Bioengineering students ready to participate in Translation Science 2012

PITTSBURGH  (October 2, 2012) … Thirty-two bioengineering undergraduate students will present 29 abstracts at  Translation Science 2012 , the University of Pittsburgh's 12th annual science and technology showcase, October 3-5 in Pitt's Alumni Hall. This year's cadre of undergraduates from the Swanson School of Engineering's Department of Bioengineering represents one of the largest groups of engineering students to participate.

Science2012 is designed to showcase the region's academic strengths in science, engineering, medicine, and computation and to highlight some of the incredible research going on in these areas. It also is intended to demonstrate how this research can be a catalyst for regional economic development; foster collaboration among academic and industrial scientists; and promote the idea to the public that science can be interesting, exciting, and fun. Participants include faculty, students, postdoctoral fellows, and research associates from Pitt and other local colleges and universities; representatives of pharmaceutical, biotechnology, information technology, scientific equipment, and related industries; leaders in economic development and philanthropy; representatives of law firms, financial firms, and venture capitalists; and secondary school science teachers.

"Translation Science is one of the region's signature research events, and I am proud that the Swanson School will be so strongly represented by our students," noted John F. Patzer II, PhD, associate professor of bioengineering and undergraduate coordinator. "This is an excellent opportunity for our students to engage in research with their peers as well as to interact with some of the region's top translational researchers."

Following is a list of this year's bioengineering participants. Bioengineering undergraduate students are underlined; presenter is in bold.

Blanchard E , DeSantis D, Little S.
Developing a controlled, sequential delivery system of alginate microparticles for the release of positive growth factors.

Bosin JR , Weissgerber T, Shroff SG.
A coupled left ventricle-systemic arterial circulation model with application to uterine artery doppler analysis.

Brecheisen GR , Thorhauer ED, Tashman S.
The effectiveness of an off-loading brace on medial compartment joint space.

Ramakrishnan A,  Collins C , Hart C, Gulati T, Giszter S.
Effects of isometric elastic force fields in organization of wipe reflex in adult spinalized bull-frogs.

Creasey OA , Muniz A, Plamper ML, Wang H-CH.
Effect of embryoid body size on differentiation of ips cells into neuroectodermal-lineage ocular cells.

Cugini AV , Fedorchak MV.
Developing of a phase change hydrogel based ocular insert for the treatment of glaucoma.

Day KA , Lin YS, Koontz AL.
The effects of positioning on the acromiohumeral distance following upper extremity fatiguing exercises.

Eason H , Farraro K, Speziali A, Woo S L-Y.
Design and evaluation of a magnesium-based ring for repair of a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

Finn M , Flinchbaugh E, Yeager J, Pelkey D, Smith H, McCreary A, Nelson G.
Education through tissue engineering.

Gorski J , Baltes A, Yin J.
The effect of temperature on the growth kinetics of VSV genotypic variants.

Gugel Z , Kozai TDY, Li X, Cui XT.
Vascular and cellular characterization of brain tissue around implanted electrodes.

Francois PJ , Ehrhardt AG.
PCSK9 detection using Proseek, a comparative study.

Hapach LA , Witte F.
Foreign body reaction in murine model characterized by flow cytometry.

Howell A , Balmert S, Lash M, Glowacki A, Little SR.
Patchy Particles: Inducing surface anisotropy for a biomimetic immune synapse.

Kashkoush AI , Witte F.
Detection of alkaline phosphatase activity.

Koch R , Tsamis A, D'Amore A, Wagner W, Vorp D.
Custom image analysis tool for quantifying aortic wall architecture from multiphoton microscopy.

Kolling AL , Witte F.
Analysis of the W4 implant in vivo.

Mealy J , Andersen J, Koepsel R, Russell A.
Factors limiting the output of an enzyme-based biofuel cell.

Mooney RJ , Daly A, Kameneva MV.
Effects of artificial blood on the rheological properties of blood.

Nguyen FD , Yu J, Zheng X.
The role of BH3-only proteins in apoptosis induced by mTOR inhibition.

Nielsen AN , Wheeler ME.
Age-related differences in resting-state functional connectivity networks.

Ofstun E , Rao J, Vorp D.
Isolation and characterization of fibroblasts from abdominal aortic aneurysms.

Olsen P , Goh SK, Banerjee I.
Characterization of extracellular matrix secreted by embryoid bodies.

Patel A , Chi-Lin Y, Marra K.
Synergistic drug delivery for long gap peripheral nerve repair.

Patil M , Gottardi R, Velankar SS, Little SR.
Interfacial interactions of zero dimensional carbon nanotubes and their application as thin films: A potential platform for cell growth.

Relwani KN , Smith SH, Shroff SG.
The effects of acetylation on the dynamics of the length-induced force response of cardiac muscle.

Ambrosio F, Barchowsky A, Deasy BM,  Roperti A .
The effects of arsenic on adult muscle stem cells and skeletal muscle integrity.

Snead W , Dalvin S, Meyers F, Turner B, Vahey M, Fletcher D.
A microfluidic device for producing and imaging bilayer vesicles.

Telford OG , Newman JA.
Investigating the buildup of galaxies over time.

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