Author Archives: navein

Thompson Named 1 of 6 UMD Undergraduate Researchers of the Year

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Clark School Fischell Department of Bioengineering (BioE) senior Joshua Thompson has been named one of the University of Maryland’s six Undergraduate Researchers of the Year by the Maryland Center for Undergraduate Research. Thompson, who was selected from a highly competitive group of nominees working in diverse fields throughout the university, was recognized for his accomplishments in tissue engineering. He received his award was introduced by his advisor, BioE professor and associate chair John Fisher, at the opening ceremony of the 2013 Undergraduate Research Day on May 1.

Thompson has worked for Fisher in the Tissue Engineering and Biomaterials Laboratory since the summer of 2010. He joined the group because he felt it would be a “unique and exciting opportunity” to prepare for a career in medicine.

“In addition to his outstanding research performance,” says Fisher, “Josh is known as a friendly and attentive worker who is ready to assist colleagues. He continually demonstrates his ability to quickly understand new concepts and master experimental techniques. He approaches his work with a high level of dedication. Overall, Josh has shown himself to be an excellent collaborator. I can confidently state that he ranks as one of the most gifted, qualified, and dedicated undergraduate researchers I have mentored.”

Thompson has distinguished himself in undergraduate research throughout his time at the Clark School.

In the fall of 2012, Thompson was named one of the UMD’s Philip Merrill Presidential Scholars. He also received a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Undergraduate Research Fellowship to support his study of the totoxicity of poly(propylene fumarate), a polymer with applications in bone tissue engineering; and a HHMI International Research Program Grant, which funded a semester abroad in Australia. There, at the University of Sydney, he worked with Professor Anthony Weiss, an expert in regenerative medicine and biomaterials.

In 2011, Thompson received the Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute’s Outstanding ASPIRE Research Award for his study of the efficacy of single component and multi component porous scaffolds as gene delivery devices for skeletal muscle regeneration, and subsequently co-authored a paper on the research that was published in Pharmaceutical Research, one of the top pharmacology journals.

This fall, Thompson will attend the Georgetown University School of Medicine.

This article was taken from http://www.eng.umd.edu/html/news/news_story.php?id=7350

Melchiorri Named UMD Graduate School Writing Fellow

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Melchiorri was named an inaugural Writing Fellow for the Graduate School Writing Center in McKeldin Library.

“Writing Fellows, as a service to the Graduate School, provide one-on-one writing consultation for graduate students. Fellows work with graduate students within their colleges on structure, argument, disciplinary expectations, citation, voice, syntax, and, as appropriate, usage and grammar.

Writing Fellows are a select, trained group of graduate students who are outstanding in their fields, who write eloquently, and who work well with their peers.

Writing Fellows do not edit, but rather work collaboratively with students on their writing.”

More information can be found here.

Grad student Andrew Yeatts wins 2nd Place in Dean’s Doctoral Research Award

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Dean Darryll Pines has announced the winners of the 2012 Dean’s Doctoral Research Award Competition:

First Place ($1,500):

Matthew Stamm, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Advisor: Professor K. J. Ray Liu (ECE)
For outstanding research on digital multimedia forensics.

Second Place ($1,000):

Andrew Yeatts, Fischell Department of Bioengineering
Advisor: Professor John Fisher
For outstanding research on the development of a tissue engineering strategy to repair bone tissue.

Third Place ($500):

Monica Syal, Department of Aerospace Engineering
Advisor: Professor J. Gordon Leishman
For outstanding research on the computational modeling of the dual-phase rotorcraft brownout problem. Dean Pines created the Dean’s Doctoral Research Award Competition to give top Clark School doctoral student researchers special recognition that will be valuable in launching their careers, and to show all students the importance of high quality engineering research. Students submitted their work through competitions at the department level. Members of department advisory boards served as judges for this competition.

Ferlin elected Communications Officer of TERMIS Student Society

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Fischell Department of Engineering (BioE) graduate student Kimberly Ferlin, co-advised by Professor John Fisher (BioE) and Dr. David Kaplan (FDA), was elected to a three-year term as the Communications Officer for the Americas Branch of the Student and Young Investigator Section of TERMIS, the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS SYIS-AM).

She will be responsible for increasing the online and social media presence of SYIS-AM on networks and sites including Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

Ferlin conducts her research in both Fisher’s Tissue Engineering and Biomaterials Laboratory and at the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, where she is an ORISE Fellow. She is currently investigating the impact of cell/substrate interactions on mesenchymal stem cell enrichment, proliferation, and differentiation. Ferlin joined SYIS-AM after attending a TERMIS conference in December 2011. She plans to attend the Third TERMIS World Congress in Vienna, Austria this fall, and looks forward to meeting SYIS members from the society’s worldwide branches.

Story taken from http://www.bioe.umd.edu/news/news_story.php?id=6598</a>

Fisher Promoted to Full Professor

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The Fischell Department of Bioengineering (BioE) and the A. James Clark School of Engineering extend their congratulations to John Fisher, who has been promoted to the rank of Professor, effective July 1. Fisher, who received his Ph.D. from Rice University in 2003, currently serves as one of the department’s two Associate Chairs and as its Director of Undergraduate Studies.

“John consistently strives to reach a high level of excellence in all aspects of our work as members of the faculty: scholarship, education, and service,” says BioE professor and chair William E. Bentley. “It’s been his guiding philosophy. It’s served him well, and it’s had a positive impact on our department. It’s very satisfying to see him recognized for his hard work on all fronts and for his tireless commitment to excellence.”

Fisher, the director of the Tissue Engineering and Biomaterials Laboratory, has been widely recognized for his potentially life-changing research in tissue, cartilage and bone regeneration, which has applications ranging from craniofacial reconstructive surgery to new treatments for joint injuries and arthritis. His research focuses on the development of novel, implantable, biocompatible materials that can support the development of both adult progenitor and adult stem cells, and particularly examines how biomaterials affect endogenous molecular signaling among embedded cell populations.

In 2005, Fisher received a National Science Foundation CAREER Award for his study of the control of cell-to-cell signaling within engineered tissues.

In 2006, he received the University of Maryland’s Invention of the Year Award (Life Sciences category) for his development of implantable biomaterials that avoid premature degradation, and the Arthritis Foundation’s Arthritis Investigator Award. He received the Foundation’s Engalitcheff Research Award the following year in honor of his outstanding work on the interaction between cartilage cells and biocompatible materials used to support their growth.

In 2007 he was awarded the College Park campus’ first Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund grant for his work on regenerating human facial bone.

Fisher took first place in University of Maryland’s Professor Venture Fair Competition in 2009 for his design of a patent-pending bioreactor that grows bone and other types of tissue for implantation. The system, which is made from affordable, off-the-shelf components, increases the amount of nutrients the cells inside receive, resulting in a more prolific culture. In 2011, he received a $1.35 million National Institutes of Health R01 grant from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases to further the development of the device and expand other tissue engineering techniques used in conjunction with it. The project will include the incorporation of pre-vascular networks with bone cells and the development of a rigid outer scaffold, created using stereolithography, to house the tissue culture on implantation into large and load-bearing bones.

In 2012, Fisher was elected Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. His other professional activities include serving as the founding Editor-in-Chief of Tissue Engineering Part B, Reviews and contributing to and editing two comprehensive books on tissue engineering

In his role as the department’s Director of Undergraduate Studies, Fisher has been instrumental in shaping the undergraduate experience in the Fischell Department of Bioengineering. He developed the department’s required physiology course and a popular tissue engineering elective, and led the department’s ABET reaccreditation process. He has mentored many undergraduate researchers in his own lab, including two who were named University of Maryland Outstanding Undergraduate Researchers, four who have received Howard Hughes Medical Institute Undergraduate Research Fellowships, and eighteen supported by Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute ASPIRE Awards.

Since 2007, Fisher has also directed the department’s highly competitive Molecular and Cellular Bioengineering Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program, administered in collaboration with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration

In 2011, he was recognized for the efforts and accomplishments as an educator with the Fischell Department of Bioengineering Teaching Excellence Award.

Story taken from http://www.bioe.umd.edu/news/news_story.php?id=6530