Graduate Training for Rationally Designed, Integrative Biomaterials: GTauBioMAT

描述(申请人提供)：生物材料领域对成千上万人的生活质量有重大影响。生物材料传统上用于医疗设备，如髋关节植入物、血管移植物和支架，并在组织工程和再生医学的支架/药物输送设备中不断发展应用。然而，生物材料在体内与人体无缝结合、响应和随时间重塑的能力仍然存在重大挑战。生物材料的全部潜力尚未实现，部分原因是今天使用的大多数材料都是其他工艺的副产品，没有考虑到特定的医疗要求进行合理的设计。生物医学工程作为一门学科，为解决这一缺陷提供了一个独特的机会。15年来，佐治亚理工学院拥有一个优秀的跨学科生物工程研究生项目，培养了一批高质量的博士前学生。GTBioMAT(合理设计的综合生物材料研究生培训)的目标是利用现有的部门间和大学间的联系，为下一代仿生综合材料的合理设计和应用提供有组织的、有重点的综合培训。GTBioMAT培训计划将重点整合对培养未来生物材料科学和工程领域的领导者至关重要的四项重要技能：1)通过强大的临床互动阐明生物材料设计标准的能力；2)合成和表征新材料的能力，这些材料的设计是由对潜在的临床和基础科学问题的理解推动的；3)使这些材料发挥功能并将其应用于生活系统的能力；以及4)培养学员的领导技能，使他们通过创新和研究领导下一代生物材料科学和工程研究。GTBioMAT培训计划建议引入新的基于问题的学习方法，促进对复杂但真实的生物材料相关问题的自我指导探究和协作解决问题。它利用了佐治亚理工学院和埃默里大学教职员工的强大研究实力，并将对未来生物材料领导者的培训产生重大影响。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The field of Biomaterials significantly impacts the quality of life of thousands of people. Biomaterials have traditionally been used in medical devices such as hip implants, vascular grafts, and stents with new evolving applications in scaffolds/drug delivery devices for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. However, significant challenges remain with the ability of Biomaterials to integrate seamlessly with the body, to respond and remodel with time in vivo. The full potential of Biomaterials has not yet been realized, in part, because most materials that are used today are by-products of other processes, not rationally designed with the specific medical requirements in mind. Biomedical engineering as a discipline offers a unique opportunity to address this shortcoming. Georgia Institute of Technology has had an excellent, interdisciplinary graduate program in Bioengineering for 15 years with a high quality of pre-doctoral students. The goal of GTBioMAT (Graduate Training for Rationally Designed, Integrative Biomaterials) is to leverage the existing inter-departmental and inter-university ties and provide a structured, focused, integrative training for the rational design and application of the next generation of biomimetic, integrative materials. The GTBioMAT training program will focus on integrating four important skill sets that are critical to training the future leaders in Biomaterials science and engineering: 1) the ability to elucidate Biomaterials design criteria through strong clinical interactions; 2) the ability to synthesize and characterize new materials whose design is driven by an understanding of the underlying clinical and basic science issues; 3) the ability to functionalize and apply these materials such that they integrate appropriately into living systems; and 4) develop leadership skills in the trainees such that they lead the next generation of Biomaterials Science and Engineering research through their innovation and research. The GTBioMAT training program proposes to introduce novel problem based learning approaches that promote self-directed inquiry and collaborative problem solving of complex but authentic biomaterials related problems. It leverages the strong research strength of the faculty at Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University and will significantly impact the training of the future leaders in Biomaterials.