REU Site: Engineered Materials for Tissue Engineering and Drug Delivery

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This Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site focuses on the expanding research opportunities in biomaterials as the community discovers new applications of and regulation by biomaterials. Hosted by the Jacobs School of Engineering at the University of California-San Diego, this site will provide research opportunities and professional development for a diverse cohort of talented undergraduates from traditionally under-represented backgrounds for whom research and further graduate training is not often obtainable. Participants will make contributions to our fundamental understanding of the interactions between cells and tissues and their surrounding natural or synthetic environment or between drug carriers and their target cells. This Site will specifically investigate the benefit of this training for rising junior undergraduate students from traditionally underrepresented groups with limited research opportunities. The Site will assess the impact of hands-on biomaterials research, faculty and near-peer mentoring, research presentations at local and national meetings, and professional development activities on continued training in biomaterials at the graduate level. Over a three-year period, this REU Site will focus on providing research experiences at the interface of materials science, biological science, and bioengineering via 2 themes: (1) building and testing how bio-inspired niche influence cell behaviors and (2) fabrication of novel drug delivery vehicles to improve delivery of a wide class of drugs. Through a combination of research, biomaterials "boot camp," weekly research skills workshops, professional activities, state-of-the-art facilities, and social functions, the participant cohort will be exposed to graduate education and the ethos of the biotechnology sector present in San Diego. Participants will be matched with one of a dozen participating faculty members and tracked via Individualized Development Plans tailored for each participant to ensure the best possible outcomes for their training and development. Given the breadth and depth of Site faculty, research will appeal to a wide range of students, particularly those entering their junior year who are beginning the in-depth portion of their academic engineering training. Attendance and participation in research conferences and professional meetings will serve as capstone activities of this REU Site to improve awareness of career paths and the value of graduate education. As a result of this Site, we aim to show that the activities listed above, especially when targeted at juniors, can result in higher academic performance in subsequent years in school and in higher entry into graduate training.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.