On November 16, 2015, the IGERT students were celebrated at the Graduate Fellowship Recognition Dinner in Alden Memorial Hall. This dinner was held to recognize and celebrate the WPI graduate student body who have been awarded fellowships.  There was a reception, dinner and a swing dance class that had everybody on the dance floor.

Pre-IGERT fellow Joshua Gershlak and his research advisor Glenn Gaudette were recently co-authors on a high impact research article in the prestigious Circulation Research journal. The article, entitled “Bioengineering Human Myocardium on Native Extracellular Matrix”, was accomplished through collaboration with the Ott Lab at Massachusetts General Hospital. The Ott Lab is the world leader in pioneering whole organ decellularization as a potential clinical option for patients who need organ transplants. Decellularization is a technique that removes cells from organs, leaving behind just extracellular matrix. Once the cells are removed from the organ, patients own cells could be used to repopulate the “blank” scaffold which would leave a patient specific organ that should have no immunological responses. This could increase the number of available organs for transplant as well as improve the quality of life for receivers of the implants.

Within the article, the authors were the first to take decellularization and translate to work on the human scale with clinically relevant cells. The study was the first to combine human extracellular matrix with human induced pluripotent stem cell derived cardiomyocytes (iPS-CMs). iPS-CMs have the potential to be fully derived from the patient needing the implant. The study was done to show the feasibility of translating decellularization and recelluarization in a clinical study. Within the article, Gershlak and Gaudette performed mechanical analysis on the decellularized human tissue. Ultimately, this article will be important by accelerating this field forward and closer to the clinic.

IGERT alumna Karen Levi won the graduate student poster award in the Matrix Biology and Bioengineering category at Vascular Biology 2015, the annual meeting of the North American Vascular Biology Organization (NAVBO).  In total, 8 posters were recognized (4 graduate students, and 4 post-doctoral fellows).  IGERT alumna Heather Cirka was selected for a podium presentation in a special session on Valve Disease co-hosted by the International Society for Applied Cardiovascular Biology (ISACB).  Vascular Biology is one of the premier annual conferences in the cardiovascular biology field, attracting top scientists from around the world focused on cardiovascular development, disease, signal transduction, matrix biology and bioengineering.  The conference was attended by approximately 350 scientists and trainees, who presented over 200 posters.  IGERT faculty Kris Billiar, Glenn Gaudette (session chair and ISACB board member) and Marsha Rolle (primary meeting organizer, session chair, speaker) also participated in the conference, which was sponsored in part by the WPI Department of Biomedical Engineering.

PhD students, Lindsay Lozeau and Todd Alexander from prof. Terri Camesano’s lab are co-first authors on a new manuscript that was published in the Journal of Physical Chemistry B, (September 19, 2015) Proposed Mechanisms of Tethered Antimicrobial Peptide Chrysophsin-1 as a Function of Tether Length Using QCM-D.

The team studied the binding properties of the antimicrobial peptide chrysophsin-1, which represents an alternative antibiotic that can be applied to biomaterial surfaces.

National University of Ireland, Galway is the site of your most recent collaboration for our IGERT student’s international research. Hannah Strobel is spending four months in Galway conducting research with Professor Abhay Pandit. In his lab Hannah is performing experiments to optimize fibrin microspheres for incorporation in self-assembled smooth muscle cell rings. These rings may ultimately be used for formation of tissue engineered blood vessels. Fibrin microsphere incorporation may increase collagen deposition to strengthen the rings, or potentially be used for growth factor delivery.

Professor Terri Camesano is the editor of a new book, sponsored by the North American Treaty Organization (NATO), it is a collection of work by the world’s top nanotechnology experts and stems from a conference Camesano convened through NATO’s Science for Peace and Security Programme, which seeks to use scientific research, innovation, and the exchange of knowledge to enhance cooperation and dialog among NATO members.

The book, Nanotechnology to Aid Chemical and Biological Defense, focuses on two main areas: the ability to control matter on an atomic and/or molecular scale; and new sensing techniques to exploit the unique properties of matter at the nano-scale. In addition to editing the book, Camesano provided an overview of her own research into the behavior of gold nanoparticles in the natural environment.

Christopher Nycz recently presented at IEEE’s annual Enigneering in Medicine and Biology Conference (EMBC) Milan, Italy, on the “Modeling and Design of a Tendon Actuated Soft Robotic Exoskeleton for Hemiparetic Upper Limb Rehabilitation”. The paper discussed the kinematic modeling and calculation of torques applied to the hand through a cable actuated, soft exoskeleton. It also presented the design and construction of a prototype based on these models. The intended end use of the device is for the rehabilitation and assistance of individuals recovering from stroke. The purpose of using a cable actuated design is to create a safely actuated exoskeleton which places minimal weight at the end of the arm as even small amounts of weight can prove to be burdensome to a patient.

Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Award

Dr. Denis Kole, Research Scientist, Biomedical Engineering (co-PI, WPI PhD ’14), IGERT faculty Terri Camesano and Marsha Rolle, and IGERT fellow Lindsay Lozeau were awarded a Phase I STTR award from the National Science Foundation to develop a novel antimicrobial scaffold to treat infected wounds.  The project is a collaboration with Dr. Gail Naughton (PI) and her team at Histogen, Inc., who will lead commercial translation of products based on the WPI team’s technology.

Associate Professor Glenn Gaudette and WPI received a $488,500 award from The Kern Family Foundation. Developing entrepreneurially minded engineers who can “support human flourishing by recognizing and acting on opportunities to create economic, personal, and societal impact” is a major focus of The Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network (KEEN). The Foundation created the network to support colleges and universities interested in developing innovative ways of instilling an entrepreneurial mindset in engineering students to help ensure that the United States remains competitive in the global marketplace.

The program, “Developing the Entrepreneurial Engineer,” will help infuse WPI’s project-based curriculum with the entrepreneurial experiences, challenges, and opportunities for the students to develop the skills they need to solve the grand challenges of the world.

Professor Terri Camesano, recently received a First Place Award at the Third International Conference on Prevention and Infection Control (ICPIC) for her ongoing research into the use of antimicrobial peptides to prevent catheter-related infections. Camesano was honored at the Innovation Academy during ICPIC in Geneva, Switzerland, for her presentation, “Development of Antimicrobial Peptides for Catheter-Related Bloodstream Infection Prevention.”