New REU Site: Multicultural Research Experiences for Undergraduates in Structural Tissue Engineering

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EEC-0648781Alan RussellThe Pittsburgh Tissue Engineering Initiative (PTEI) REU Site will support 10 undergraduates each year for three years. . PTEI has been at the forefront of structural tissue engineering (TE) research for more that a decade and is recognized as a model center regionally, nationally, and internationally. The primary goal of this program is to expose under-served and underrepresented minorities, as well as students from 2 year and primarily undergraduate institutions to collaborative, interdisciplinary research with a focus on bioengineering and biomechanics in structural tissue engineering (TE), the specialty of PTEI.The undergraduates will be provided a fundamental understanding of underlying biological and engineering principles of structural tissue engineering, with hands-on, independent research experiences filling the gap between academic understanding and real-life application. Participants will also be engaged in non-research activities, providing forums to discuss implications of engineering and scientific advances to the larger society, while fostering networking with other students, engineers, scientist, educators and businessmen. The undergraduate students who participate in this program will be motivated to pursue advanced engineering and science degrees. Research outcomes will be disseminated via presentations at professional meetings, local conferences, and publications.