Multidisciplinary Research Experiences for Teachers - Summer 2018 Labs
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1. Jennifer Andrew
Materials Science and Eng 2. Christine Angelini Environmental Engineering
Crab facilitation of carbon storage at the marsh-mangrove ecotone 3. Thomas Angelini
Mechanical & Aero Eng The mechanical role of mucin networks in collective cell motion 4. Yong Huang
Mechanical & Aero Eng Biofabrication of tissue constructs embedded with vascular trees 5. Tanmay Lele
Chemical Engineering Biophysics of the Cellular 'Skeleton' 6. Eric McLamore
Agricultural & Bio Eng Flexible carbon circuits for environmental sensing and participatory monitoring 7. Chelsey Simmons
Mechanical & Aero Eng Mechanobiology of Wound Healing |
This project will focus on the development on enzymatically degradable hydrogels that automatically dissolve in the body that can be used for the treatment and detection of lung diseases. The teacher participants will learn how to make and characterize the materials using basic chemistry techniques.
This project will be investigating the effects of burrowing crabs on below-ground root production, decomposition processes and carbon stocks at the salt marsh- mangrove ecotone on both the east and west coast of Florida. The RET teachers will join the grad students in the field for sampling of field experiments as well as process soil cores in the lab. Participants eager and able to work occasional long, hot days in the field over the project period are encouraged to apply!
Epithelial tissues throughout the body produce mucus layers containing large proteins called mucins. These mucus layers are generally thought to lubricate the diverse epithelial surfaces in the body, including the eye and the gut. In this project, we will study different types of epithelial cells which produce different amounts of mucus, and we will use enzymes to degrade robust mucus layers. Teachers will help care for cells and analyze microscope images of experiments.
For engineered constructs like heart tissue to repair a heart attack to be viable, they must have vascular trees to supply nutrients and oxygen. This project aims to explore a novel three-dimensional printing technique to fabricate tissue constructs embedded with vascular trees and further evaluate their biological functionality in a perfusion bioreactor. Teachers will help build and test engineered tissues using biology and chemistry techniques
Cells in our body perform complex tasks, including movement across tissues, adhesion to proteins in the body, and the sensing of chemical and mechanical signals. These complex processes depend in large part on the "skeleton" inside the cell called the intracellular cytoskeleton. We are interested in how the cytoskeleton and associated proteins generate forces inside the living cell. This work can help us understand diseases of the cardiovascular and muscular system as well as cancer. Teachers will learn how to care for cells, perform biology experiments, and take images on the microscope.
Teachers will fabricate flexible circuits using a low cost apparatus (<$100) and then apply common household items to coat the circuit so that it may be used as a biosensor in field studies. Based on our ongoing work in Colombia, participants will actively learn how these sensors are used for participatory monitoring (citizen science) of water quality and food safety. We will work with the National Nanotechnology Initiative to disseminate manuals in English and Spanish for these activities, and participants will also engage with our colleagues in Colombia through weekly telecoms.
While many amphibians can regrow entire limbs and organs, mammalian regeneration is essentially unheard of in the natural world. Recently, we have identified a remarkable mammal that has regenerative ability - the African Spiny Mouse (Acomys). With the Acomys model and our innovative suite of tunable mechanical microenvironments, we are working to understand the role of mechanical stretching, if any, in scar-free wound healing. Teachers will be trained in cell biology, materials science, and mechanical testing methods while in the lab.
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