National Science Foundation Alan T. Waterman Award

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The National Science Foundation (NSF) named Kristi Anseth, 35, to receive the Alan T. Waterman Award, the foundation's most prestigious for a young researcher. The award includes a medal and a $500,000 grant over a three-year period to carry out research or advanced study in the field and institution of her choosing. Anseth's award is based on groundbreaking work in new biomaterials that are engineered to help the body heal itself. Unlike synthetic body parts, such new materials may lead to new treatments for damaged knees, hips and even heart structures that will contribute to faster healing and a quicker return to a better quality of life. Anseth started on a fast track toward her Ph.D., and she hasn't slowed her pace since. An able and focused student, she achieved a doctorate at CU-Boulder in 1994, just two years after completing her bachelor's degree at Purdue. A driven researcher, she was the first engineer and the only woman engineer to become an investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. A creative scientist, she combined her knowledge of biology, chemistry and engineering into an interdisciplinary focus on tissue engineering, allowing her to find ways to develop new synthetic "scaffolds," or templates to regulate cell behavior and function, and to promote ways for cells to proliferate and form natural, but new, living tissues.The scaffold is really just re-created tissues, and if you think of it like a building, this is a framework from which other structures can be formed, Anseth explains. The scaffold itself is designed to be injected into the body in liquid form. But when molecules are introduced and then light-activated, a gel-like material is formed that, when injected, provides the affected area with strength, stability and flexibility. Anseth's lab was the first to develop light-activated biomaterials that would degrade and interact with cells, while promoting tissue regrowth. The hope is that these biodegradable, flexible materials may be available within a decade for medical procedures that will allow the "injection" of new body parts into people who suffer from debilitating injuries or diseases -- without the trauma of major surgery. We still have to answer some questions about how to make a scaffold structurally and mechanically able to produce functional cartilage, how to accelerate cartilage formation and control degradation of the scaffolds, and then fabricate the scaffolds in such a way as to minimize surgical invasiveness while facilitating their placement during a procedure, Anseth says. The Waterman Award, created in 1975, is named for NSF's first director, Alan T. Waterman, and recognizes demonstrated individual achievements in scientific or engineering research that place the awardee at the forefront of his or her peers. Criteria include originality, innovation and significant impact on the individual's field of science or engineering. Candidates must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents, and may not be more than 35 years old, or seven years beyond receiving a Ph.D., by the end of the year in which nominated. The $500,000 prize money is disbursed over a three-year period, with the Director's Office providing the first year of funding ($166,667) and the Engineering Education and Centers Division of the Directorate for Engineering providing $166, 667 in year two and $166,666 in year three.