UW Bioengineering eNews – Spring/Summer 2017

In this issue: Innovation and Impact | Trainee Highlights | Alumni Highlights | Community Highlights | Featured Publications

Have feedback? Contact the editors at bioenews@uw.edu.

Welcome to UW Bioengineering’s Spring/Summer 2017 Innovation and Impact!

I’m pleased to send you this update on our advances in bioengineering research, education, translation and outreach, and to recognize the recent achievements of our faculty, students and alumni.

This graduation season, I extend a warm congratulations to our Class of 2017, and invite new alumni to stay connected to the department by following us on LinkedIn and Facebook.

I’m proud to announce that the next academic year will mark two important milestones in BioE’s history: the 50th anniversary of the Center for Bioengineering at UW, and 20 years since BioE was established as an academic department. Stay tuned for more information on special events and other ways you can celebrate the past, present and future of BioE with us.

Sincerely,

Cecilia Giachelli, Ph.D.
W. Hunter and Dorothy Simpson Endowed Chair, Professor
Department of Bioengineering
University of Washington

Call for submissions: Help us ring in our 50/20 anniversary!

All BioE faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends are invited to submit ideas for a slogan that we’ll use to publicize our upcoming 50/20 anniversary events. We’ll review submissions later this month, and the winner will receive a UW sweatshirt and water bottle.

Submissions are due June 23 – Send us your idea today!

Innovation and Impact

Valerie Daggett, Wendy Thomas, Rong Tian and Chun Yuan inducted as 2017 AIMBE fellows

This year’s class of fellows is the largest in BioE’s history, and brings our number of AIMBE Fellows to 29. They join over 1,000 other fellows from academia, industry and government who make significant contributions to bioengineering research, education and industrial practice.

Charles Murry announced as director of Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine

As ISCRM’s director, Charles Murry, the Woods Professor of Pathology, Bioengineering and Medicine/Cardiology, will lead and energize efforts to transform discoveries in stem cell research into therapies, and that make Seattle a destination for regenerative medicine.

Allan Hoffman receives 2017 Acta Biomaterialia Gold Medal

The award honors Professor Emeritus Allan Hoffman’s leadership in thefield of biomaterials science and engineering. Dr. Hoffman is known as an international “ambassador for biomaterials,” and pioneered applications of temperature and pH-responsive intelligent materials.

Suzie Pun receives 2017 College of Engineering Faculty Award for Research

Suzie Pun, the Robert F. Rushmer Professor of Bioengineering, is recognized for her extraordinary dedication to research, and contributions of wide impact and scholarly distinction. Dr. Pun’s research focuses on developing bioinspired materials for medical applications.

BioE forms International Working Group to explore opportunities in global health

Bioengineering faculty are leading efforts to explore opportunities for learning and research collaboration in developing countries. With their recent “fact-finding missions” to Bangladesh and Peru, and future trip to Nepal, they aim to expand collaboration between BioE and institutions abroad.

Finding what feeds the heart: Rong Tian discusses her path to UW in Circulation Research interview

Rong Tian, joint UW professor of anesthesiology/pain medicine and bioengineering, talks about growing up during the Cultural Revolution in China, starting medical school at age 16 and coming to the U.S. to pursue mitochondria and metabolism research – which led her to UW.

Back to the top

Trainee Highlights

Celina Gunnarsson receives 2017 UW President’s Medal, College of Engineering Dean’s Medal for Academic excellence

Celina’s honors recognize her commitment to academic excellence, research achievement and community leadership. A senior in Assistant Professor Ying Zheng’s lab, Celina is the first recipient of a President’s Medal in the College of Engineering since 1992.

Senior Fellows Heather Gustafson and Meredith Redd receive Whitaker International Scholar Awards

The Whitaker International Fellows and Scholars Program promotes the professional development of biomedical engineering leaders who advance the profession through an international outlook. Both senior fellows will travel to Australia – Dr. Gustafson to Melbourne, and Dr. Redd to Brisbane.

Ph.D. students Alissa Bleem and Hannah Frizzell receive NSF GROW fellowships

NSF Graduate Research Opportunities Worldwide (GROW) fellowships expand opportunities for NSF Graduate Research Fellows to engage in international research collaboration. Alissa will travel to Aarhus, Denmark, and Hannah is headed to Melbourne, Australia.

Camille Birch, Shivani Gupta, David McIntyre, Connor Tsuchida and Jonathan Tsui selected for Husky 100 class of 2017

Camille, Shivani, David, Connor and Jonathan are among 100 students from Seattle, Bothell and Tacoma campuses who connect to life inside and outside the classroom, and apply what they learn to make a difference on campus, in their communities and for the future.

Q&A: Ph.D. student Rahil Jain develops “smart” solutions for diagnostics, home electronics

Rahil investigates ways to enhance diagnostic testing with smartphones in Associate Professor Barry Lutz’s lab and develops “smart home” devices Hook and Airy. His work demonstrating a bi-directional, audio frequency-controllable microfluidic pump was recently featured on the cover of Lab on a Chip.

Albert Nguyen seeks to improve at-home dialysis in Master of Applied Bioengineering Program

Albert is working to advance home dialysis technology that gives patients an easier option for treating kidney failure. His work builds upon the foundation he got as a BioE undergraduate student, where he discovered a passion for engineering solutions to clinical problems.

Ph.D. student Hal Holmes targets wildlife and timber trafficking with microfluidic devices

Hal pursues development of micro- and nanosystems for biological and environmental conservation. He is developing a field-deployable device to combat wildlife and timber trafficking that can identify an endangered or protected species by analyzing a sample’s DNA.

Back to the top

Alumni Highlights

Alumni Anna Blakney, Abbi Helfer, Emily Krogstad and Lael Wentland advance bioengineering worldwide with Whitaker awards

Anna, Abbi, Emily and Lael received Whitaker International Fellows and Scholars Program awards in 2016 to pursue independent research projects abroad. In this check-in, they talk about their experiences researching and living in England, Australia, South Africa and Vietnam.

Back to the top

Community Highlights

“Humans of UW Bioengineering” team shares student stories about the BioE experience

Seniors Erin Ichinotsubo, Brianna McIntosh and Nina Reese started their storytelling project to help prospective undergraduates discover opportunities in BioE, and learn about life in the major. They also sought to celebrate the accomplishments of their peers and showcase the department’s diversity.

Seniors’ video project documents discovery, innovation in BioE research

Seniors Calysta Yan and Guanyou Lin teamed up to produce videos about BioE’s research themes. They were driven by a common goal: they wanted to introduce undergraduates to the department’s research and empower them to get started in a lab early in their studies.

Back to the top

Featured Publications

Anisotropic forces from spatially constrained focal adhesions mediate contact guidance directed cell migration

Ray A, Lee O, Win Z, Edwards RM, Alford PW, Kim DH, Provenzano PP. Nature Communications.

Synthetic macromolecular antibiotic platform for inhalable therapy against aerosolized intracellular alveolar infections

Das D, Chen J, Srinivasan S, Kelly AM, Lee B, Son HN, Radella F, West TE, Ratner DM, Convertine AJ, Skerrett SJ, Stayton PS. Molecular Pharmaceutics.

Chitosan enhances nanoparticle delivery from the reproductive tract to target draining lymphoid organs

Park J, Ramanathan R, Pham L, Woodrow KA. Nanomedicine.

Disposable autonomous device for swab-to-result diagnosis of influenza

Huang S, Abe K, Bennett S, Liang T, Ladd PD, Yokobe L, Anderson CE, Shah K, Bishop J, Purfield M, Kauffman PC, Paul S, Welch AE, Strelitz B, Follmer K, Pullar K, Sanchez-Erebia L, Gerth-Guyette E, Domingo G, Klein E, Englund JA, Fu E, Yager P. Analytical Chemistry.