On March 1st, it was a privilege to speak at Carnegie Mellon University as part of the Biomedical Engineering Seminar Series. My talk, “Regenerative Engineering: The Future of Tissue Regeneration,” highlighted the importance of convergence research as illustrated by some of our latest work on the HEAL Project. I also discussed the important role of biomaterials in regenerative engineering. I am so grateful to both the Biomedical Engineering department and the university for inviting me to speak. Thanks to Kathy Samuels who coordinated my visit and to all in attendance!
Month: March 2016
The 100 Most Influential Blacks in Connecticut 2015
It was truly an honor to have been recognized by the NAACP, an organization that has been at the forefront of the fight for equality in our country. The Connecticut chapter of the NAACP has been honoring the state’s most influential blacks since 2009. The ceremony was held in Stamford during the 50th NAACP State. The event’s keynote speaker was U.S. Congressman Elijah Cummings. I am honored to be named on a list alongside so many distinguished and accomplished men and women. I will continue working to make a difference in the lives of African Americans in the areas of education, health disparities, and other issues.
Dr. Lakshmi Nair Receives New Grant Award
Congratulations to Dr. Nair of the Institute for Regenerative Engineering. In collaboration with Dr. Regina Landesberg of the Department of Craniofacial Sciences at UConn Health, she has received one of seven Research and Education Funding awards from the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Foundation. The Foundation supports novel research on maxillofacial surgery. Dr. Nair and Dr. Landesberg’s project focuses on the development of injectable platelet rich plasma delivery systems for craniofacial tissue regeneration. Congratulations to both of them on funding for this exciting project.
Prism
I am very honored to have been featured in “Grow Your Own” in the December 2015 issue of Prism magazine. I had the pleasure of discussing the HEAL Project with Prism’s team. Please check out the article at http://www.asee-prism.org/up-close-dec-3/.
Prism is the American Society for Engineering Education’s award-winning publication. The popular magazine covers engineering in higher education throughout the United States. The magazine is read reaches engineering faculty members, administrators, and students in all disciplines of engineering. Thank you to Mary Lord, the deputy editor of Prism as well as Prism’s editorial team for featuring me.
Professor Edward Botchwey Inaugurates the HEAL Project Seminar Series
On February 18, we were honored to have Edward Botchwey, associate professor of biomedical engineering at Georgia Tech, as the first speaker in the HEAL Seminar Series. Dr. Botchwey delivered a talk entitled “Engineering Immunologically Smart Biomaterials for Regenerative Medicine.”
Ed was one of my graduate students at Drexel who later moved with me to the University of Virginia. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 2002. After completing a United Negro College Fund/Merck sponsored postdoctoral fellowship at the Wistar Institute, he became an associate professor in the both biomedical engineering and orthopaedic surgery at the University of Virginia. In 2009, Ed was selected by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to receive the 2009 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). It is the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers.
The Botchwey Laboratory at Georgia Tech takes a multidisciplinary approach for the improvement of tissue engineering therapies through study of microvascular remodeling, inflammation resolution, and host stem cells.
We look forward to bringing other innovative research leaders to speak as part of this seminar series here at UConn Health.