REU Site: Engineered Materials for Tissue Engineering and Drug Delivery

本科生研究体验(REU)网站专注于随着社区发现生物材料的新应用和新规则，在生物材料领域扩大研究机会。这个网站由加州大学圣地亚哥分校雅各布斯工程学院主办，将为一批来自传统代表性不足背景的有才华的本科生提供研究机会和职业发展，这些本科生往往无法获得研究和进一步的研究生培训。学员将有助于我们从根本上理解细胞和组织与其周围的自然或合成环境之间的相互作用，或药物载体与其靶细胞之间的相互作用。本网站将专门调查这种培训对来自传统上代表人数较少、研究机会有限的群体的初级本科生的好处。该网站将评估实践生物材料研究、教师和近距离同行指导、在地方和国家会议上的研究报告以及专业发展活动对研究生水平生物材料继续培训的影响。在三年的时间里，这个REU网站将专注于通过两个主题提供材料科学、生物科学和生物工程方面的研究经验：(1)建立和测试生物启发的利基环境如何影响细胞行为；(2)制造新型药物输送载体，以改善广泛的药物输送。通过研究、生物材料“新兵训练营”、每周研究技能研讨会、专业活动、最先进的设施和社交活动，参与者将接触到研究生教育和圣地亚哥生物技术行业的风气。参与者将与十几名参与培训的教职员工中的一名进行匹配，并通过为每个参与者量身定做的个性化发展计划进行跟踪，以确保他们的培训和发展获得可能的最佳结果。考虑到现场教师的广度和深度，研究将吸引广泛的学生，特别是那些进入大三的学生，他们正在开始深入的学术工程培训部分。出席和参加研究会议和专业会议将成为REU网站的最重要活动，以提高人们对职业道路和研究生教育价值的认识。作为这个网站的结果，我们的目的是表明上面列出的活动，特别是针对低年级学生的活动，可以在随后的几年里带来更高的学业表现，并能更好地进入研究生培训。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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.