Bioengineering News and Events

MUSC Presidential Scholar

Wenjun He, graduate student in Dr. Hai Yao’s lab, was recognized for her experience and perspective.

MUSC Presidential Scholar

Suzanne Parks, graduate student in Dr. Rick Visconti’s lab, was recognized for her experience and perspective.

NIH COBRE Annual Meeting

SCBioMat, Clemson’s NIH COBRE center dedicated to developing a new generation of scientists and research infrastructure in South Carolina, hosted its second Annual Meeting March 3-4. Visiting members of the center’s External Advisory Committee included Joachim Kohn, Ph.D., Rutgers University; Glenn Prestwich, Ph.D., University of Utah; Buddy Ratner, Ph.D., University of Washington; Ray Runyan, Ph.D., University of Arizona; and William R. Wagner, Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh. Visiting members of the center’s Clinical Advisory Committee are Eugene M. Langan III, M.D., Greenville Hospital System; Laura Niklason, M.D., Ph.D., Yale University; and Frederick Schoen, M.D., Ph.D., Harvard University.

Science as Art

Maglin Halsey and Kaitlyn Harfmann, students in the Technology in Developing Countries Creative Inquiry course taught by Drs. Delphine Dean and John DesJardins, won third place in this year’s Science as Art competition. Their image, taken on a TM 3000 microscope, was also chosen to illustrate the competition’s pamphlets and fliers. The students examined a cross-section of the middle of a porcupine quill. According to Ms. Halsey, “We wanted to examine the structure, and we felt that this image was the most intriguing. We didn't know what to expect, so I would say this was definitely a pleasant surprise.”

Engineering Fluids for Cholera

Students in Dr. John DesJardins’s developed fluids-delivery devices for cholera patients.

Testing by Design Theory Class

Tests of a popular bracelet by Dr. John DesJardins’s class showed no measureable effect.

MIT Technology Review

Dr. Xuejun Wen’s work on the biofabrication of intervertebral discs is featured.

Two National Scholars

Of the 13 National Scholars Clemson has named for 2011, two are bioengineering majors, Medha Vyavahare of Easley and David Zhang of Mount Pleasant.

2011 NSF/CBET CAREER Award

Dr. Ning Zhang was awarded a grant to study brain-tissue regeneration after stroke.

Most Outstanding Senior in Engineering

The College of Engineering and Science has awarded bioengineering senior Matt Cupelli the Samuel B. Earle Award, which is given to the most outstanding senior in Engineering on the basis of scholarship and character.

BMES 2010 Undergraduate Award

Carl Lindburg, a student in Dr. Delphine Dean’s lab, was awarded the BMES 2010 Undergraduate Student Award.

National Award for Excellence in Educational Innovation

Dr. Perry Sprawls, B.S (1956), M.S. in Physics, and Ph.D. in Bioengineering received the annual Award for Excellence in Educational Innovation.

MUSC Student Awards

CU-MUSC Joint Bioengineering Program graduate students Carmen Gacchina and Erin Pardue were recognized at a recent MUSC Student Awards Banquet for their work on bringing science projects to middle school classrooms.

AHA Predoctoral Fellowships

CU-MUSC Joint Bioengineering Ph.D. Program students Xiaowei Li, of Xuejen Wen and Ning Zhang’s lab, and Erin Pardue, of Scott Argraves’ lab, have been awarded American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowships to study brain regeneration after stroke and tissue engineering approaches for cardiac applications, respectively.

Department of Defense Grant

Dr. Ning Zhang was awarded a DOD Investigator-Initiated Research Award to study spinal cord regeneration.

Outstanding Cardiovascular Research

Dr. Naren Vyavahare was recognized at CU’s biannual faculty meeting with the Alumni Award for Outstanding Achievements in Research.

SFB Vice President-Elect

Karen Burg, Professor and Hunter Endowed Chair of Bioengineering and Interim Vice Provost for Research & Innovation, has been elected Vice President-Elect of the Society For Biomaterials. Her presidency will extend from 2011-2012.

Ph.D. Student

The department seeks a PhD student in polymer chemistry, drug screening, nanomedicine and drug delivery, and imaging agents.

Page Morton Hunter Seminar

Dr. Melinda Harman will present “Post-Marketing Surveillance of Medical Devices: Combining Explant Analysis with Clinical Outcome Registers.” Abstract: The aim of this seminar is to illustrate a post-marketing surveillance model based on the systematic characterization of medical devices. This model has been used successfully to complement traditional in vitro methods for preclinical validation. Dr. Harman will illustrate the combined synergistic use of clinical outcome registers, explant analysis, design review, and biomechanical simulations using specific examples drawn from her research on orthopedic devices. A biomedical engineer who recently completed a two-year international Marie Curie fellowship at the Rizzoli Orthopaedic Institute in Bologna, Italy, Dr. Harman has 20 years of experience applying biomedical engineering technology to the human musculoskeletal system. In her area of specialization, the assessment of explanted materials and medical devices, she works closely with leading device manufacturers and surgeons. Dr. Harman has led 12 collaborative research projects on analysis of explanted joint prostheses combined with clinical outcomes and biomechanical simulations. She has published three book chapters and coauthored more than 30 papers in international, peer-reviewed journals. Her educational background includes a BS in physics from Ball State University, an MS in bioengineering from the University of Utah, and a PhD in bioengineering from Clemson University.

MUSC Presidential Scholars

Eleni Katsanevakis, of Dr. Ning Zhang's lab, and Emily Ongstad, of Dr. Anand Ramamurthi's lab, have been selected as 2010-2011 Presidential Scholars at the Medical University of South Carolina.

Ground broken for South Carolina Bioengineering Center

This summer, ground was broken in Charleston on the MUSC campus for a 100,000 sq ft building that will house researchers within the South Carolina Bioengineering Alliance.

Carolina Medical Center grant

Dr. Alexey Vertegel’s project, Novel Antibacterial Peptide coatings of Hernia Repair Implants, has been awarded funding by the Carolina Medical Center.

Rhodes Research Center Annex

Opened this fall, a 29,000-sq-ft addition to Rhodes Research Center provides laboratories, classrooms, and offices for bioengineering students, faculty, and staff.

NSF MRI

The NSF awarded MRI grants to Drs. Bruce Gao and Jiro Nagatomi for development of a laser microbioparticle separator and acquisition of a nano-to-microscale 3D live-cell imaging system, respectively.

Research featured in Newsroom

Clemson University Newsroom articles feature bioengineering research by Drs. Ted Bateman and Frank Alexis. Bateman’s work on radiation-induced bone loss is being applied to both cancer patients and astronauts. Meanwhile, Alexis is using nanoparticles to develop targeted drug delivery systems.

LS-SCAMP poster competition

Senior Anita Smalls tied for second place in the Louis Stokes South Carolina Alliance for Minority Participation (LS-SCAMP) undergraduate research conference poster competition.

Biomaterials Day

Student and professional speakers presented research, career advice at the Madren Conference Center.

World Health Organization project

Students spend summer restoring medical machinery in developing countries.

CU-MUSC Junior RoboCup competition

Program hosts young engineers.

Study Abroad in Belgium

Undergraduates study abroad in Brussels during a five-week, six-credit summer program.

Inaugural Bachelor’s Degrees Awarded

The University awarded the B.S. in Bioengineering to members of the department’s inaugural class on May 8, 2009. The 24 graduates received the Bachelor of Science in either the bioelectrical or biomaterials program.

Students receive awards at spring banquets

Bioengineers were recognized at the 2008-2009 Spring Awards Banquet on Monday, April 6.

Visual neural circuitry study published in Nature

Dr. Prakash Kara was published in Nature this year for his study on how imaging technology has uncovered a micro-architecture of brain cells that process visual information.

Xuejun Wen named Sigma Xi Researcher of the Year

The Sigma Xi Clemson chapter has awarded Dr. Xuejun Wen the Junior Researcher Award for his application of bioengineering to human tissue regeneration.

Guigen Zhang named Deputy Director of IBIOE

Bioengineering professor becomes deputy director of the Institute of Biological Interfaces of Engineering.

Research featured in Newsroom

Article features radiation-induced bone loss research in Dr. Ted Bateman's lab.

Rhodes Research Center Annex

This fall, bioengineering students, faculty, and staff are occupying the laboratories, classrooms, and offices in Rhodes Annex. The 29,000-square-foot addition to Rhodes Research Center is dedicated to advancing basic and translational biomedical research.

World Health Organization project

Student spends summer restoring medical machinery in Central America.

Howard Hughes Medical Institute Research Opportunity

Michael Lemus, a PhD student in Dr. Ted Bateman’s lab, was awarded an HHMI Exceptional Research Opportunity for summer work with Dr. Eva Nogales at UC, Berkeley.

NHLBI Fellowship Extension

Carmen E. Gacchina, a student in Dr. Anand Ramamurthi’s lab, was awarded a second-year extension on her NHLBI T32 predoctoral fellowship to study delivery systems for elastogenic therapeutics to treat aneurysms.

Research featured by SC EPSCoR

Dr. Dan Simionescu’s research on heart valve replacement is featured by SC EPSCoR/IDeA.

NIA summer internship

Carmen E. Gacchina, a student in Dr. Anand Ramamurthi’s lab, was awarded a summer internship at the National Institute of Aging to perform translational cardiovascular research in the laboratory of Dr. Mark Talan.

Summer Undergraduate Research Programs

In BBSI and NASA REU summer research programs, undergraduates work in faculty labs to design and test biomaterials and medical devices.

Governor’s Award to LaBerge

The 2009 South Carolina Governor's Award for Scientific Awareness recognized Dr. Martine LaBerge, department chair, for outstanding contributions to the field.