REU Site: Engineering Tools for Disease Diagnostics and Treatment

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Global health security (GHS) is a worldwide priority that deals with prevention, detection, treatment and control of diseases. GHS can only be realized through interdisciplinary collaborations in which engineering endeavors play a vital role. This three year Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site program at Washington State University (WSU), Engineering Tools for Disease Diagnostics and Treatment, will provide research opportunities to a diverse cohort of undergraduate students from underrepresented groups with limited access to research facilities, who will explore an array of significant societal problems that lie on the interface of health science and engineering. The proposed research projects are focused on designing better tools to predict and treat bacterial infections, cardiac diseases, osteoarthritis, diabetes, ergonomic problems and cancers. These projects address an array of pressing health challenges that face not only the United States, but the entire world. Washington State University (WSU) will host 9 undergraduate students over 9.5 summer weeks to design, fabricate and utilize engineering tools to diagnose and treat diverse ubiquitous and emerging diseases. The program has six goals in research and technical as well as professional development. These are to: 1) provide scholars with hands-on research activities focused on developing engineering tools for disease diagnostics and treatment, 2) increase REU scholars' awareness of emerging grand challenges to global health, 3) strengthen the academic credentials and technical skills of participating scholars, 4) clarify career paths for REU scholars, 5) diversify the pool of talented students interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, and 6) broaden the participation of underrepresented minorities in STEM fields. To achieve program goals, students will participate in mentored, hypothesis-based, research projects that address health problems with real-world relevance. These research experiences will be intertwined with a set of technical seminars that expose students to cutting edge, engineering research tools used in disease diagnosis and treatment. Activities such as entrepreneurship and proposal writing will be used to develop students' professional skills. REU program findings will be disseminated through poster and oral presentations at local and national meetings as well as through peer-reviewed publications.