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Saleh talks about life in the Bryant Group, future career as teacher and researcher

Anonymous — Wed, 06 Nov 2019 22:51:16 +0000

Saleh talks about life in the Bryant Group, future career as teacher and researcher Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 11/06/2019 - 15:51

Fifth-year chemical and biological PhD candidate Leila Saleh works at the crossroads of immunology and engineering in the Bryant Research Group. During her time at CU Boulder, she has worked with professors Stephanie Bryant, Kristi Anseth and Jenifer Cha in various capacities – giving her a great chance to see how all three balance research and teaching, and shaping her post-graduation plans.

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Machine learning technology may help doctors identify and treat infections faster in newborns

Anonymous — Wed, 06 Nov 2019 19:59:59 +0000

Machine learning technology may help doctors identify and treat infections faster in newborns Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 11/06/2019 - 12:59

New research using machine learning technology may help doctors identify pathogens in blood samples in a fraction of the time of current methods, leading to faster deployments of life-saving treatments in patients suffering from sepsis, especially newborns.

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Garcea and Randolph awarded Gates Foundation grant for vaccine research

Anonymous — Thu, 31 Oct 2019 15:12:31 +0000

Garcea and Randolph awarded Gates Foundation grant for vaccine research Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 10/31/2019 - 09:12

New research is showing encouraging results in stabilizing vaccines and circumventing the refrigeration requirement, earning an additional $1.2 million in grant funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

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Transcatheter aortic valve replacements alter circulating serum factors to mediate myofibroblast deactivation

Anonymous — Mon, 28 Oct 2019 19:36:15 +0000

Transcatheter aortic valve replacements alter circulating serum factors to mediate myofibroblast deactivation Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 10/28/2019 - 13:36

A new paper in Science Translational Medicine from the Anseth Group.

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Mimicking the heart's microenvironment

Anonymous — Wed, 11 Sep 2019 21:39:34 +0000

Mimicking the heart's microenvironment Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 09/11/2019 - 15:39

CU Boulder engineers and faculty from the Consortium for Fibrosis Research & Translation (CFReT) at the CU Anschutz Medical Campus have teamed up to develop biomaterial-based “mimics” of heart tissues to measure patients’ responses to an aortic valve replacement procedure, offering new insight into the ways that cardiac tissue re-shapes itself post-surgery.

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$5 million Titan Krios microscope will advance biomedical, life science research

Anonymous — Thu, 20 Jun 2019 14:55:14 +0000

$5 million Titan Krios microscope will advance biomedical, life science research Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 06/20/2019 - 08:55

A new cryo-electron microscope that can reveal intricate cellular architecture in stunning ultra-high 3D resolution will land at the University of Colorado Boulder later this month, the first of its kind to be housed in the state.

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Anseth elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Apr 2019 14:56:54 +0000

Anseth elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 04/18/2019 - 08:56

Anseth is among more than 200 individuals selected this year for their exceptional achievements in the arts and sciences, business, philanthropy and the public sector.

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Issues and tissues with CU chemical engineering PhD grad

Anonymous — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 17:57:26 +0000

Issues and tissues with CU chemical engineering PhD grad Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 03/07/2019 - 10:57

Josh Rhoten

Tobin Brown graduated in 2018 with his PhD in chemical engineering after studying hydrogels with the Anseth Research Group. He found work at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder after graduation using atomic force microscopy to study polymeric materials. We asked him about his time at the College of Engineering and Applied Science, where he hopes his career will be in the future and what advice he has for students in the department.

Question: How did you decide on CU Boulder to continue your education?
Answer: CU offered a great mix for me. The Chemical and Biological Engineering Department has excellent research opportunities, and I was especially drawn by the focus on interdisciplinary research here, such as that done by my PhD adviser (Distinguished Professor) Kristi Anseth.

There is also a wonderful collaborative environment, and I was able — and encouraged — to participate in a wide range of collaborations across the ChBE department, the BioFrontiers Institute and the Biophysics Program. I also spent six months as a visiting researcher with Professor Matthias Lutolf in Lausanne, Switzerland. The research abilities and scientific communication skills that I developed prepared me for my current position at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder.

Q: What did you learn on your semester abroad that you brought back to campus?
A: In Switzerland, I learned the theory and practice of working with a cutting-edge cell culture platform known as an organoid. Organoids are self-organizing collections of cells that can be grown in the lab to study organ development and function. I literally brought this back with me as frozen samples, and I continued these experiments in Boulder. Separately, I learned that a meal can be almost entirely cheese.

Q:What was it like working in the Anseth Research Group?
A: As an adviser, Kristi encourages her students to think about big problems, and she provides the knowledge and support to go after them. She is also a constant advocate but leaves enough room to allow students to grow into independent researchers. I couldn’t have asked for a better mentor.

Q:What area is your PhD in? What did you study?
A: I studied a type of biomaterial called hydrogels. These materials replicate many aspects of soft tissues and can be used as scaffolds to grow and study cells in 3D outside the body. My research showed that we could use insights from chemistry and materials science to create biomaterials with new properties that allow us to glean information about how living cells interact with native and artificial matrices. Preserving these interactions in many cases is crucial to the proper function of cells, allowing us to study disease progression and tissue development in a controlled setting. Researchers are also using these materials to create functional tissues in the lab, which one day may be a viable source for transplants into human patients.

 Q:Why is creating organs and tissue an important area of research?
A: Organ dysfunction or failure can happen for many reasons — injury, disease, cancer or aging — and lead to serious medical conditions or death. Organ donation is one solution, however, there is a chronic lack of suitable tissue from donors, and there is also the risk of transplant rejection.

One of the ultimate goals of regenerative medicine is to replace damaged or defective tissues with ones grown in the laboratory. Such tissues could also be used as a more accurate model to help in the discovery of new drugs and the testing of these in a patient-specific manner.

Q:What kind of work will you be doing with NIST and what are your goals moving forward?
A: At NIST, I will be using a technique called atomic force microscopy to take a closer look at the mechanical properties of polymeric materials and how we can apply these insights to additive manufacturing (3D printing) technologies. Going forward, I would like to have a career in materials research, whether that comes in an academic, industrial or national lab setting. So far, my brief tenure at NIST has been terrific.

Q: What advice do you have to chemical and biological engineering students working in research right now?
A: Pursue interactions with colleagues outside of your normal cohort; you never know which conversation might spark a great collaboration — and a little perspective always helps.

Tobin Brown graduated in 2018 with his PhD in chemical engineering after studying hydrogels with the Anseth Research Group. We asked him about his time at the College of Engineering and Applied Science, where he hopes his career will be in the future and what advice he has for students in the department.

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Video: Christopher Bowman talks about his research at CU Boulder

Anonymous — Tue, 05 Feb 2019 21:15:57 +0000

Video: Christopher Bowman talks about his research at CU Boulder Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 02/05/2019 - 14:15

Christopher Bowman is a distinguished professor in the Chemical and Biological Engineering Department and member of the PBIRT. Watch this short video to learn about his research.

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Postdoc to serve as chair at 2019 Gordon Research Seminar in Spain

Anonymous — Fri, 04 Jan 2019 19:27:01 +0000

Postdoc to serve as chair at 2019 Gordon Research Seminar in Spain Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 01/04/2019 - 12:27

Josh Rhoten

Brian Aguado, left, takes a picture with his colleagues at a past conference.

CU Boulder postdoctoral researcher Brian Aguado will serve as the chair for the Gordon Research Seminar in Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering in July in Castelldefels, Spain.

Aguado is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the Chemical and Biological Engineering Department and is funded by a National Institutes of Health postdoctoral fellowship and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund.

Gordon Research Seminars feature presentations on cutting-edge research in the biological, chemical and physical sciences. They allow postdoctoral fellows and graduate students to gather at a remote site, encouraging scientific exchange and building relationships. They generally happen ahead of Gordon Research Conferences and are exclusively for postdoctoral researchers and PhD students.

Aguado said he was thrilled to be the chair for the 2019 seminar, which will be held near Barcelona.

“I have been a part of the biomaterials community since I started my research career in 2007 during college. I am excited to have the opportunity to give back to the community, and humbled that my colleagues placed trust in me to organize a successful seminar,” he said.

Aguado earned his bachelor’s degree in biomechanical engineering from Stanford University and his master’s and PhD in biomedical engineering from Northwestern University. Since 2013, he has attended several of the Gordon Research Conferences on Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering and was an invited speaker at the conference on Signal Transduction in Engineered Matrices in 2018.

At that conference, Aguado presented on his research developing precision biomaterials for personalized medicine applications. In his postdoctoral work, he is developing specialized biomaterials known as hydrogels. These are used as cell culture platforms to understand how proteins in an individual patient's blood serum may impact valvular cellular phenotypes during heart valve disease. With an increased understanding of the molecular mechanisms guiding heart valve disease progression, future research could look at stopping diseased cells in the valve by using small molecule drugs.

“It was exhilarating - I felt truly honored to be speaking about my research in front of so many professors and colleagues that I admire,” he said.

Aguado said he will be applying for tenure-track faculty positions this year in addition to planning the conference.

CU Boulder postdoctoral researcher Brian Aguado will serve as the chair for the Gordon Research Seminar in Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering in July in Castelldefels, Spain.

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