IRES Track I: US-South Korea Collaborative Training Program on Advances in Medical 3D Printing

使用细胞，生长因子和肽进行组织和器官的3D打印，以取代那些受衰老，疾病或损伤影响的组织和器官，正在以指数方式增长。医疗3D打印是一个多学科领域，面临着一些独特的技术挑战。一个挑战是，在将生物墨水放置在生物打印机中与通过3D打印机对生物墨水进行图案化之间，“生物墨水”中的细胞和其他生物组分必须不被损坏。另一个挑战是，与传统3D打印过程相关的处理速度太慢，无法创建含有大细胞的组织或器官替代品。这个学生国际研究经验（IRES）项目涉及来自不同背景的美国学生在北卡罗来纳州州立大学及其美国区域合作伙伴与韩国浦项科技大学的互动，以应对医疗3D打印的“重大挑战”。通过这项国际合作，美国学生将在理论化学，材料科学，物理学和生物物理学方面发展宝贵的技能，使他们能够在未来几年为医疗3D打印领域做出重要贡献。IRES项目包含了浦项科技大学的美国学生和研究人员之间为期三年的相互关联的活动，这将增进全球研究界对医疗3D打印技术的理解。与该项目相关的培训和专业发展活动将使学生能够开展涉及医疗3D打印技术的独立研究活动。 我们设想了这项工作的几个积极成果，包括：（a）学生，包括来自代表性不足的群体的学生，参与医疗3D打印研究，以及（B）通过培训学生掌握尖端医疗3D打印技术来增强美国医疗3D打印劳动力。 此外，我们将利用该项目的支持，开发季度科学星期六讲座和实践活动的学生，其中涉及医疗3D打印项目的成果将在NC自然科学博物馆传播给更广泛的社区。学生提供的讲座和实践活动将使他们有信心进行与医疗3D打印相关的公开演讲和其他传播活动。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The use of cells, growth factors, and peptides for 3D printing of tissues and organs to replace those affected by aging, disease, or injury is growing in an exponential manner. Medical 3D printing is a multidisciplinary field that is faced with several unique technical challenges. One challenge is that the cells and other biological components in the "bioink" must not be damaged between placement of the bioink in the bioprinter and patterning of the bioink by the 3D printer. Another challenge is that the processing rates associated with conventional 3D printing processes are too slow to create large cell-containing tissue or organ substitutes. This International Research Experiences for Students (IRES) project involves interactions by US students from diverse backgrounds at North Carolina State University and its US regional partners with the Pohang University of Science and Technology in South Korea to tackle the “grand challenges” of medical 3D printing. Through this international collaboration, the US students will develop valuable skills in theoretical chemistry, materials science, physics, and biophysics that will allow them to make important contributions to the medical 3D printing field over the coming years. The IRES project contains three years of interrelated activities between US students and researchers at the Pohang University of Science and Technology, which will enhance the global research community’s understanding of medical 3D printing technologies. The training and professional development activities associated with this project will enable the students to develop independent research activities involving medical 3D printing technologies. We envision several positive outcomes from this work, including: (a) the participation by students, including those from underrepresented groups, in medical 3D printing research, and (b) the enhancement of the US medical 3D printing workforce through the training of students in cutting edge medical 3D printing technologies. In addition, we will use support from this project to develop quarterly Science Saturday lectures and hands-on activities by the students, in which outcomes from the project involving medical 3D printing will be disseminated to the wider community at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences. The lectures and hands-on activities provided by the students will give them the confidence necessary to pursue public speaking and other dissemination activities related to medical 3D printing.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.