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

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BROADER SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROJECT:The overall objective of this project is to provide a novel multidisciplinary research and education experience for rising sophomore, junior and senior undergraduates in the area of Engineered Bioactive Interfaces and Devices. Research in Engineered Bioactive Interfaces and Devices focuses on the novel design of architectures that interact with biological systems and promote a desired response. These advanced architectures have numerous applications including tissue engineering, sensing systems, and drug delivery. Students will be recruited from various undergraduate disciplines including engineering, biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics. Surrounding the University of Kentucky are numerous regional colleges and universities that have no graduate programs in these areas. Recruitment at these institutions will encourage students that may not otherwise pursue an advanced degree. In addition, recruitment for the program will focus on national institutions that do not have graduate programs. Special efforts will be made to attract women and minorities to this program by recruiting at minority institutions and publicizing the program at national meetings of minority and women organizations such as the Society of Women Engineers and the National Society of Black Engineers. Students accepted into the program will work closely with faculty and graduate students who are currently engaged in collaborative, cross-disciplinary research. The proposed REU program builds on these successful collaborations and integrates them with other educational components, such as seminars, workshops, and other technical and social activities. The students will be exposed to the excitement of interdisciplinary research and by the end of the program will have an excellent knowledge of what is involved in graduate research. PROJECT DESCRIPTION:The area of Engineered Bioactive Interfaces focuses on the novel design of architectures that interact with biological systems and promote a desired response. The need for this cross-disciplinary interaction between investigators working in biological systems and those creating novel engineered synthetic architectures has long been recognized. These advanced architectures have numerous applications ranging from tissue engineering to sensing systems to drug delivery. Successful development of these systems will depend on expertise not only in developing novel synthetic architectures through nanotechnology, self-assembly and hybrid systems but also on the interactions of these interfaces with biological systems such as cells and proteins. As part of the REU program, the undergraduate students will have the opportunity to learn about three cross-disciplinary research themes that form the foundation of the research in this area. These areas include 1) "Novel Bioactive Architectures", 2) "Cell/Protein Interactions at Interfaces", and 3) "Integration into Devices". The students will work closely with faculty and graduate students who are currently engaged in collaborative, cross-disciplinary research across these three themes further supporting a highly multidisciplinary team research approach. This REU Program will not only provide the students with true interdisciplinary mentoring and research training but will also stimulate the students' interests in Ph.D. careers in science and engineering through seminars, field trips and interactions with both graduate students and faculty, and will develop the students independence and confidence through participation in research and presentations both in house and at scientific meetings. Acknowledgements: Support for this Program is provided by the National Science Foundation's Division of Engineering Education and Centers.