ethanol from plants, one problem is what to do with a woody agricultural waste product called lignin. The old adage in the pulp industry has been that one can make anything from lignin except money.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA new review article in the journal \u003Cem\u003EScience\u003C\/em\u003E points the way toward a future where lignin is transformed from a waste product into valuable materials such as low-cost carbon fiber for cars or bio-based plastics. Using lignin in this way would create new markets for the forest products industry and make ethanol-to-fuel conversion more cost-effective.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe\u2019ve developed a roadmap for integrating genetic engineering with analytical chemistry tools to tailor the structure of lignin and its isolation so it can be used for materials, chemicals and fuels,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.chemistry.gatech.edu\/faculty\/Ragauskas\/\u0022\u003EArthur Ragauskas\u003C\/a\u003E, a professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Ragauskas is also part of the Institute for Paper Science and Technology at Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe roadmap was published May 15 in the journal \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.sciencemag.org\/content\/344\/6185\/1246843.abstract\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EScience\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E. Co-authors of the review included scientists from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe growth of the cellulosic fuel industry has created a stream of lignin that the industry needs to find valuable ways to use. At the same time, federal agencies and industry are funding research to simplify the process of taking biomass to fuels.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOne of the very promising approaches to doing that is to genetically engineer plants so they have more reactive polysaccharides suitable for commercial applications, but also to change lignin\u2019s structural features so that it\u2019ll become more attractive for materials applications, chemicals and fuels.\u201d Ragauskas said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearch highlighted in the review has shown it\u2019s theoretically possible to genetically alter lignin pathways to reduce undesirable byproducts and more efficiently capture the desired polysaccharides \u2013 which are sugars that can be converted to other products \u2013 and enhance lignin\u2019s commercial value.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThere are sufficient publications and data points out there to say that say, \u2018Yes, we can do this,\u2019\u201d Ragauskas said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThrough work on transgenic plants and wild plants that naturally have fewer undesirable constituents, biologists, engineers and chemists have recently improved the biorefinery field\u2019s understanding of the chemistry and structure of lignin, which provides a better idea of the theoretical chemistry that lignin can do, Ragauskas said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe should be able to alter the structure of lignin and isolate it in such a manner that we can use it for green-based materials or use it in a blend for a variety of synthetic polymers,\u201d Ragauskas said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDoing so would create a stream of polysaccharides for use as ethanol fuels, with lignin waste that has structural features that would make it attractive for commercial applications such as polymers or carbon fibers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe science could be applied to a variety of plants currently used for cellulosic biofuel production, such as switchgrass and poplar.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EToday, lignin is mostly burned for energy to fulfill a small amount of the power requirements of the ethanol biorefineries. But the new roadmap emphasizes how, through genetic engineering tools that currently exist, lignin could become much more valuable to industry.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur primary mission is to reduce the cost of taking biomass to biofuels,\u201d Ragauskas said, \u201cBut in the process we\u2019ve learned a lot about lignin, and we might be able to do more than just reduce cost. We might be able to tailor lignin\u2019s structure for commercial applications.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECo-authors on the review article included scientists from the National Renewable Energy, the University of British Columbia, the University of North Texas, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the University of California, Riverside.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECITATION\u003C\/strong\u003E: Arthur J. Ragauskas, et al., \u201cLignin Valorization: Improving Lignin Processing in the Biorefinery.\u201d (\u003Cem\u003EScience\u003C\/em\u003E, May 2014).\u0026nbsp;http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1126\/science.1246843\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E177 North Avenue\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, Georgia 30332-0181 USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/GTResearchNews\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E@GTResearchNews\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts:\u003C\/strong\u003E Brett Israel (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/btiatl\u0022\u003E@btiatl\u003C\/a\u003E) (404-385-1933) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or John Toon (404-894-6986) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter:\u003C\/strong\u003E Brett Israel\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A new review article in the journal Science points the way toward a future where lignin is transformed from a waste product into valuable materials such as low-cost carbon fiber for cars or bio-based plastics."}],"uid":"27902","created_gmt":"2014-05-15 14:10:15","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:26","author":"Brett Israel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-05-15T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-05-15T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"297791":{"id":"297791","type":"image","title":"Arthur J. Ragauskas","body":null,"created":"1449244530","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:55:30","changed":"1475894998","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:58","alt":"Arthur J. Ragauskas","file":{"fid":"199456","name":"ragauskas.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ragauskas_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ragauskas_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1148513,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/ragauskas_0.jpg?itok=6uIuKQdR"}}},"media_ids":["297791"],"groups":[{"id":"1183","name":"Home"}],"categories":[{"id":"144","name":"Energy"},{"id":"154","name":"Environment"}],"keywords":[{"id":"93331","name":"arthur Ragauskas"},{"id":"2056","name":"biofuel"},{"id":"93321","name":"biorefinery"},{"id":"2755","name":"ethanol"},{"id":"81401","name":"lignin"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"},{"id":"39491","name":"Renewable Bioproducts"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71911","name":"Earth and Environment"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBrett Israel\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404-385-1933\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"297491":{"#nid":"297491","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Heroic Endeavor","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Tech\/Emory University biomedical engineering grad student is Health-Care Heroes finalist.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EA Ph.D. student at the Georgia Institute of Technology is a finalist for the Rising Star Award in the \u003Cem\u003EAtlanta Business Chronicle\u2019s\u003C\/em\u003E Health-Care Heroes Awards program, Thursday, May 15, 6-9 p.m., at the Cobb Energy Centre. And in a way, it\u2019s something he\u2019s been preparing for his entire life. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ERobert Mannino was diagnosed at six-months-old with beta thalassemia major, a rare blood disorder that reduces the production of hemoglobin, the iron-rich protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen to cells throughout the body. One of his little brothers also has the disease. So, at 16 Mannino started thinking about what he wanted to do with his future. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cI\u2019d been in and out of hospitals every three weeks getting blood transfusions since I was a baby, and that exposure to the medical field influenced my college choice,\u201d says Mannino.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cAfter dealing with this struggle, and seeing my little brother go through it, I decided that I\u2019d like to try my hand at doing biomedical research, and commit myself to finding ways to overcome this disease.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESo, he began his research endeavor as a\u0026nbsp;Petit Undergraduate Research Scholar in 2012 and went on to\u0026nbsp;earn his B.S. in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University, and now is a first-year grad student working in Wilbur Lam\u2019s lab, which is dedicated to applying and developing micro\/nanotechnologies to study, diagnose, and treat blood disorders, cancer, and childhood diseases. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFor Mannino, who grew up in Atlanta, making regular visits to Children\u2019s Healthcare of Atlanta (Children\u2019s) for treatments, this is a happy convergence. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cI\u2019ve been going to Children\u2019s my whole life, and I\u2019ve lived close to one of the best biomedical research institutions in the country, Georgia Tech, my whole life.\u201d \u201cAt some point, I decided that I\u2019d like to try my hand at doing biomedical research,\u201d says Mannino, one of 37 Georgia Tech students to be awarded an National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship in April. \u201cSo it all kind of worked out.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAs a curious teen, Mannino asked his primary care physician, Jeanne Boudreaux, if she knew of anyone working on blood diseases like his. \u201cShe referred me to this new guy who\u2019d just come over from the University of California-San Francisco, who was starting a lab here and doing some cool stuff,\u201d Mannino says. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EShe was referring him to Lam, who offered Mannino a post as an undergraduate researcher. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cRob is the complete package: Smart but humble, motivated but low key, thoughtful but also fun to be around. In a nutshell, he\u2019s a star,\u201d says Lam, Mannino\u2019s Ph.D. advisor, and also a pediatric hematologist at Children\u2019s. \u201cHe\u2019s won an NSF fellowship developing novel diagnostics for his disease. He\u2019s co-authored papers and given national presentations on blood diseases similar to what he has. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s been a real pleasure watching him grow from an undergraduate with barely any research experience into a bona fide bioengineer and scientist. His drive to develop new technologies to help others with his disease is truly inspirational.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe 17th annual Health-Care Heroes Awards honors individuals and organizations demonstrating excellence and deserving recognition in the health-care community. Thursday night\u2019s event will include a panel discussion from past winners, the awards ceremony and a buffet dinner. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAwards will be given in several categories: Lifetime Achievement, Physician, Healthcare Innovation, Allied Health Professional, Community Outreach, Military Service, and Rising Star. Regardless of who gets the nod, Mannino is glad for the recognition. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cThis is great exposure for the lab and what we\u2019re doing,\u201d says Mannino, who is working on the development of microfluidic devices to study a range of hematologic diseases, with the goal of developing point-of-care diagnostic tools to be used to treat diseases like his, especially in resource poor settings.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Georgia Tech\/Emory University biomedical engineering grad student is Health-Care Heroes finalist."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech\/Emory University biomedical engineering grad student is Health-Care Heroes finalist.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech\/Emory University biomedical engineering grad student is Health-Care Heroes finalist."}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-05-14 14:53:30","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:26","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-05-14T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-05-14T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"297481":{"id":"297481","type":"image","title":"Robert Mannino - PhD student in the lab of Wilbur Lam, MD, PhD, at Georgia Tech \u0026 Emory","body":null,"created":"1449244530","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:55:30","changed":"1475894998","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:58","alt":"Robert Mannino - PhD student in the lab of Wilbur Lam, MD, PhD, at Georgia Tech \u0026 Emory","file":{"fid":"199445","name":"mannino_robert_0010.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/mannino_robert_0010_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/mannino_robert_0010_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":4911500,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/mannino_robert_0010_0.jpg?itok=TJ4t6GHz"}}},"media_ids":["297481"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/lamlab.gatech.edu\/","title":"Lam lab"}],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute\u003Cbr \/\u003Efor Bioengineering \u0026amp; Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"297381":{"#nid":"297381","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Teachable Moments","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBBUGS Education and Outreach committee taking science off campus.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETorri Rinker experienced the \u2018Eureka Effect\u2019 as a high school freshman back in her hometown of Kennewick, Washington, and she\u2019s been trying to share the mood ever since. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cIt was biology class and we started learning about DNA, and what it did, this relatively simple molecule that affects every single aspect of your body, and it was fascinating,\u201d says Rinker, now a third year Ph.D. student in biomedical engineering. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cWe did these experiments, and the fact that we could actually manipulate DNA in an organism and make it do something different, was just mind blowing to me,\u0022 Rinker continues.\u0026nbsp;\u201cThis was my moment of wow, when I first thought, \u2018oh my God, science is really cool.\u2019\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELately, she\u2019s been spreading that message as part of the leadership team of the Education and Outreach committee, an energetic, mission-driven collective and one of seven committees within BBUGS (which stands for \u201cBioengineering and Bioscience Unified Graduate Students\u201d). \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBased in the Parker H. Petit Institute of Bioengineering and Bioscience, BBUGS brings together students from eight different schools to form the most diverse graduate student group on the Georgia Institute of Technology campus. Meanwhile, Rinker and her colleagues on the Education and Outreach committee are extending the BBUGS life off campus as well, through a series of programs and events aimed at Atlanta area K-12 students. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFor Denise Sullivan, who co-chairs the committee with Rinker and Tom Bongiorno, the interaction with younger students feels familiar. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cMy mom is a teacher, and I\u2019ve seen how kids get super excited about science when they are exposed to it,\u201d says Sullivan, a third-year Ph.D. student who did some tutoring while an undergrad at the University of South Carolina, where she saw the \u2018Eureka Effect\u2019 unveil itself repeatedly during her involvement with the FIRST LEGO\u00ae League (FLL) program (which is designed to inspire young people\u2019s interest in science and technology). \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cI\u2019ve always been interested in outreach,\u201d Sullivan says. \u201cGetting kids, especially girls, interested in science before they become, you know, \u2018too cool for school,\u2019 is important. Most kids don\u2019t know what engineering or research is. So, educating the public about what we do is a big part of our mission.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBongiorno\u2019s outreach efforts have resulted in a two-way educational experience that he says grew out of the NSF-funded Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) program in Stem Cell Biomanufacturing. IGERT students participate in a number of outreach activities. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cThe idea was to bring the world of stem cell engineering to high school students \u2013 it\u2019s an exciting area of research, and we wanted to get students interested in the science in general,\u201d says Bongiorno, who has gotten something in return. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cThis experience has improved my ability to communicate with people who don\u2019t have a scientific background,\u201d he says. \u201cStudents, their parents \u2013 educated people, who might not know as much about biology as I do. So, it\u2019s forced me to break it down and communicate clearly.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHe and his fellow grad students have ample opportunities therein. Here\u2019s just some of what the BBUGS Education and Outreach does, typically in collaboration with local schools, to showcase science and the potential for future career opportunities to K-12 students:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EOn-site outreach for local public schools, such as an upcoming program at Benjamin Mays High School (May 21), when two BBUGS teams will do separate presentations (one on biomaterials, one on stem cells) for two different high school science classes. This will include a explanation of stem cell differentiation through a game played on a plinko board, designed by a BBUGS team.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EBuzz on Biotechnology is an annual open house for middle and high school students, teachers and parents, held in the fall. Visitors can learn about biotechnology research, tour Georgia Tech laboratories and experience hands-on demonstrations of different bioengineering and bioscience concepts. Last year, for example, visitors were invited to see and touch a real human brain, to learn the structure and function of the neurological system. This fall\u2019s Buzz on Biotechnology is Saturday, Oct. 18, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EMentorship through a regular science club at partner schools in Atlanta. According to Rinker, \u201c20 to 30 grad students volunteered behind the scenes or on a regular basis to mentor high school students through a variety of engineering and science projects.\u201d The science club program is a work in progress, Rinker says. It\u2019s still evolving, like the grad students who are making it all happen. Rinker and Sullivan will rotate out of leadership this summer. \u201cWe\u2019ll let Tom take the lead,\u201d Sullivan says.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBongiorno, who seems to have invented a few new hours in the day, is up to the task. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cMy first week at Georgia Tech, I did my first event with Education and Outreach, and the more I do it, the more I like it,\u201d says Bongiorno, who also is president of the BioEngineering Graduate Student Advisory Committee. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ERinker may be leaving the leadership team, but the education and the outreach, that\u2019s organic stuff to her, the result of a wow moment, something that might as well be in her DNA. Before coming to Georgia Tech, she taught in the Teach for America program, in Newark, New Jersey. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cThis is something I\u2019m passionate about,\u201d she says. \u201cQuality in education, STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics] education in particular is a passion. I think my career can go in a variety of directions. I love science and research and I love teaching. But if you think about it, it\u2019s really all teaching.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"BBUGS Education and Outreach committee taking science off campus"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBBUGS Education and Outreach committee taking science off campus.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"BBUGS Education and Outreach committee taking science off campus."}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-05-14 09:50:34","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:26","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-05-14T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-05-14T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"297391":{"id":"297391","type":"image","title":"BBUGS Education and Outreach committee chairs - Tom Bongiorno, Denise Sullivan and Torri Rinker","body":null,"created":"1449244530","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:55:30","changed":"1475894998","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:58","alt":"BBUGS Education and Outreach committee chairs - Tom Bongiorno, Denise Sullivan and Torri Rinker","file":{"fid":"199441","name":"bongiornotomsullivandeniserinkertorri.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bongiornotomsullivandeniserinkertorri_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bongiornotomsullivandeniserinkertorri_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":476916,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/bongiornotomsullivandeniserinkertorri_0.jpg?itok=WDf-AX81"}}},"media_ids":["297391"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.bbugs.gatech.edu\/","title":"http:\/\/www.bbugs.gatech.edu\/"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.ibb.gatech.edu\/","title":"Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[{"id":"42911","name":"Education"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute\u003Cbr \/\u003Efor Bioengineering \u0026amp; Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"295911":{"#nid":"295911","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Special Delivery","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGarc\u00eda lab designing better microcapsules for next generation of cell replacement therapies.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAndr\u00e9s Garc\u00eda\u2019s lab in the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, which deals with really small-sized stuff may be onto something really big, and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), who provided the funding for the groundbreaking study, is paying close attention. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EGarc\u00eda, Regents\u2019 Professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, spearheaded research that has the potential of improving the lives of millions of people, particularly people with diabetes. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMuch of the Garc\u00eda lab\u2019s research is focused on engineering hydrogels for the delivery of protein and cell therapies. In April, Garc\u00eda and a team of researchers in his lab published a research paper with the bulky title, \u201cMicrofluidic-Based Generation of Size-Controlled, Biofunctionalized Synthetic Polymer Microgels for Cell Encapsulation,\u201d in the journal \u003Cem\u003EAdvanced Materials.\u003C\/em\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cWe\u2019ve made a material that is really a hybrid, elements that are pure synthetic chemistry components, and other elements that are biological,\u201d says Garc\u00eda, who co-authored the paper with graduate research assistant Devon Headen from the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Guillaume Aubry, a postdoctoral fellow in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (CHBE), and Hang Lu, CHBE professor and James R. Fair Faculty Fellow. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe paper is getting a lot of attention among researchers, according to Garc\u00eda, \u201cand not just people who work in the cell encapsulation area, although some people in this area are very excited about it, and it\u2019s because this strategy shows the potential to have tremendous control in designing the properties of this encapsulation material, and it overcomes a lot of the limitations of the current materials people use. The precise control of this material is what people are excited about.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn essence, they\u2019ve designed a better way to deliver and protect therapeutic, life-saving cells to people with diabetes. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EEvery day millions of Americans wake up with the sobering knowledge that they have type 1 diabetes (more than 200,000 of them under age 20), which means that their body\u2019s immune system has mistakenly declared open war on the pancreatic beta cells that make insulin, a hormone that is required in converting food to energy. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWithout insulin, glucose builds up to deadly levels in the bloodstream. So, millions of people (mostly people with type 1 diabetes, but some with type 2) give themselves daily insulin injections, or hook themselves up to an insulin pump, in order to stay alive. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThere are alternatives \u2013 potentially more effective and less grueling treatments \u2013 emerging. One of the more exciting, designed to restore natural insulin production, is pancreatic islet transplantation \u2013 taking healthy islets (which are actually clusters of about 3,000 cells, including beta cells) from a donor pancreas and transplanting them into diabetes patients. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThis replacement therapeutic process has shown terrific promise with some research demonstrating that transplanted islets can function for more than 12 years. But if the body\u2019s immune system detects foreign invaders, it responds aggressively, and may react harshly to these transplanted cells, forcing the need for immune suppression drugs. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECell encapsulation technologies are being developed to overcome this problem, called graft rejection (and to block the ongoing autoimmune attack of type 1 diabetes) in regenerative medicine. Basically, cells are encapsulated within a membrane that permits two-way diffusion, such as incoming molecules essential for cell metabolism, and outgoing waste products and therapeutic proteins, while the semi-permeability of the membrane keeps the body\u2019s immune system from destroying these benevolent foreign invaders (the encapsulated cells). \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cEncapsulated cell therapies are a key research priority for JDRF because they hold broad promise of creating insulin independence for people with type 1 diabetes by physiologically regulating blood sugar levels with replacement cells,\u201d says Albert Hwa, senior program scientist for JDRF. \u201cThese therapies could move us beyond the limitations of islet transplantation by utilizing multiple cell sources and avoiding the risks and side effects of strong immune suppression therapies. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cDr. Garcia\u2019s research improves the way hydrogel microcapsules are made and could be the foundation for next-generation cell replacement therapies. JDRF looks forward to additional testing with these novel capsules.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Garc\u00eda lab designing better microcapsules for next generation of cell replacement therapies."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGarc\u00eda lab designing better microcapsules for next generation of cell replacement therapies.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Garc\u00eda lab designing better microcapsules for next generation of cell replacement therapies."}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-05-08 12:40:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:22","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-05-12T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-05-12T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"296521":{"id":"296521","type":"image","title":"Andr\u00e9s Garc\u00eda, PhD - Regents\u2019 Professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech","body":null,"created":"1449244530","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:55:30","changed":"1475894995","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:55","alt":"Andr\u00e9s Garc\u00eda, PhD - Regents\u2019 Professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech","file":{"fid":"199414","name":"garciaandres-may2014.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/garciaandres-may2014_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/garciaandres-may2014_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1055524,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/garciaandres-may2014_0.jpg?itok=bzWJHeuY"}},"260941":{"id":"260941","type":"image","title":"Hang Lu","body":null,"created":"1449243987","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:46:27","changed":"1475894945","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:05","alt":"Hang Lu","file":{"fid":"198367","name":"11e2016-p3-033.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/11e2016-p3-033_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/11e2016-p3-033_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":484004,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/11e2016-p3-033_0.jpg?itok=ctZBYa6J"}}},"media_ids":["296521","260941"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/jdrf.org\/","title":"Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation"},{"url":"http:\/\/garcialab.gatech.edu\/","title":"Garcia lab"}],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[{"id":"42941","name":"Art Research"},{"id":"132","name":"Institute Leadership"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute\u003Cbr \/\u003Efor Bioengineering \u0026amp; Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"296421":{"#nid":"296421","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech and the Georgia Research Alliance Partner on Nation-wide Cell Manufacturing Consortium","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA scientist at the Georgia Institute of Technology is piloting a new national initiative to make the U.S. the world leader in biomanufacturing of cell therapies \u2013 projected to be a $10 billion global industry within a decade.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETodd McDevitt, Carol Ann and David D. Flanagan professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering and director of the Stem Cell Engineering Center, is leading the launch of the nation-wide Cell Manufacturing Consortium, an effort that will be funded by a $499,636 planning grant from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), announced Thursday by Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe grant is being administered through the Georgia Research Alliance (GRA), the lead agency joined by nine founding partners, a collection of research universities and industries from almost every corner of the country.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cA planning grant of this size is significant, and it lays the groundwork for something larger and more compelling,\u201d says McDevitt, also a Petit Faculty Fellow in the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne potential goal would be winning designation as an Institute for Manufacturing Innovation (IMI), part of President Obama\u2019s proposed National Network of Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI), a $1 billion federal initiative to create system of 45 regional hubs, each focused on the development and application of different cutting-edge manufacturing technologies. So far, the NNMIs that have been named (such as the digital manufacturing institute in Chicago, announced in February) have ensnared federal grants valued at $30 to $70 million.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe GRA leads a consortium funding partnership that includes Georgia Tech, the University of Georgia, the University of Wisconsin (Madison), the University of California (Berkeley), North Carolina State University, Aruna Biomedical (Athens, Ga.), Cellgene Cellular Therapeutics (Warren, N.J.), and RoosterBio (Frederick, Md.). These entities will try to work the snowball effect, gathering others to the cause as they move forward. That\u2019s already happening, says McDevitt, who has been fielding a growing tide of interest from academia and industry.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGreg Dane, an industry fellow with GRA, will lead the new consortium\u2019s development efforts along with McDevitt, who is the scientific technical lead.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe success of our proposal was the result of an unselfish team effort of multiple people,\u201d McDevitt says. \u201cBased on their mission to foster the development of advanced technologies that can have significant and meaningful economic impact, the Georgia Research Alliance was a natural entity to lead this proposal.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIn addition, we benefitted tremendously from the experience of people like [founding Petit Institute director and professor emeritus] Bob Nerem and Ben Wang from Georgia Tech\u0027s Manufacturing Institute, to put together a project of this scope.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe presence of the Stem Cell Engineering Center as well as the NSF-funded Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) program in Stem Cell Biomanufacturing almost certainly played a role in NIST\u2019s decision, and GRA\u2019s trust, as Georgia Tech continues to solidify its standing as a hub of research activities in biomanufacturing.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWorking together, GRA, Georgia Tech, and our other consortium partners can more readily accelerate the growth of the domestic cell manufacturing industry than individuals or small groups working independently,\u201d says C. Michael Cassidy, president and CEO of the Georgia Research Alliance.\u0026nbsp;\u201cGeorgia Tech and its faculty have a strong reputation in bioengineering and will show excellent technical leadership for the consortium.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"A scientist at the Georgia Institute of Technology is piloting a new national initiative to make the U.S. the world leader in biomanufacturing of cell therapies."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA scientist at the Georgia Institute of Technology is piloting a new national initiative to make the U.S. the world leader in biomanufacturing of cell therapies \u2013 projected to be a $10 billion global industry within a decade.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A scientist at the Georgia Institute of Technology is piloting a new national initiative to make the U.S. the world leader in biomanufacturing of cell therapies."}],"uid":"27224","created_gmt":"2014-05-11 13:47:14","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:26","author":"Megan McDevitt","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-05-11T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-05-11T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"271091":{"id":"271091","type":"image","title":"Todd McDevitt Elected to AIMBE\u2019s College of Fellows","body":null,"created":"1449244095","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:48:15","changed":"1475894961","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:21","alt":"Todd McDevitt Elected to AIMBE\u2019s College of Fellows","file":{"fid":"198638","name":"10p1000-p37-004_copy.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/10p1000-p37-004_copy_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/10p1000-p37-004_copy_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2474162,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/10p1000-p37-004_copy_0.jpg?itok=At4Mf623"}},"296431":{"id":"296431","type":"image","title":"Michael Cassidy","body":null,"created":"1449244530","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:55:30","changed":"1475894995","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:55","alt":"Michael Cassidy","file":{"fid":"199411","name":"imgres_0.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/imgres_0_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/imgres_0_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":4396,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/imgres_0_0.jpg?itok=U9DHCAFl"}},"296441":{"id":"296441","type":"image","title":"Greg Dane","body":null,"created":"1449244530","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:55:30","changed":"1475894995","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:55","alt":"Greg Dane","file":{"fid":"199412","name":"imgres-1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/imgres-1_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/imgres-1_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":4406,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/imgres-1_0.jpg?itok=fzvM-w37"}}},"media_ids":["271091","296431","296441"],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[{"id":"13523","name":"Ben Wang"},{"id":"14854","name":"biomanufacturing"},{"id":"900","name":"Bob Nerem"},{"id":"93181","name":"Cell Manufacturing"},{"id":"1464","name":"Georgia Research Alliance"},{"id":"81901","name":"GTMI"},{"id":"760","name":"Todd McDevitt"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute\u003Cbr \/\u003Efor Bioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"296221":{"#nid":"296221","#data":{"type":"news","title":"First Annual BioEngineering Day Geared towards Building Community","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThere\u2019s plenty to like about the interdisciplinary BioEngineering Graduate Program (or BioE) at the Georgia Tech Institute of Technology. What\u2019s not to like? This is a program that brings together a diverse range of curious students and faculty who are discovering and developing tools to improve the human condition.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis is the best model for interdisciplinary research, a program that spans multiple schools and departments, with faculty participating from multiple colleges at Georgia Tech and Emory,\u201d explains Andr\u00e9s Garc\u00eda, Regents\u2019 Professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, and program director for BioE. \u201cThe goal is to integrate engineering with life science and everything rotates around that. So, as you can imagine, we have some outstanding students, remarkable young people with great ideas. But when they came to me earlier this year and said, \u2018we\u2019d like to have a BioE Day,\u2019 I was like, \u2018what\u2019s that?\u2019\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s an opportunity to build community, to bring together the 100 or so grad students from disparate backgrounds and pathways, and honor their work, in one place on one day, which is this Monday, May 12, when the first BioE Day takes place in the Parker H. Petit Institute for BioEngineering and Bioscience (11 a.m. to 6 p.m.).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs you might expect from an interdisciplinary program, the idea took shape out of a collective thought process.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cSomeone suggested we have something called BioE Day, and the reaction was, \u2018sounds great \u2026 what do you mean?\u2019 So we took some time to define what we wanted that to be,\u201d says Tom Bongiorno, a third-year Ph.D. student and president of the BioEngineering Graduate Student Advisory Committee.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cSo we talked a lot about BioE identity. We come from up to eight home schools, so we don\u2019t all take classes together. This seemed like a good idea, a way to build or improve our identity.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThey\u2019ll now use BioE Day as the venue to announce BioE\u2019s annual awards, but the graduate students have even given that a new twist. This year, they\u2019ve replaced the \u201cbest\u201d appellation with \u201coutstanding.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201c\u2019Best\u2019 seemed kind of arrogant and a little intimidating,\u201d says Bongiorno, who will be honored as the BioE Outstanding Paper winner and offer a presentation about his paper at the event.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESeveral other awards will be given out, including Outstanding Thesis (Jonathan Newman, who earned his Ph.D. in 2013) and Outstanding Advisor (Julie Champion, assistant professor in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering). This will also mark the first year of the Chris Ruffin Graduate Student Leadership Award, which honors the memory of the former longtime BioE academic advisor.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cChris was a tireless champion for the BioE Program. He truly cared about the students and faculty, was a fantastic listener, and problem solver,\u201d says Garc\u00eda, who will make the announcement Monday afternoon.\u003Cstrong\u003E \u201c\u003C\/strong\u003EHe contributed significantly to the success of BioE.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThere will be, among other things, speeches by the award winners, rapid-fire research presentations from students, a poster presentation, a senior graduate student panel discussion, a cookout at the end of the day, and plenty of games (including a faculty water balloon toss competition).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis all about community building,\u201d Bongiorno says. \u201cIt\u2019s a way to make everyone a little more visible to everyone else.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/bioengineering.gatech.edu\/bgsac\/event\/bioe-day\u0022\u003EView the agenda and register here\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAward Winners\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJulie Champion, Outstanding Advisor\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EChampion is an assistant professor in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and a member of the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences. She earned her B.S.E. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan in 2001 and completed her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at the University of California \u2013 Santa Barbara, in 2007, as a National Science Foundation graduate fellow. She was a National Institutes of Health postdoctoral fellow from 2007-2009 at the California Institute of Technology. Champion\u2019s current research focuses on design and self-assembly of therapeutic nanomaterials made from engineered proteins for applications in cancer and immunology. She has received a BRIGE award from the National Science Foundation and the Georgia Tech Women in Engineering Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETom Bongiorno, Outstanding Paper\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBongiorno is a third year Ph.D. candidate in BioEngineering. He received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering in 2011 from the University of Notre Dame, where he worked on a stem cell-based tissue-engineering project. As an undergraduate, Bongiorno conducted a summer research project on microparticle phagocytosis in the lab of Todd Sulchek, where he has returned for his graduate work. Bongiorno is seeking to use the mechanical properties of individual cells as bases for identifying and sorting differentiating stem cells. The goal of his research is to use microfluidic technology that sorts cells based on their mechanical properties to obtain a purified population of a desired cell phenotype. Bongiorno is a Georgia Tech President\u0027s Fellow and was a trainee on the stem cell biomanufacturing IGERT at Georgia Tech from 2011-2013. His winning paper is titled, \u201cMechanical stiffness as an improved single-cell indicator of osteoblastic human mesenchymal stem cell differentiation.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJonathan Newman, Outstanding Thesis\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENewman completed his undergraduate studies at the State University of New York (SUNY) \u2013 Binghamton in 2007, majoring in BioEngineering. He attended the Georgia Institute of Technology for his graduate studies under the mentorship of Steve Potter, earning his PhD in 2013 (his thesis work was supported by a National Science Foundation IGERT Fellowship and a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship). He is now a postdoctoral associate in the laboratory of Matt Wilson at MIT, leveraging the skills he gained during his thesis work at Georgia Tech in order to understand the neural basis of memory consolidation in freely moving rodents.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOptogenetics is a set of technologies that enable optically triggered gain or loss of function in genetically specified populations of cells. Optogenetic methods have revolutionized experimental neuroscience by allowing precise excitation or inhibition of firing in specific neuronal populations embedded within complex, heterogeneous tissue. During his thesis work at Georgia Tech, Newman developed a feedback control technology that automatically adjusts optical stimulation in real-time to precisely control neuronal network activity levels. This technique (called the \u2018optoclamp\u2019 in Steve Potter\u0027s lab) allows extremely robust and precise control of network firing levels, far surpassing the abilities of existing technologies. Ming-fai Fong and Pete Wenner from Emory University have subsequently used the optoclamp to show conclusively that reductions in excitatory neurotransmission directly trigger homeostatic increases in synaptic strength, independent of changes in firing activity. These results oppose a large body of literature on the subject and have significant implications for memory formation and maintenance in the central nervous system.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"A day dedicated to building community, outstanding community members recognized."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThere\u2019s plenty to like about the interdisciplinary BioEngineering Graduate Program (or BioE) at the Georgia Tech Institute of Technology. What\u2019s not to like? This is a program that brings together a diverse range of curious students and faculty who are discovering and developing tools to improve the human condition.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A day dedicated to building community, outstanding community members recognized."}],"uid":"27224","created_gmt":"2014-05-09 13:30:44","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:22","author":"Megan McDevitt","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-05-09T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-05-09T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"85771":{"id":"85771","type":"image","title":"Dr. Julie Champion","body":null,"created":"1449178110","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:28:30","changed":"1475894706","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:06","alt":"Dr. Julie Champion","file":{"fid":"193904","name":"champion3.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/champion3_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/champion3_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1258945,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/champion3_0.jpg?itok=WIE1_K7U"}}},"media_ids":["85771"],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"569","name":"bioengineering"},{"id":"249","name":"Biomedical Engineering"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"296021":{"#nid":"296021","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Ovarian Cancer Cells Are More Aggressive On Soft Tissues","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen ovarian cancer spreads from the ovaries it almost always does so to a layer of fatty tissue that lines the gut. A new study has found that ovarian cancer cells are more aggressive on these soft tissues due to the mechanical properties of this environment. The finding is contrary to what is seen with other malignant cancer cells that seem to prefer stiffer tissues. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhat we found is that there are some cancer cells that respond to softness as opposed to stiffness,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.chbe.gatech.edu\/faculty\/dawson\u0022\u003EMichelle Dawson\u003C\/a\u003E, an assistant professor in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. \u201cOvarian cancer cells that are highly metastatic respond to soft environments by becoming more aggressive.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOvarian cancer cells spread, or metastasize, by a different method than other cancer cells. Breast cancer cells, for example, break off from a solid tumor and flow through the blood until they arrest in small blood vessels. The cancer cells then penetrate the vessel surface to form a tumor. Because ovarian tumors are in the abdomen, these cancer cells are shed into the surrounding fluid and not distributed through the blood. They must be able to adhere directly to the fatty tissue that lines the gut, called the omentum, to begin forming a tumor. The new study discovered details about how ovarian cancer cells seem to prefer the mechanical properties of this soft tissue.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe study was published in a recent advance online edition of the \u003Cem\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/jcs.biologists.org\/content\/early\/2014\/04\/13\/jcs.144378.abstract\u0022\u003EJournal of Cell Science\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E and was sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the Georgia Tech and Emory Center for Regenerative Medicine. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research team, led by Daniel McGrail, a graduate student in the Dawson lab, found that ovarian cancer cells in vitro were more adherent to a layer of soft fat cells than a layer of stiffer bone cells, and that this behavior was also repeated using gels of similar rigidities. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAll the behaviors that we associate with breast cancer cells on these more rigid environments are flipped for ovarian cancer cells,\u201d Dawson said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAfter adhering to these soft surfaces, metastatic ovarian cancer cells became more aggressive. Their proliferation increased and they were less responsive to chemotherapeutics. The ovarian cancer cells were also more motile on soft surfaces, moving nearly twice as fast as on rigid surfaces.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe team also found that less aggressive cells that do not metastasize do not exhibit any of these changes. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers used techniques that haven\u2019t been traditionally used in the study of ovarian cancer. They measured the force exerted by the cells by tracking the displacement of beads in the environment around the cells. The researchers found that the metastatic cells increased their traction forces \u2013 used to generate motion \u2013 by three-fold on soft surfaces, but no such change was present in the less aggressive cells. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe think the behavior that metastatic ovarian cancer cells exert on these soft surfaces is representative of the mechanical tropism that they have for these softer tissues in the gut,\u201d Dawson said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn future work, the researchers will investigate whether ovarian cancer cells have some natural inclination towards this uniquely more aggressive behavior in softer environments. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe\u2019re trying to find out whether there is some internal programming that leads to this aggressive behavior,\u201d Dawson said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis research is supported by the National Science Foundation under award number 1032527, and the Georgia Tech and Emory Center for Regenerative Medicine under award number 1411304. Any conclusions or opinions are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the sponsoring agencies.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECITATION\u003C\/strong\u003E: Daniel J. McGrail, et al., \u201cThe malignancy of metastatic ovarian cancer cells is increased on soft matrices through a mechanosensitive Rho-ROCK pathway.\u201d (\u003Cem\u003EJournal of Cell Science\u003C\/em\u003E, 2014). \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1242\/?jcs.144378%20\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1242\/?jcs.144378 \u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E177 North Avenue\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, Georgia 30332-0181 USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/GTResearchNews\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E@GTResearchNews\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts\u003C\/strong\u003E: Brett Israel (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/btiatl\u0022\u003E@btiatl\u003C\/a\u003E) (404-385-1933) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or John Toon (404-894-6986) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: Brett Israel \u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen ovarian cancer spreads from the ovaries it almost always does so to a layer of fatty tissue that lines the gut. A new study has found that ovarian cancer cells are more aggressive on these soft tissues due to the mechanical properties of this environment. The finding is contrary to what is seen with other malignant cancer cells that seem to prefer stiffer tissues.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A new study has found that ovarian cancer cells are more aggressive on soft tissues due to the mechanical properties of this environment."}],"uid":"27902","created_gmt":"2014-05-08 14:39:24","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:22","author":"Brett Israel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-05-08T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-05-08T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"296011":{"id":"296011","type":"image","title":"Michelle Dawson and Daniel McGrail","body":null,"created":"1449244514","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:55:14","changed":"1475894995","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:55","alt":"Michelle Dawson and Daniel McGrail","file":{"fid":"199400","name":"14c10202-p23-004.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/14c10202-p23-004_1.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/14c10202-p23-004_1.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1771425,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/14c10202-p23-004_1.jpg?itok=bQb3jKSC"}}},"media_ids":["296011"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"140","name":"Cancer Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"385","name":"cancer"},{"id":"10683","name":"Michelle Dawson"},{"id":"2372","name":"ovarian cancer"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71891","name":"Health and Medicine"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBrett Israel\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404-385-1933\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"295721":{"#nid":"295721","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Peeking Inside the Pharmaceutical Industry","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EStudents travel to Puerto Rico for an intimate look at drug design, development and delivery.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELizzette G\u00f3mez Ramos took the scenic route to see what was happening in her backyard. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBorn and raised in Puerto Rico, she earned her B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayag\u00fcez, where she acquired a keen interest in drug development, right there in the midst of one of the planet\u2019s busiest pharmaceutical manufacturing clusters, on her home island, which would seem serendipitous except that Lizzette never saw a bit of it. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThen she enrolled at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where she\u2019s pursuing a Ph.D. in chemical engineering, and became involved with the Center for Drug Design, Development and Delivery (CD4) at Georgia Tech. Now she is intimately familiar with her commonwealth\u2019s pharmaceutical community, thanks to an annual program that gives Georgia Tech students a unique perspective on the pharmaceutical industry. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFor the past eight years, a rotating collection of undergraduate and graduate students have spent spring break touring drug and medical device manufacturing plants in Puerto Rico, part of a semester-long class called Drug Design, Development and Delivery (named after the CD4). For the past two years, Ramos served as teaching assistant (TA) on the five-day trip. \u201cThey know I am from Puerto Rico, and also that I have experience in the pharmaceutical industry,\u201d says G\u00f3mez Ramos, who had two internships and one year of full-time employment for pharma kingpin Merck. \u201cBut that was in New Jersey, not Puerto Rico, so this was all new to me.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt\u2019s new to pretty much all of the students, because there aren\u2019t any other trips like this one, says Mark Prausnitz, director of CD4 (one of research centers supported by the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience). \u201cI\u2019d been doing pharmaceutical research for a long time when I first went. I\u2019d never been in facilities like these places, it opened up my world in a dramatic way, which is why I\u2019m convinced that this program is a critical and unique piece of pharmaceutical education at Georgia Tech.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFrom the outset, the trip was designed to provide a singular experience, offering massive industry access in one geographic place. Puerto Rico is a world leader in drug manufacturing, and students get a glimpse into a wide range of industry activity, visiting pharmaceutical and medical device juggernauts like Amgen, Medtronic, Merck and Pfizer, to name a few. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cMy friends joke that I\u2019m just going home for a vacation,\u201d says G\u00f3mez Ramos. \u201cBut it\u0027s a very packed agenda. We\u2019re seeing several companies a day, morning to night, so there\u2019s barely time to do anything else.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESo, she had no time to visit family, until after the five-day field trip, which always includes time for a few cultural activities \u2013 visiting a bioluminescent bay, the Arecibo Observatory (home of the world\u2019s largest single-dish radio telescope), historic Old San Juan, and also the Bacardi distillery, which offers a different kind of glimpse into biotechnology. \u201cIt\u2019s definitely about as biotech as you can get, but of course it\u2019s completely different from pharmaceuticals,\u201d says Andreas Bommarius, associate director of CD4, who organized the pharmaceutical trip program with Prausnitz. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cOne of the best things about this program, I think, is that students get exposed to international competition in the pharma arena. The three major centers of manufacturing are Puerto Rico, Ireland and Singapore, and the constant repositioning of manufacturing is a dynamic picture,\u201d Bommarius says, noting that Puerto Rico has chipped away at its industry incentive package. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAs a result, Georgia Tech students have visited some plants that are no longer in operation, while other companies continue to invest heavily in Puerto Rico.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E \u201cWe saw a production line that was state of the art, but demand was so low they almost never turned it on at one facility,\u201d Bommarius says. \u201cAnd we also saw Amgen, which is a jewel, their most important facility outside of their headquarters in Thousand Oaks (Calif.). We see a tremendous diversity of pharmaceutical manufacturing operations.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EPrausnitz and Bommarius designed the D4 class to be interdisciplinary, inviting students from the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering and the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry. The trip contingent is limited to about two dozen students who get a rare, up-close and comprehensive glimpse of the industry at some the world\u2019s top manufacturing facilities. \u201cThe trip was an excellent opportunity to see and learn about an industry that is typically pretty veiled, to say the least,\u201d says Ashley Zuniga, a fourth-year biochemistry student. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EShe already was interested in drug design before taking the spring semester class, and the Puerto Rico trip enhanced her interest (after grad school, she plans to apply to some of the companies she visited). But Zuniga seemed to get more of what was unfamiliar. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cAs a biochemist, not an engineer, I don\u2019t get much of an opportunity to see or study chemical plants, process control, or large scale industry processes,\u201d she says. \u201cBut I was able to get pretty solid exposure to all of that and more during this trip. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cMy favorite was Medtronic, because you could see every step of diabetes insulin pumps being made, by hand, from electronic components to casings to testing. I now know that I would definitely like more engineering to be a part of my future career.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThough she officially is considered a TA, G\u00f3mez Ramos serves as trip coordinator, occasionally as translator, and she is the perfect cultural liaison. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cI\u2019ve been lucky that they trust my decisions on where to stay, where to eat, where we should go, and not go,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019m also the timekeeper, I keep us on schedule, and we have a busy schedule to keep, a lot of companies to visit.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EEven with her experience in the pharmaceutical industry, G\u00f3mez Ramos says she got valuable exposure to the industry in a new way, a useful glimpse into real-world applications that will help in her research, wherever that leads. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cPerhaps I\u2019ll be a professor at the University of Puerto Rico,\u201d she says, not yet sure what her professional future will be, but with a very clear understanding of what it\u2019s like to live where the stuff gets made.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Students travel to Puerto Rico for an intimate look at drug design, development and delivery."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EStudents travel to Puerto Rico for an intimate look at drug design, development and delivery.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Students travel to Puerto Rico for an intimate look at drug design, development and delivery."}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-05-08 08:07:19","changed_gmt":"2022-05-26 17:09:36","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-05-08T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-05-08T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"295761":{"id":"295761","type":"image","title":"Map of Puerto Rico","body":null,"created":"1449244514","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:55:14","changed":"1475894995","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:55","alt":"Map of Puerto Rico","file":{"fid":"199395","name":"bigstock-outline-map-of-puerto-rico-wit-square.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bigstock-outline-map-of-puerto-rico-wit-square_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bigstock-outline-map-of-puerto-rico-wit-square_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2123106,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/bigstock-outline-map-of-puerto-rico-wit-square_0.jpg?itok=Tp3uRu9f"}},"295711":{"id":"295711","type":"image","title":"Center for Drug Design, Development and Delivery (CD4) - Annual trip to Puerto Rico to tour drug and medical device manufacturing plants","body":null,"created":"1449244514","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:55:14","changed":"1475894995","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:55","alt":"Center for Drug Design, Development and Delivery (CD4) - Annual trip to Puerto Rico to tour drug and medical device manufacturing plants","file":{"fid":"199393","name":"observatory_1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/observatory_1_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/observatory_1_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":5748297,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/observatory_1_0.jpg?itok=0KeiRMyz"}}},"media_ids":["295761","295711"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/cd4.gatech.edu\/","title":"CD4 website"}],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"9423","name":"Andreas Bommarius"},{"id":"495","name":"Mark Prausnitz"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ECommunications Officer II - Parker H. Petit Institute - for Bioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"294841":{"#nid":"294841","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Evolution in Species May Reverse Predator-Prey Population Cycles","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EPopulations of predators and their prey usually follow predictable cycles. When the number of prey increases, perhaps as their food supply becomes more abundant, predator populations also grow.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen the predator population becomes too large, however, the prey population often plummets, leaving too little food for the predators, whose population also then crashes. This canonical view of predator-prey relationships was first identified by mathematical biologists Alfred Lotka and Vito Volterra in the 1920s and 1930s.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut all bets are off if both the predator and prey species are evolving in even small ways, according to a new study published this week in the journal \u003Cem\u003EProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences\u003C\/em\u003E. When both species are evolving, the traditional cycle may reverse, allowing predator populations to peak before those of the prey. In fact, it may appear as if the prey are eating the predators.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have proposed a theory to explain these co-evolutionary changes. And then, using data collected by other scientists on three predator-prey pairs \u2013 mink-muskrat, gyrfalcon-rock ptarmigan and phage-\u003Cem\u003EVibrio cholerae\u003C\/em\u003E \u2013 they show how their theory could explain unexpected population cycles.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe new theory and analysis of these co-evolution cycles could help epidemiologists predict cycles of disease and the virulence of infectious agents, and lead to a better understanding of how population cycles may affect ecosystems.\u0026nbsp; The research was supported by the National Science Foundation and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur work shows that co-evolution can yield new and unique behavior at the population scale,\u201d explained \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/people\/joshua-weitz\u0022\u003EJoshua Weitz\u003C\/a\u003E, an associate professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Biology\u003C\/a\u003E at Georgia Tech. \u201cWhen you include evolution, the classic prey-predator dynamics have a much greater range of possible outcomes. We are not replacing the original theory, but proposing a more general model that opens the door to these new phenomena.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEvolution is often perceived as an historical event, noted Weitz, who also has a courtesy appointment in the Georgia Tech \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.physics.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Physics\u003C\/a\u003E. But organisms are evolving continuously, with certain phenotypes becoming dominant as environmental and other conditions favor them. In organisms such as birds or small mammals, those changes can be manifested in as few as ten generations. In microbial species with brief lifespans, evolutionary changes can happen within days or weeks.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEvolutionary changes can dramatically affect relationships between species, potentially making them more vulnerable or less vulnerable. For instance, if a mutation that confers viral resistance in a species of bacteria becomes dominant, that may change the predator-prey relationship by rendering the bacteria population safe from harm. More generally, co-evolutionary cycles can arise when predator offense is costly and prey defense is effective against low offense predators.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWith predator and prey co-evolution, you can see oscillations in which there are lots of prey around even when there are many predators, or lots of predators around even when there are very few prey,\u201d noted Michael Cortez, a postdoctoral fellow in the Weitz lab and first author of the paper.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhen prey is abundant and there are few predators, it may be because there are many defended prey \u2013 prey that the predators can\u2019t eat,\u201d he added. \u201cWhen there are lots of predators around and few prey, it\u2019s because the prey are very good food sources and the predators are doing quite well.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn their paper, Weitz and Cortez simulated models in which the evolutionary process was sped up to show how their theory of co-evolution would affect predator-prey population cycles. Speeding up the process allowed them to break the cycle up into smaller segments that could be analyzed in more detail. They then used the earlier observations of the changing abundances of the three pairs of predators and prey\u0026nbsp; -- leveraging data sets collected by other scientists \u2013 to show how the models would apply.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAlthough the structure of the cycles in these three systems had been noted as unusual by the authors who observed them, there had been, as yet, no unified theoretical framework from which to make sense of such as radical departure from the classic signature of predator-prey interactions,\u201d Weitz said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EScientists have long studied how the interaction between species affects overall populations in ecosystems. Weitz and Cortez believe their new model will give scientists a broader and more complete picture of the complex process.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis study identifies how adaptation between two species and interactions between their numbers can result in something different from what you would get if you just had the interaction between the numbers,\u201d said Cortez. \u201cThis is something that will show up across many ecological systems. We can now explain broad trends that occur in vastly different systems using a theoretical approach, and the fact that we can identify the mechanism responsible for it is unique to our study.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis research was supported by the National Science Foundation under Award DMS-1204401, and by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund. Any conclusions or opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the sponsoring agencies.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECITATION\u003C\/strong\u003E: Michael H. Cortez and Joshua S. Weitz, \u201cCoevolution Can Reverse Predator-Prey Cycles,\u201d (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2014). \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.pnas.org\/cgi\/doi\/10.1073\/pnas.1317693111\u0022 title=\u0022www.pnas.org\/cgi\/doi\/10.1073\/pnas.1317693111\u0022\u003Ewww.pnas.org\/cgi\/doi\/10.1073\/pnas.1317693111\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E177 North Avenue\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, Georgia\u0026nbsp; 30332-0181\u0026nbsp; USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon (404-894-6986) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or Brett Israel (404-385-1933) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAccording to a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, co-evolutionary changes in species may reverse traditional predator-prey population cycles, creating the appearance that prey are eating the predators.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Co-evolution in species may reverse traditional predator-prey population cycles, creating the appearance that prey are eating the predators."}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2014-05-04 19:29:14","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:22","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-05-05T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-05-05T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"294831":{"id":"294831","type":"image","title":"Predator-Prey Relationship","body":null,"created":"1449244511","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:55:11","changed":"1475894993","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:53","alt":"Predator-Prey Relationship","file":{"fid":"199359","name":"bobcat-rabbit.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bobcat-rabbit_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bobcat-rabbit_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1477731,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/bobcat-rabbit_0.jpg?itok=499qkmDE"}}},"media_ids":["294831"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"154","name":"Environment"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"92711","name":"co-evolution"},{"id":"3028","name":"evolution"},{"id":"11599","name":"Joshua Weitz"},{"id":"92731","name":"population cycle"},{"id":"13478","name":"predator"},{"id":"92721","name":"predator-prey"},{"id":"13479","name":"prey"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"39541","name":"Systems"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71911","name":"Earth and Environment"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearch News\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E(404) 894-6986\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"295141":{"#nid":"295141","#data":{"type":"news","title":"2014 Robert M. Nerem International Travel Award Winner Announced","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAshley Allen will travel to Jerusalem to learn new delivery technique of mesenchymal stem cells.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAshley Allen plans to take something special back with her to the Georgia Institute of Technology from her trip to Israel next fall, and it isn\u2019t souvenirs. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAllen, winner of the 2014 Robert M. Nerem International Travel Award, will spend two weeks at Hebrew University in Jerusalem learning a new technique for delivering mesenchymal stem cells for the repair of large bone defects, and she intends to bring what she learns to the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cThis procedure could have a lot of potential advantages,\u201d says Allen, who is in her fifth year of the bioengineering Ph.D. program, and is a graduate research assistant in Robert E. Guldberg\u2019s Musculoskeletal Research Laboratory.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cOur lab focuses on a range of orthopaedic tissues, but not so much on cell delivery, mostly acellular strategies,\u201d Allen says. \u201cThe lab in Israel that I\u2019ll be working in is all about cell delivery for bone tissue engineering applications.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFriends and colleagues of Bob Nerem, founding director of the Petit Institute, thought it would be a good idea to honor his contributions to bioengineering and his commitment to the Petit Institute. So they established an annual award of up to $3,000 to support post-docs and graduate students traveling outside the U.S. for research.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u0022A group of friends and colleagues, unbeknownst to me, talked to me about a travel award, which I though was a great idea, but I didn\u0027t want it to just send someone off to some conference,\u0022 Nerem says. \u0022It ended up being about research abroad, which I think is excellent, as our research is part of a global community, and I feel uniquely honored.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAllen is the 10th recipient of the award. The program, which began in 2005, has received generous support from donors like Coe Bloomberg (ME, Class of 1966) and G.B. Espy (ME, Class of 1957) through the years, helping to increase the visibility of the Petit Institute around the world, sending trainees from Georgia Tech to some of the world\u2019s top research universities and institutions, including the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden; RIKEN Brain Science Institute, Japan; the National University of Singapore;\u0026nbsp; University of Twente, The Netherlands; Queensland University of Technology, Australia; Consorzio Interuniversitario Lombardo per L\u2019Elaborazione Automatica, Milan, Italy; \u0026nbsp;Imperial College, London; and Kings College, London.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAllen will spend two weeks in the lab of Zulma Gazit, learning the technique developed there of incorporating perfluorotributylamine (PFTBA) into an alginate-based mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) delivery system. She has collaborated with Gazit twice before, in 2010 and 2011, for a week each time. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cI have come to know her as a hard-working and thoughtful researcher,\u201d Gazit says. \u201cHer attention to detail and ability to communicate complemented her work ethic, leading to a productive effort on which we have recently published.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cI think this is a beneficial new skill for her to have and I look forward to testing the technology within the segmental long bone defect model utilized at Georgia Tech.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBasically, Allen aims to test whether perfluorotributylamine (PFTBA) delivery will improve MSC survival.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cWhat we\u2019re seeking is better bone regeneration,\u201d Allen says.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ERight now, she says, \u201cin our system, we see widespread cell death and minimal vascularization by three days in vivo, indicating limited nutrient availability.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EShe believes there is a benefit in PFTBA utilization because it will help increase local oxygen levels, which theoretically will enhance survival of the MSCs, which means they have a better chance of forming better bone.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cSo my thesis is focused on taking different angles to get the cells to stick around and survive longer,\u201d says Allen, who isn\u2019t the first person to travel to the Holy Land for a better sense of perspective.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Ashley Allen will travel to Jerusalem to learn new delivery technique of mesenchymal stem cells"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAshley Allen will travel to Jerusalem to learn new delivery technique of mesenchymal stem cells\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Ashley Allen will travel to Jerusalem to learn new delivery technique of mesenchymal stem cells"}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-05-05 12:48:20","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:22","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-05-05T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-05-05T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"295121":{"id":"295121","type":"image","title":"Ashley Allen - graduate student from the lab of Robert Guldberg, PhD","body":null,"created":"1449244514","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:55:14","changed":"1475894995","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:55","alt":"Ashley Allen - graduate student from the lab of Robert Guldberg, PhD","file":{"fid":"199374","name":"ashleyallen-neremtravelaward2014.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ashleyallen-neremtravelaward2014_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ashleyallen-neremtravelaward2014_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":385114,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/ashleyallen-neremtravelaward2014_0.jpg?itok=QrgUo_HJ"}}},"media_ids":["295121"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/guldberglab.gatech.edu\/","title":"Guldberg Musculoskeletal Research Lab"},{"url":"http:\/\/ibb.gatech.edu\/nerem-travel-award","title":"Nerem Interational Travel Award Information"}],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[{"id":"42941","name":"Art Research"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute\u003Cbr \/\u003Efor Bioengineering \u0026amp; Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"294921":{"#nid":"294921","#data":{"type":"news","title":"When Engineering is the Best Medicine","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAjit Yoganathan\u2019s pioneering work makes people\u2019s hearts work better every day.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EDr. Kirk Kanter used to correct heart defects in the youngest children the way every other pediatric heart surgeon did. He\u2019d enter the operating room, open the infant\u2019s chest, look at the shape of the heart, and then \u2014 based on what he was seeing for the first time \u2014 make an on-the-spot judgment about the best surgical option.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENot anymore. While most surgeons still have to make last-minute decisions about rebuilding a heart that didn\u2019t fully develop, Kanter knows what he\u2019s going to do before he walks through the operating room door.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKanter figures it out ahead of time by using software conceptualized by Ajit Yoganathan, Regents\u2019 Professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering. Yoganathan is a leading researcher in cardiovascular fluid mechanics, the study of how blood flows through the heart, and it\u2019s his expertise that clues Kanter in to the best surgical choice.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhere some researchers are satisfied with making contributions to the body of scientific knowledge, Yoganathan is focused on translational research \u2014 or as he puts it, \u201cgetting things out of the lab from our research to impact healthcare and patients.\u201d He is the department\u2019s associate chair for translational research (a term scientists use for moving findings from the lab into clinical settings), and his dedication to developing real-world applications has made him a hero in the cardiovascular field.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EImproving patient care and patients\u2019 lives is what drives Yoganathan. In delivering a 2012 lecture to the Biomedical Engineering Society, which honored him with its Pritzker Award, he said, \u201cI think the main goal should be not the commercialization to make money as a faculty member, but to have the satisfaction of being able to see your research translated in the clinic towards helping human health.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EExamining the tiniest hearts\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe pediatric cardiac surgical planning tool that Kanter uses is one such practical application of Yoganathan\u2019s work in fluid mechanics. Kanter uses the tool to help patients whose hearts have only one ventricle. Although such cases are rare \u2013 two children per thousand births \u2013 the prospects for babies with single ventricle malformations are grim: Their hearts can\u2019t circulate blood through the lungs to be loaded with oxygen and on to the body. The lack of oxygen leads to rapid organ failure and even brain damage.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EToday, the outlook for single ventricle patients is better. Prenatal care often reveals the defect before birth, so surgeons are prepared to take immediate action. Doctors reroute the body\u2019s main veins directly into the lungs, bypassing the heart. The blood picks up needed oxygen, then flows from the lungs into the heart\u2019s single ventricle, which pumps it out to the body. To achieve success, surgeons must perform two or three surgeries in the patient\u2019s first three years of life, including the final operation that connects the veins to the lungs.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s in preparation for this last operation, known as Fontan surgery, that Kanter uses Yoganathan\u2019s surgical planning tool. On his laptop, Kanter views a three-dimensional image of the patient\u2019s heart. The image has been created using MRI tomography, a series of magnetic scans compiled to show the heart\u2019s exact shape. Interactive features of the surgical planning tool, developed by Professor Jarek Rossignac in Georgia Tech\u2019s College of Computing, allow Kanter to turn the image and examine the heart from different angles. Then, based on his surgical experience, the doctor inputs several possible surgical corrections.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe virtual surgery software has an undeniable coolness factor, but the computation and analysis done in Yoganathan\u2019s lab makes the real difference. It\u2019s there that researchers evaluate each option, using complex formulas to figure out how the blood would flow to each lung after the correction.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EYoganathan never advises the surgeon on which option to choose. Instead, he sends images for each surgical scenario, showing his prediction of blood flow through the lungs and heart. Then the surgeon makes the decision based on priorities for the specific patient.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKanter says he typically has Yoganathan evaluate four to six options. Once he\u2019s seen the analysis, he can go into the surgery with high certainty he\u2019s choosing the best one.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cSometimes it\u0027s what we think would have worked,\u201d he says, \u201cbut I\u0027m surprised at how often the best option is not the one I expected.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESo far, the surgical planning tool, called SURGEM, is used at only a few premier children\u2019s hospitals in the United States, including the Children\u2019s Hospital of Philadelphia and Children\u2019s Hospital of Atlanta at Egleston, where Kanter works as one of the leading pediatric cardiac surgeons in the nation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe have people from all over the country contacting us and trying to do simulations for them so we can get the best operations,\u201d says Kanter, who was one of the first surgeons to use the tool. \u201cThis is hot stuff.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFrom bench to bassinet\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESince Yoganathan arrived at Georgia Tech more than 30 years ago, he\u2019s made it his mission to use science as a means to the ultimate end for biomedicine: improving human health. He brought the translational mindset from the California Institute of Technology, where he completed his doctoral work under Professor William Cochran.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cHe always said that engineering had a lot to offer towards medicine,\u201d Yoganathan recalls of his mentor. It was Cochran who first exposed Yoganathan to the field of cardiovascular fluid mechanics. Yoganathan, whose parents were a professor of pathology and a general practitioner, was hooked.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EYoganathan uses the common phrase \u201cbench to bedside\u201d when talking about his work, occasionally giving it a twist. \u201cBench to bassinet,\u201d he says, noting his lab\u2019s impact on treating the heart conditions of infants.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe insists that he doesn\u2019t set out to create new devices or change surgical methods. His goal is to understand the biomechanics of blood flow in the heart. But while he\u2019s doing the research, he sometimes gets a flash of insight about how to improve treatments \u2014 an inspiration that can turn into a major advance.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat\u2019s what led to the development of a surgical technique called a Y graft, which Kanter has used in two dozen Fontan surgeries. Yoganathan dreamed up the technique while he was studying single ventricle cases, analyzing post-surgical blood flows. He saw that when blood from the upper body and lower body entered the lungs, it was colliding and mixing. That effect slowed its movement, making it harder for the blood to be pumped through the lungs.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe wondered if grafting the veins in a Y-shape, instead of a straight graft, would help. Computer models gave credence to his idea. They showed the Y graft would make circulation more balanced and efficient. That would reduce the stress on the heart, which ideally would allow patients to live longer with less risk of heart failure \u2014 a common outcome that forces many single ventricle patients to undergo a heart transplant in their teens or early 20s, when their surgically repaired hearts give out.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFinding the answers\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EYoganathan has seen his work translated to health care settings many times over. During decades of research on heart valves, he\u2019s worked with every manufacturer that has a replacement valve on the American market. He\u2019s also assisted the Food and Drug Administration in its regulation of cardiac devices.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis exploration of valves is both vast and painstaking. Much of his lab\u2019s work is done with porcine or ovine heart valves, which closely match human physiology. Researchers modify the valves to mimic different types and stages of valve failure. Then, they use engineering tools and techniques to monitor the resulting changes in blood flow and mechanical stress. Finally, they make a surgical correction and see what effect it has.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EYoganathan explains that his research aims to see how the valve\u2019s performance changes when its shape is changed by disease in the surrounding tissues or breakdowns of the valve itself. Then, investigators want to know how well various surgical corrections work to restore the valve\u2019s function. Finally, they try to figure out why some surgical repairs have a limited lifespan.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s really trying to understand why some of the surgical repairs eventually fail,\u201d he says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research done in the lab is invaluable, because only in the lab can a scientist control all the variables. In clinical practice, the differences among patients\u2019 overall health makes it nearly impossible to isolate the problems with a particular surgery or device. In Yoganathan\u2019s lab, though, the conditions are consistent, so scientists can isolate the sources of breakdowns \u2013 as they did when they studied bileaflet valves, the most common type of mechanical prosthetic heart valve.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn as many as 5 percent of patients, prosthetic valves lead to life-threatening blood clots. To reduce this risk, patients are prescribed anticoagulant drugs for the remainder of their lives; however, these medications can have serious long-term side effects. Yoganathan wanted to figure out what caused the clots in the first place.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHis research showed how some of the blood traveling through the artificial valve tended to stagnate around the valve hinges. Stagnant blood leads to clots. If the valve could be redesigned to get that blood flowing, it could minimize or alleviate the clots.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDevice manufacturers and surgeons pay careful attention to Yoganathan\u2019s work and adjust their practices accordingly. Likewise, Yoganathan listens to manufacturers and doctors and allows their practical needs to guide his research.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDon Giddens, Ph.D., the former dean of the College of Engineering who helped recruit Yoganathan, says Yoganathan has always taken a collaborative approach to working with clinicians, even when such approaches were rare. He believes Yoganathan always knew that working hand-in-hand with practicing doctors would lead to the greatest impact on health.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cHis focus on translational research \u2013 that is, getting things to patients, and direct interaction with the clinical environment \u2013 was path-breaking,\u201d Giddens says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EYoganathan\u2019s influence has also shaped teaching at Georgia Tech, Giddens notes. Yoganathan spurred the creation of the master\u2019s and Ph.D. degrees in bioengineering, and he was a leader in the effort to establish the Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBeyond that is Yoganathan\u2019s impact on the future of biomechanical engineering by mentoring the engineers of the future. Over the years, more than 100 graduate students and post-doctoral fellows have trained and worked in Yoganathan\u2019s lab. One former student, research engineer Jorge Jimenez, Ph.D., says Yoganathan passes on to them his passion for improving lives through biomedical engineering.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe scientist is a very serious person, really driven,\u201d Jimenez says in describing Yoganathan, \u201cbut if you talk to him personally, you see that he also cares a lot\u201d about the patients he\u2019s helping.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EJimenez became a full-time member of Yoganathan\u2019s research faculty in 2007 and now divides his time between working in the lab and leading Apica Cardiovascular, a commercial venture launched in 2009 based on research done in the lab. Apica is testing a device that would change heart valve replacement from an open-heart surgery to a minimally invasive procedure. The device can be inserted into the left ventricle of the heart without opening the whole chest. It can implant a replacement heart valve, then close the incision in the heart with minimal blood loss, alleviating the need to use a heart bypass machine.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat kind of radical shift in cardiovascular repair would only add to Yoganathan\u2019s already stellar reputation. Yet as much as he has accomplished during his career, and as proud as he is of how his research has set new standards for cardiovascular care, Yoganathan\u2019s pride in his own work is tempered by his reverence for the inherent design of the heart.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cNo matter what, the human body and the heart are very well designed \u2014 from an engineering point of view,\u201d he says. \u201cIt has built-in safety factors. Even when there are small problems, the [heart] valve works fine. It takes a lot before that valve begins to fail and create significant medical problems... It\u2019s a marvel.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Ajit Yoganathan\u2019s pioneering work makes people\u2019s hearts work better every day"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAjit Yoganathan\u2019s pioneering work makes people\u2019s hearts work better every day\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Ajit Yoganathan\u2019s pioneering work makes people\u2019s hearts work better every day"}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-05-05 08:50:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:22","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-05-05T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-05-05T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"294911":{"id":"294911","type":"image","title":"Ajit Yoganathan, PhD - Regents\u0027 Professor, Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering","body":null,"created":"1449244514","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:55:14","changed":"1475894993","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:53","alt":"Ajit Yoganathan, PhD - Regents\u0027 Professor, Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering","file":{"fid":"199363","name":"yoganathanajit-may2014.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/yoganathanajit-may2014_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/yoganathanajit-may2014_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3981332,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/yoganathanajit-may2014_0.jpg?itok=2tE82GK9"}}},"media_ids":["294911"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/groups.bme.gatech.edu\/groups\/cfmg\/group\/home.htm","title":"Yoganathan lab"}],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[{"id":"132","name":"Institute Leadership"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EDori Kleber, writer\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:kay.kinard@coe.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EKay Kinard\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003EDirector of Communcations, College of Engineering\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["kay.kinard@coe.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"295011":{"#nid":"295011","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Immunoengineering and Convergence Science","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMy first significant exposure to Immunology was in my first year of PhD at Johns Hopkins. In those days there were only 8-10 students admitted to the BME doctoral program at Hopkins and everyone had to go through the basic science curriculum in the medical school. So, that first year I did not take any engineering or math classes; rather, with my fellow medical students immersed in dissecting cadaver, taking anatomy, physiology, neuroscience and developmental biology. But it was immunology that fascinated me. I came from an electrical engineering, control systems background, and the intricate feedback control of the human immune system, its redundancies and its stability in the midst of chaos, simply blew me away. Ever since, I have been amazed and excited by the idea that engineers can quantitatively study the immune system to understand its behavior in health and precisely modulate it in diseases to help patients. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E Fast forward two decades and we are now experiencing a revolution in how we think of human diseases and how we approach to solve them. I don\u2019t think I know of any disease where the immune system is not intricately involved. From a simple fever and cough to cancer and HIV, from a rash or a cut to autoimmune and cardiovascular diseases; immunology plays a central role in keeping us healthy and manifesting our diseases. Our fundamental knowledge of biology and how cells, organs and systems physiology work together have increased exponentially over the past two decades and with that has come much appreciation of immunological balance and the potential of modulating ones immune system to treat devastating diseases like cancer, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, lupus, HIV and others. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E So how do engineers fit into this picture? The involvement of engineers and engineering sciences (i.e. the application of physics, chemistry and math) is not new to immunology. Material scientists, chemists, pharmaceutical researchers as well as chemical and bioengineers have worked on implant pathology, vaccine delivery and drug delivery for decades. What has changed now is the broad acceptance that engineers are critical for understanding fundamental immunology, modeling diseases and disease outcomes, developing new tools for high throughput assays and analysis, providing new strategies for immune-modulation, and improving our understanding of the immune system through systems immunology and synthetic biology.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E Immunologists and biologists have been the first to embrace the idea of partnering with engineers, develop new quantitative tools to study and solve diseases, and to understand the fundamental physics and chemistry of the immune system. The landscape of how we look at a disease process and how we benchmark normal homeostasis has clearly shifted to an engineering-driven approach. Immunologists, biologists and clinicians have converged with physicists, chemists, computational scientist as well as chemical, electrical, mechanical and bioengineers to launch an all-out attack against devastating diseases using the immune system as their fundamental weapon. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E It is in this backdrop that this past fall Georgia Tech launched what could be the first ever \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.immunoengineering.gatech.edu\u0022\u003ECenter for Immunoengineering\u003C\/a\u003E in the nation. Given GT\u0027s strength in biosciences and bioengineering under the convergence of the Parker H. Petit Institute of Bioengineering \u0026amp; Bioscience, along with its partnership with the world renowned immunology expertise at Emory, this was an obvious choice, but certainly a visionary one. More than 30 faculty across 7 schools are part of this unique endeavor that, for the first time provides a concerted effort in engineering our immune system and solving some of the most critical problems in human health: from cancer to HIV, from diabetes to transplant rejection, from regenerative medicine to multiple sclerosis. Earlier this year, powered by a strong support from the Georgia Research Alliance (GRA), Georgia Tech and Emory launched the broader \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.immunoengineering-georgia.org\u0022\u003EGeorgia Immunoengineering Consortium\u003C\/a\u003E (GIEC). With over 60 faculty members from both universities and incredible support from the GRA, Georgia Tech and Emory administrations, the GIEC is poised to become the world leader in creating breakthrough engineering tools, methods and solutions for understanding and modulating the immune system and developing new solutions for personalized and predictive health-care. We envision that in the near future when a patient walks into their office, doctors would routinely and rapidly assess the comprehensive \u201cimmune-status\u201d of a patient just like they do a blood test or an MRI, take that assessment data and quantitatively predict immune function and disease state using modeling and data-driven analysis and finally use materials-driven tools and engineering approaches to enhance and modulate the patient\u2019s immune system and eliminate or alleviate their disease. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E In the midst of this exciting research environment, it is critical that we develop sound policies to train our students and fellows in this emerging \u201cconvergence science\u201d area of Immunoengineering. As I look back to my own training decades ago, I realize the fundamental principle remains the same. Trainees must be versed at both languages; they must fundamentally understand immunology and biology, experience the clinical and basic science needs and then apply their sound engineering, analytical and design skills to solve problems. On the other hand immunologists and clinical fellows need to be immersed in the engineering science, through partnership with their engineering colleagues, so that they can use these new tools and methods seamlessly. It is this true convergence of multiple experts that would allow us to advance human health. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI am excited to be part of this tremendous effort that has brought together a public and a private university with a citizen-funded non-profit; a unique partnership that is rare in this country. We are off to a great start. Now, we have to deliver. There is much enthusiasm and expectation and we as engineers and scientists, immunologists and clinicians must keep in mind that at the end we are in it to help our fellow citizens; our children and parents, our friends and families and many others whom we have never met or will ever meet.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Krishnendu Roy talks about the Center for Immunoengineering at Georgia Tech"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EKrishnendu Roy talks about the Center for Immunoengineering at Georgia Tech\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Krishnendu Roy talks about the Center for Immunoengineering at Georgia Tech"}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-05-05 10:17:58","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:22","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-05-05T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-05-05T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"242711":{"id":"242711","type":"image","title":"Krishnendu Roy, PhD","body":null,"created":"1449243704","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:41:44","changed":"1475894919","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:48:39","alt":"Krishnendu Roy, PhD","file":{"fid":"197829","name":"roy_krish.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/roy_krish.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/roy_krish.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":13278,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/roy_krish.jpg?itok=l7uPtvh0"}}},"media_ids":["242711"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.immunoengineering.gatech.edu\/","title":"Immunoengineering website"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.immunoengineering-georgia.org\/","title":"Georgia ImmunoEngineering Consortium"}],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:krishnendu.roy@bme.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EKrishnendu Roy, PhD\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EDirector, Center for Immunoengineering at Georgia Tech\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["krishnendu.roy@bme.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"295031":{"#nid":"295031","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Global Biomedical Engineering Program Graduates First Atlanta Triple-Degree Doctorate","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThis May, Warren Gray will be the first Atlanta student to graduate from the Global Biomedical Engineering (BME) joint Ph.D. program, a partnership of Emory University, Georgia Institute of Technology and Peking University (PKU). To honor this milestone, Emory invited Gray to serve as the Marshall in their commencement, carrying the banner for the school and leading the line of soon-to-be graduates to convocation. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBy participating in two different commencement ceremonies this month, Gray knows that he\u2019s \u201ca bit of an anomaly\u201d \u2014 usually Emory and Georgia Tech BME students pick one ceremony to attend, \u201cbut I\u2019ve worked at both institutions, so I\u2019ll walk at both institutions,\u201d he says. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECreated by the Emory School of Medicine and Georgia Tech College of Engineering, the interdisciplinary BME program represents a collaboration between public and private universities that is both highly unusual and highly acclaimed \u2014 since its founding in 1997, the BME program has been ranked second in the nation by U.S. News \u0026amp; World Report. Warren is the first to graduate from the Emory \/ Georgia Tech side; Three students from the PKU side of the program have also graduated.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EDuring the first two years of his program, Gray attended classes at both Emory and Georgia Tech, co-advised by professors in labs at both schools. His third year was spent in China, fulfilling a desire \u201cto interface with people scientifically and culturally.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EGray\u2019s first year of research was spent exploring how microscopic nanoparticles could be used as a vehicle to deliver therapeutic drug molecules directly to heart muscle cells to aid cardiac function. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhile in China, his focus expanded to enhancing the heart\u2019s regenerative potential, specifically by improving blood vessel formation to help increase blood flow to the heart. His research was built upon employing \u201ca new type of architecture\u201d for cell-based drug delivery, using bow-tie dendrimers \u2014 a class of radially symmetric, branched polymers. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESince returning to Emory, Gray\u2019s work has centered on an emerging realm of stem cell therapy, specifically the regenerative potential of exosomes \u2014 small molecules which signal cells to help form blood vessels and mitigate scar formation in damaged heart tissue. It\u2019s possible that someday, a pharmaceutical company could \u201cfarm\u201d and concentrate those secreted exosomes, which might then be injected directly into damaged heart tissue, Gray notes. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHe\u2019s already working with Emory on filing a provisional patent surrounding his research. Gray says. \u201cThis is something that could actually be helping patients within the next decade.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EGray defended his doctoral work in March, but has remained at Emory to continue collaborating with his research adviser Michael Davis, associate professor and director of the Pediatric Center for Cardiovascular Biology at Emory School of Medicine.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Warren Gray to be first Atlanta graduate of the joint PhD program at Georgia Tech, Emory and Peking University"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWarren Gray to be first graduate of the joint PhD program at Georgia Tech, Emory and Peking University\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Warren Gray to be first graduate of the joint PhD program at Georgia Tech, Emory and Peking University"}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-05-05 11:03:35","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:22","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-05-05T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-05-05T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"295021":{"id":"295021","type":"image","title":"Warren Gray - first student to receive triple-degree doctorate from Georgia Tech, Emory University and Peking University","body":null,"created":"1449244514","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:55:14","changed":"1475894993","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:53","alt":"Warren Gray - first student to receive triple-degree doctorate from Georgia Tech, Emory University and Peking University","file":{"fid":"199368","name":"graywarren2014.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/graywarren2014_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/graywarren2014_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":968295,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/graywarren2014_0.jpg?itok=_ipCq5tj"}}},"media_ids":["295021"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/groups.bme.gatech.edu\/groups\/davislab\/davislab\/HOME.html","title":"Davis lab website"},{"url":"https:\/\/pku.bme.gatech.edu\/","title":"Global Biomedical Engineering Program"}],"groups":[{"id":"1254","name":"Wallace H. Coulter Dept. of Biomedical Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:adrianne.proeller@bme.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EAdrianne Proeller\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003EWriter, Wallace H. Coulter \u003Cbr \/\u003EDepartment of Biomedical Engineering\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["adrianne.proeller@bme.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"294871":{"#nid":"294871","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Two Georgia Tech Graduate Students Named Whitaker International Fellows and Scholars","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAlice Cheng and James Wade to study abroad for one year.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETwo graduate students in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering have been named as Whitaker International Fellows and Scholars. Alice Cheng and James Wade will each be traveling abroad to broaden their research knowledge and learn new skills and techniques. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe Whitaker International Program sends emerging leaders in U.S. biomedical engineering or bioengineering programs overseas to undertake a self-designed project that will enhance their careers within the field. The goal of the program is to assist the development of professional leaders who are not only superb scientists, but who also will advance the profession through an international outlook.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAlice Cheng, a third year PhD is advised by Barbara Boyan, PhD, and her research is on structural and surface modifications of titanium, including additive manufacturing techniques, for better orthopaedic and dental implants. She will be traveling to Peking University for one year to work with Haifeng Chen, PhD, on novel surface nano-modifications and characterization methods. By varying 3D porosity parameters and multi-scale surface roughness, osteoblast (bone) cell response and osseointegration of the implant can be drastically improved. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECheng earned her B.S. in biomedical engineering from the Pennsylvania State University in 2011, and during her tenure traveled to Morrocco, Kenya, China, India and Hungary for various engineering projects. She was a recipient of the National Science Foundation (NSF) graduate research fellowship in 2011, and has authored six publications and presented at over 9 conferences. \u0026nbsp;Cheng completed a certificate in Management of Technology through the Georgia Tech College of Management and is also a former participant of the Graduate Leadership Program at Georgia Tech. She also served as former vice president of the American Society for Engineering Education at Georgia Tech and is excited for new opportunities to create global collaborations in engineering education while at Peking University. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EJames Wade is a third year graduate student is conducting research in the lab of Eberhard Voit, PhD. Wade\u0027s\u0026nbsp;current research is to develop and analyze models of intracellular signaling dynamics in the context of cancer and phenotypic transitions. He will spend twelve months in the lab of Bernd Bodenmiller, PhD, at the University of Zurich (UZH) as a member of the joint Systems Biology program between ETHZ and UZH. Bodenmiller is a leader in the field of cell signaling and co-developer of mass cytometry (CyTOF) - a new high-throughput technique that can measure up to 100 proteins simultaneously in single cells. During his time in Switzerland Wade will learn to preform CyTOF experiments and work with the Bodenmiller lab to model growth factor signaling in breast cancer cells as they undergo induced epithelial-mesenchymal transitions (EMT - a critical process in metastasis). The goal being to identify new and combinatorial therapeutic drug targets and to better understand intracellular signaling and how it changes with cell phenotype.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWade received his B.S. in Industrial Engineering with High Honor from Georgia Tech in 2010. As an undergrad his research involved supply chain modeling and large scale network optimization for the World Food Programme (food aid arm of the United Nations and largest humanitarian logistics provider in the world). Wade was awarded the G.F. Amelio Fellowship from Georgia Tech\u0027s College of Engineering in 2010 and he is an National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow. Outside of the lab, Wade is a former U.S. National Champion in Whitewater Slalom Kayaking and was the 2012 London U.S. Olympic Team Alternate for the sport.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Alice Cheng and James Wade to study abroad for one year"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAlice Cheng and James Wade to study abroad for one year.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Alice Cheng and James Wade to study abroad for one year"}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-05-05 08:24:25","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:22","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-05-05T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-05-05T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"294931":{"id":"294931","type":"image","title":"Whitaker International Fellows and Scholars","body":null,"created":"1449244514","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:55:14","changed":"1475894993","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:53","alt":"Whitaker International Fellows and Scholars","file":{"fid":"199364","name":"whitaker-logo.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/whitaker-logo_0.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/whitaker-logo_0.png","mime":"image\/png","size":2759,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/whitaker-logo_0.png?itok=EZ4cpEih"}}},"media_ids":["294931"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/roylab.gatech.edu\/roy\/index.html","title":"Roy lab website"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.bst.bme.gatech.edu\/","title":"Eberhard Voit lab website"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.whitaker.org\/grants\/fellows-scholars","title":"Whitaker International Program"}],"groups":[{"id":"1254","name":"Wallace H. Coulter Dept. of Biomedical Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:mcdevitt@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EMegan McDevitt\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EDirector, Communications \u0026amp; Marketing\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering \u0026amp; Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["mcdevitt@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"300391":{"#nid":"300391","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Pamela Peralta-Yahya Recognized as Young Professors for Scientific Innovation","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ECongratulations to Professor Pamela Peralta-Yahya who was just announced as a member of the 2014 Class of DuPont Young Professors. The DuPont Young Professor program is designed to help promising young and untenured research faculty who work in areas of interest to DuPont begin their research careers, and Pamela is one of 10 members of this year\u2019s class.\u0026nbsp; Congratulations, Professor Peralta-Yahya!\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Congratulations to Professor Pamela Peralta-Yahya who was just announced as a member of the 2014 Class of DuPont Young Professors."}],"uid":"27349","created_gmt":"2014-05-30 14:43:38","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:29","author":"Floyd Wood","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-05-08T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-05-08T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"300401":{"id":"300401","type":"image","title":"Pamela Peralta-Yahya","body":null,"created":"1449244572","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:56:12","changed":"1475895004","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:04","alt":"Pamela Peralta-Yahya","file":{"fid":"199519","name":"ppy.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ppy_1.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ppy_1.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":70040,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/ppy_1.jpg?itok=sA8llaB5"}}},"media_ids":["300401"],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"294881":{"#nid":"294881","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Graduate Student Receives Ford Foundation Fellowship","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EChristian Rivera selected for superior academic achievement.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EChristian Rivera is one of approximately sixty graduate students nation-wide to receive a Ford Foundation Fellowship. Applicants were evaluated by panels of distinguished scholars selected by the National Academies and are selected for their superior academic achievement and who will serve as a role model in teaching and research.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022With the Ford Fellowship I hope not to only fund my research, but to pursue endeavors in teaching and education,\u0022 Rivera stated. \u0022Having completed a year as a teaching assistant I have found to really enjoy teaching. Knowing the Ford Foundation\u0027s strong commitment to education, I plan to seek other teaching opportunities in the future.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOriginally from Somerville, NJ, Rivera graduated with a Bachelor\u0027s of Science in Biomedical Engineering from Purdue University. As a second year graduate student in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, he is researching sickle cell disease in associate professor Manu Platt\u0027s laboratory, with a primary focus on how strokes are occurring in young children with the disease. His unique approach uses computational fluid dynamics in order to create simulations of the blood flow in the cerebral vasculature.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThrough its Fellowship Programs, the Ford Foundation seeks to increase the diversity of the nation\u2019s college and university faculties by increasing their ethnic and racial diversity, to maximize the educational benefits of diversity, and to increase the number of professors who can and will use diversity as a resource for enriching the education of all students.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Christian Rivera selected for superior academic achievement"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EChristian Rivera selected for superior academic achievement\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Christian Rivera selected for superior academic achievement"}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-05-05 08:35:48","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:22","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-05-05T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-05-05T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"294891":{"id":"294891","type":"image","title":"Christian Rivera wins Ford Foundation Fellowship","body":null,"created":"1449244514","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:55:14","changed":"1475894993","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:53","alt":"Christian Rivera wins Ford Foundation Fellowship","file":{"fid":"199361","name":"riverachristianarticleimage5.2014.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/riverachristianarticleimage5.2014_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/riverachristianarticleimage5.2014_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":12605,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/riverachristianarticleimage5.2014_0.jpg?itok=Il1GTOVA"}},"294901":{"id":"294901","type":"image","title":"Christian Rivera, graduate student in the lab of Manu Platt, PhD","body":null,"created":"1449244514","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:55:14","changed":"1475894993","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:53","alt":"Christian Rivera, graduate student in the lab of Manu Platt, PhD","file":{"fid":"199362","name":"riverachristianarticleheadshot5.2014.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/riverachristianarticleheadshot5.2014_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/riverachristianarticleheadshot5.2014_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":72306,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/riverachristianarticleheadshot5.2014_0.jpg?itok=OiOvfVVu"}}},"media_ids":["294891","294901"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/groups.bme.gatech.edu\/groups\/platt\/","title":"Platt lab"},{"url":"http:\/\/sites.nationalacademies.org\/pga\/fordfellowships\/index.htm","title":"Ford Foundation Fellowship Program"}],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:mcdevitt@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EMegan McDevitt\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EDirector, Communications \u0026amp; Marketing\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering \u0026amp; Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["mcdevitt@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"294131":{"#nid":"294131","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Obama to Name El-Sayed to President\u0027s Committee on the National Medal of Science","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe White House announced President Barack Obama intends to name Georgia Tech Chemistry and Biochemistry Professor Mostafa El-Sayed to a key post, the President\u2019s Committee on the National Medal of Science. This honor will be one of many prestigious titles El-Sayed has acquired since becoming a Regents Professor and Julius Brown Chair to Georgia Tech in 1994. He received the National Medal of Science from President George W. Bush in 2007.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEl-Sayed\u2019s appointment will last for the next three years, where he\u2019ll help to select nominations for future appointments to the White House administration from various branches of science.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI am grateful that these talented and dedicated individuals have agreed to take on these important roles and devote their talents to serving the American people,\u201d President Obama said. \u201cI look forward to working with them in the coming months and years.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEl-Sayed\u2019s research group is a part of Georgia Tech\u2019s Laser Dynamics Laboratory, exploring the potential uses for nanoparticles in nanomedicine and plasmonics. El-Sayed is a member of the National Academy of Science and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, as well as a fellow of the American Physical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Chemical Society. He is poised to become an equally exemplary member to Obama\u2019s administration.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Mostafa El-Sayed receives 3 year appointment to key White House committee"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMostafa El-Sayed receives 3 year appointment to key White House committee\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Mostafa El-Sayed receives 3 year appointment to key White House committee"}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-04-30 12:28:27","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:18","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-04-30T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-04-30T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"71033":{"id":"71033","type":"image","title":"Mostafa El-Sayed","body":null,"created":"1449177338","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:15:38","changed":"1475894628","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:43:48"}},"media_ids":["71033"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/ldl.gatech.edu\/","title":"Mostafa Laser Dynamics Lab"}],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[{"id":"132","name":"Institute Leadership"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:drakeleep@gatech.edu\u0022\u003EDrake Lee-Patterson\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["drakeleep@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"293581":{"#nid":"293581","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Petit Institute Adds New Super-Res Microscope to Core Facilities","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EResearchers in the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience are developing a clearer picture of biological inner space thanks to a new super-resolution fluorescence microscope, the newest piece of equipment in the institute\u2019s core facilities universe.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E \u201cI call it the million dollar microscope,\u201d says Steve Woodard, core facilities manager at the Petit Institute. \u201cThis is not the kind of equipment you\u2019re going to find on just any university campus.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003EThe versatile Zeiss Elyra PS. 1 microscope was installed in the Petit Biotechnology building in late February, and it has allowed student and faculty researchers a better view of unseen elements of life.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E \u201cMy lab has already used it to resolve how nanoparticles cluster on the cell surface, which is really neat because normally, nanoparticles are too small to resolve,\u201d says Christine Payne, Petit Institute faculty member and associate professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry. \u003Cbr \/\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003EGetting a closer, clearer look at how nanoparticles interact with cells could lead to the design of improved drug delivery systems, says Payne, who serves on the Core Facilities Advisory Committee and suggested to the group that the Petit Institute could really benefit from the state-of-the-art microscope. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E They readily agreed, and she took the lead in submitting the grant proposal that secured $469,000 through the National Science Foundation\u2019s Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program, designed to increase access to shared scientific and engineering equipment for universities and other non-profit research centers. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E \u201cYou see, here was a researcher who identified a need for facilities, and had the backing and support of the Petit Institute,\u201d says Woodard with the air of someone who has seen this happen before, because he has.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E Woodard has seen core facilities grow all around him in the nearly 20 years he\u2019s been with the Petit Institute, from one confocal microscope in a single room to $15 million of equipment \u2013 50 pieces scattered over 3,000 feet of unconnected space, and this latest piece arrived in similar fashion to all the other stuff that came before it.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E \u201cIt really took a group effort, in every sense,\u201d Woodard says.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E For one thing, according to Payne, about 25 people were involved in the proposal to get the microscope, including the Petit Institute\u2019s grand administrator, Rachel Cochran. But the team approached worked especially well when it came down to counting pennies.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E NSF granted almost half a million, and Woodward says, \u201cwe were still short, but the College of Engineering and the College of Sciences, as well as the Petit Institute, really stepped up the plate and made it happen.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E So did the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, the School of Biology, and the School of Physics. That collective largesse brings to the Petit Institute a versatile microscope, designed to take imaging beyond the diffraction limit of standard confocal microscopy, utilizing either structured illumination microscopy (SIM) to increase the resolving capabilities down to about 100 nm (nanometers), or photo activation light microscopy (PALM), to resolve down to 20 nm.\u003Cbr \/\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003E The main advantage of fluorescence microscopy, as opposed to something like electron microscopy, is its compatibility with living cells.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E \u201cThis microscope uses what I\u2019d call optical tricks and specialized image processing systems to get you down to an amazing level of resolution, beyond the normal resolution of visible light,\u201d Payne says. \u201cOne of the advantages of that is, we can use live cells. And that\u2019s a big deal because we like to use live samples.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E Her grad students apparently like the new microscope so much they invited the co-developer of the first super-high-resolution PALM microscope, Eric Betzig, to be their speaker at the Peter B. Sherry Lecture (Thursday and Friday, April 24-25). It\u2019s an annual event hosted by the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry\u2019s Graduate Student Forum.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E In Thursday night\u2019s opening lecture, Betzig, whose lab develops optical imaging tools at Janelia Farm (part of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute outside Washington, D.C.), gave a rundown of his history in the field, and where Janelia\u2019s groundbreaking research is headed, to the approximately 100 students and faculty in attendance.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E Betzig, one of the innovators in his field, spoke frankly and humorously (and occasionally bluntly) about advancements in microscopy. Bottom line: There\u2019s lots of inner space left to explore.|\u003Cbr \/\u003E \u201cThe good news is,\u201d Betzig says, \u201cthat the standard tools biologists use to study live cells leave a lot of room for improvement.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Microscope will give closer, clearer look at how nano particles interact with cells"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMicroscope will give closer, clearer look at how nano particles interacts with cells\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Microscope will give closer, clearer look at how nano particles interact with cells"}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-04-28 11:57:29","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:18","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-04-28T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-04-28T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"293731":{"id":"293731","type":"image","title":"Christine Payne, PhD, and Steve Woodard with the Petit Institute\u0027s new core facility Super Resolution Microscrope","body":null,"created":"1449244313","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:51:53","changed":"1475894991","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:51","alt":"Christine Payne, PhD, and Steve Woodard with the Petit Institute\u0027s new core facility Super Resolution Microscrope","file":{"fid":"199311","name":"paynechristineandwoodardsteve-cropped.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/paynechristineandwoodardsteve-cropped_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/paynechristineandwoodardsteve-cropped_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":588224,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/paynechristineandwoodardsteve-cropped_0.jpg?itok=0pOkHO7O"}},"293571":{"id":"293571","type":"image","title":"Christine Payne, PhD - School of Chemistry \u0026 Biochemistry","body":null,"created":"1449244313","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:51:53","changed":"1475894991","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:51","alt":"Christine Payne, PhD - School of Chemistry \u0026 Biochemistry","file":{"fid":"199309","name":"paynechristine.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/paynechristine_0.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/paynechristine_0.png","mime":"image\/png","size":111877,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/paynechristine_0.png?itok=UP61oh4w"}}},"media_ids":["293731","293571"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/openwetware.org\/wiki\/Payne_Lab","title":"Payne Lab"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.ibb.gatech.edu\/core-facilities","title":"IBB Core Facilities"}],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Instistute for Bioengineering \u0026amp; Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"291041":{"#nid":"291041","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Two Petit Institute Graduate Students Receive Philanthropic Educational Organization Award","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMarian Hettiaratchi and Ariel Kniss, Ph.D. candidates in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, are two of 85 doctoral students nationwide selected to receive a $15,000 Scholar Award from the Philanthropic Educational Organization (P.E.O.) Sisterhood. Both were sponsored by the Georgia P.E.O. Chapter. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe P.E.O. Scholar Awards (PSA) were established in 1991 to provide substantial merit-based awards for the women of the United States and Canada who are pursuing a doctoral level degree at an accredited college or university. The P.E.O. Sisterhood, founded January 21, 1869, at Iowa Wesleyan College, Mount Pleasant, Iowa, is a philanthropic educational organization interested in bringing increased opportunities for higher education to women. There are approximately 6,000 local chapters in the United States and Canada with nearly a quarter of a million active members. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EHettiaratchi is a third year Ph.D. candidate. She received a BSc. in Chemical and Biomedical Engineering in 2011 from the University of Calgary, where she worked on several stem cell bioprocessing projects at the Pharmaceutical Production Research Facility (PPRF) under the supervision of Arindom Sen, Ph.D. She is currently co-advised by professors Todd McDevitt, Ph.D. and Robert Guldberg, Ph.D., working on a project that aims to improve biotherapeutic strategies for bone regeneration and repair. Hettiaratchi is developing novel glycosaminoglycan-based biomaterials for the sustained delivery of pluripotent stem cell morphogens to bone injury sites. This project presents a unique \u201ccell-free\u201d strategy for harnessing the regenerative potential of pluripotent stem cells by capturing and delivering the potent proteins they secrete. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EKniss is also in her third year of graduate school working with associate professor, Melissa Kemp, Ph.D., and professor, Hang Lu, Ph.D. She graduated summa cum laude from Bucknell University in 2011 fulfilling degrees in Mathematics and Biology. The overall objective of her research is to better characterize the cross talk between calcium and Reactive Oxygen Signaling (ROS) during T-cell activation and to ultimately determine subpopulation heterogeneity. The innovation of this lies in the combined use of novel microfluidic devices capable of applying robust dynamic stimulation with soluble cues, such as hydrogen peroxide, and a controls-based computational model capable of extracting key dominant pathways within the complex signaling network. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn addition to the PSA, Hettiaratchi is also a recipient of a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) doctoral fellowship and has presented her work at national and international conferences, including the annual Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society \u2013 Americas (TERMIS-AM) conference and Regenerative Medicine Workshop at Hilton Head Island. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EKniss is a Georgia Tech President\u0027s Fellow and also received a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship in 2012. She has presented her work at the Frontiers in Systems and Synthetic Biology (FSSB) Conference in 2013 and at the 2014 ImmunoEngineering Symposium.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Marian Hettiaratchi and Ariel Kniss receive $15K scholarship"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMarian Hettiaratchi and Ariel Kniss receive $15K scholarship\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Marian Hettiaratchi and Ariel Kniss receive $15K scholarship"}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-04-16 11:02:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:15","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-04-22T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-04-22T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"291131":{"id":"291131","type":"image","title":"Ariel Kniss and Marian Hettiaratchi","body":null,"created":"1449244289","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:51:29","changed":"1475894988","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:48","alt":"Ariel Kniss and Marian Hettiaratchi","file":{"fid":"199236","name":"hettiaratchimarianknissariel.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/hettiaratchimarianknissariel_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/hettiaratchimarianknissariel_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3418171,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/hettiaratchimarianknissariel_0.jpg?itok=i4BXioSw"}}},"media_ids":["291131"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/guldberglab.gatech.edu\/","title":"Guldberg Musculoskeletal Research Lab"},{"url":"http:\/\/mcdevitt.gatech.edu\/","title":"McDevitt Research Lab"},{"url":"http:\/\/kemp.gatech.edu\/","title":"Kemp lab"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.lulab.gatech.edu\/","title":"Lu lab"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.peointernational.org\/","title":"P.E.O. International"}],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[{"id":"42941","name":"Art Research"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:colly.mitchell@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EColly Mitchell\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["colly.mitchell@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"291851":{"#nid":"291851","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Counterfeit Contraceptives Found In South America","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA survey of emergency contraceptive pills in Peru found that 28 percent of the batches studied were either of substandard quality or falsified. Many pills released the active ingredient too slowly. Others had the wrong active ingredient. One batch had no active ingredient at all.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo detect the fake drugs, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology developed a sophisticated approach using mass spectrometry to quickly assess suspected counterfeit drugs and then characterize their chemical composition. The study\u2019s results highlight a growing concern for women\u2019s health in developing nations.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cA woman who does not want to get pregnant and takes these emergency contraceptives will get pregnant,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ww2.chemistry.gatech.edu\/fernandez\/\u0022\u003EFacundo M. Fern\u00e1ndez\u003C\/a\u003E, a professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, whose lab investigated the contraceptives.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe study was sponsored by the ACT Consortium through a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The study was published April 18 in the journal \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0095353\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EPLOS ONE\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDrugs are considered fake or falsified when someone makes a pirate copy of copies a patented drug, with criminal intent. Recent research has found that falsified drugs are a major problem in developing countries. Falsified emergency contraceptives have been reported in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Angola, South America and even the United States. Fake drug manufacturers will copy everything from the pill to the package.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EJust as concerning as counterfeit medications are other poor quality medications, such as degraded or substandard drugs. Degraded drugs were once good quality, but lost their efficacy over time, for example after prolonged exposure to the sun in an open air market.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESubstandard drugs are made by an approved factory, but they don\u2019t contain the right active ingredient, contain less active ingredient than they should, or might not dissolve properly. These pills either result from factory error or negligence.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFalsified drugs are the most worrisome, because they may not contain the expected active ingredient, or they may contain the wrong ingredients, including toxic compounds.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the survey of emergency contraceptives from Peru, the researchers found that seven of the 25 batches analyzed had inadequate release of the active ingredient (levonorgestrel). One batch had no detectable level of the active ingredient.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe detected that the active ingredient was not there in one batch, instead those samples had a drug called sulfamethoxazole,\u201d Fernandez said. \u201cIt\u2019s a very common antibiotic. It can cause serious adverse reactions in some patients.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor the study, samples of emergency contraceptives were purchased at 15 pharmacies and distributors in Lima, Peru, with 60 tables purchased per sample. Tablets were collected from 25 different product batches encompassing 20 brands labeled as manufactured in nine countries (Argentina, Chile, China, Colombia, Hungary, India, Pakistan, Peru and Uruguay).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnalyzing these samples is time consuming and costly with standard tools, so Fernandez\u2019s lab developed a method for a quick screen to identify problematic pills. The first-pass screen then allows the researchers to focus a sophisticated analysis on drugs that are suspected fakes. The drugs that pass the screen will still be closely analyzed, but after the suspected fakes.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFernandez\u2019s lab used a tool called ambient mass spectrometry. Scientists in the lab grasp a tablet with a pair of tweezers and swing it front of the instrument to get a real-time signature of the tablet\u2019s chemical composition.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cVery quickly we pick out which ones are the problems,\u201d Fernandez said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETheir analysis is a tiered-approach. First they look for the presence and identity of the active ingredient. Then they look to see if the right amount is present. Then they test if the pill properly dissolves. Many sophisticated fake pills might pass all these tests, so the scientists also look at the filler in the pills, known as the excipients, such as lactose and cellulose.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMany fakes are very sophisticated. They have the right active ingredient and they may even have the right amount, but the excipients or coatings may not be the right ones,\u201d Fernandez said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHis students have processed thousands of samples and can spot many fake pills before performing the analysis.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThey touch it a bit with their nails and they try to cut into it and they know it\u2019s like a rock, just way too hard,\u201d Fernandez said. \u201cThe tablets are sometimes so hard that they won\u2019t dissolve. That\u2019s something that you pick up pretty quickly.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFernandez\u2019s lab is working to make these mass spectrometry tools portable so that researchers might be able to do these analyses in the field.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cYou really want to catch these fakes early, at the customs level or at the distribution center level,\u201d Fernandez said. \u201cYou don\u2019t want to wait for this to get to the pharmacy or for somebody to report it.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis research is supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Any conclusions or opinions are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the sponsoring agency.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECITATION:\u003C\/strong\u003E Mar\u00eda Eugenia Monge, et al., \u201cA Tiered Analytical Approach for Investigating Poor Quality Emergency Contraceptives.\u201d (\u003Cem\u003EPLOS ONE\u003C\/em\u003E, April 2014) \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0095353\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0095353\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E177 North Avenue\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, Georgia 30332-0181 USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/GTResearchNews\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E@GTResearchNews\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts:\u003C\/strong\u003E Brett Israel (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/btiatl\u0022\u003E@btiatl\u003C\/a\u003E) (404-385-1933) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or John Toon (404-894-6986) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter:\u003C\/strong\u003E Brett Israel\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"More than a quarter of emergency contraceptives were falsified or substandard"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA survey of emergency contraceptive pills in Peru found that 28 percent of the batches studied were either of substandard quality or falsified. Many pills released the active ingredient too slowly. Others had the wrong active ingredient. One batch had no active ingredient at all.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A survey of emergency contraceptive pills in Peru found that 28 percent of the batches studied were either of substandard quality or falsified. Many pills released the active ingredient too slowly."}],"uid":"27902","created_gmt":"2014-04-18 16:33:20","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:15","author":"Brett Israel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-04-18T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-04-18T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"291841":{"id":"291841","type":"image","title":"Falsified emergency contraceptives","body":null,"created":"1449244289","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:51:29","changed":"1475894988","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:48","alt":"Falsified emergency contraceptives","file":{"fid":"199264","name":"fernandezlab-04.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/fernandezlab-04_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/fernandezlab-04_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1505471,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/fernandezlab-04_0.jpg?itok=ONzR0a-6"}},"291831":{"id":"291831","type":"image","title":"Ambient mass spec","body":null,"created":"1449244289","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:51:29","changed":"1475894988","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:48","alt":"Ambient mass spec","file":{"fid":"199263","name":"fernandezlab-02.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/fernandezlab-02_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/fernandezlab-02_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2419036,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/fernandezlab-02_0.jpg?itok=1Q_R58YU"}}},"media_ids":["291841","291831"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[{"id":"91881","name":"ambient mass spectrometry"},{"id":"91871","name":"contraceptives"},{"id":"17301","name":"Facundo Fernandez"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71891","name":"Health and Medicine"},{"id":"71901","name":"Society and Culture"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBrett Israel\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404-385-1933\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"290291":{"#nid":"290291","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Fish From Acidic Ocean Waters Less Able to Smell Predators","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFish living on coral reefs where carbon dioxide seeps from the ocean floor were less able to detect predator odor than fish from normal coral reefs, according to a new study.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe study confirms laboratory experiments showing that the behavior of reef fishes can be seriously affected by increased carbon dioxide concentrations in the ocean. The new study is the first to analyze the sensory impairment of fish from CO\u003Csub\u003E2 \u003C\/sub\u003Eseeps, where pH is similar to what climate models forecast for surface waters by the turn of the century.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022These results verify our laboratory findings,\u0022 said \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/people\/danielle-dixson\u0022\u003EDanielle Dixson\u003C\/a\u003E, an assistant professor in the School of Biology at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. \u0022There\u0027s no difference between the fish treated with CO\u003Csub\u003E2\u003C\/sub\u003E in the lab in tests for chemical senses versus the fish we caught and tested from the CO\u003Csub\u003E2\u003C\/sub\u003E reef.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research was published in the April 13 Advance Online Publication of the journal \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1038\/NCLIMATE2195\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003ENature Climate Change\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E. Philip Munday, from \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.jcu.edu.au\/mtb\/staff\/az\/JCUDEV_016582.html\u0022\u003EJames Cook University in Australia\u003C\/a\u003E, was the study\u0027s lead author. The work was supported by the Australian Institute for Marine Science, a Grant for Research and Exploration by the National Geographic Society, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe pH of normal ocean surface water is around 8.14. The new study examined fish from so-called bubble reefs at a natural CO\u003Csub\u003E2\u003C\/sub\u003E seep in Papua New Guinea, where the pH is 7.8 on average. With today\u0027s greenhouse gas emissions, climate models forecast pH 7.8 for ocean surface waters by 2100, according to theIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We were able to test long-term realistic effects in this environment,\u0022 Dixson said. \u0022One problem with ocean acidification research is that it\u0027s all laboratory based, or you\u0027re testing something that\u0027s going to happen in a 100 years with fish that are from the present day, which is not actually accurate.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPrevious research had led to speculation that ocean acidification might not harm fish if they could buffer their tissues in acidified water by changing their bicarbonate levels. Munday and Dixson were the first to show that fishes\u0027 sensory systems are impaired under ocean acidification conditions in the laboratory. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022They can smell but they can\u0027t distinguish between chemical cues,\u0022 Dixson said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECarbon dioxide released into the atmosphere is absorbed into ocean waters, where it dissolves and lowers the pH of the water. Acidic waters affect fish behavior by disrupting a specific receptor in the nervous system, called GABA\u003Csub\u003EA,\u003C\/sub\u003E which is present in most marine organisms with a nervous system. When GABA\u003Csub\u003EA\u003C\/sub\u003E stops working, neurons stop firing properly.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECoral reef habitat studies have found that CO\u003Csub\u003E2\u003C\/sub\u003E-induced behavioral changes, similar to those observed in the new study, increase mortality from predation by more than fivefold in newly settled fish.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFish can smell a fish that eats another fish and will avoid water containing the scent. In Dixson\u0027s laboratory experiments, control fish given the choice between swimming in normal water or water spiked with the smell of a predator will choose the normal water. But fish raised in water acidified with carbon dioxide will choose to spend time in the predator-scented water.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EJuvenile fish living at the carbon dioxide seep and brought onto a boat for behavior testing had nearly the identical predator sensing impairment as juvenile fish reared at similar CO\u003Csub\u003E2 \u003C\/sub\u003Elevels in the lab, the new study found.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe fish from the bubble reef were also bolder. In one experiment, the team measured how far the fish roamed from a shelter and then created a disturbance to send the fish back to the shelter. Fish from the CO\u003Csub\u003E2\u003C\/sub\u003E seep emerged from the shelter at least six times sooner than the control fish after the disturbance.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDespite the dramatic effects of high CO\u003Csub\u003E2\u003C\/sub\u003E on fish behaviors, relatively few differences in species richness, species composition and relative abundances of fish were found between the CO\u003Csub\u003E2\u003C\/sub\u003E seep and the control reef.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The fish are metabolically the same between the control reef and the CO\u003Csub\u003E2 \u003C\/sub\u003Ereef,\u0022 Dixson said. \u0022At this point, we have only seen effects on their behavior.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers did find that the number of large predatory fishes was lower at the CO\u003Csub\u003E2 \u003C\/sub\u003Eseep compared to the control reef, which could offset the increased risk of mortality due to the fishes\u0027 abnormal behavior, the researchers said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn future work, the research team will test if fish could adapt or acclimate to acidic waters. They will first determine if the fish born at the bubble reef are the ones living there as adults, or if baby fish from the control reef are swimming to the bubble reef.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Whether or not this sensory effect is happening generationally is something that we don\u0027t know,\u0022 Dixson said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe results do show that what Dixson and colleagues found in the lab matches with what is seen in the field.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022It\u0027s a step in the right direction in terms of answering ocean acidification problems.\u0022 Dixson said. \u0022The alternative is just to wait 100 years. At least now we might prepare for what might be happening.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis research is supported by the Australian Institute for Marine Science, a Grant for Research and Exploration by the National Geographic Society, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies. Any conclusions or opinions are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the sponsoring agencies.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECITATION\u003C\/strong\u003E: Philip L. Munday, et al., \u0022Behavioural impairment in reef fishes caused by ocean acidification at CO2 seeps.\u0022 (\u003Cem\u003ENature Climate Change\u003C\/em\u003E, April 2014). \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1038\/NCLIMATE2195\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1038\/NCLIMATE2195\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003Cbr \/\u003E Georgia Institute of Technology\u003Cbr \/\u003E 177 North Avenue\u003Cbr \/\u003E Atlanta, Georgia\u0026nbsp; 30332-0181\u0026nbsp; USA\u003Cbr \/\u003E \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/GTResearchNews\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E@GTResearchNews\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts\u003C\/strong\u003E: Brett Israel (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/btiatl\u0022\u003E@btiatl\u003C\/a\u003E) (404-385-1933) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or John Toon (404-894-6986) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: Brett Israel\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Oddly behaving fish from a CO2 seep confirm laboratory experiments"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFish living on coral reefs where carbon dioxide seeps from the ocean floor were less able to detect predator odor than fish from normal coral reefs, according to a new study.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe study confirms laboratory experiments showing that the behavior of reef fishes can be seriously affected by increased carbon dioxide concentrations in the ocean. The new study is the first to analyze the sensory impairment of fish from CO\u003Csub\u003E2\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/sub\u003Eseeps, where pH is similar to what climate models forecast for surface waters by the turn of the century.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Fish living on coral reefs where carbon dioxide seeps from the ocean floor were less able to detect predator odor than fish from normal coral reefs, according to a new study."}],"uid":"27902","created_gmt":"2014-04-14 09:55:38","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:15","author":"Brett Israel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-04-14T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-04-14T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"290271":{"id":"290271","type":"image","title":"Damselfishes","body":null,"created":"1449244274","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:51:14","changed":"1475894888","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:48:08","alt":"Damselfishes","file":{"fid":"199216","name":"dascyllus.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/dascyllus_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/dascyllus_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":45607,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/dascyllus_0.jpg?itok=zFAfUR-F"}},"251891":{"id":"251891","type":"image","title":"Danielle Dixson","body":null,"created":"1449243813","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:43:33","changed":"1475894931","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:48:51","alt":"Danielle Dixson","file":{"fid":"198126","name":"danielle.dixson.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/danielle.dixson_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/danielle.dixson_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":251630,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/danielle.dixson_0.jpg?itok=ftrnOC13"}}},"media_ids":["290271","251891"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"154","name":"Environment"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[{"id":"91471","name":"bubble reef"},{"id":"91481","name":"carbon seep"},{"id":"831","name":"climate change"},{"id":"14760","name":"coral reef"},{"id":"91461","name":"damselfishes"},{"id":"91451","name":"fishes"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71911","name":"Earth and Environment"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBrett Israel\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404-385-1933\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/btiatl\u0022\u003E@btiatl\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"290161":{"#nid":"290161","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Bellamkonda Awarded National Clemson Award for Applied Research","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERavi Bellamkonda, Ph.D., Wallace H. Coulter Professor and Chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory, will receive the 2014 Clemson Award for Applied Research in recognition of \u0022significant utilization and application of basic knowledge in science to accomplish a significant goal in the biomaterials field.\u0022 Bellamkonda\u2019s research involves an exploration of the interplay of biomaterials and the nervous system for neural interfaces, peripheral and central nerve regeneration and targeted drug delivery brain tumor therapy. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBellamkonda, who has built a distinguished career in the health and engineering fields, will be honored this week during the opening ceremonies of the Society of Biomaterials annual meeting, April 16-19 in Denver, Colorado. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EGeorgia Tech has a rich history in biomaterials research, with over 25 faculty conducting research in the space. This marks the seventh time in the last eleven years that a Georgia Tech faculty member has received a national award from the Society for Biomaterials. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBellamkonda, also a Georgia Research Alliance Distinguished Scientist, currently serves as an elected Board of Director for the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) and is the President of the American Institute for Biological and Medical Engineering (AIMBE). He is on the editorial board for several journals, and advises several departments and programs nationally as a member of their external advisory boards. He has won numerous awards including a EUREKA award from the National Institutes of Health and a CAREER award from National Science Foundation. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cTo know Ravi is to appreciate a gentleman respectful of the personalities, potential and contributions of all, yet personally intense in his focus on benefiting society at large,\u201d stated Art Coury, who was part of the nomination team. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EEach year, the Society For Biomaterials solicits nominations for outstanding work in the Clemson Award categories. The history of these awards reflects the strong traditional ties between the Society For Biomaterials and Clemson University since 1974.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Ravi Bellamkonda recognized for significant accomplishments in the field of biomaterials"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERavi Bellamkonda recognized for significant accomplishments in the field of biomaterials\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Ravi Bellamkonda recognized for significant accomplishments in the field of biomaterials"}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-04-14 07:59:11","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:11","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-04-14T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-04-14T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"290171":{"id":"290171","type":"image","title":"Ravi Bellamkonda, PhD - Chair and Professor, Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering","body":null,"created":"1449244274","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:51:14","changed":"1475894986","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:46","alt":"Ravi Bellamkonda, PhD - Chair and Professor, Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering","file":{"fid":"199211","name":"bellamkondaravinamedchairsept2013vertical.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bellamkondaravinamedchairsept2013vertical_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bellamkondaravinamedchairsept2013vertical_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2950369,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/bellamkondaravinamedchairsept2013vertical_0.jpg?itok=ZTTv4EZk"}}},"media_ids":["290171"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.ravi.gatech.edu\/","title":"Bellamkonda lab website"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.bme.gatech.edu\/","title":"Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.bmes.org\/","title":"Biomedical Engineering Society"}],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[{"id":"140","name":"Cancer Research"},{"id":"132","name":"Institute Leadership"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:mcdevitt@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EMegan McDevitt\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EDirector Communications \u0026amp; Marketing\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering \u0026amp; Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["mcdevitt@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"289741":{"#nid":"289741","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Mechanical Forces Affect T-Cell Recognition and Signaling, Researchers Show","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ET-cells are the body\u2019s sentinels, patrolling every corner of the body in search of foreign threats such as bacteria and viruses. Receptor molecules on the T-cells identify invaders by recognizing their specific antigens, helping the T-cells discriminate attackers from the body\u2019s own cells. When they recognize a threat, the T-cells signal other parts of the immune system to confront the invader.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThese T-cells use a complex process to recognize the foreign pathogens and diseased cells. In a paper published this week in the journal \u003Cem\u003ECell\u003C\/em\u003E, researchers add a new level of understanding to that process by describing how the T-cell receptors (TCR) use mechanical contact \u2013 the forces involved in their binding to the antigens \u2013 to make decisions about whether or not the cells they encounter are threats.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis is the first systematic study of how T-cell recognition is affected by mechanical force, and it shows that forces play an important role in the functions of T-cells,\u201d said Cheng Zhu, a Regents\u2019 professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University. \u201cWe think that mechanical force plays a role in almost every step of T-cell biology.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers, who were supported by the National Institutes of Health, made their discoveries using a tiny sensor based on a single red blood cell, and a new technique for detecting calcium ions emitted by the T-cells as part of the signaling process. They independently studied the binding of antigens to more than a hundred individual T-cells, measuring the forces involved in the binding and the lifetimes of the bonds. That information was then correlated to the calcium signaling they observed.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAmong the findings, the researchers learned that interactions between the TCRs and agonist peptide-major histocompatibility complexes (MHC) form catch bonds that become stronger with the application of additional force to initiate intracellular signaling. Less active MHC complexes form slip bonds that weaken with force and don\u2019t initiate signaling. Overall, they found that the signaling outcome of an interaction between an antigen and a TCR depends on the magnitude, duration, frequency and timing of the force application.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cForce adds another dimension to interactions with T-cells,\u201d Zhu explained. \u201cAntigens that have a bond lifetime that is prolonged by force would have a higher likelihood of triggering signaling. Repeat engagements and lifetime accumulations play a role, and the decision to signal is usually made based on the accumulation of actions, not a single action.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe compared the force component of T-cell activation to multiple steps needed to enter a person\u2019s office inside a secured building. A key card and a personal identification number may first be necessary to enter the building, while an ordinary key might then be needed to get into a specific office. Requiring both recognition of an antigen and specific level of mechanical force may help the T-cell avoid activating when it shouldn\u2019t, Zhu said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EZhu compared the accumulation of bonds to the punches that a boxer sustains during a fight. A rare very hard single punch, or a series of lesser blows over a short period of time, can both lead to a knockout. But a series of light blows over a longer time may have no effect, Zhu said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearchers already have other examples of how mechanical force can affect the operation of cellular systems. For instance, mechanical stress created by blood flow acting on the endothelial cells that line blood vessel walls plays a role in the disease atherosclerosis. Force is also necessary for proper bone growth and healing. That mechanical forces would also play a role in the immune system therefore isn\u2019t surprising, Zhu said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe now have a broader recognition that the physical environment and mechanical environment regulate many of the biological phenomena in the body,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen you exert a force on the TCR bonds, some of them dissociate faster, while others come off more slowly. This has an effect on the response of the T-cell receptor.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn their experiments, Zhu and collaborators Baoyu Liu, Wei Chen and Brian Evavold used a biomembrane force probe to measure the strength and longevity of bonds between T cells and antigens. The probe consists, in part, of a red blood cell aspirated to a micropipette. Attached to the red blood cell is a bead on which researchers place the antigen under study. Using a delicate mechanism that precisely controls motion, the bead is then moved into contact with a T-cell receptor, allowing binding to take place.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo test the strength of bond formed between an antigen and the TCR, the researchers apply piconewton forces to separate the bead holding the antigen from the TCR. The red blood cell acts as a spring, stretching and allowing a measurement of the forces that must be applied to separate the TCR and antigen. The technique, which requires motion control at the nanometer scale, allows measurement of binding between the antigen and a single TCR.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo assess the impact of the binding on intracellular signaling, the researchers inject a dye into the cells that fluoresces when exposed to the calcium signaling ions. Detecting the fluorescence allowed the researchers to know when the mechanical force triggered T-cell signaling.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe can directly look at kinetics and signaling at the same time,\u201d explained Liu, a research scientist in the Coulter Department and co-first author of the paper. \u201cWe can observe the signaling directly induced by TCR interactions.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs a next step, Zhu\u2019s team would like to explore the effects of force on development of T-cells using the new experimental techniques. Evidence suggests that the forces to which the cells are exposed while they are in a juvenile stage may affect the fates of their development.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis research was supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), both part of National Institutes of Health, through awards AI38282 and GM096187. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECITATION\u003C\/strong\u003E: Baoyu Liu, Wei Chen, Brian D. Evavold and Cheng Zhu, \u201cAccumulation of Dynamic Catch Bonds between TCR and Agonist Peptide-MHC Triggers T-Cell Signaling, \u201c (Cell 2014). \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E177 North Avenue\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, Georgia\u0026nbsp; 30332-0181\u0026nbsp; USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) (404-894-6986) or Brett Israel (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) (404-385-1933).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EResearchers have developed a new understanding of the T-cell recognition process by describing how T-cell receptors use mechanical contact \u2013 the forces involved in their binding to antigens \u2013 to make decisions about whether or not the cells they encounter are threats.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Researchers have developed a new understanding of the T-cell recognition process that accounts for mechanical force."}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2014-04-10 10:43:24","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:11","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-04-10T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-04-10T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"289671":{"id":"289671","type":"image","title":"T-Cell Force 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Probe","file":{"fid":"199198","name":"t-cell-force3.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/t-cell-force3_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/t-cell-force3_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1834097,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/t-cell-force3_0.jpg?itok=2pVOOSbB"}},"289691":{"id":"289691","type":"image","title":"Biomembrane Force Probe2","body":null,"created":"1449244274","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:51:14","changed":"1475894986","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:46","alt":"Biomembrane Force Probe2","file":{"fid":"199199","name":"t-cell-force4.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/t-cell-force4_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/t-cell-force4_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":986687,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/t-cell-force4_0.jpg?itok=8Z071eEu"}},"289701":{"id":"289701","type":"image","title":"Biomembrane Force Probe3","body":null,"created":"1449244274","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:51:14","changed":"1475894986","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:46","alt":"Biomembrane Force Probe3","file":{"fid":"199200","name":"t-cell-force5.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/t-cell-force5_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/t-cell-force5_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1254064,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/t-cell-force5_0.jpg?itok=4zD0OaLs"}},"289711":{"id":"289711","type":"image","title":"Biomembrane Force Probe4","body":null,"created":"1449244274","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:51:14","changed":"1475894986","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:46","alt":"Biomembrane Force Probe4","file":{"fid":"199201","name":"t-cell-force6.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/t-cell-force6_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/t-cell-force6_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1318237,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/t-cell-force6_0.jpg?itok=od3rBnq8"}},"289721":{"id":"289721","type":"image","title":"T-Cell Force Research","body":null,"created":"1449244274","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:51:14","changed":"1475894986","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:46","alt":"T-Cell Force Research","file":{"fid":"199202","name":"t-cell-force1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/t-cell-force1_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/t-cell-force1_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1144212,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/t-cell-force1_0.jpg?itok=f0BCnXLp"}},"289731":{"id":"289731","type":"image","title":"Zhu Research Lab","body":null,"created":"1449244274","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:51:14","changed":"1475894986","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:46","alt":"Zhu Research Lab","file":{"fid":"199203","name":"t-cell-force7.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/t-cell-force7_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/t-cell-force7_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1416433,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/t-cell-force7_0.jpg?itok=XROXoHWR"}}},"media_ids":["289671","289681","289691","289701","289711","289721","289731"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"149","name":"Nanotechnology and Nanoscience"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"9893","name":"Cheng Zhu"},{"id":"14219","name":"Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering"},{"id":"9316","name":"immune system"},{"id":"62101","name":"mechanical force"},{"id":"91341","name":"T-cell"},{"id":"91351","name":"T-cell receptor"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71891","name":"Health and Medicine"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearch News\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E(404) 894-6986\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"289081":{"#nid":"289081","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Seeing Double: New Study Explains Evolution of Duplicate Genes","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFrom time to time, living cells will accidently make an extra copy of a gene during the normal replication process. Throughout the history of life, evolution has molded some of these seemingly superfluous genes into a source of genetic novelty, adaptation and diversity. A new study shows one way that some duplicate genes could have long-ago escaped elimination from the genome, leading to the genetic innovation seen in modern life.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearchers have shown that a process called DNA methylation can shield duplicate genes from being removed from the genome during natural selection. The redundant genes survive and are shaped by evolution over time, giving birth to new cellular functions. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis is the first study to show explicitly how the processes of DNA methylation and duplicate gene evolution are related,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/people\/soojin-yi\u0022\u003ESoojin Yi\u003C\/a\u003E, an associate professor in the School of Biology and the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience at the Georgia Institute of Technology. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe study was sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and was scheduled to be published the week of April 7 in the Online Early Edition of the journal \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.pnas.org\/content\/early\/2014\/04\/02\/1321420111\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EProceedings of the National Academy of Science\u003C\/em\u003Es\u003C\/a\u003E (PNAS).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAt least half of the genes in the human genome are duplicates. Duplicate genes are not only redundant, but they can be bad for cells. Most duplicate genes accumulate mutations at high rates, which increases the chance that the extra gene copies will become inactive and lost over time due to natural selection. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe new study found that soon after some duplicate genes form, small hydrocarbons called methyl groups attach to a duplicate gene\u2019s regulatory region and block the gene from turning on. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen a gene is methylated, it is shielded from natural selection, which allows the gene to hang around in the genome long enough for evolution to find a new use for it. Some young duplicate genes are silenced by methylation almost immediately after being formed, the study found.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhat we have done is the first step in the process to show that young gene duplicates seems to be heavily methylated,\u201d Yi said. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe study showed that the average level of DNA methylation on the duplicate gene regulatory region is significantly negatively correlated with evolutionary time. So, younger duplicate genes have high levels of DNA methylation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor about three-quarters of the duplicate gene pairs studied, the gene in a pair that was more methylated was always more methylated across all 10 human tissues studied, said Thomas Keller, a post-doctoral fellow at Georgia Tech and the study\u2019s first author. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cFor the tissues that we examined, there was remarkable consistency in methylation when we looked at duplicate gene pairs,\u201d Keller said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe computational study constructed a dataset of all human gene duplicates by comparing each sequence against every other sequence in the human genome. DNA methylation data was then obtained for the 10 different human tissues. The researchers used computer models to analyze the links between DNA methylation and gene duplication. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe human brain is one example of a tissue for which gene duplication has been particularly important for its evolution. In future studies, the researchers will examine the link between epigenetic evolution and human brain evolution. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis research is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under award numbers BCS-1317195 and MCB-0950896. Any conclusions or opinions are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the sponsoring agency.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECITATION\u003C\/strong\u003E: Thomas E. Keller, et al., \u201cDNA Methylation and Evolution of Duplicate Genes.\u201d (PNAS, April 2014). \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.dx.doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.1321420111\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.dx.doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.1321420111\u003C\/a\u003E \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E177 North Avenue\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, Georgia 30332-0181 USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/GTResearchNews\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E@GTResearchNews\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts:\u003C\/strong\u003E Brett Israel (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/btiatl\u0022\u003E@btiatl\u003C\/a\u003E) (404-385-1933) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or John Toon (404-894-6986) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter:\u003C\/strong\u003E Brett Israel\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFrom time to time, living cells will accidently make an extra copy of a gene during the normal replication process. Throughout the history of life, evolution has molded some of these seemingly superfluous genes into a source of genetic novelty, adaptation and diversity. A new study shows one way that some duplicate genes could have long-ago escaped elimination from the genome, leading to the genetic innovation seen in modern life.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Researchers have shown that a process called DNA methylation can shield duplicate genes from being removed from the genome during natural selection. The redundant genes survive and are shaped by evolution over time, giving birth to new cellular funct"}],"uid":"27902","created_gmt":"2014-04-08 09:39:10","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:11","author":"Brett Israel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-04-07T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-04-07T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"289071":{"id":"289071","type":"image","title":"Soojin Yi","body":null,"created":"1449244274","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:51:14","changed":"1475894986","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:46","alt":"Soojin Yi","file":{"fid":"199182","name":"yi.soojin.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/yi.soojin_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/yi.soojin_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":9253,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/yi.soojin_0.jpg?itok=CuGESKmR"}}},"media_ids":["289071"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[{"id":"1041","name":"dna"},{"id":"91141","name":"duplicate genes"},{"id":"3028","name":"evolution"},{"id":"5718","name":"Genetics"},{"id":"91131","name":"methylation"},{"id":"168087","name":"Soojin Yi"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71881","name":"Science and Technology"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBrett Israel\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404-385-1933\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.dx.doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.1321420111\u0022\u003E@btiatl\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"288931":{"#nid":"288931","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Class Notes: Stem Cell Engineering with Classmates from Cali to MIT","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe 10 graduate students are discussing stem cell population analysis, when it\u2019s time. Before they can continue the discussion, Todd McDevitt, the instructor, has to do one thing \u2014 turn on the TV.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThat\u2019s the beauty of this class, not only is the topic of stem cell engineering unique, but thanks to video conferencing technology, Georgia Tech students can now take a class with their peers from across the country,\u201d said McDevitt, an associate professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStem Cell Engineering (BMED 8813) has been offered since the spring of 2011 and was created by McDevitt as a way to educate graduate students about a research area that is becoming increasingly popular.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIncluding the 10 students at Tech, there are 39 students enrolled in this semester\u2019s course. Aside from Tech, they are located at Washington University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston University, University of California, Merced, and the University of Wisconsin. And although this is a graduate-level course, undergraduates can take the course with McDevitt\u2019s permission.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESo what can students expect during a week of classes? On Tuesdays, students from all of the participating campuses hear a lecture via the video conferencing system on a stem cell engineering topic \u2014 think everything from stem cell biology basics to stem cell biomanufacturing.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen the class meets on Thursdays, two students (at each location) typically lead a 50-minute discussion on a recently published journal article related to the lecture topic to their in-person peers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThen, for the remainder of class, the Tech group video conferences with the students at other locations to discuss the key points brought up by each local group.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s very helpful to have the perspective of students and faculty from other universities,\u201d\u0026nbsp; said Jenna Wilson, a Ph.D. student in the bioengineering program who is a former student of the course turned teaching assistant. \u201cBecause people at other universities have different areas of research expertise, they can provide greater insight into aspects of the stem cell engineering field and pose interesting questions for discussion.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWilson also appreciated the small class size and discussion format of the course.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cBoth aspects allow for great conversations with other students and some of the leading faculty in the stem cell engineering field,\u201d she added. \u201cEven though the class is broadcast across six universities, it\u0027s still a small group where you can feel comfortable sharing ideas and opinions.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe course is typically offered during spring semester. For more information, email \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:todd.mcdevitt@bme.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EMcDevitt \u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe 10 graduate students are discussing stem cell population analysis, when it\u2019s time. Before they can continue the discussion, Todd McDevitt, the instructor, has to do one thing \u2014 turn on the TV.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The 10 graduate students are discussing stem cell population analysis, when it\u2019s time. Before they can continue the discussion, Todd McDevitt, the instructor, has to do one thing \u2014 turn on the TV."}],"uid":"27445","created_gmt":"2014-04-07 15:26:49","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:11","author":"Amelia Pavlik","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-04-07T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-04-07T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"288921":{"id":"288921","type":"image","title":"Class Notes: BMED 8813","body":null,"created":"1449244274","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:51:14","changed":"1475894986","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:46","alt":"Class Notes: BMED 8813","file":{"fid":"199174","name":"classnotes_stemcellfinal_0.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/classnotes_stemcellfinal_0_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/classnotes_stemcellfinal_0_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":253889,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/classnotes_stemcellfinal_0_0.jpg?itok=nEdVANuv"}}},"media_ids":["288921"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.ibb.gatech.edu\/","title":"Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.bme.gatech.edu\/facultystaff\/faculty_record.php?id=78","title":"Todd McDevitt"},{"url":"http:\/\/mcdevitt.gatech.edu\/","title":"McDevitt Research Lab"}],"groups":[{"id":"1259","name":"Whistle"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"91121","name":"BMED 8813"},{"id":"89341","name":"class notes"},{"id":"3322","name":"classes"},{"id":"167603","name":"Stem Cell Engineering"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:amelia.pavlik@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EAmelia Pavlik\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"288791":{"#nid":"288791","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Former Petit Scholar Najia Named Goldwater Scholar","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EMohamad Ali Najia, an Honor\u0027s Program undergraduate in Georgia Tech\u2019s Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, has earned the \u0026nbsp;prestigious Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship for his work in science and engineering. Najia chose to enroll at Georgia Tech in 2010 because of the biomedical engineering department\u2019s reputation and research opportunities. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cIt has always been my long-term plan to go on to graduate school to earn a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering,\u201d Najia said. He was first drawn to this area of study in high school as he learned about the potential of stem cells and their role in curing disease.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EIn his first semester, Najia joined Associate Professor Todd McDevitt\u2019s \u0022Engineering Stem Cell Technologies\u0022 laboratory, where he was worked with mentor Jenna Wilson, a Ph.D. candidate in Georgia Tech\u0027s BioEngineering Graduate Program. Najia\u2019s research project, \u201cInfluencing encapsulated stem cell factor secretion through hypoxic conditioning,\u201d was to design a culture environment that would generate a greater impact on tissue regeneration. Soon after joining the McDevitt lab, Najia was selected as a Beckman Coulter Petit Undergraduate Research Scholar in the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003EThe Petit Scholars program is a competitive, full-year independent research opportunity for elite undergraduate students in bioengineering and bioscience who are mentored by graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. The Petit Institute has sponsored this program since 2000 and has successfully supported the research of over 200 young scientists, many of whom have gone on to distinguished careers in academics, medicine and industry.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u0022To earn a Goldwater Scholarship is an extreme honor, and one that could not have been accomplished without the supportive community at Georgia Tech,\u0022 Najia stated.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EThroughout his undergraduate career, Najia has focused on his dream of generating fully functional tissues for implantation into patients, with the goal of curbing a nationwide allograft shortage, improving patient recovery, and saving lives. \u0026nbsp;He hopes to become a professor with a lab focused on genome engineering and is already excited to mentor the next generation of scientists.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EIn addition to his research activities, Najia went on to become editor-in-chief of The Tower, Tech\u2019s peer-reviewed undergraduate research journal, and, last summer, he was a bioinformatics fellow through the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cI am incredibly grateful for the institutional support, both through the Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, the Biomedical Engineering department and Georgia Tech as a whole,\u201d he said. \u201cMost importantly, I am thankful for the mentorship of several faculty members, including Georgia Tech faculty members, Todd McDevitt and Brani Vidakovic.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003ENamed for U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater, the Goldwater Scholarship is awarded to students in science, mathematics and engineering who intend to pursue research careers in their fields, with the intent of providing a continuing source of highly qualified scholars in these areas.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Mohamad Ali Najia, an Honor\u0027s Program undergraduate in Georgia Tech\u2019s Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, has earned the  prestigious Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EMohamad Ali Najia, an Honor\u0027s Program undergraduate in Georgia Tech\u2019s Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, has earned the \u0026nbsp;prestigious Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship for his work in science and engineering. Najia chose to enroll at Georgia Tech in 2010 because of the biomedical engineering department\u2019s reputation and research opportunities.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Mohamad Ali Najia, an Honor\u0027s Program undergraduate in Georgia Tech\u2019s Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, has earned the  prestigious Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship."}],"uid":"27224","created_gmt":"2014-04-07 11:51:34","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:11","author":"Megan McDevitt","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-04-07T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-04-07T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"288801":{"id":"288801","type":"image","title":"Mohamad","body":null,"created":"1449244254","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:50:54","changed":"1475894983","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:43","alt":"Mohamad","file":{"fid":"199170","name":"14c10304-p1-001_1_-_copy.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/14c10304-p1-001_1_-_copy_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/14c10304-p1-001_1_-_copy_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2264474,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/14c10304-p1-001_1_-_copy_0.jpg?itok=_5WqjXa6"}},"288811":{"id":"288811","type":"image","title":"Mohamad and Jenna","body":null,"created":"1449244274","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:51:14","changed":"1475894983","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:43","alt":"Mohamad and Jenna","file":{"fid":"199171","name":"mohamadnajiajennywilson_0.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/mohamadnajiajennywilson_0_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/mohamadnajiajennywilson_0_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":4348,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/mohamadnajiajennywilson_0_0.jpg?itok=01Fa75xF"}}},"media_ids":["288801","288811"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/ibb.gatech.edu\/petit-scholars","title":"Petit Scholars website"},{"url":"http:\/\/ibb.gatech.edu\/","title":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"url":"http:\/\/bme.gatech.edu\/","title":"Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University"},{"url":"mailto:mcdevitt@gatec.edu","title":"McDevitt Engineering Stem Cell Technologies Laboratory"},{"url":"https:\/\/goldwater.scholarsapply.org\/","title":"About the Goldwater Scholarship"}],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"2389","name":"goldwater"},{"id":"6217","name":"McDevitt"},{"id":"91111","name":"Najia"},{"id":"857","name":"Petit Scholars"},{"id":"453","name":"undergraduate research"},{"id":"548","name":"vidakovic"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:colly.mitchell@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EColly Mitchell\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMarketing and Events\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"285721":{"#nid":"285721","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Robotic Arm Probes Chemistry of 3-D Objects by Mass Spectrometry","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen life on Earth was first getting started, simple molecules bonded together into the precursors of modern genetic material. A catalyst would have been needed, but enzymes had not yet evolved. One theory is that the catalytic minerals on a meteorite\u2019s surface could have jump-started life\u2019s first chemical reactions. But scientists need a way to directly analyze these rough, irregularly shaped surfaces. A new robotic system at Georgia Tech\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/centerforchemicalevolution.com\/\u0022\u003ECenter for Chemical Evolution\u003C\/a\u003E could soon let scientists better simulate and analyze the chemical reactions of early Earth on the surface of real rocks to further test this theory.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn a proof-of-concept study, scientists selected a region for analysis on round or irregularly-shaped objects using a 3-D camera on a robotic arm, which mapped the 3-dimentional coordinates of the sample\u2019s surface. The scientists programmed the robotic arm to poke the sample with an acupuncture needle. The needle collected a small amount of material that the robot deposited in a nearby mass spectrometer, which is a powerful tool for determining a substance\u2019s chemical composition.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cYou see the object on a monitor and then you can point and click and take a sample from a particular spot and the robot will go there,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ww2.chemistry.gatech.edu\/fernandez\/\u0022\u003EFacundo Fernandez\u003C\/a\u003E, a professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, whose lab led the study. \u201cWe\u2019re using an acupuncture needle that will touch very carefully on the surface of the object and then the robot will turn around and put the material inside of a high resolution mass spectrometer.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research was published online February 28 in the journal \u003Cem\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/pubs.rsc.org\/en\/Content\/ArticleLanding\/2014\/AN\/C4AN00277F#!divAbstract\u0022\u003EAnalyst\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E, a publication of the Royal Society of Chemistry. The research will be featured on the cover of an upcoming print issue. The work was supported by a National Science Foundation (NSF) Major Research Instrumentation Program (MRI) grant and by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and NASA Astrobiology Program, under the NSF Center for Chemical Evolution.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMass spectrometry is a powerful tool for analyzing surface chemistry or for identifying biological samples. It\u2019s widely used in research labs across many disciplines, but samples for analysis typically have to be cleaned, carefully prepared, and in the case of rocks, cut into thin, flat samples. The new robotic system is the first report of a 3-D mass spectrometry native surface imaging experiment.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOther people have used an acupuncture needle to poke a sample and then put that in mass spec, but nobody has tried to do a systematic, three-dimensional surface experiment,\u201d Fernandez said. \u201cWe are trying to push the limits.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo show that the system was capable of probing a three-dimensional object, the researchers imprinted ink patterns on the surfaces of polystyrene spheres. The team then used the robotic arm to model the surfaces, probe specific regions, and see if samples collected were sufficient for mass spectrometry analysis. The researchers were able to detect inks of different colors and create a 3-D image of the object with sufficient sensitivity for their proof-of-principle setup, Fernandez said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research was the result of collaboration between Fernandez\u2019s group, which specializes in mass spectrometry, and Henrik Christensen\u2019s robotics group in the College of Computing. Christensen is the KUKA Chair of Robotics and a Distinguished Professor of Computing. He is also the executive director of the Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Machines (IRIM) at Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe initial findings of this study mark a significant step toward using robots for three-dimensional surface experiments on geological material,\u201d Christensen said. \u201cWe are using the repeatability and accuracy of robots to achieve new capabilities that have numerous applications in biomedical areas such as dermatology.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt doesn\u2019t happen very often that a group in mass spectrometry will have a very talented robotics group next to them,\u201d Fernandez said. \u201cIf we tried to learn the robotics on our own it could take us a decade, but for them it\u2019s something that\u2019s not that difficult.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EChristensen\u2019s team loaned a Kuka KR5 sixx R650 robot to Fernandez\u2019s lab for the study. Afterwards, Fernandez\u2019s lab purchased their own robot from Universal Robots. They have also upgraded to a new mass spectrometer capable of resolution nearly eight times higher than the one used in the study. They will soon begin replicating early Earth chemistry on rocks and analyzing the reaction products with their robotic sampling system.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe really want to look at rocks,\u201d Fernandez said. \u201cWe want to do reactions on rocks and granites and meteorites and then see what can be produced on the surface.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe technology could also be applied to other research fields, Fernandez said. For example, the robot-mass spec combo might be useful to dermatologists who often probe lesions on the skin, which have distinct molecular signatures depending on if the lesion is a tumor or normal skin tissue.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis research is supported by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) under the National Science Foundation (NSF) Major Research Instrumentation Program (MRI) (Grant number 0923179), and by the NSF and NASA Astrobiology Program under the NSF Center for Chemical Evolution (CHE-1004579). Any conclusions or opinions are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the sponsoring agencies.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECITATION\u003C\/strong\u003E: Rachel V. Bennett, et al., \u201cRobotic Plasma Probe Ionization Mass Spectrometry (RoPPI-MS) of Non-Planar Surfaces.\u201d (Analyst, February 2014) \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1039\/c4an00277f\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1039\/c4an00277f \u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E177 North Avenue\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, Georgia 30332-0181 USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/GTResearchNews\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E@GTResearchNews\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts:\u003C\/strong\u003E Brett Israel (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/btiatl\u0022\u003E@btiatl\u003C\/a\u003E) (404-385-1933) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or John Toon (404-894-6986) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter:\u003C\/strong\u003E Brett Israel\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Proof-of-concept study could soon allow analysis of early earth chemistry on meteorites and other rocks"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen life on Earth was first getting started, simple molecules bonded together into the precursors of modern genetic material. A catalyst would have been needed, but enzymes had not yet evolved. One theory is that the catalytic minerals on a meteorite\u2019s surface could have jump-started life\u2019s first chemical reactions. But scientists need a way to directly analyze these rough, irregularly shaped surfaces. A new robotic system at Georgia Tech\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/centerforchemicalevolution.com\/\u0022\u003ECenter for Chemical Evolution\u003C\/a\u003E could soon let scientists better simulate and analyze the chemical reactions of early Earth on the surface of real rocks to further test this theory.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A new robotic system at Georgia Tech\u2019s Center for Chemical Evolution could soon let scientists better simulate and analyze the chemical reactions of early Earth on the surface of real rocks."}],"uid":"27902","created_gmt":"2014-03-25 17:16:49","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:07","author":"Brett Israel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-03-25T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-03-25T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"285711":{"id":"285711","type":"image","title":"Acupuncture needle probe for mass spectrometry","body":null,"created":"1449244237","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:50:37","changed":"1475894981","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:41","alt":"Acupuncture needle probe for mass spectrometry","file":{"fid":"199072","name":"fernandez-robotic-arm-closeup1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/fernandez-robotic-arm-closeup1_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/fernandez-robotic-arm-closeup1_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":224797,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/fernandez-robotic-arm-closeup1_0.jpg?itok=g2FhJY0K"}},"285701":{"id":"285701","type":"image","title":"3-D mass spectrometry","body":null,"created":"1449244237","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:50:37","changed":"1475894978","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:38","alt":"3-D mass spectrometry","file":{"fid":"199071","name":"fernandez-bennett.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/fernandez-bennett_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/fernandez-bennett_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":186317,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/fernandez-bennett_0.jpg?itok=v3aVD4eq"}}},"media_ids":["285711","285701"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[{"id":"89971","name":"chemical evolution"},{"id":"17301","name":"Facundo Fernandez"},{"id":"3158","name":"Mass spectrometry"},{"id":"9854","name":"Origin Of Life"},{"id":"667","name":"robotics"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"39521","name":"Robotics"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71911","name":"Earth and Environment"},{"id":"71881","name":"Science and Technology"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBrett Israel\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404-385-1933\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"284971":{"#nid":"284971","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Microfluidic Device With Artificial Arteries Measures Drugs\u2019 Influence on Blood Clotting","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA new microfluidic method for evaluating drugs commonly used for preventing heart attacks has found that while aspirin can prevent dangerous blood clots in some at-risk patients, it may not be effective in all patients with narrowed arteries. The study, which involved 14 human subjects, used a device that simulated blood flowing through narrowed coronary arteries to assess effects of anti-clotting drugs.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe study is the first to examine how aspirin and another heart attack prevention drug respond to a variety of mechanical blood flow forces in healthy and diseased arteries. Patients\u2019 blood was tested in a patent-pending microfluidic device with narrow passageways to simulate the coronary arteries. The data are consistent with clinical findings showing that physiology has a major influence on the effectiveness of drugs used for heart attack prevention.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers believe that a benchtop diagnostic device like the one used in this study could save lives by preventing heart attacks and help lower healthcare costs by giving physicians better guidance on how drugs may affect individual patients.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cDoctors have many drug options and it is difficult for them to determine how well each of those options is going to work for a patient,\u201d said Melissa Li, who was a graduate student at the Georgia Institute of Technology at the time of the study. \u201cThis study is the first time that a prototype benchtop diagnostic device has tried to address this problem using varying shear rates and patient dosing and tried to make it more personalized.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe study was sponsored by the American Heart Association, a Wallace H. Coulter Foundation Translational Grant and by a fellowship from the Technological Innovation: Generating Economic Results (TI:GER) program at Georgia Tech. The study was published in a recent edition of the journal \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0082493\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EPLOS ONE\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAbout 10 percent of the U.S. population takes drugs every day because they are at risk of a heart attack. When a patient comes to a hospital with heart disease, doctors have multiple treatment options, all with different routes of action, time scales and prices.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cFor a patient being prescribed anti-thrombotic drugs who is at risk for a heart attack, we can draw a small amount of their blood and quickly push a little bit through this device, and based on that information, tell them to take a certain amount of a certain drug. That\u2019s where we\u2019re going with this project,\u201d said Craig Forest, an assistant professor of bioengineering in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech. Forest\u2019s lab led the study in collaboration with David Ku, a medical doctor and mechanical engineering professor at Georgia Tech. Ku is the Lawrence P. Huang Chair Professor of Engineering Entrepreneurship and a Regents\u0027 Professor of Mechanical Engineering.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor the current study, researchers used the diagnostic device to examine two treatments for potential heart attacks: aspirin and a class of drugs called GPIIb\/IIIa-inhibitors. GPIIb\/IIIa-inhibitors are generally given to patients with a high risk for a heart attack, and these drugs can be expensive. The study found that the two drugs have very different effects on blood clotting.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen arteries are constricted, such as in patients with atherosclerosis, blood must squeeze through narrow passages. That pressurized flow induces a mechanical force called shear. Under high shear rates in arteries\u2014 blood flowing through a narrow opening \u2014 blood is more likely to clot. When blood is forced to squeeze through a small opening, platelets hook together, forming a clot.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo show how these drugs affect clotting at high and normal shear rates, blood samples were drawn from patients over several days. The scientists added the two drugs at different doses to those blood samples and ran them through a microfluidic device. The microfluidic device has four channels that mimic the coronary arteries, allowing researchers to study clotting under a variety of conditions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhat we found is that with lower shear rates, such as found in normal arteries, aspirin was fairly effective at stopping platelets from clumping up with each other,\u201d said Li, who is now a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Washington. \u201cAt higher shear rates, aspirin was not as effective at preventing these clots.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers found that under high shear rates, clots still formed in the presence of aspirin, but that the clots became unstable and broke off the simulated artery walls.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELi said that their evidence suggests that aspirin should be fairly effective for most people at preventing heart attacks, but not as effective at preventing heart attacks in patients with atherosclerosis. This study can help identify which individuals can be helped, and which cannot.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe current study would need to be replicated in a large, controlled study before this device can be moved to the clinic or hospital.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis finding is something that\u2019s been echoed in the literature by physicians who would find that a number of patients who would take aspirin were not receiving any clinical benefit,\u201d Li said. \u201cThis is an explanation mechanically of why that might occur.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat phenomenon has been called aspirin resistance, which is a catchall term for when patients don\u2019t respond to aspirin for unknown reasons.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhat we showed is a good explanation for the conditions under which aspirin resistance occurs and one that matches up with what other people have found,\u201d Li said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGPIIb\/IIIa-inhibitors were effective at preventing blood clots across all shear rates tested, the study found, suggesting that these drugs would be effective for people whether they had atherosclerosis. Clinical evidence also supports this finding, Li said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers used a statistical method known as the Cox-Hazard analysis, performed by bioengineering graduate student Nathan Hotaling. The analysis is commonly used by doctors to determine if drugs are safe for a patient. Using this analysis in a prototype benchtop diagnostic device is a unique approach and showed that, statistically, the research findings were significant.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThese microfluidic devices are so cheap and require so little blood that it could become possible for someone to use this in a disposable, rapid way,\u201d said Forest.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis research is supported by the American Heart Association (10GRNT4430029), a Wallace H. Coulter Foundation Translational Grant and by a fellowship from the Technological Innovation Generating Economic Results (TI:GER) program at Georgia Tech. Any conclusions or opinions are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the sponsoring agencies.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECITATION:\u003C\/strong\u003E Melissa Li, et al., \u201cMicrofluidic Thrombosis under Multiple Shear Rates and Antiplatelet Therapy Doses,\u201d (\u003Cem\u003EPLOS ONE\u003C\/em\u003E, January 2014). (\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0082493\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0082493\u003C\/a\u003E).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E177 North Avenue\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, Georgia 30332-0181 USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/GTResearchNews\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E@GTResearchNews\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts:\u003C\/strong\u003E Brett Israel (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/btiatl\u0022\u003E@btiatl\u003C\/a\u003E) (404-385-1933) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or John Toon (404-894-6986) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter:\u003C\/strong\u003E Brett Israel\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA new microfluidic method for evaluating drugs commonly used for preventing heart attacks has found that while aspirin can prevent dangerous blood clots in some at-risk patients, it may not be effective in all patients with narrowed arteries. The study, which involved 14 human subjects, used a device that simulated blood flowing through narrowed coronary arteries to assess effects of anti-clotting drugs.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A new microfluidic method for evaluating drugs commonly used for preventing heart attacks has found that while aspirin can prevent dangerous blood clots in some at-risk patients, it may not be effective in all patients with narrowed arteries."}],"uid":"27902","created_gmt":"2014-03-24 09:42:24","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:07","author":"Brett Israel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-03-24T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-03-24T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"284961":{"id":"284961","type":"image","title":"Craig Forest with microfluidic chip","body":null,"created":"1449244216","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:50:16","changed":"1475894978","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:38","alt":"Craig Forest with microfluidic chip","file":{"fid":"199019","name":"forest-chip1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/forest-chip1_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/forest-chip1_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":188234,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/forest-chip1_0.jpg?itok=aRJPhwOa"}},"284951":{"id":"284951","type":"image","title":"Artificial blood vessels on a microfluidic chip","body":null,"created":"1449244216","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:50:16","changed":"1475894978","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:38","alt":"Artificial blood vessels on a microfluidic chip","file":{"fid":"199018","name":"microfluidic-chip1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/microfluidic-chip1_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/microfluidic-chip1_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":379441,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/microfluidic-chip1_0.jpg?itok=vWGdCqCl"}}},"media_ids":["284961","284951"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[{"id":"89811","name":"aspirin"},{"id":"7270","name":"atherosclerosis"},{"id":"12333","name":"Craig Forest"},{"id":"11881","name":"David Ku"},{"id":"12427","name":"microfluidics"},{"id":"7229","name":"thrombosis"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71891","name":"Health and Medicine"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBrett Israel\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404-385-1933\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"282491":{"#nid":"282491","#data":{"type":"news","title":"SURA Honors Georgia Tech Professor as Distinguished Scientist","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJeffrey Skolnick, Ph.D., Mary and Maisie Gibson Chair and Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar in Computational Systems Biology at Georgia Tech, will receive the Southeastern Universities Research Association\u2019s (SURA) 2014 Distinguished Scientist Award. The award is given annually to a scientist whose extraordinary work fulfills the society\u2019s mission of \u201cfostering excellence in scientific research.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESkolnick, who also serves as Director of the Integrative BioSystems Institute, will be presented the award and its $10,000 honorarium on March 18, 2014 at the SURA Board of Trustees meeting at the University of West Virginia at the SURA\u2019s spring board of trustee\u2019s meeting. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cJeff is extremely deserving of this award as he is one of the outstanding thought leaders in the field and has been called \u2018visionary\u2019 and \u2018an out of the box thinker\u2019 by many colleagues,\u201d stated Mark Hay, Ph.D., professor and Harry and Linda Teasley Chair in Environmental Biology in the School of Biology at Georgia Tech. \u201cNot only has his research provided unique and fundamental insights into the behavior of biological systems, he has developed several of the best algorithms for virtual ligand screening and for predicting protein structure-function relationships.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESkolnick is the author or co-author of over 350 journal articles in the fields of systems and computational biology and his cutting edge research on protein structure and function has provided remarkable insights into the relative roles of physics and evolution in dictating the properties of protein structure and function and holds the potential to dramatically accelerate and enhance the drug discovery process. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cJeff is a world-class scientist with tremendous imagination and creativity,\u201d stated Terry Snell, Chair of the School of Biology at Georgia Tech. \u201cHis research has significantly enhanced our understanding of protein structure and function.\u201d \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOver his career, Skolnick has made significant scientific contributions. He developed the first coarse grained model for protein structure prediction, the first successful multiscale modeling approach to structure prediction, the first effective medium model for a membrane that enabled the successful prediction of peptide orientation and conformation with respect to the membrane, Fuzzy Functional Forms that were the first low resolution approach to protein function prediction, and the highly accurate EFICAz approach to enzyme function inference. His more recent work has significant applications to both drug discovery and to improving our fundamental understanding of the possible origin of life. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe SURA Distinguished Scientist Award was established in 2007 to commemorate the organization\u2019s 25th Anniversary and is considered its highest honor. SURA\u2019s Development \u0026amp; Relations Committee manages the solicitation, screening and selection of the recipient for this award from a SURA member institution.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Jeff Skolnick awarded for fostering excellence in scientific research"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJeff Skolnick awarded for fostering excellence in scientific research\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Jeff Skolnick awarded for fostering excellence in scientific research"}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-03-11 11:43:17","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:15:58","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-03-11T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-03-11T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"282401":{"id":"282401","type":"image","title":"Jeffrey Skolnick, PhD, Mary and Maisie Gibson Chair, Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar in Computational Systems Biology in the School of Biology at Georgia Tech","body":null,"created":"1449244199","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:49:59","changed":"1475894976","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:36","alt":"Jeffrey Skolnick, PhD, Mary and Maisie Gibson Chair, Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar in Computational Systems Biology in the School of Biology at Georgia Tech","file":{"fid":"198962","name":"skolnickjeffery.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/skolnickjeffery_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/skolnickjeffery_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3291370,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/skolnickjeffery_0.jpg?itok=-j7PI0qq"}}},"media_ids":["282401"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/cssb.biology.gatech.edu\/skolnick\/","title":"Skolnick Research Group"}],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:mcdevitt@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EMegan McDevitt\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EDirector, Communications \u0026amp; Marketing\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering \u0026amp; Bioscience\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:david.terraso@cos.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EDavid Terraso\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EDirector of Communications\u003Cbr \/\u003ECollege of Science\u003Cbr \/\u003EGeorgia Tech\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["mcdevitt@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"282301":{"#nid":"282301","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech Graduate Programs Earn High Marks in 2015 National Rankings","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology graduate programs continue to earn high marks from U.S. News \u0026amp; World Report\u0027s annual rankings.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Institute\u2019s College of Engineering ranked No. 6 and all 11 of the programs within the college are ranked in the top 10, including industrial engineering (No. 1), biomedical and bioengineering (No. 2), environmental (No. 4), civil (No. 5), aerospace (No. 5), mechanical (No. 5), electrical (No. 6), computer (No. 7), nuclear (No. 8), materials (No. 9) and chemical (No. 10). Georgia Tech appears on the top 10 list of engineering specialties more than any other ranked institution.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Georgia Tech\u0027s strong rankings with U.S. News \u0026amp; World Report year after year reflect the Institute\u0027s ongoing commitment to excellence in research and teaching, as well as a legacy of preparing innovators and leaders,\u0022 said Georgia Tech President G.P. \u0022Bud\u0022 Peterson.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Institute tied for the No. 9 spot in overall computer science rankings, coming in No. 6 in both systems and artificial intelligence and No. 8 in theory.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech moved from No. 26 to No. 24 in overall chemistry rankings and up to No. 29 in overall physics rankings. In discrete mathematics and combinatorics, the Institute moved up four spots to No. 4.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Scheller College of Business full-time MBA program ranked No. 27, while the Institute\u2019s part-time MBA program ranked No. 20, moving up from the No. 24 spot in 2014.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Institute\u2019s College of Engineering ranked No. 6 and all 11 of the programs within the college are ranked in the top 10.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"College of Engineering ranks #6, with all 11 programs within nation\u0027s top 10."}],"uid":"27560","created_gmt":"2014-03-11 09:03:27","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:15:58","author":"Jason Maderer","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-03-11T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-03-11T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com\/best-graduate-schools","title":"U.S. News \u0026 World Report"}],"groups":[{"id":"1183","name":"Home"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"594","name":"college of engineering"},{"id":"834","name":"Rankings"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"},{"id":"71881","name":"Science and Technology"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Tech Media Relations\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELaura Diamond\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:laura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Elaura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-894-6016\u003Cbr \/\u003EJason Maderer\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:maderer@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emaderer@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-660-2926\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["nagel@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"281681":{"#nid":"281681","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Biomolecular Tweezers Facilitate Study of Mechanical Force Effects on Cells and Proteins","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA new type of biomolecular tweezers could help researchers study how mechanical forces affect the biochemical activity of cells and proteins. The devices \u2013 too small to see without a microscope \u2013 use opposing magnetic and electrophoretic forces to precisely stretch the cells and molecules, holding them in position so that the activity of receptors and other biochemical activity can be studied.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EArrays of the tweezers could be combined to study multiple molecules and cells simultaneously, providing a high-throughput capability for assessing the effects of mechanical forces on a broad scale. Details of the devices, which were developed by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University in Atlanta, were published February 19, 2014, in the journal \u003Cem\u003ETechnology\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur lab has been very interested in mechanical-chemical switches in the extracellular matrix, but we currently have a difficult time interrogating these mechanisms and discovering how they work in vivo,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.bme.gatech.edu\/facultystaff\/faculty_record.php?id=96\u0022\u003EThomas Barker\u003C\/a\u003E, an associate professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.bme.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EWallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University\u003C\/a\u003E. \u201cThis device could help biologists and biomedical engineers answer questions that cannot be answered right now.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor example, a cell that\u2019s binding the extracellular matrix may bind with one receptor while the matrix is being stretched, and a different receptor when it\u2019s not under stress. Those binding differences could drive changes in cell phenotype and affect processes such as cell differentiation. But they are now difficult to study.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cHaving a device like this will allow us to interrogate what the specific binding sites are and what the specific binding triggers are,\u201d Barker explained. \u201cRight now, we know very little about this area when it comes to protein biochemistry.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EScientists have been able to study how single cells or proteins are affected by mechanical forces, but their activity can vary considerably from cell-to-cell and among molecules. The new tweezers, which are built using nanolithography, can facilitate studying thousands or more cells and proteins in aggregate. The researchers are currently testing prototype 15 by 15 arrays which they believe could be scaled up.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cFor me, it\u2019s not sufficient to pull and hold onto a single protein,\u201d said Barker. \u201cI have to pull and hold onto tens of thousands of proteins to really use the technologies we have to develop molecular probes.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAt the center of the tweezers are 2.8- micron polystyrene microbeads that contain superparamagnetic nanoparticles. The tiny beads are engineered to adhere to a sample being studied. That sample is attached to a bead on one side, and to a magnetic pad on the other. The magnet draws the bead toward it, while an electrophoretic force created by current flowing through a gold wiring pattern pushes the bead away.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe device simultaneously pushes and pulls on the same particle,\u201d Barker explained. \u201cThis allows us to hold the sample at a very specific position above the magnet.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBecause the forces can be varied, the tweezers can be used to study structures of widely different size scales, from protein molecules to cells \u2013 a size difference of approximately a thousand times, noted \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.bme.gatech.edu\/facultystaff\/faculty_record.php?id=152\u0022\u003EWilbur Lam\u003C\/a\u003E, an assistant professor in the Coulter Department. Absolute forces in the nano-Newton range applied by the two sources overcome the much smaller effects of Brownian motion and thermal energy, allowing the tweezers to hold the cells or molecules without constant adjustment.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe are basically leveraging microchip technology that has been developed by electrical and mechanical engineers,\u201d Lam noted. \u201cWe are able to leverage these very tiny features that enable us to create a very sharp electrical field on one end against an opposing short magnetic field. Because there are two ways of controlling it, we have tight resolution and can get to many different scales.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs a proof of principle for the system, the researchers demonstrated its ability to distinguish between antigen binding to loaded magnetic beads coated with different antibodies. When a sufficient upward force is applied, non-specific antibody coated beads are displaced from the antigen-coated device surface, while beads coated with the specific antibody are more strongly attracted to the surface and retained on it.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBarker and Lam began working together on the tweezers three years ago when they realized they had similar interests in studying the effects of mechanical action on different biological systems.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe shouldn\u2019t be surprised that biology can be dictated by physical parameters,\u201d Lam explained. \u201cEverything has to obey the laws of physics, and mechanics gets to the heart of that.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELam\u2019s interest is at the cellular scale, specifically in blood cells.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cBlood cells also respond differently, biologically, when you squeeze them and when you stretch them,\u201d he said. \u201cFor instance, we have learned that mechanics has a lot to do with atherosclerosis, but the systems we currently have for studying this mechanism can only look at single-cell events. If you can look at many cells at once, you get a much better statistical view of what\u2019s happening.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBarker\u2019s interests, however, are at the molecular level.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe are primarily interested in evolving antibodies that are capable of distinguishing different force-mediated conformations of proteins,\u201d he explained. \u201cWe have a specific protein that we are interested in, but this technique could be applied to any proteins that are suspected to have these force-activated changes in their biochemical activity.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile the tweezers meet the specific experimental needs of Lam and Barker, the researchers hope to find other applications. The tweezers were developed in collaboration with graduate student Lizhi Cao and post-doctoral fellow Zhengchun Peng.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cBecause of the scale we are able to examine \u2013 both molecular and cellular \u2013 I think this will have a lot of applications both in protein molecular engineering and biotechnology,\u201d Lam said. \u201cThis could be a useful way for people to screen relevant molecules because there currently aren\u2019t good ways to do that.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBeyond biological systems, the device could be used in materials development, microelectronics and even sensing.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis ability to detect discrete binding and unbinding events between molecular species is of high interest right now,\u201d Barker added. \u201cBiosensor applications come out of this naturally.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECITATION\u003C\/strong\u003E: Lizhi Cao, et al., \u201cA combined magnetophoresis\/dielectrophoresis based microbead array as a high-throughput biomolecular tweezers,\u201d (Technology 2014). \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1142\/S2339547814500058\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1142\/S2339547814500058\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E177 North Avenue\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, Georgia\u0026nbsp; 30332-0181\u0026nbsp; USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon (404-894-6986) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or Brett Israel (404-385-1933) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA new type of biomolecular tweezers could help researchers study how mechanical forces affect the biochemical activity of cells and proteins. The devices \u2013 too small to see without a microscope \u2013 use opposing magnetic and electrophoretic forces to precisely stretch the cells and molecules, holding them in position so that the activity of receptors and other biochemical activity can be studied.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A new type of biomolecular tweezers could help researchers study how mechanical forces affect the biochemical activity of cells and proteins."}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2014-03-09 14:27:14","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:15:58","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-03-10T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-03-10T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"281661":{"id":"281661","type":"image","title":"Biomolecular tweezers","body":null,"created":"1449244199","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:49:59","changed":"1475894976","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:36","alt":"Biomolecular tweezers","file":{"fid":"198943","name":"molecular-tweezers.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/molecular-tweezers_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/molecular-tweezers_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1038763,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/molecular-tweezers_0.jpg?itok=i0NcQFTl"}},"281651":{"id":"281651","type":"image","title":"Biomolecular tweezers figure","body":null,"created":"1449244199","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:49:59","changed":"1475894976","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:36","alt":"Biomolecular tweezers figure","file":{"fid":"198942","name":"biomolecular-tweezers-figure_1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/biomolecular-tweezers-figure_1_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/biomolecular-tweezers-figure_1_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":821807,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/biomolecular-tweezers-figure_1_0.jpg?itok=d7d1VRJH"}},"281671":{"id":"281671","type":"image","title":"Biomolecular tweezers researchers","body":null,"created":"1449244199","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:49:59","changed":"1475894976","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:36","alt":"Biomolecular tweezers researchers","file":{"fid":"198944","name":"molecular-tweezers-researchers.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/molecular-tweezers-researchers_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/molecular-tweezers-researchers_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1767612,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/molecular-tweezers-researchers_0.jpg?itok=QiIpHXz3"}}},"media_ids":["281661","281651","281671"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"3056","name":"biochemical"},{"id":"88571","name":"biomolecular tweezers"},{"id":"88581","name":"electrophoresis"},{"id":"62101","name":"mechanical force"},{"id":"14574","name":"Thomas Barker"},{"id":"3264","name":"Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering"},{"id":"14681","name":"Wilbur Lam"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"39451","name":"Electronics and Nanotechnology"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71891","name":"Health and Medicine"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearch News\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E(404) 894-6986\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"280951":{"#nid":"280951","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Brain Circuits Multitask to Detect, Discriminate the Outside World","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EImagine driving on a dark road. In the distance you see a single light. As the light approaches it splits into two headlights. That\u2019s a car, not a motorcycle, your brain tells you. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA new study found that neural circuits in the brain rapidly multitask between detecting and discriminating sensory input, such as headlights in the distance. That\u2019s different from how electronic circuits work, where one circuit performs a very specific task. The brain, the study found, is wired in way that allows a single pathway to perform multiple tasks.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe showed that circuits in the brain change or adapt from situations when you need to detect something versus when you need to discriminate fine details,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/stanley.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EGarrett Stanley\u003C\/a\u003E, an associate professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University, whose lab performed the research. \u201cOne of the things the brain is good at is doing multiple things. Engineers have trouble with that.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research findings were published online in the journal \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1016\/j.neuron.2014.01.025\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003ENEURON\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E on March 5. The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cEvery day we are bombarded with sensations and the brain automatically chooses which ones to detect. This study may help scientists answer fundamental questions about how neurological disorders may disrupt the brain circuits that make those choices,\u201d said Jim Gnadt, Ph.D., program director at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, part of NIH. \u201cInsights into sensory perception may help design new therapies, including prosthetic devices for amputees that recreate human touch.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe distance at which a person can discern two headlights from a single light is controlled by the acuity of the body\u2019s sensory pathway. For decades neuroscientists have assumed that the level of one\u2019s acuity is controlled by the distance between areas in the brain that are triggered by the sensory input. If these two areas of the brain closely overlap, then two sensory inputs \u2014 two headlights in the distance \u2014 will appear as one, the thinking went. The new study, for the first time, used animal models and optical imaging to directly assess how acuity is controlled in the brain, and how acuity can adapt to the task at hand. One neuronal circuit can do different things and do them in a robust way, the study found.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe general problem that is not well understood is how information about the outside world makes its way into our brain, into these patterns of electrical activity that ultimately let us perceive the outside world,\u201d Stanley said. \u201cThis paper squarely goes after that link between what the brain is doing, how it\u2019s activated and what that means for perception.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESensory information is encoded in the brain, much like gene sequences in DNA code for some physical representation. The brain has corresponding codes for when the visual pathway detects an object, like a coffee cup. There\u2019s a representation in the brain to transform that input into sensation. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearchers had yet to adequately quantify the link between discerning whether an object exists and discriminating finer details about what that object is, Stanley said. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cSurprisingly, we don\u2019t understand neural coding problems very well, either in normal physiology or in disease states,\u201d Stanley said. \u201cI think it\u2019s great to be an engineer that works on this because engineers tend to love and think about very complicated systems.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo learn about the details of the brain\u2019s acuity, the researchers studied an animal with a high level of acuity \u2014 the rat. Rats are nocturnal animals that use their whiskers to sense the outside world. Their whiskers are arranged in rows, and chunks of brain tissue correspond to those individual whiskers. That\u2019s similar to how a human\u2019s body surface is mapped onto the brain surface. When a rat\u2019s whisker touches something, a specific part of the brain becomes activated. When a person\u2019s finger touches something, a specific part of the brain becomes activated.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhen we image the brain, we can move a whisker on the side of the face and on the opposite side of the brain there\u2019s a little hotspot that you can image in real time,\u201d Stanley said. \u003Cbr \/\u003EThe researchers deflected rats\u2019 whiskers and then used optical imaging technology to observe the areas of the brain that were activated and measured the overlap between those areas. Rats were also trained to perform a specific task depending on which whisker was deflected.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers found that pathways in the brain have the ability to switch between doing different kinds of tasks, such as detecting a sensory input and deciding what to do with that information. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cSame circuit, same cells, but doing something different in two different contexts,\u201d Stanley said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen engineers want a circuit to do something, they build a circuit specific for that task. When they want a circuit to do something else, they build a different circuit. But in the brain, a pathway adaptively changes between being good at detecting something to being good at discriminating something, the study showed. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAs an engineer, I can\u2019t design a circuit that would do that,\u201d Stanley said. \u201cThis is where the brain jumps out and says, \u2018I\u2019m better than you are at this.\u2019\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELearning more about how circuits in the brain multitask could lead to a better understanding of disease, therapeutic applications or to potentially improving how the brain functions. Stanley said that down the road engineers might be able to experimentally manipulate brain circuits to perform a desired task. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cCan we make individuals better at doing something? Can we have them detect things more rapidly or discriminate between things with better acuity?\u201d Stanley said. \u201cUsing modern techniques, we believe that we can actually influence the circuit and have it selectively grab one kind of information from the outside world versus another.\u201d \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis research is supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under award number R01NS48285, and by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Collaborative Research in Computational Neuroscience (CRCNS) program under award number IOS-1131948. Any conclusions or opinions are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the sponsoring agencies.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECITATION\u003C\/strong\u003E: Douglas Ollerenshaw, et al., \u201cThe adaptive trade-off between detection and discrimination in cortical representations and behavior,\u201d (NEURON, March 2014). (\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1016\/j.neuron.2014.01.025\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1016\/j.neuron.2014.01.025\u003C\/a\u003E). \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E177 North Avenue\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, Georgia 30332-0181 USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/GTResearchNews\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E@GTResearchNews\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts:\u003C\/strong\u003E Brett Israel (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/btiatl\u0022\u003E@btiatl\u003C\/a\u003E) (404-385-1933) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or John Toon (404-894-6986) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter:\u003C\/strong\u003E Brett Israel\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA new study found that neural circuits in the brain rapidly multitask between detecting and discriminating sensory input, such as headlights in the distance. That\u2019s different from how electronic circuits work, where one circuit performs a very specific task. The brain, the study found, is wired in way that allows a single pathway to perform multiple tasks.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A new study found that neural circuits in the brain rapidly multitask between detecting and discriminating sensory input, such as headlights in the distance."}],"uid":"27902","created_gmt":"2014-03-05 13:28:39","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:15:58","author":"Brett Israel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-03-05T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-03-05T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"280931":{"id":"280931","type":"image","title":"Garrett Stanley","body":null,"created":"1449244184","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:49:44","changed":"1475894973","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:33","alt":"Garrett Stanley","file":{"fid":"198920","name":"garrett_stanley.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/garrett_stanley_1.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/garrett_stanley_1.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":186377,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/garrett_stanley_1.jpg?itok=za48QE0L"}},"280941":{"id":"280941","type":"image","title":"Rat whiskers","body":null,"created":"1449244184","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:49:44","changed":"1475894973","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:33","alt":"Rat whiskers","file":{"fid":"198921","name":"rat-whiskers.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/rat-whiskers_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/rat-whiskers_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":341286,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/rat-whiskers_0.jpg?itok=h0TRKY5U"}}},"media_ids":["280931","280941"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[{"id":"63261","name":"Brain Mapping"},{"id":"14462","name":"Garrett Stanley"},{"id":"88371","name":"neural circuits"},{"id":"7276","name":"neuron"},{"id":"1304","name":"neuroscience"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71891","name":"Health and Medicine"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBrett Israel\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404-385-1933\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/btiatl\u0022\u003E@btiatl\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"279181":{"#nid":"279181","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia ImmunoEngineering Consortium Aims to Improve Immune Response to Diseases","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EATLANTA\u2014A new research partnership between Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology will apply the principles of engineering to study the immune system and develop new therapies that can improve the immune response to diseases.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Georgia ImmunoEngineering Consortium (GIEC) will bring together engineers, physicians, chemists, physicists, computational scientists, immunologists and clinical investigators to better understand how the immune system works and how to precisely modulate it to target challenging diseases.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research teams will focus on cancer, infectious diseases, autoimmune and inflammatory disorders (diabetes, lupus, multiple sclerosis, arthritis, fibrosis, asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, etc.), and areas of regenerative medicine including transplantation, bone and cartilage repair, and treatments for spinal cord injuries.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe immune system and its multi-faceted role in human health and disease form the cornerstone of medical research, says Ignacio Sanz, MD, co-chair of the consortium steering committee. Sanz is Mason I. Lowance Chair of Allergy and Immunology and director of the Lowance Center of Human Immunology at Emory, director of rheumatology in the Department of Medicine in Emory School of Medicine, and a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis consortium not only combines the expertise of researchers throughout a variety of disciplines focused on the human immune response, but also reflects an increasing focus on engineering technologies and informatics in improving the diagnosis and treatment of challenging diseases.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cBy joining our immense strengths in immunology and bioengineering, we aspire to become an international leader in immunoengineering science; develop new technologies for prevention, rapid diagnosis, and treatment of immune-related disorders and train the next generation of physicians and engineers in this cutting edge research,\u201d says Krishnendu Roy, PhD, co-chair of the consortium steering committee, director of the Center for ImmunoEngineering in the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience at Georgia Tech and Carol Ann and David D. Flanagan professor of biomedical engineering in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EImmunoengineering is the application of engineering tools and principles to better understand and monitor our immune system in health and in diseases. This knowledge is then used to develop more effective vaccines and therapies against a wide range of diseases like cancer, HIV, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, arthritis etc. and also to improve tissue regeneration, wound healing and transplantation, explain Sanz and Roy.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cGame-changing innovation and world-class scholarship occur at the boundaries of fields of study where collaborators bring different perspectives to challenging problems,\u201d says Stephen E. Cross, executive vice president for research at Georgia Tech. \u201cThis is the essence of the successful 17-year partnership between engineering and science at Georgia Tech, and medical science and clinical practice at Emory.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EExisting centers and departments that will collaborate within the new consortium include the Center for ImmunoEngineering at Georgia Tech as well as the Emory Vaccine Center, Lowance Center for Human Immunology, Departments of Medicine, Microbiology and Immunology, Hematology and Oncology, and Pathology and Laboratory Medicine in Emory School of Medicine, the Emory-Children\u2019s Pediatric Research Center, and Winship Cancer Institute, among others.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe consortium has partnered with the Georgia Research Alliance (GRA), a nonprofit organization that expands research and commercialization capacity in Georgia\u2019s universities to launch new companies, create high-value jobs and transform lives.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe Georgia ImmunoEngineering Consortium is a unique academic collaboration that represents strong opportunities to align our state\u2019s extensive university research base with targeted life sciences industry development in Georgia,\u201d says C. Michael Cassidy, GRA president and CEO. \u201cGRA looks forward to seeing the new discoveries and commercial opportunities that result from this partnership.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe consortium will also collaborate with research partners at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and partners at various colleges and universities around Georgia, the United States, and around the world.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cUsing engineering approaches to help unlock the biology of the immune system opens the door for exciting new discoveries that can alter human disease,\u201d says David S. Stephens MD, vice president for research in Emory\u2019s Woodruff Health Sciences Center, chair of the Department of Medicine in Emory University School of Medicine, and a member of the consortium steering committee.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAdditional members of the steering committee from Georgia Tech include M.G. Finn and Susan Thomas, and from Emory include Rafi Ahmed and Edmund K. (Ned) Waller.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA symposium will celebrate the consortium launch:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia ImmunoEngineering Symposium: \u003Cbr \/\u003EFeb. 28, 2014, 7 a.m. \u2013 5 p.m.\u003Cbr \/\u003EEmory Conference Center\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFor more information about the consortium, please view the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.immunoengineering-georgia.org\/index.html\u0022\u003Ewebsite\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E- Holly Korschun, Emory University\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"New research partnership between Emory and Georgia Tech will apply engineering principles to study the immune system"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ENew research partnership between Emory and Georgia Tech will apply engineering principles to study the immune system\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"New research partnership between Emory and Georgia Tech will apply engineering principles to study the immune system"}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-02-26 13:32:27","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:15:55","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-02-26T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-02-26T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"279191":{"id":"279191","type":"image","title":"Georgia ImmunoEngineering Consortium","body":null,"created":"1449244168","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:49:28","changed":"1475894971","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:31","alt":"Georgia ImmunoEngineering Consortium","file":{"fid":"198866","name":"gaimmunoengineering.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gaimmunoengineering_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gaimmunoengineering_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":6357578,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/gaimmunoengineering_0.jpg?itok=0VE5TmF7"}},"279201":{"id":"279201","type":"image","title":"Georgia ImmunoEngineering Consortium Image","body":null,"created":"1449244168","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:49:28","changed":"1475894971","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:31","alt":"Georgia ImmunoEngineering Consortium Image","file":{"fid":"198867","name":"gaimmunoengineering2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gaimmunoengineering2_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gaimmunoengineering2_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":494024,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/gaimmunoengineering2_0.jpg?itok=7_V4hKZI"}}},"media_ids":["279191","279201"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.immunoengineering-georgia.org\/index.html","title":"Georgia Immunoengineering website"}],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"140","name":"Cancer Research"},{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"149","name":"Nanotechnology and Nanoscience"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"87781","name":"autoimmune"},{"id":"2305","name":"Emory University"},{"id":"9316","name":"immune system"},{"id":"1895","name":"Immunology"},{"id":"7243","name":"inflammatory"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71891","name":"Health and Medicine"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBrett Israel\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearch News\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404-385-1933\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"279121":{"#nid":"279121","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Self-Administration of Flu Vaccine with a Patch May be Feasible, Study Suggests","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe annual ritual of visiting a doctor\u2019s office or health clinic to receive a flu shot may soon be outdated, thanks to the findings of a new study published in the journal \u003Cem\u003EVaccine\u003C\/em\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research, which involved nearly 100 people recruited in the metropolitan Atlanta area, found that test subjects could successfully apply a prototype vaccine patch to themselves. That suggests the self-administration of vaccines with microneedle patches may one day be feasible, potentially reducing administration costs and relieving an annual burden on health care professionals.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe study also suggested that the use of vaccine patches might increase the rate at which the population is vaccinated against influenza. After comparing simulated vaccine administration using a patch and by conventional injection, the percentage of test subjects who said they\u2019d be vaccinated grew from 46 percent to 65 percent.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur dream is that each year there would be flu vaccine patches available in stores or sent by mail for people to self-administer,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.chbe.gatech.edu\/faculty\/prausnitz\u0022\u003EMark Prausnitz\u003C\/a\u003E, a Regent\u2019s professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.chbe.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E at the Georgia Institute of Technology. \u201cPeople could take them home and apply them to the whole family. We want to get more people vaccinated, and we want to relieve health care professionals from the burden of giving these millions of vaccinations.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research on patient acceptance of vaccine patch immunization was published online February 11, 2014, by the journal \u003Cem\u003EVaccine\u003C\/em\u003E and will appear in a later edition of the print journal. In addition to Georgia Tech researchers, the project also included scientists from Emory University and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Research into the use of microneedle patches for influenza vaccination has been supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe study is believed to be the first published report of a head-to-head comparison between microneedle patches and traditional intramuscular injection for the administration of vaccines in human subjects. The patches consisted of arrays of 50 microscopic needles about as tall as the thickness of a few hairs. When used for vaccination, the patches would be pressed painlessly onto a person\u2019s forearm to carry vaccine into the outer layers of skin, where they would prompt an immune reaction from the body.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe 91 study subjects, who had no previous experience with microneedle patches, were given brief instructions on applying the patches to themselves. Each volunteer applied three patches, had a fourth patch applied by a member of the research team, and received an injection of saline with a conventional hypodermic needle. Neither the patches nor the hypodermic needle actually carried a vaccine, and the study did not assess the efficacy of using microneedle patches for vaccinations in humans.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers evaluated how well the volunteers were able to self-administer the microneedle patches. After the subjects pressed the patches into their skin, the researchers applied a dye to highlight the tiny holes made by the microneedles. By photographing the administration sites and counting the number of holes, they were able to assess the accuracy of the application.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe found that everyone was capable of administering a microneedle patch appropriately, though not everyone did on the first try,\u201d Prausnitz said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESome of the subjects used an applicator that made a clicking sound when sufficient force was applied to the patch. Use of that feedback device improved the ability of subjects to correctly apply patches and virtually eliminated administration mistakes.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDuring the study, the volunteers were asked if they planned to receive a flu vaccination in the next year and if their intent to be vaccinated would change if it could be done with the patch. The percentage saying they\u2019d be vaccinated jumped from 46 to 65 percent when the patch was an option.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIf this holds for the population as a whole, that would have a tremendous impact on preventing disease and the cost associated with both influenza and the vaccination process,\u201d said Paula Frew, an assistant professor in the Emory University School of Medicine and a co-author of the study.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EInterviewing the test subjects found strong support for self-administration of the flu vaccine.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIn addition to the preference for the vaccine patch, we found that a large majority of the people willing to be vaccinated would choose to self-administer the vaccine,\u201d said James Norman, the study\u2019s first author, who was a Georgia Tech graduate student when the research was conducted. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStudy participants were asked to assess the pain associated with administering the patch and receiving the intramuscular injection. On a scale of one to 100, they rated the patches 1.5 on average, while the injection was rated 15.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELess than half the U.S. population receives vaccination against influenza each year. Several thousand Americans die of complications from the flu each year, and as many as 200,000 are hospitalized. Increasing the immunization rate could cut the deaths, hospitalizations and costs associated with the disease, Prausnitz noted.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EUse of a vaccine patch could potentially also reduce the cost of vaccination programs. For influenza, the cost of storing and administering the vaccine \u2013 along with patient time to visit a clinic \u2013 accounts for as much as three-quarters of the total cost. If microneedle vaccine patches could be produced for about the same cost as current flu vaccines, self-administration could provide significant cost savings to the nation\u2019s health care system.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnimal studies have shown that microneedle patches are at least as good as conventional intramuscular injections at conferring immunity to influenza. Prausnitz and his research team plan to begin a Phase 1 clinical study of the vaccine patches in humans during the spring of 2015. If that study shows promise, it could lead to larger studies and development of commercial patch manufacture.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIf all goes well, the vaccine patch could be available within five years. Prausnitz expects it to be administered first by health care professionals before being made available for self-administration.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to those already named, the study also involved Martin I. Meltzer, senior health economist with the CDC, and two Georgia Tech researchers: Jaya M. Arya and Maxine A. McClain.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EMark Prausnitz is an inventor on patents that have been licensed to companies developing microneedle-based products, is a paid advisor to companies developing microneedle-based products, and is a founder\/shareholder of companies developing microneedle-based products. This potential conflict of interest has been disclosed and is managed by Georgia Tech and Emory University.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EResearch on the use of microneedle patches for influenza vaccination has been supported by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH\/NIBIB), under award R01EB006369. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECITATION\u003C\/strong\u003E: James J. Norman, et al., \u201cMicroneedle Patches: Usability and Acceptability for Self-Vaccination Against Influenza,\u201d (Vaccine, 2014). (\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1016\/j.vaccine.2014.01.076\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1016\/j.vaccine.2014.01.076\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E177 North Avenue\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, Georgia\u0026nbsp; 30332-0181\u0026nbsp; USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon (404-894-6986) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or Brett Israel (404-385-1933) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe annual ritual of visiting a doctor\u2019s office or health clinic to receive a flu shot may soon be outdated, thanks to the findings of a new study published in the journal \u003Cem\u003EVaccine\u003C\/em\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Microneedle patches may allow self-administration of influenza vaccine, a new study shows."}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2014-02-26 10:41:11","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:15:55","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-02-26T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-02-26T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"279091":{"id":"279091","type":"image","title":"Microneedle Patch Comparison","body":null,"created":"1449244168","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:49:28","changed":"1475894971","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:31","alt":"Microneedle Patch Comparison","file":{"fid":"198860","name":"microneedle-patch2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/microneedle-patch2_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/microneedle-patch2_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":4752527,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/microneedle-patch2_0.jpg?itok=N1wLxThw"}},"279101":{"id":"279101","type":"image","title":"Microneedle Patch Comparison2","body":null,"created":"1449244168","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:49:28","changed":"1475894971","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:31","alt":"Microneedle Patch Comparison2","file":{"fid":"198861","name":"microneedle-patch4.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/microneedle-patch4_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/microneedle-patch4_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":5025781,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/microneedle-patch4_0.jpg?itok=N5obOX8k"}},"279111":{"id":"279111","type":"image","title":"Microneedle patch application","body":null,"created":"1449244168","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:49:28","changed":"1475894971","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:31","alt":"Microneedle patch application","file":{"fid":"198862","name":"patch-application.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/patch-application_0.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/patch-application_0.png","mime":"image\/png","size":2544990,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/patch-application_0.png?itok=EDBVMObS"}}},"media_ids":["279091","279101","279111"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"296","name":"Flu"},{"id":"764","name":"immunization"},{"id":"765","name":"influenza"},{"id":"495","name":"Mark Prausnitz"},{"id":"13653","name":"microneedle patch"},{"id":"7496","name":"microneedles"},{"id":"167445","name":"School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering"},{"id":"763","name":"vaccine"},{"id":"87561","name":"vaccine patch"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71891","name":"Health and Medicine"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearch News\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E(404) 894-6986\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"278441":{"#nid":"278441","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Personalized Medicine Best Way to Treat Cancer, Study Argues","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIf a driver is traveling to New York City, I-95 might be their route of choice. But they could also take I-78, I-87 or any number of alternate routes. Most cancers begin similarly, with many possible routes to the same disease. A new study found evidence that assessing the route to cancer on a case-by-case basis might make more sense than basing a patient\u2019s cancer treatment on commonly disrupted genes and pathways.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe study found little or no overlap in the most prominent genetic malfunction associated with each individual patient\u2019s disease compared to malfunctions shared among the group of cancer patients as a whole. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis paper argues for the importance of personalized medicine, where we treat each person by looking for the etiology of the disease in patients individually,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.mcdonaldlab.biology.gatech.edu\/john_mcdonald.htm\u0022\u003EJohn McDonald\u003C\/a\u003E, a professor in the School of Biology at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. \u201cThe findings have ramifications on how we might best optimize cancer treatments as we enter the era of targeted gene therapy.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research was published February 11 online in the journal \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/journals.lww.com\/pancreasjournal\/Fulltext\/2014\/03000\/Evidence_for_the_Importance_of_Personalized.5.aspx\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EPANCREAS\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E and was funded by the Georgia Tech Foundation and the St. Joseph\u2019s Mercy Foundation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the study, researchers collected cancer and normal tissue samples from four patients with pancreatic cancer and also analyzed data from eight other pancreatic cancer patients that had been previously reported in the scientific literature by a separate research group. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMcDonald\u2019s team compiled a list of the most aberrantly expressed genes in the cancer tissues isolated from these patients relative to adjacent normal pancreatic tissue. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe study found that collectively 287 genes displayed significant differences in expression in the cancers vs normal tissues. Twenty-two cellular pathways were enriched in cancer samples, with more than half related to the body\u2019s immune response. The researchers ran statistical analyses to determine if the genes most significantly abnormally expressed on an individual patient basis were the same as those identified as most abnormally expressed across the entire group of patients. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers found that the molecular profile of each individual cancer patient was unique in terms of the most significantly disrupted genes and pathways. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIf you\u2019re dealing with a disease like cancer that can be arrived at by multiple pathways, it makes sense that you\u2019re not going to find that each patient has taken the same path,\u201d McDonald said. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAlthough the researchers found that some genes that were commonly disrupted in all or most of the patients examined, these genes were not among the most significantly disrupted in any individual patient. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cBy and large, there appears to be a lot of individuality in terms of the molecular basis of pancreatic cancer,\u201d said McDonald, who also serves as the director of the Integrated Cancer Research Center and as the chief scientific officer of the Ovarian Cancer Institute.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThough the study is small, it raises questions about the validity of pinpointing the most important gene or pathway underlying a disease by pooling data from multiple patients, McDonald said. He favors individual profiling as the preferred method for initiating treatment.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe cost of a molecular profiling analysis to transcribe the DNA sequences of exons \u2014 the parts of the genome that carry instructions for proteins \u2014 is about $2,000 (exons account for about two percent of a cell\u2019s total DNA). That\u2019s about half the cost of this analysis five years ago, McDonald said, and a $1,000 molecular profiling analysis might not be far off. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAs costs continue to come down, personalized molecular profiling will be carried out on more cancer patients,\u201d McDonald said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EYet cost isn\u2019t the only limiting factor, McDonald said. Scientists and doctors have to shift their paradigm on how they use molecular profiling to treat cancer. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAre you going to believe what you see for one patient or are you going to say, \u2018I can\u2019t interpret that data until I group it together with 100 other patients and find what\u2019s in common among them,\u2019\u201d McDonald said. \u201cFor any given individual patient there may be mutant genes or aberrant expression patterns that are vitally important for that person\u2019s cancer that aren\u2019t present in other patients\u2019 cancers.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFuture work in McDonald\u2019s lab will see if this pattern of individuality is repeated in larger studies and in patients with different cancers. The group is currently working on a genomic profiling analysis of patients with ovarian and lung cancers. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIf there are multiple paths, then maybe individual patients are getting cancer from alternative routes,\u201d McDonald said. \u201cIf that\u2019s the case, we should do personalized profiling on each patient before we make judgments on the treatment for that patient.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELoukia Lili, of Georgia Tech\u2019s Integrated Cancer Research Center, School of Biology, and Parker H. Petit Institute of Bioengineering and Biosciences, was the study\u2019s first author. Co-authors included Lilya Matyunina and DeEtte Walker of Georgia Tech, and George Daneker, MD, of the Cancer Treatment Centers of America SE Regional Facility in Newnan, Ga.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis research is supported by the Georgia Tech Foundation and the St. Joseph\u2019s Mercy Foundation. Any conclusions or opinions are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the sponsoring agencies.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECITATION\u003C\/strong\u003E: Loukia N. Lili, et al., \u201cEvidence for the Importance of Personalized Molecular Profiling in Pancreatic Cancer,\u201d (\u003Cem\u003EPANCREAS\u003C\/em\u003E, February 2014). (\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1097\/MPA.0000000000000020\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1097\/MPA.0000000000000020\u003C\/a\u003E).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E177 North Avenue\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, Georgia 30332-0181 USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/GTResearchNews\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E@GTResearchNews\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts:\u003C\/strong\u003E Brett Israel (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/btiatl\u0022\u003E@btiatl\u003C\/a\u003E) (404-385-1933) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or John Toon (404-894-6986) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter:\u003C\/strong\u003E Brett Israel\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIf a driver is traveling to New York City, I-95 might be their route of choice. But they could also take I-78, I-87 or any number of alternate routes. Most cancers begin similarly, with many possible routes to the same disease. A new study found evidence that assessing the route to cancer on a case-by-case basis might make more sense than basing a patient\u2019s cancer treatment on commonly disrupted genes and pathways.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A new study found evidence that assessing the route to cancer on a case-by-case basis might make more sense than basing a patient\u2019s cancer treatment on commonly disrupted genes and pathways."}],"uid":"27902","created_gmt":"2014-02-24 13:37:19","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:15:55","author":"Brett Israel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-02-24T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-02-24T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"278421":{"id":"278421","type":"image","title":"John McDonald","body":null,"created":"1449244168","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:49:28","changed":"1475894971","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:31","alt":"John McDonald","file":{"fid":"198842","name":"john_mcdonald.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/john_mcdonald_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/john_mcdonald_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":50472,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/john_mcdonald_0.jpg?itok=LvzhxuwB"}},"278431":{"id":"278431","type":"image","title":"Venn diagrams","body":null,"created":"1449244168","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:49:28","changed":"1475894971","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:31","alt":"Venn diagrams","file":{"fid":"198843","name":"pancreas_venn_diagrams.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/pancreas_venn_diagrams_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/pancreas_venn_diagrams_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":30392,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/pancreas_venn_diagrams_0.jpg?itok=GT4VxD1M"}}},"media_ids":["278421","278431"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"140","name":"Cancer Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"2371","name":"John McDonald"},{"id":"87351","name":"pancreatic cancer"},{"id":"10679","name":"personalized medicine"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71891","name":"Health and Medicine"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBrett Israel\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404-385-1933\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/btiatl\u0022\u003E@btiatl\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"278191":{"#nid":"278191","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech Professor Chairs AAAS Panel on Pandemic Emergency Response","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen a pandemic spreads, health officials must quickly formulate a strategy to limit infections and deaths. That requires sifting through massive amounts of data in a short amount of time and organizing medical personnel who may have little information on the pandemic.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo help coordinate a rapid response to pandemics, a professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta has designed software that combines biological data on the pandemic with demographic data of the at-risk population so that health officials can develop a game plan to limit the pandemic\u2019s spread. The software also combs social media sites for real-time information on the pandemic and activities of the population.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEva Lee, director of the Center for Operations Research in Medicine and HealthCare at the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, talked about her emergency response software at the 2014 AAAS annual meeting in Chicago. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe have developed a real-time system that will gather the demographics of the region that is being affected, and also pick up on-the-ground-data about who is available and doing what, and about movement of the affected population,\u201d Lee said. \u201cOur work is the first to take demographic information and real-time population behavior and interlace it with the biological information to come up with a decision that health officials can actually use.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELee chaired the panel titled \u201cEmergency Response and Community Resilience via Engineering and Computational Advances.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELee shared her experience helping federal officials respond to the H1N1 flu in 2009, as well as her experience planning an emergency response to a potential anthrax outbreak. Lee was also involved in coordinating a response to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, and the decontamination and health screening effort in Japan after the 2011 Fukushima radiological disaster. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOther speakers on the panel include Ronald Eguchi of ImageCat Inc. in Long Beach, Calif, who talked about inventory data capture tools to assess risk from natural disasters. Yasuaki Sakamoto, of Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J., spoke about improving social media for disaster response.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEmergency responders to a pandemic must quickly gather information on the biological agent to assess the characteristics of the pandemic and decide which treatment would be most effective. They also collect data on the risk factors of the individuals in the pandemic, such as the severity of patient\u2019s sickness, and if children or pregnant women are infected. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe big challenge in a pandemic is how do you use all of this information to determine the best strategy that will give you the minimum number of total infections and mortality rate,\u201d Lee said. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EInformation from Lee\u2019s systems approach allows health official to determine where to allocate medical resources and personnel in the best way so that operations will be most successful. Through the software developed in her lab at Georgia Tech, officials can determine, for example, how much vaccine to give at-risk populations and how much to give to the general populations to limit the spread of infection and mortality. Officials can also map where to set up medical sites to avoid traffic gridlock and worsening the pandemic as infected patients converge on treatment sites.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe can do a real-time optimization to tell you exactly what are the sites that you should set up and who should be going where,\u201d Lee said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E177 North Avenue\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, Georgia 30332-0181 USA\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/GTResearchNews\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E@GTResearchNews\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts:\u003C\/strong\u003E Brett Israel (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/btiatl\u0022\u003E@btiatl\u003C\/a\u003E) (404-385-1933) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or John Toon (404-894-6986) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter:\u003C\/strong\u003E Brett Israel\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETo help coordinate a rapid response to pandemics, a professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta has designed software that combines biological data on the pandemic with demographic data of the at-risk population so that health officials can develop a game plan to limit the pandemic\u0027s spread. The software also combs social media sites for real-time information on the pandemic and activities of the population.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A professor at Georgia Tech has designed software that combines biological data on the pandemic with demographic data of the at-risk population so that health officials can develop a game plan to limit the pandemic\u2019s spread."}],"uid":"27902","created_gmt":"2014-02-21 15:52:28","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:15:55","author":"Brett Israel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-02-21T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-02-21T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"278171":{"id":"278171","type":"image","title":"Eva K. Lee","body":null,"created":"1449244168","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:49:28","changed":"1475894971","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:31","alt":"Eva K. Lee","file":{"fid":"198837","name":"eva-lee-profile.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/eva-lee-profile_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/eva-lee-profile_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":97207,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/eva-lee-profile_0.jpg?itok=FMHhbMft"}}},"media_ids":["278171"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"1629","name":"AAAS"},{"id":"1043","name":"eva lee"},{"id":"729","name":"pandemic"},{"id":"167642","name":"systems engineering"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"39541","name":"Systems"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71891","name":"Health and Medicine"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBrett Israel\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404-385-1933\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/btiatl\u0022\u003E@btiatl\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"277291":{"#nid":"277291","#data":{"type":"news","title":"To nick or not to nick the DNA for genome engineering","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EExploiting the use of DNA single- and double-strand breaking forms of the I-SceI endonuclease to stimulate homologous recombination and gene targeting in budding yeast and in human cells, the research of Samantha S. Katz in Francesca Storici\u2019 lab provides new mechanistic insights into the process of nick-induced DNA recombination and on the function of nicking enzymes in genetic engineering. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EEnzymes generating a site-specific double-strand break (DSB) in DNA, including homing endonucleases, such as I-SceI, are widely utilized to promote strand exchange between homologous sequences for purposes of characterizing mechanisms of DNA recombination and repair, and to facilitate targeted gene correction in many cellular systems from bacteria to human cells. However, in the most recent years, enzymes capable of making single-strand breaks (SSBs), nickases, have attracted a lot of attention. While a DSB can efficiently stimulate recombination, the competing non-homologous end-joining pathway for DSB repair is often favored, especially in human cells, and poses a major safety problem for gene targeting strategies, in particular for gene therapy applications, because it frequently leads to in\/dels or chromosomal rearrangements. Recent work has shown that an SSB not only facilitates gene targeting, but importantly also leads to less off-site targeting damage than a DSB. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EDespite the relevance of nicking enzymes, there are only very few available nicking systems, and still a lot remains to be understood about how a nick stimulates recombination and gene targeting in cells. The work conducted by Samantha S. Katz, recent PhD recipient in Francesca Storici lab at the School of Biology of Georgia Tech, in collaboration with Dr. Frederick Gimble from Purdue University, pioneers the in vivo function of the first available I-SceI nicking variant (K223I I-SceI). The team demonstrates that K223I I-SceI nickase efficiently stimulates gene correction in both yeast and human cells, and that such stimulation can occur even at loci 10 kb distant from the break site. Moreover, said Dr. Storici: \u0026lt;\u0026lt;we prove that the K223I I-SceI nickase stimulates recombination via a mechanism that is different from that by which the wild-type I-SceI double-strand nuclease works\u0026gt;\u0026gt;. The authors propose two models for nick-induce gene correction, either by simple unwinding of the broken strand at the nick site, or as a consequence of replication fork collapse and strand resection. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EThis study provides robust support to the fact that SSB-driven gene editing is a valuable mechanism for applications in molecular biology and biotechnology. The study is just published as an article in the journal PLoS One (Tuesday February 18, 2014):\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EKatz, S. S., Gimble, F. S. and Storici, F. To nick or not to nick: comparison of I-SceI single- and double-strand break-induced recombination in yeast and human cells\u003Cbr \/\u003EPLoS One, Vol 9, Issue 2, e88840, 2014 \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.plosone.org\/article\/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0088840\u0022 title=\u0022http:\/\/www.plosone.org\/article\/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0088840\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.plosone.org\/article\/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0088840\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThis project was supported by the Georgia Cancer Coalition grant (award R9028), the National Science Foundation grant MCB-1021763, and the Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN) fellowship.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EExploiting the use of DNA single- and double-strand breaking forms of the I-SceI endonuclease to stimulate homologous recombination and gene targeting in budding yeast and in human cells, the research of Samantha S. Katz in Francesca Storici\u2019 lab provides new mechanistic insights into the process of nick-induced DNA recombination and on the function of nicking enzymes in genetic engineering.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Exploiting the use of DNA single- and double-strand breaking forms of the I-SceI endonuclease to stimulate homologous recombination and gene targeting in budding yeast and in human cells"}],"uid":"27245","created_gmt":"2014-02-19 09:50:30","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:15:55","author":"Troy Hilley","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-02-19T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-02-19T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"277531":{"id":"277531","type":"image","title":"Samantha S. Katz with Francesca Storici","body":null,"created":"1449244151","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:49:11","changed":"1475894968","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:28","alt":"Samantha S. Katz with Francesca Storici","file":{"fid":"198823","name":"katzstorici.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/katzstorici_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/katzstorici_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":37820,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/katzstorici_0.jpg?itok=KjzEkqzM"}}},"media_ids":["277531"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/","title":"School of Biology"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/people\/francesca-storici","title":"Francesca Storici"}],"groups":[{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"140","name":"Cancer Research"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[{"id":"13560","name":"Francesca Storici"},{"id":"2003","name":"Georgia Cancer Coalition"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"276481":{"#nid":"276481","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Single Chip Device to Provide Real-Time 3-D Images from Inside the Heart and Blood Vessels","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EResearchers have developed the technology for a catheter-based device that would provide forward-looking, real-time, three-dimensional imaging from inside the heart, coronary arteries and peripheral blood vessels. With its volumetric imaging, the new device could better guide surgeons working in the heart, and potentially allow more of patients\u2019 clogged arteries to be cleared without major surgery.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe device integrates ultrasound transducers with processing electronics on a single 1.4 millimeter silicon chip. On-chip processing of signals allows data from more than a hundred elements on the device to be transmitted using just 13 tiny cables, permitting it to easily travel through circuitous blood vessels. The forward-looking images produced by the device would provide significantly more information than existing cross-sectional ultrasound.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearchers have developed and tested a prototype able to provide image data at 60 frames per second, and plan next to conduct animal studies that could lead to commercialization of the device.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur device will allow doctors to see the whole volume that is in front of them within a blood vessel,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/faculty\/degertekin\u0022\u003EF. Levent Degertekin\u003C\/a\u003E, a professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EGeorge W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E at the Georgia Institute of Technology. \u201cThis will give cardiologists the equivalent of a flashlight so they can see blockages ahead of them in occluded arteries. It has the potential for reducing the amount of surgery that must be done to clear these vessels.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDetails of the research were published online in the February 2014 issue of the journal \u003Cem\u003EIEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control\u003C\/em\u003E. Research leading to the device development was supported by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), part of the National Institutes of Health.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIf you\u2019re a doctor, you want to see what is going on inside the arteries and inside the heart, but most of the devices being used for this today provide only cross-sectional images,\u201d Degertekin explained. \u201cIf you have an artery that is totally blocked, for example, you need a system that tells you what\u2019s in front of you. You need to see the front, back and sidewalls altogether. That kind of information is basically not available at this time.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe single chip device combines capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (CMUT) arrays with front-end CMOS electronics technology to provide three-dimensional intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and intracardiac echography (ICE) images.\u0026nbsp; The dual-ring array includes 56 ultrasound transmit elements and 48 receive elements. When assembled, the donut-shaped array is just 1.5 millimeters in diameter, with a 430-micron center hole to accommodate a guide wire.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPower-saving circuitry in the array shuts down sensors when they are not needed, allowing the device to operate with just 20 milliwatts of power, reducing the amount of heat generated inside the body. The ultrasound transducers operate at a frequency of 20 megahertz (MHz).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EImaging devices operating within blood vessels can provide higher resolution images than devices used from outside the body because they can operate at higher frequencies. But operating inside blood vessels requires devices that are small and flexible enough to travel through the circulatory system. They must also be able to operate in blood.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDoing that requires a large number of elements to transmit and receive the ultrasound information. Transmitting data from these elements to external processing equipment could require many cable connections, potentially limiting the device\u2019s ability to be threaded inside the body.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDegertekin and his collaborators addressed that challenge by miniaturizing the elements and carrying out some of the processing on the probe itself, allowing them to obtain what they believe are clinically-useful images with only 13 cables.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cYou want the most compact and flexible catheter possible,\u201d Degertekin explained. \u201cWe could not do that without integrating the electronics and the imaging array on the same chip.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBased on their prototype, the researchers expect to conduct animal trials to demonstrate the device\u2019s potential applications. They ultimately expect to license the technology to an established medical diagnostic firm to conduct the clinical trials necessary to obtain FDA approval.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor the future, Degertekin hopes to develop a version of the device that could guide interventions in the heart under magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Other plans include further reducing the size of the device to place it on a 400-micron diameter guide wire.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to Degertekin, the research team included Jennifer Hasler, a professor in the Georgia Tech School of Electrical and Computer Engineering; Mustafa Karaman, a professor at Istanbul Technical University; Coskun Tekes, a postdoctoral fellow in the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering; Gokce Gurun and Jaime Zahorian, recent graduates of Georgia Tech\u2019s School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Georgia Tech Ph.D. students Toby Xu and Sarp Satir.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis research was supported by award number R01EB010070 from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIBIB or NIH.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECITATION\u003C\/strong\u003E: Gokce Gurun, et al., \u201cSingle-Chip CMUT-on-CMOS Front-end System for Real-Time Volumetric IVUS and ICE Imaging,\u201d (IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control, 2014). (\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1109\/TUFFC.2014.6722610\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1109\/TUFFC.2014.6722610\u003C\/a\u003E).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E177 North Avenue\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, Georgia\u0026nbsp; 30332-0181\u0026nbsp; USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon (404-894-6986) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or Brett Israel (404-385-1933) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EResearchers have developed the technology for a catheter-based device that would provide forward-looking, real-time, three-dimensional imaging from inside the heart, coronary arteries and peripheral blood vessels. With its volumetric imaging, the new device could better guide surgeons working in the heart, and potentially allow more of patients\u2019 clogged arteries to be cleared without major surgery.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Technology has been developed for a catheter-based device that would provide forward-looking, real-time, three-dimensional imaging from inside the heart and blood vessels."}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2014-02-15 21:39:42","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:15:51","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-02-18T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-02-18T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"276461":{"id":"276461","type":"image","title":"Medical imaging4","body":null,"created":"1449244131","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:48:51","changed":"1475894968","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:28","alt":"Medical imaging4","file":{"fid":"198784","name":"medical-imaging4.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/medical-imaging4_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/medical-imaging4_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":974327,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/medical-imaging4_0.jpg?itok=5AaQvx3x"}},"276431":{"id":"276431","type":"image","title":"Medical imaging1","body":null,"created":"1449244131","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:48:51","changed":"1475894966","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:26","alt":"Medical imaging1","file":{"fid":"198781","name":"medical-imaging1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/medical-imaging1_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/medical-imaging1_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1573859,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/medical-imaging1_0.jpg?itok=ukKBrUue"}},"276471":{"id":"276471","type":"image","title":"Medical imaging5","body":null,"created":"1449244131","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:48:51","changed":"1475894968","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:28","alt":"Medical imaging5","file":{"fid":"198785","name":"medical-imaging5.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/medical-imaging5_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/medical-imaging5_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1354362,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/medical-imaging5_0.jpg?itok=ciU4apa8"}},"276441":{"id":"276441","type":"image","title":"medical imaging2","body":null,"created":"1449244131","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:48:51","changed":"1475894966","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:26","alt":"medical imaging2","file":{"fid":"198782","name":"medical-imaging2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/medical-imaging2_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/medical-imaging2_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1343256,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/medical-imaging2_0.jpg?itok=O-v5YafR"}},"276451":{"id":"276451","type":"image","title":"Medical imaging3","body":null,"created":"1449244131","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:48:51","changed":"1475894968","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:28","alt":"Medical imaging3","file":{"fid":"198783","name":"medical-imaging3.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/medical-imaging3_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/medical-imaging3_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1522102,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/medical-imaging3_0.jpg?itok=ttqh2k4Q"}}},"media_ids":["276461","276431","276471","276441","276451"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"987","name":"imaging"},{"id":"17041","name":"Levent Degertekin"},{"id":"2776","name":"medical imaging"},{"id":"167377","name":"School of Mechanical Engineering"},{"id":"86611","name":"transducer"},{"id":"7677","name":"ultrasound"},{"id":"86601","name":"volumetric imaging"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"39451","name":"Electronics and Nanotechnology"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71891","name":"Health and Medicine"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearch News\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E(404) 894-6986\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"276601":{"#nid":"276601","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Dixon Receives NSF CAREER Award","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJ. Brandon Dixon, assistant professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, has been awarded a prestigious 2014 Early Faculty Career Development (CAREER) Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation on \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.nsf.gov\/awardsearch\/showAward?AWD_ID=1351341\u0026amp;HistoricalAwards=false\u0022\u003Emulti-scale approaches to quantify biomechanical control of lymphatic pump function\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe CAREER Program offers the NSF\u2019s most prestigious awards in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education, and the effective integration of research and education within the context of the mission of their organizations.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELymphatics exist in all higher vertebrates, returning fluid, proteins, lipids, and immune cells to the circulation through the intrinsic contractility of the vessels themselves. Dixon will test the extent that the inherent mechanical sensitivity of lymphatic contractility is capable of coordinating the contraction of these individual pumping units in way that preserves energy and maximizes lymph flow.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cI am excited to receive this CAREER award that will support my research on lymphatic mechanobiology,\u201d exclaims Dixon. \u201cThese vessels have a remarkable ability to transport fluid under widely varying physiologic conditions, rapidly adjusting their function to compensate for changes in mechanical loading. Understanding how lymphatic biology has utilized mechanics to regulate and coordinate its drainage response to varying demand will not only provide key insight into diseases such as lymphedema, but it will also provide bio-inspired design approaches for developing artificial drainage networks in tissue engineering and nanotechnology that function in an as-needed fashion.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBill Wepfer, Chair of the Woodruff School, offers his congratulations by stating, \u201cDr. Dixon\u2019s research focuses on the development and application of technologies for studying fundamental problems in lymphatic biology and disease: specifically the network which moves fats from the intestines to the blood and moves liquids and cells from body tissues back to the blood. Brandon\u0027s work has great potential for the development of new transformative therapies.\u0022\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAn additional and integral part of the award is an educational outreach component. To advance science engineering and lymphatic education, Dixon will target the current disparity in medical training in lymphatic biology by developing instructional modules on lymphatic physiology to be implemented in coordination with the Lymphedema Clinic at the Emory Winship Cancer Institute. Research from this award will also be integrated into a graduate level Biotransport course at Georgia Tech, providing students with unsolved engineering problems in lymphatic biomechanics through a problem-based learning approach. Lastly, to increase student exposure to bioengineering, particularly in underrepresented groups early in their education, elementary students will be engaged in interactive research-based science education utilizing the IPad, where they will see first-hand the benefits of engineering for understanding and treating disease.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EDixon\u2019s award in the amount of $400,000 over five years will provide support for his research.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EDixon is the thirty-second Woodruff School faculty member to earn a CAREER Award.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Brandon Dixon recognized for multi-scale approaches to quantify biomechanical control of lymphatic pump function"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBrandon Dixon recognized for multi-scale approaches to quantify biomechanical control of lymphatic pump function\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Brandon Dixon recognized for multi-scale approaches to quantify biomechanical control of lymphatic pump function"}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-02-17 11:21:29","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:15:51","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-02-17T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-02-17T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"276611":{"id":"276611","type":"image","title":"J. Brandon Dixon, assistant professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, with Timothy Kassis, American Heart Association Pre-doctoral Fellow, PhD Candidate","body":null,"created":"1449244151","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:49:11","changed":"1475894968","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:28","alt":"J. Brandon Dixon, assistant professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, with Timothy Kassis, American Heart Association Pre-doctoral Fellow, PhD Candidate","file":{"fid":"198790","name":"dixon_career_award_2014.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/dixon_career_award_2014_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/dixon_career_award_2014_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":23288,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/dixon_career_award_2014_0.jpg?itok=tiNB-Lf0"}}},"media_ids":["276611"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/llbb.gatech.edu\/Home.html","title":"Dixon lab website"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.nsf.gov\/funding\/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=503214","title":"NSF CAREER Program"}],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:melissa.zbeeb@me.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EMelissa Zbeeb\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Manager\u003Cbr \/\u003EGeorge W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["melissa.zbeeb@me.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"276351":{"#nid":"276351","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Researchers Hijack Cancer Migration Mechanism to \u201cMove\u201d Brain Tumors","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EOne factor that makes glioblastoma cancers so difficult to treat is that malignant cells from the tumors spread throughout the brain by following nerve fibers and blood vessels to invade new locations. Now, researchers have learned to hijack this migratory mechanism, turning it against the cancer by using a film of nanofibers thinner than human hair to lure tumor cells away.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EInstead of invading new areas, the migrating cells latch onto the specially-designed nanofibers and follow them to a location \u2013 potentially outside the brain \u2013 where they can be captured and killed. Using this technique, researchers can partially move tumors from inoperable locations to more accessible ones. Though it won\u2019t eliminate the cancer, the new technique reduced the size of brain tumors in animal models, suggesting that this form of brain cancer might one day be treated more like a chronic disease.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe have designed a polymer thin film nanofiber that mimics the structure of nerves and blood vessels that brain tumor cells normally use to invade other parts of the brain,\u201d explained \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.bme.gatech.edu\/facultystaff\/faculty_record.php?id=59\u0022\u003ERavi Bellamkonda\u003C\/a\u003E, lead investigator and chair of the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.bme.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EWallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University\u003C\/a\u003E. \u201cThe cancer cells normally latch onto these natural structures and ride them like a monorail to other parts of the brain. By providing an attractive alternative fiber, we can efficiently move the tumors along a different path to a destination that we choose.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDetails of the technique were reported February 16 in the journal \u003Cem\u003ENature Materials\u003C\/em\u003E. The research was supported by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health; by Atlanta-based Ian\u2019s Friends Foundation, and by the Georgia Research Alliance. In addition to the Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, the research team included Children\u2019s Healthcare of Atlanta and Emory University.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETreating the Glioblastoma multiforme cancer, also known as GBM, is difficult because the aggressive and invasive cancer often develops in parts of the brain where surgeons are reluctant to operate. Even if the primary tumor can be removed, however, it has often spread to other locations before being diagnosed.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENew drugs are being developed to attack GBM, but the Atlanta-based researchers decided to take a more engineering approach. Anjana Jain, who is the first author of this GBM study, is now an assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts. As a Georgia Tech graduate student, Jain worked on biomaterials for spinal cord regeneration. Then, as a postdoctoral fellow in the Bellamkonda lab, she saw the opportunity to apply her graduate work to develop potential new treatment modalities for GBM.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe signaling pathways we were trying to activate to repair the spinal cord were the same pathways researchers would like to inactivate for glioblastomas,\u201d said Jain. \u201cMoving into cancer applications was a natural progression, one that held great interest because of the human toll of the disease.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETumor cells typically invade healthy tissue by secreting enzymes that allow the invasion to take place, she explained. That activity requires a significant amount of energy from the cancer cells.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur idea was to give the tumor cells a path of least resistance, one that resembles the natural structures in the brain, but is attractive because it does not require the cancer cells to expend any more energy,\u201d she explained.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EExperimentally, the researchers created fibers made from polycaprolactone (PCL) polymer surrounded by a polyurethane carrier. The fibers, whose surface simulates the contours of nerves and blood vessels that the cancer cells normally follow, were implanted into the brains of rats in which a human GBM tumor was growing. The fibers, just half the diameter of a human hair, served as tumor guides, leading the migrating cells to a \u201ctumor collector\u201d gel containing the drug cyclopamine, which is toxic to cancer cells. For comparison, the researchers also implanted fibers containing no PCL or an untextured PCL film in other rat brains, and left some rats untreated. The tumor collector gel was located physically outside the brain.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAfter 18 days, the researchers found that compared to other rats, tumor sizes were substantially reduced in animals that had received the PCL nanofiber implants near the tumors. Tumor cells had moved the entire length of all fibers into the collector gel outside the brain.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile eradicating a cancer would always be the ideal treatment, Bellamkonda said, the new technique might be able to control the growth of inoperable cancers, allowing patients to live normal lives despite the disease.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIf we can provide cancer an escape valve of these fibers, that may provide a way of maintaining slow-growing tumors such that, while they may be inoperable, people could live with the cancers because they are not growing,\u201d he said. \u201cPerhaps with ideas like this, we may be able to live with cancer just as we live with diabetes or high blood pressure.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBefore the technique can be used in humans, however, it will have to undergo extensive testing and be approved by the FDA \u2013 a process that can take as much as ten years. Among the next steps are to evaluate the technique with other forms of brain cancer, and other types of cancer that can be difficult to remove.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETreating brain cancer with nanofibers could be preferable to existing drug and radiation techniques, Bellamkonda said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOne attraction about the approach is that it is purely a device,\u201d he explained. \u201cThere are no drugs entering the blood stream and circulating in the brain to harm healthy cells. Treating these cancers with minimally-invasive films could be a lot less dangerous than deploying pharmaceutical chemicals.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESeed funding for early research to verify the potential for the technique was sponsored by Ian\u2019s Friends Foundation, an Atlanta-based organization that supports research into childhood brain cancers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We couldn\u0027t be more thrilled with the progress that Georgia Tech and Professor Bellamkonda\u0027s lab have made in helping find a solution for children with both inoperable brain tumors and for those suffering with tumors in more invasive areas,\u201d said Phil Yagoda, one of the organization\u2019s founders. \u201cWith this research team\u2019s dedication and vision, this exciting and exceptional work is now closer to reality. By enabling the movement of an inoperable tumor to an operable spot, this work could give hope to all the children and parents of those children fighting their greatest fight, the battle for their lives.\u0022 \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to those already mentioned, the research team included Barunashish Brahma from the Department of Neurosurgery at Children\u2019s Healthcare of Atlanta; Tobey MacDonald from the Department of Pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine, and Martha Betancur, Gaurangkuma Patel, Chandra Valmikinathan, Vivek Mukhatyar, Ajit Vakharia and S. Balakrishna Pai from the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis research was supported by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) through EUREKA award number R01-CA153229. Any conclusions or opinions are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECITATION\u003C\/strong\u003E: Anjana Jain, et al., \u201cGuiding intracortical brain tumour cells to an extracortical cytotoxic hydrogel using aligned polymeric nanofibres,\u201d (Nature Materials, 2014). (\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1038\/nmat3878\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1038\/nmat3878\u003C\/a\u003E).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E177 North Avenue\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, Georgia\u0026nbsp; 30332-0181\u0026nbsp; USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon (404-894-6986) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or Brett Israel (404-385-1933) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EOne factor that makes glioblastoma cancers so difficult to treat is that malignant cells from the tumors spread throughout the brain by following nerve fibers and blood vessels to invade new locations. Now, researchers have learned to hijack this migratory mechanism, turning it against the cancer by using a film of nanofibers thinner than human hair to lure tumor cells away.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Researchers are fighting brain cancer by hijacking the mechanism the tumors normally use to spread."}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2014-02-15 20:28:47","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:15:51","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-02-16T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-02-16T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"276291":{"id":"276291","type":"image","title":"Glioblastoma under microscope","body":null,"created":"1449244131","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:48:51","changed":"1475894966","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:26","alt":"Glioblastoma under microscope","file":{"fid":"198770","name":"gbm-microscope-rotator.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gbm-microscope-rotator_1.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gbm-microscope-rotator_1.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":154271,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/gbm-microscope-rotator_1.jpg?itok=viKVqAsT"}},"276321":{"id":"276321","type":"image","title":"Glioblastoma sample2","body":null,"created":"1449244131","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:48:51","changed":"1475894966","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:26","alt":"Glioblastoma sample2","file":{"fid":"198773","name":"gbm-samples2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gbm-samples2_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gbm-samples2_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":958636,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/gbm-samples2_0.jpg?itok=9dLDNTGY"}},"276311":{"id":"276311","type":"image","title":"Glioblastoma sample","body":null,"created":"1449244131","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:48:51","changed":"1475894966","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:26","alt":"Glioblastoma sample","file":{"fid":"198772","name":"gbm-samples.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gbm-samples_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gbm-samples_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1367399,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/gbm-samples_0.jpg?itok=D6yBXfw0"}},"276301":{"id":"276301","type":"image","title":"Hijacking Cancer Cells - Ravi Bellamkonda","body":null,"created":"1449244131","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:48:51","changed":"1475894966","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:26","alt":"Hijacking Cancer Cells - Ravi Bellamkonda","file":{"fid":"198771","name":"gbm-research-bellamkonda.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gbm-research-bellamkonda_1.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gbm-research-bellamkonda_1.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1544256,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/gbm-research-bellamkonda_1.jpg?itok=g9froqEY"}},"276331":{"id":"276331","type":"image","title":"Glioblastoma sample3","body":null,"created":"1449244131","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:48:51","changed":"1475894966","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:26","alt":"Glioblastoma sample3","file":{"fid":"198774","name":"gbm-samples3.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gbm-samples3_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gbm-samples3_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1252222,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/gbm-samples3_0.jpg?itok=7N8uJ1KH"}}},"media_ids":["276291","276321","276311","276301","276331"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"140","name":"Cancer Research"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"149","name":"Nanotechnology and Nanoscience"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"1912","name":"brain"},{"id":"28521","name":"Brain Cancer"},{"id":"28561","name":"Glioblastoma"},{"id":"2471","name":"Ravi Bellamkonda"},{"id":"1442","name":"tumor"},{"id":"86551","name":"tumor migration"},{"id":"82671","name":"Wallace Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"39471","name":"Materials"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71891","name":"Health and Medicine"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearch News\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E(404) 894-6986\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"274751":{"#nid":"274751","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Straight to the target, using aptamers for gene targeting","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETaking a DNA molecule into the vicinity of a homologous target gene by a DNA aptamer provides a many-fold enhancement of gene correction frequency at that genetic locus. Aptamer-guided gene targeting, or AGT, is a novel approach for genetic engineering developed by Patrick Ruff in Francesca Storici\u2019s group.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGene targeting is a genetic technique to modify an endogenous DNA sequence at will, by changing a mutant DNA sequence into a wild-type copy or \u003Cem\u003Evice versa\u003C\/em\u003E in its genomic location via homologous recombination. Gene targeting is therefore a fundamental process not only for functional analysis of genes, proteins, and complex biological systems, but potentially also in molecular therapy for the prevention and cure of human genetic diseases originating from specific DNA alterations. However, editing of genetic information is a challenging task. The goal of gene correction goes far beyond the process of making a desired change in a chosen target gene in the most efficient way. It is essential that the product of the modified gene should then be functional, the DNA correction stable, and the engineering process accurate and restrained to the target in order to minimize unwanted DNA, cellular, and\/or tissue damage.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the most recent years a lot of progress has been made in activating cellular DNA repair and recombination machinery at the target sites for gene correction, mainly via the specific induction of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) at these sites. However, there has been much less focus on the other essential component for gene targeting: the donor DNA necessary to make the desired modification. To address the problem of donor DNA availability, Patrick Ruff, fresh PhD recipient in the lab of Francesca Storici from the School of Biology at Georgia Tech, developed a novel gene targeting approach, aptamer-guided gene targeting (AGT), in which he bound the homing endonuclease I-SceI by a DNA aptamer fused to the donor DNA of choice, to target the donor DNA to a desired genetic locus located next to an I-SceI cut site. DNA aptamers, which mimic antibodies, are sequences of DNA that are able to bind to a specific target with high affinity because of their unique secondary structure. Using a variant of capillary electrophoresis systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (CE-SELEX) called \u201cNon-SELEX\u201d, Patrick obtained a DNA aptamer for the I-SceI endonuclease, and with the assistance of Storici lab graduate students Kyung Duk Koh and Havva Keskin, and the research scientist Rekha Pai, found that the AGT approach increases the efficiency of gene targeting by guiding an exogenous donor DNA into the vicinity of the site targeted for genetic modification. Dr. Storici said: \u0022by utilizing DNA oligodeoxyribonucleotides that contained the I-SceI aptamer sequence as well as homology to repair the I-SceI DSB and correct a target gene, we were able to increase gene targeting frequencies up to 32-fold over a non-binding control in yeast and up to 16-fold over a non-binding control in human cells\u0022.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis study shows that DNA aptamers can be exploited to increase donor DNA availability, and thus promote the transfer of genetic information from a donor DNA molecule to a desired genetic locus. The AGT strategy offers a novel way to increase gene targeting efficiency, represents the first investigation to use aptamers in the context of gene correction, and provides a new direction to the field of genetic engineering.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe study is just published as an article in the journal \u003Cem\u003ENucleic Acids Res \u003C\/em\u003E(Wednesday February 5, 2014):\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch4\u003ERuff, P., Koh K.D., Keskin H., Pai R.B. and Storici, F. Aptamer-guided gene targeting in yeast and human cells, Nucleic Acids Res, Feb 5 2014 doi:10.1093\/nar\/gku101 \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/nar.oxfordjournals.org\/cgi\/reprint\/gku101?ijkey=AAb4RMp5Dicgeun\u0026amp;keytype=ref\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/nar.oxfordjournals.org\/cgi\/reprint\/gku101?\u003Cbr \/\u003E ijkey=AAb4RMp5Dicgeun\u0026amp;keytype=ref \u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003EThis project was supported by the Georgia Tech Fund for Innovation in Research and Education (GTFIRE-021763), the NIH grant (R21EB9228), and the Georgia Cancer Coalition grant (award R9028).\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETaking a DNA molecule into the vicinity of a homologous target gene by a DNA aptamer provides a many-fold enhancement of gene correction frequency at that genetic locus. Aptamer-guided gene targeting, or AGT, is a novel approach for genetic engineering developed by Patrick Ruff in Francesca Storici\u2019s group.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Taking a DNA molecule into the vicinity of a homologous target gene by a DNA aptamer provides a many-fold enhancement of gene correction frequency at that genetic locus."}],"uid":"27245","created_gmt":"2014-02-07 07:43:58","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:15:51","author":"Troy Hilley","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-02-07T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-02-07T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"274731":{"id":"274731","type":"image","title":"Patrick Ruff","body":null,"created":"1449244112","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:48:32","changed":"1475894964","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:24","alt":"Patrick Ruff","file":{"fid":"198731","name":"patruff.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/patruff_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/patruff_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":78604,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/patruff_0.jpg?itok=Pk00urvF"}},"274741":{"id":"274741","type":"image","title":"Cartoon of a bifunctional oligonucleotide","body":null,"created":"1449244112","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:48:32","changed":"1475894964","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:24","alt":"Cartoon of a bifunctional oligonucleotide","file":{"fid":"198732","name":"pat_aptamer_figure_image_1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/pat_aptamer_figure_image_1_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/pat_aptamer_figure_image_1_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":651724,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/pat_aptamer_figure_image_1_0.jpg?itok=-NIbWb8v"}}},"media_ids":["274731","274741"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/","title":"School of Biology"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/people\/francesca-storici","title":"Francesca Storici"}],"groups":[{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"13560","name":"Francesca Storici"},{"id":"86101","name":"gene targeting"},{"id":"86071","name":"Patrick Ruff"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Biology\u003Cbr \/\u003E310 Ferst Dr. \u003Cbr \/\u003EAtlanta, Georgia 30332 \u003Cbr \/\u003E PHONE 404-894-3700\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"273351":{"#nid":"273351","#data":{"type":"news","title":"In Vitro Innovation: Testing Nanomedicine With Blood Cells On A Microchip","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EDesigning nanomedicine to combat diseases is a hot area of scientific research, primarily for treating cancer, but very little is known in the context of atherosclerotic disease. Scientists have engineered a microchip coated with blood vessel cells to learn more about the conditions under which nanoparticles accumulate in the plaque-filled arteries of patients with atherosclerosis, the underlying cause of myocardial infarction and stroke.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the research, microchips were coated with a thin layer of endothelial cells, which make up the interior surface of blood vessels. In healthy blood vessels, endothelial cells act as a barrier to keep foreign objects out of the bloodstream. But at sites prone to atherosclerosis, the endothelial barrier breaks down, allowing things to move in and out of arteries that shouldn\u2019t. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn a new study, nanoparticles were able to cross the endothelial cell layer on the microchip under conditions that mimic the permeable layer in atherosclerosis. The results on the microfluidic device correlated well with nanoparticle accumulation in the arteries of an animal model with atherosclerosis, demonstrating the device\u2019s capability to help screen nanoparticles and optimize their design. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s a simple model \u2014 a microchip, not cell culture dish \u2014 which means that a simple endothelialized microchip with microelectrodes can show some yet important prediction of what\u2019s happening in a large animal model,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/faculty\/kim\u0022\u003EYongTae (Tony) Kim\u003C\/a\u003E, an assistant professor in bioengineering in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research was published in January online in the journal \u003Cem\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.1322725111\u0022\u003EProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E. This work represents a multidisciplinary effort of researchers that are collaborating within the Program of Excellence in Nanotechnology funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The team includes researchers at the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam, Kyushu Institute of Technology in Japan, and the Boston University School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKim began the work as his post-doctoral fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the lab of Robert Langer. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis is a wonderful example of developing a novel nanotechnology approach to address an important medical problem,\u201d said Robert Langer, the David H. Koch Institute Professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who is renowned for his work in tissue engineering and drug delivery.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKim and Langer teamed up with researchers from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. Mark Lobatto, co-lead author works in the laboratories of Willem Mulder, an expert in cardiovascular nanomedicine and Zahi Fayad, the director of Mount Sinai\u2019s Translational and Molecular Imaging Institute. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe work represents a unique integration of microfluidic technology, cardiovascular nanomedicine, vascular biology and in vivo imaging. We now better understand how nanoparticle targeting in atherosclerosis works.\u201d Lobatto says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers hope that their microchip can accelerate the nanomedicine development process by better predicting therapeutic nanoparticles\u2019 performance in larger animal models, such as rabbits. Such a complimentary \u003Cem\u003Ein vitro\u003C\/em\u003E model would save time and money and require fewer animals.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFew nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems, compared to proposed studies, have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Kim said. The entire process developing one nanomedicine platform can take 15 years to go from idea to synthesis to testing \u003Cem\u003Ein vitro\u003C\/em\u003E to testing in vivo to approval. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThat\u2019s a frustrating process,\u201d Kim said. \u201cOften what works in cell culture dishes doesn\u2019t work in animal models.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo help speed up nanomedicine research by improving the predictive capabilities of \u003Cem\u003Ein vitro\u003C\/em\u003E testing, Kim and colleagues designed their microchip to mimic what\u2019s going on in the body better than what is currently possible through routine cell culture.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIn the future, we can make microchips that are much more similar to what\u2019s going on in animal models, or even human beings, compared to the conventional cell culture dish studies,\u201d Kim said. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOn their microchip, scientists can control the permeability of the endothelial cell layer by altering the rate of blood flow across the cells or by introducing a chemical that is released by the body during inflammation. The researchers discovered that the permeability of the cells on the microchip correlated well with the permeability of microvessels in a large animal model of atherosclerosis. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe microchips allows for precise control of the mechanical and chemical environment around the living cells. By using the microchip, the researchers can create physiologically relevant conditions to cells by altering the rate of blood flow across the cells or by introducing a chemical that is released by the body during inflammation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKim said that while this microchip-based system offers better predictability than current cell culture experiments, it won\u2019t replace the need for the animal studies, which provide a relatively more complete picture of how well a particular nanomedicine might work in humans. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis is better than an \u003Cem\u003Ein vitro\u003C\/em\u003E dish experiment, but it\u2019s not going to perfectly replicate what\u2019s going on inside the body in near future,\u201d Kim said. \u201cIt will help make this whole process faster and save a number of animals.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis research is supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute as a Program of Excellence in Nanotechnology Award (HHSN268201000045C), the National Cancer Institute (NCI) (CA151884); the David H. Koch Prostate Cancer Foundation Award in Nanotherapeutics, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (R01 EB009638 and R01CA155432). Any conclusions or opinions are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the sponsoring agencies.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECITATION\u003C\/strong\u003E: YongTae Kim, et al., \u201cProbing nanoparticle translocation across the permeable endothelium in experimental atherosclerosis,\u201d (PNAS, January 2014). (\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.1322725111\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.1322725111\u003C\/a\u003E).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E177 North Avenue\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, Georgia 30332-0181 USA\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/GTResearchNews\u0022\u003E@GTResearchNews\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts:\u003C\/strong\u003E Brett Israel (404-385-1933) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/btiatl\u0022\u003E@btiatl\u003C\/a\u003E) or John Toon (404-894-6986) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter:\u003C\/strong\u003E Brett Israel\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EDesigning nanomedicine to combat diseases is a hot area of scientific research, primarily for treating cancer, but very little is known in the context of atherosclerotic disease. Scientists have engineered a microchip coated with blood vessel cells to learn more about the conditions under which nanoparticles accumulate in the plaque-filled arteries of patients with atherosclerosis, the underlying cause of myocardial infarction and stroke.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Scientists have engineered a microchip coated with blood vessel cells to learn more about the conditions under which nanoparticles accumulate in the plaque-filled arteries of patients with atherosclerosis, the underlying cause of myocardial infarctio"}],"uid":"27902","created_gmt":"2014-02-04 11:35:46","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:15:47","author":"Brett Israel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-02-04T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-02-04T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"273321":{"id":"273321","type":"image","title":"YongTae (Tony) Kim","body":null,"created":"1449244112","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:48:32","changed":"1475894964","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:24","alt":"YongTae (Tony) Kim","file":{"fid":"198699","name":"tonykim.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tonykim_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tonykim_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":24337,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tonykim_0.jpg?itok=wfm2Hafl"}},"273311":{"id":"273311","type":"image","title":"Blood Cells On A Microchip","body":null,"created":"1449244112","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:48:32","changed":"1475894964","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:24","alt":"Blood Cells On A Microchip","file":{"fid":"198698","name":"bloodvesselcellmicrochip.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bloodvesselcellmicrochip_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bloodvesselcellmicrochip_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":121331,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/bloodvesselcellmicrochip_0.jpg?itok=GEHOD8db"}}},"media_ids":["273321","273311"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"149","name":"Nanotechnology and Nanoscience"}],"keywords":[{"id":"7270","name":"atherosclerosis"},{"id":"85641","name":"blood vessels"},{"id":"8949","name":"Heart Disease"},{"id":"2194","name":"nanomedicine"},{"id":"107","name":"Nanotechnology"},{"id":"82031","name":"Tony Kim"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71891","name":"Health and Medicine"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBrett Israel\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404-385-1933\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/btiatl\u0022\u003E@btiatl\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"272841":{"#nid":"272841","#data":{"type":"news","title":"The Arthritis Revolution","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EI had the pleasure of recently speaking with Dr. Louis Pack, a physician with over 40 years of clinical and surgical experience treating patients with joint pain.\u0026nbsp; Dr. Pack called me out of the blue just before the holiday break and said he would like to meet after reading our recent publications on osteoarthritis joint imaging and intra-articular therapeutic delivery strategies.\u0026nbsp; He told me he treats a wide range of patients from older individuals debilitated with arthritis and considering joint replacement to elite athletes looking for a biomechanical edge in their sport of choice.\u0026nbsp; His fundamental premise is that using orthotics to correct joint mal-alignment and leg length discrepancies can relieve pain and enhance performance for millions of individuals without surgery.\u0026nbsp; It is not often that I meet a clinician with a shared passion for the importance of biomechanics so I agreed to meet Dr. Pack at his office out near Lake Oconee and then he visited the Petit Institute and spoke to our students earlier this month.\u0026nbsp; As I was leaving his office, I was surprised to meet tennis pro Robby Ginepri walking in!\u0026nbsp; Ginepri lives in the Atlanta area and when I told him my daughter Sophia plays for the state champion Walton High School tennis team he responded that he played for their rival Wheeler High School. \u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EOsteoarthritis (OA) affects nearly 27 million people in the US alone and is by far the leading cause of chronic disability worldwide.\u0026nbsp; In addition to long-term pain and discomfort, the economic cost of degenerative joint diseases collectively is over $100 billion.\u0026nbsp; Remarkably, there are no FDA-approved disease-modifying drugs to treat OA.\u0026nbsp; Several Petit Institute faculty conduct OA-related research to address grand challenges related to improving early diagnosis, understanding the biomechanical etiology of the disease, developing novel therapeutics and intra-articular delivery methods, and establishing predictive preclinical models to test new treatment strategies. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EDr. Pack showed me how poorly my own feet and ankles were aligned and suggested making custom orthotics for me.\u0026nbsp; Although I don\u2019t have OA (yet!), I do have recurring low back problems.\u0026nbsp; The orthotics were not cheap but they\u2019ll be worth every penny if they fix my back pain.\u0026nbsp; While our research primarily focuses on regenerative strategies to resurface degenerating joints, Dr. Pack got me thinking about what the impact would be of widespread use of biomechanically optimized orthotics as a preventative joint health strategy.\u0026nbsp; Elite athletes like Robby Ginepri have figured out that optimal alignment gives them a competitive edge. I wonder how much we could save our healthcare system by performing biomechanical evaluations of joint kinematics of young patients before they develop joint pain and OA?\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWritten by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:robert.guldberg@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EBob Guldberg, PhD\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EExecutive Director, Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering \u0026amp; Bioscience\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cem\u003ERobert E. Guldberg, Ph.D. holds the Parker H. Petit Director\u0027s Chair in Bioengineering and Bioscience at the Georgia Institute of Technology.\u0026nbsp; He is a Professor in the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering and program faculty member in the Georgia Tech\/Emory Department of Biomedical Engineering.\u0026nbsp; Under his leadership, the Petit Institute has expanded significantly to support the research of over 150 faculty from a broad range of science, engineering, and clinical disciplines, 17 interdisciplinary research centers, and two graduate programs in bioengineering and bioinformatics.\u0026nbsp; Guldberg also co-directs two research centers, the GT\/Emory Center for Regenerative Engineering and Medicine (REM) and the GT\/CHOA Center for Pediatric Innovation (CPI).\u003C\/em\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cem\u003EGuldberg\u2019s personal research interests focus on musculoskeletal growth and development, functional regeneration following traumatic injury, and degenerative diseases, including skeletal fragility and osteoarthritis. His research has resulted in over 170 book chapters and publications. Guldberg is a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) and holds several national leadership positions.\u0026nbsp; He currently serves as Chair of the Americas Chapter of the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS-AM) and was conference chair for the TERMIS-AM 2013 meeting in Atlanta.\u0026nbsp; Guldberg sits on numerous local and national advisory boards, including the National Academies Roundtable on Biomedical Engineering Materials (BEMA).\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Petit Institute executive director, Bob Guldberg, talks about osteoarthritis"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBob Guldberg and Louis Pack meet to disucs how biomechanics can be used as a preventative joint health strategy in combatting osteo arthritis\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Petit Institute executive director, Bob Guldberg, talks about osteoarthritis"}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-02-03 11:58:13","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:15:47","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-02-03T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-02-03T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"202631":{"id":"202631","type":"image","title":"Bob Guldberg","body":null,"created":"1449179952","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:59:12","changed":"1475894856","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:47:36","alt":"Bob Guldberg","file":{"fid":"196621","name":"bob_guldberg.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bob_guldberg_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bob_guldberg_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":768165,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/bob_guldberg_0.jpg?itok=MK_JgKsJ"}},"272851":{"id":"272851","type":"image","title":"Louis Pack, DPM","body":null,"created":"1449244095","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:48:15","changed":"1475894961","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:21","alt":"Louis Pack, DPM","file":{"fid":"198681","name":"packlouis.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/packlouis_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/packlouis_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":23666,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/packlouis_0.jpg?itok=F83VfMuR"}}},"media_ids":["202631","272851"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.drloupack.com\/","title":"Dr. Lou Pack website"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.ibb.gatech.edu\/","title":"Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:connect@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EPetit Institute Communications Team\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["robert.guldberg@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"272731":{"#nid":"272731","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Petit Institute Announces 2014 Class of Petit Scholars","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience at Georgia Tech announces its 2014 class of Petit Undergraduate Research Scholars.\u0026nbsp; The \u0022Petit Scholars\u0022 are top undergraduate students from Atlanta-area universities who are selecdted from a highly competitive selection process to conduct independent research projects for a full year at the Petit Institute.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn its fifteenth year, over $50,000 was raised to support the program which has now soared to support 20 new scholars in 2014.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFrom January through December of 2014, each of the 20 scholars will be mentored by a graduate student or postdoctoral fellow in a Petit Institute laboratory.\u0026nbsp; During this period, the scholars will work to develop their own research projects which they themselves have selected after a thorough interview process with potential mentors.\u0026nbsp; Research is conducted within the areas of cancer biology, biomaterials, drug design, development and delivery, molecular evolution, molecular cellular and tissue biomechanics, regenerative medicine, stem cell engineering and systems biology.\u0026nbsp; Many scholars will have made enough progress in their research by the end of the year to participate on scientific publications and\/or present at conferences. \u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe class of 2014 is represented by students from Georgia Tech, Emory University and Morehouse College:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKaitlin Ahlstedt (Chemistry\/Biochemistry) - Georgia Tech\u003Cbr \/\u003EDexter Allen (Neuroscience \u0026amp; Behavioral Biology) - Emory University\u003Cbr \/\u003EKevin Bai (Biomedical Engineering) - Georgia Tech\u003Cbr \/\u003EKristin Casey (Chemical \u0026amp; Biomolecular Engineering) - Georgia Tech\u003Cbr \/\u003EDestiny Cobb (Biomedical Engineering) - Georgia Tech\u003Cbr \/\u003EMaria Diaz Ortiz (Biomedical Engineering) - Georgia Tech\u003Cbr \/\u003EShohini Ghosh-Choudhary (Biomedical Engineering) - Georgia Tech\u003Cbr \/\u003EConner Herndon (Math \u0026amp; Physics) - Georgia Tech\u003Cbr \/\u003EChangdae Lee (Electrical \u0026amp; Computer Engineering) - Georgia Tech\u003Cbr \/\u003EAshley Lockwood (Biology) - Georgia Tech\u003Cbr \/\u003EJung Mok (Biology) - Georgia Tech\u003Cbr \/\u003ERafael Ortiz (Biomedical Engineering) - Georgia Tech\u003Cbr \/\u003EAlejandro Sanchez (Chemical \u0026amp; Biomolecular Engineering) - Georgia Tech\u003Cbr \/\u003EBrian Sanner (Biomedical Engineering) - Georgia Tech\u003Cbr \/\u003EPeter Schnaak (Chemistry\/Biochemistry) - Georgia Tech\u003Cbr \/\u003EJake Sebring (Biomedical Engineering) - Georgia Tech\u003Cbr \/\u003ESraeyes Sridhar (Biomedical Engineering) - Georgia Tech\u003Cbr \/\u003ELambros Tassoulas (Biology) - Georgia Tech\u003Cbr \/\u003EEvan Teng (Biomedical Engineering) - Georgia Tech\u003Cbr \/\u003EThibault Twahirwa (Chemical \u0026amp; Biomolecular Engineering, Chemistry, Computer Science) - Morehouse College\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFunding for the Petit Scholars is supported by Atlanta area community members, including the Friends of the Petit Institute, as well as corporate sponsorship.\u0026nbsp; Funds for the 2014 class were provided by Children\u0027s Healthcare of Atlanta, Beckman Coulter Foundation, Medtronic, Jim and Sarah Borders, Karl Dasher, Terry and Sharon Dewberry, Bob and Tina Guldberg, The Kolpitcke Family, Bob and Marily Nerem, Henry and Mary Pruitt, Tom Stribling, and Bill and Carol Taylor.\u0026nbsp; If you are interested in donating to this valuable program, please \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ibb.gatech.edu\/giving-opportunities\u0022\u003Econtact us\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Program awards largest number of scholarships to date"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E20 elite undergraduate scholars awarded full-year research opportunity\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Program awards largest number of scholarships to date"}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-02-03 10:04:17","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:15:47","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-02-03T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-02-03T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"272761":{"id":"272761","type":"image","title":"2014 Class of Petit Undergraduate Research Scholars","body":null,"created":"1449244095","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:48:15","changed":"1475894961","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:21","alt":"2014 Class of Petit Undergraduate Research Scholars","file":{"fid":"198676","name":"scholars_group.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/scholars_group_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/scholars_group_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1962503,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/scholars_group_0.jpg?itok=zHz5-jRs"}}},"media_ids":["272761"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.ibb.gatech.edu\/petit-scholars","title":"Petit Scholars info and application"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.ibb.gatech.edu\/","title":"Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"248","name":"IBB"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:todd.mcdevitt@bme.gatech.edu\u0022\u003ETodd McDevitt, PhD\u003C\/a\u003E - Faculty advisor\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:colly.mitchell@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EColly Mitchell\u003C\/a\u003E - Program administrator\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["colly.mitchell@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"271081":{"#nid":"271081","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Todd McDevitt Elected to AIMBE\u2019s College of Fellows","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/aimbe.org\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EAIMBE\u003C\/a\u003E) announced its 2014 College of Fellows and Todd C. McDevitt, Ph.D.,\u0026nbsp;Carol Ann and David D. Flanagan Associate Professor\u0026nbsp;in the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.bme.gatech.edu\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EWallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E (BME) at Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, was chosen among this year\u2019s inductees. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAIMBE\u2019s College of Fellows comprises a select group of about 1,500 members who have made significant and transformational contributions to medical and biological engineering.\u0026nbsp;The College of Fellows is comprised of the top two percent of medical and biological engineers in the country.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMcDevitt\u2019s research program is focused on\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/mcdevitt.gatech.edu\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Eengineering stem cell technologies\u003C\/a\u003E, which represents efforts to transform the potential of stem cells into clinically viable and useful regenerative therapies and diagnostic tools. To date, McDevitt has been responsible for over $10 million of research funding and has mentored more than 30 pre- and postdoctoral trainees and advised over 50 undergraduate researchers.\u0026nbsp; He has published over 50 articles in the top journals in his field and he has a number of local and national awards to his credit.\u0026nbsp;McDevitt joined the BME department in 2004 and in 2010 was appointed as the director of Georgia Tech\u2019s Stem Cell Engineering Center.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe\u0026nbsp;nominations were peer reviewed by the College of Fellows Selection Committee, submitted for election, and approved by the votes of the entire College of Fellows to form\u0026nbsp;AIMBE\u2019s College of Fellows Class of 2014.\u0026nbsp;McDevitt will be officially be inducted during AIMBE\u2019s Annual Meeting at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C. on March 24, 2014.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) announced its 2014 College of Fellows"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAIMBE\u2019s College of Fellows comprises a select group of about 1,500 members who have made significant and transformational contributions to medical and biological engineering.\u0026nbsp;The College of Fellows is comprised of the top two percent of medical and biological engineers in the country.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) announced its 2014 College of Fellows"}],"uid":"27224","created_gmt":"2014-01-24 17:29:10","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:15:44","author":"Megan McDevitt","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-01-24T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-01-24T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"271091":{"id":"271091","type":"image","title":"Todd McDevitt Elected to AIMBE\u2019s College of Fellows","body":null,"created":"1449244095","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:48:15","changed":"1475894961","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:21","alt":"Todd McDevitt Elected to AIMBE\u2019s College of Fellows","file":{"fid":"198638","name":"10p1000-p37-004_copy.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/10p1000-p37-004_copy_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/10p1000-p37-004_copy_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2474162,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/10p1000-p37-004_copy_0.jpg?itok=At4Mf623"}},"254661":{"id":"254661","type":"image","title":"Todd McDevitt","body":null,"created":"1449243828","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:43:48","changed":"1475894934","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:48:54","alt":"Todd McDevitt","file":{"fid":"198186","name":"todd_mcdevitt_lab.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/todd_mcdevitt_lab_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/todd_mcdevitt_lab_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":4014690,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/todd_mcdevitt_lab_0.jpg?itok=TebBWi34"}}},"media_ids":["271091","254661"],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"1007","name":"AIMBE"},{"id":"594","name":"college of engineering"},{"id":"497","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"167413","name":"Stem Cell"},{"id":"760","name":"Todd McDevitt"},{"id":"3264","name":"Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:chris.calleri@bme.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EChris Calleri\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003ECommunications Manager\u003Cbr \/\u003EWallace H. Coulter\u0026nbsp;Department\u003Cbr \/\u003Eof Biomedical Engineering\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["chris.calleri@bme.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"270741":{"#nid":"270741","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Researchers Discover Potential Drug Targets for Early Onset Glaucoma","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EUsing a novel high-throughput screening process, scientists have for the first time identified molecules with the potential to block the accumulation of a toxic eye protein that can lead to early onset of glaucoma.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGlaucoma is a group of diseases that can damage the eye\u2019s optic nerve and cause vision loss and blindness. Elevated eye pressure is the main risk factor for optic nerve damage. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearchers have implicated a mutant form of a protein called myocilin as a possible root cause of this increased eye pressure. Mutant myocilin is toxic to the cells in the part of the eye that regulates pressure. These genetically inherited mutants of myocilin clump together in the front of the eye, preventing fluid flow out of the eye, which then raises eye pressure. This cascade of events can lead to early onset-glaucoma, which affects several million people from childhood to age 35. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo find molecules that bind to mutant myocilin and block its aggregation, researchers designed a simple, high-throughput assay and then screened a library of compounds. They identified two molecules with potential for future drug development to treat early onset glaucoma. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThese are really the first potential drug targets for glaucoma,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ww2.chemistry.gatech.edu\/lieberman\/\u0022\u003ERaquel Lieberma\u003C\/a\u003En, an associate professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, whose lab led the research. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELieberman presented her findings on January 20 at the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening conference in San Diego, Calif.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe study was published on Nov. 26, 2013, in the journal \u003Cem\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1021\/cb4007776\u0022\u003EACS Chemical Biology\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E. The National Institutes of Health and the Pew Scholar in Biomedical Sciences program provided support for the research. The work was a collaboration involving Georgia Tech, Emory University and the University of South Florida.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAt the heart of the study was an assay that Lieberman\u2019s lab created to take advantage of the fundamental principles of ligand binding. In their assay, mutant myocilin is mixed with a fluorescent compound that emits more light when the protein is unwound. When a molecule from the library screen binds to myocilin, the pair becomes highly stable \u2013 tightly wound \u2013 and the fluorescent light emitted decreases. By measuring fluorescence, researchers were able to identify molecules that bound tightly to mutant myocilin.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers then added these molecules to cultured human cells that were making the toxic aggregating myocilin. Treating the cells with the newly identified molecules blocked the aggregation and caused the mutated version of myocilin to be released from the cells, reducing toxicity.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe found two molecules from that initial screen that bound to our protein and also inhibited the aggregation,\u201d Lieberman said. \u201cWhen we saw that these compounds inhibited aggregation then we knew we were onto something good because aggregation underlies the pathogenesis of this form of glaucoma.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn a separate study, Lieberman\u2019s lab characterized the toxic myocilin aggregates. That study was published in December 2013 in the \u003Cem\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1016\/j.jmb.2013.12.002\u0022\u003EJournal of Molecular Biology\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E. The study found that myocilin aggregates are similar to the protein deposits called amyloid, which are responsible for Alzheimer\u2019s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIn Alzheimer\u2019s disease, the deposits are extracellular and kill neurons. In glaucoma the aggregates are not directly killing neurons in the retina to cause vision loss, but they are cytotoxic in the pressure-regulating region of the eye,\u201d Lieberman said. \u201cIt\u2019s parallel to all these other amyloids that are out there in neurodegenerative disease.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers are now focusing on mapping the structure of myocilin to learn more about what myocilin does and why it is in the eye in the first place. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe underlying problem with myocilin is that for 14 years it has been studied and still nobody really knows what its biological role is inside the eye,\u201d Lieberman said. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis research is supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under award numbers RO1EY021205 and RO1NS073899, and the Pew Scholar in Biomedical Sciences program. Any conclusions or opinions are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the sponsoring agencies.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECITATION\u003C\/strong\u003E: Susan D. Orwig, et al., \u0022Ligands for glaucoma-associated myocilin discovered by a generic binding assay,\u0022 (\u003Cem\u003EACS Chemical Biology\u003C\/em\u003E, November 2013). (\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1021\/cb4007776\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1021\/cb4007776\u003C\/a\u003E).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECITATION\u003C\/strong\u003E: Shannon E. Hill, et al., \u201cThe glaucoma-associated olfactomedin domain of myocilin forms polymorphic fibrils that are constrained by partial unfolding and peptide sequence,\u201d (\u003Cem\u003EJournal of Molecular Biology\u003C\/em\u003E, December 2013). (\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1016\/j.jmb.2013.12.002\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1016\/j.jmb.2013.12.002\u003C\/a\u003E).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E177 North Avenue\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, Georgia 30332-0181 USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/GTResearchNews\u0022\u003E@GTResearchNews\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts:\u003C\/strong\u003E Brett Israel (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/btiatl\u0022\u003E@btiatl\u003C\/a\u003E) (404-385-1933) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or John Toon (404-894-6986) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter:\u003C\/strong\u003E Brett Israel\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EUsing a novel high-throughput screening process, scientists have for the first time identified molecules with the potential to block the accumulation of a toxic eye protein that can lead to early onset of glaucoma.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Scientists have for the first time identified molecules with the potential to block the accumulation of a toxic eye protein that can lead to early onset of glaucoma."}],"uid":"27902","created_gmt":"2014-01-23 14:13:10","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:15:44","author":"Brett Israel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-01-23T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-01-23T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"270711":{"id":"270711","type":"image","title":"Raquel Lieberman","body":null,"created":"1449244077","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:47:57","changed":"1475894959","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:19","alt":"Raquel Lieberman","file":{"fid":"198628","name":"raquel_lieberman_profile.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/raquel_lieberman_profile_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/raquel_lieberman_profile_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":76097,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/raquel_lieberman_profile_0.jpg?itok=d4UYlbKi"}},"270731":{"id":"270731","type":"image","title":"Toxic myocilin aggregates","body":null,"created":"1449244077","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:47:57","changed":"1475894959","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:19","alt":"Toxic myocilin aggregates","file":{"fid":"198629","name":"tiff_graphicalabstract1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tiff_graphicalabstract1_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tiff_graphicalabstract1_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":84445,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tiff_graphicalabstract1_0.jpg?itok=LHhzIeAG"}}},"media_ids":["270711","270731"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"84711","name":"amyloid"},{"id":"17401","name":"Glaucoma"},{"id":"84701","name":"myocilin"},{"id":"10858","name":"Raquel Lieberman"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71891","name":"Health and Medicine"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBrett Israel\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404-385-1933\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/btiatl\u0022\u003E@btiatl\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"270831":{"#nid":"270831","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Professor Daniel Goldman Receives the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE)","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EDaniel Goldman, associate professor in the Georgia Institute of Technology\u0027s School of Physics, has been selected for the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). The award is considered the highest honor in the U.S. for professional researchers starting their careers in the fields of science of engineering. It aims to encourage the pursuit of research that will advance the Nation\u0027s goals and help to continue the U.S.\u0027s global leadership.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u0022The honor means in part that the community recognizes the value of our research and approach. More importantly though, it reminds me that I have had an opportunity to work with fantastic students, collaborators and mentors,\u201d said Goldman. \u201cIn a real sense I accept this honor on behalf of everyone who has contributed to the success of my program.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAs a part of the Complex Rheumatology and Biomechanics Lab (CRAB Lab), Goldman studies how organisms have adapted musculoskeletal and nervous systems in response to various terrains like grass, bark and sand. Through this work, the CRAB Lab aims to generate representative mathematical models that will help improve the locomotion for future generation of robots moving on these same terrains.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAs a recipient of the PECASE Award, Goldman will attend the formal award ceremony in Washington DC in the spring and the CRAB Lab will be one of 102 researches honored with a certificate signed by President Barack Obama.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EGoldman, who joined Georgia Tech from the University of California, Berkeley in 2006, received his PhD in Physics from the University of Texas at Austin in 2002 and his Bachelors of Science in Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1994.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Georgia Tech Physics Professor Gains Nation\u2019s Highest Honor for Work in Physics"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EProfessor Daniel Goldman receives the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the nation\u2019s highest honor for work in physics\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Daniel Goldman is Awarded the Nation\u2019s Highest Honor for Work in Physics"}],"uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2014-01-23 15:48:04","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:15:44","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-01-23T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-01-23T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"270841":{"id":"270841","type":"image","title":"Daniel Goldman, Associate Professor of Physics","body":null,"created":"1449244077","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:47:57","changed":"1475894959","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:19","alt":"Daniel Goldman, Associate Professor of Physics","file":{"fid":"198632","name":"goldmandaniel_wins_pecase_2014.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/goldmandaniel_wins_pecase_2014_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/goldmandaniel_wins_pecase_2014_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":89802,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/goldmandaniel_wins_pecase_2014_0.jpg?itok=BJ1Uw8nT"}}},"media_ids":["270841"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/crablab.gatech.edu\/","title":"Goldman CRAB lab"}],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"42941","name":"Art Research"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"150","name":"Physics and Physical Sciences"}],"keywords":[{"id":"12040","name":"Daniel Goldman"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:david.terraso@cos.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EDavid Terraso\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EDirector of Communications\u003Cbr \/\u003ECollege of Sciences\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-385-1393\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["david.terraso@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"264441":{"#nid":"264441","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Nerem Gift to Fund IBB Faculty Position","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERobert M. Nerem has spent much of his long career exploring critical health-related topics such as blood flow in large arteries, the role of hemodynamics in the onset of atherosclerosis, and more recently, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENerem\u2019s work has helped to significantly\u0026nbsp; advance medical science and improve \u003Cbr \/\u003Equality of life. To many on North Avenue, he has been one of the pioneers in the field, instrumental in leading the effort in the areas of bioengineering and bioscience on the campus and beyond.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAfter 26 years on the Tech faculty \u2014 and nearly 50 years in academia \u2014 Nerem is looking to ensure the Institute\u2019s continued preeminence in the field of bioengineering.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo that end, he and his wife, Marilyn, have made an estate commitment that will one day establish the Marilyn R. and Robert M. Nerem faculty chair or professorship in the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Nerem faculty position will operate as a Petit Institute faculty appointment without restriction to a specific academic field of endeavor, thus including both bioengineering and the life sciences.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe goal is to enhance the Petit Institute\u2019s ability to attract and retain eminent teacher-scholars to this position of academic leadership.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cGeorgia Tech has been a leader in pioneering biomedical techniques and devices that make a tremendous difference in people\u2019s lives,\u201d Nerem said. \u201cMarilyn and I want to make sure that Tech continues its leadership role in this work far into the future, and that\u2019s why we wanted to create this faculty position.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENerem is the founding director of IBB, an interdisciplinary collaboration of Tech that encompasses biochemistry, bioengineering, and biology. Nerem was also director of the Tech\/Emory Center for Regenerative Medicine from 1995 to 2009. His primary research interests today are tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, including stem cell technology and cellular engineering.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cBob Nerem\u2019s contributions to Georgia Tech and to the bioengineering field are profound,\u201d said Robert E. Guldberg, executive director of IBB. \u201cHe established an interdisciplinary culture that sets Georgia Tech apart in how we approach grand challenges in life sciences and human health. Bob has received numerous awards and much recognition for his work, but it is his impact on people of which he is most proud. This new commitment from Bob and Marilyn is consistent with that philosophy and will ensure that the Nerem name will serve as an inspiration to future generations of students, faculty, and researchers.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor more about the Institute\u2019s Campaign Georgia Tech efforts, click \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/c.gatech.edu\/15nooQ5\u0022\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERobert M. Nerem has spent much of his long career exploring critical health-related topics such as blood flow in large arteries, the role of hemodynamics in the onset of \u003Cbr \/\u003Eatherosclerosis, and more recently, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Robert M. Nerem has spent much of his long career exploring critical health-related topics such as blood flow in large arteries, the role of hemodynamics in the onset of  atherosclerosis, and more recently, tissue engineering and regenerative medicin"}],"uid":"27445","created_gmt":"2014-01-06 15:52:50","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:15:36","author":"Amelia Pavlik","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-01-06T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-01-06T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"264281":{"id":"264281","type":"image","title":"The Nerems","body":null,"created":"1449244014","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:46:54","changed":"1475894950","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:10","alt":"The Nerems","file":{"fid":"198463","name":"10730097743_e854f08285_h.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/10730097743_e854f08285_h_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/10730097743_e854f08285_h_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1643611,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/10730097743_e854f08285_h_0.jpg?itok=eLkUR0ui"}}},"media_ids":["264281"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/c.gatech.edu\/15nooQ5","title":"Campaign Georgia Tech"}],"groups":[{"id":"1259","name":"Whistle"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"11162","name":"Campaign Georgia Tech"},{"id":"248","name":"IBB"},{"id":"14992","name":"Office of Development"},{"id":"497","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"540","name":"Robert M. Nerem"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}