The Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) program

Former IGERT Trainee Recognized at Markey Center Research Day

Webmaster — Thu, 24 May 2012 17:10:07 +0000

The University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center hosted its annual Markey Cancer Center Research Day on May 16, 2012. This annual event celebrates the advances of cancer research on the University of Kentucky campus with distinguished speakers, oral and poster presentations.
With a record-breaking 132 total posters this year, the College of Engineering was pleased to be represented on 12 of those posters, illustrating the multidisciplinary nature of cutting-edge research being conducted in engineering and across campus.
Former IGERT trainee Samantha Meenach noted “The poster session is a great way to interact with other scientists and to share our work to form some great collaborations.”
Meenach received 2nd Place for her poster on Characterization and Optimization of Inhalable PEGylated Phospholipid Microparticles and Nanoparticles Containing Paclitaxel for Targeted Dry Powder Pulmonary Delivery in the Post-Doc/Resident Basic Science Category. Meenach completed her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at UK in 2010 and followed that with a yearlong post-doc position at Ohio State University. Meenach is currently a post-doc with the UK Cancer Nanotechnology Training Center.
In the Graduate Student Basic Science Category, chemical engineering undergraduate student Alexandra Tsoras received 1st Place for her poster on Development of Three-Dimensional Lung Multicellular Spheroids in Air and Liquid Interface Culture for the Evaluation of Anti-Cancer Therapeutics. It’s likely not a coincidence that Tsoras is mentored by Meenach, who commented, “It was an honor to get 2nd Place in the postdoctoral poster session and even more satisfying that the undergraduate student working with me received 1st place in the graduate student session.”
Tsoras is a 2010 graduate from Saint Henry High School in Erlanger, KY and a member of the UK Honors Program. This summer she will continue her research at UK in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, as part of a Research Experience for Undergraduates, sponsored by the National Science Foundation. As a first time attendee of the Markey Cancer Center Research Day, and as an undergraduate just beginning to learn ropes of research, Tsoras commented “It was awe-inspiring to see all of the amazing research and collaboration UK does across several departments. There is so much opportunity with all of the research being done here and it excites me that I am already able to be a part of it.”

Inspiring Future Researchers

Webmaster — Thu, 24 May 2012 17:05:55 +0000

The National Science Foundation sponsors two multidisciplinary grants in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering at the University of Kentucky – a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) and an Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT). The two programs share a research theme of Engineered Bioactive Interfaces and Devices.

The shared research theme of both programs enables the IGERT grad students to be great mentors for the REU undergrads, so each spring an enthusiastic group of IGERT trainees are matched with incoming REU participants. The IGERT students do their best to enhance the REU experience for the undergrads, both inside and outside the lab; because as REU Co-Director Zach Hilt says “The REU is all about research, but not just about research.” They begin by simply being a friendly face in new environment, making sure the REU students are getting settled in at UK. The IGERT students and REU participants have a number of lunch meetings to build a solid relationship. The IGERT mentors are able to use these lunch meetings to promote graduate school and research by sharing their personal experiences. Each IGERT mentor also plans a social activity for the REU students to enrich their experience in KY. Most importantly, the IGERT mentors’ role does not stop at the end of the 10 week REU. The IGERT mentors maintain their relationships with the REU students, continuing to answer questions and offer tips as the REU students finish their undergraduate degrees and decide the next step in their research career.

“Many of the REU students come in at the beginning of the summer questioning whether a Ph.D. is for them,” said Kim Anderson, director of the REU and IGERT. “We make sure that they spend a great deal of time with our current graduate students and learn what graduate school is all about. By the end of the program, the students have the confidence to do graduate level research and are very excited about pursuing a Ph.D.”

UK IGERT Trainee Wins NSF Competition

Webmaster — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 18:58:24 +0000

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 28, 2011) — University of Kentucky chemical engineering graduate student Ashley Hawkins was one of 10 winners for the National Science Foundation (NSF) Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) poster competition. IGERT is the NSF flagship interdisciplinary training program, educating U.S. Ph.D. scientists and engineers by building on the foundations of their disciplinary knowledge with interdisciplinary training. This was the third year of the NSF poster competition and the third year a UK IGERT student has been one of the 10 winners.

The work contestants present in the NSF-IGERT poster competition transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries and addresses complex research problems of significant scientific and societal importance. Hawkins concentrated her work on “Biodegradable Hydrogel Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering.”

“I found this area very interesting because it combined the traditional chemical engineering knowledge and expanded it to biological applications. I think the field of tissue engineering is very important because current methods of regenerating damaged tissue are limited in their properties and success” Hawkins said.

Hydrogels are designed for use as tissue engineering scaffolds and may contain pores large enough to accommodate living cells, or they may be designed to dissolve or degrade away, releasing growth factors and creating pores into which living cells may penetrate and proliferate. The resulting tissue is an organic, not synthetic, tissue. Second surgeries are usually not needed when hydrogels are used. With more recipients than donors for organs and tissue, hydrogels may be the alternative of the future.

“Successful tissue engineering can replace damaged tissue with new, natural tissue as opposed to synthetic materials that cannot fully replicate the original tissue’s properties. This field is becoming increasingly important as the population ages and as a way to improve the quality of life for people who have experienced tissue damage from disease or trauma,” Hawkins said.

Hawkins graduated from Trimble County High School in 2004, and received her bachelor’s degree from UK in 2008 and is currently pursuing her doctorate. This is the second national contest win for Hawkins. In 2007, she won second place with her entry “Nanocomposite Biodegradable Polymers: Preparation and the Analysis of Heating, Degradation, and Drug Release” in the Food, Pharmaceutical, & Biotechnology division for the American Institute of Chemical Engineer’s (AIChE) student poster competition.

“I was very excited to be chosen as a representative from the University of Kentucky to present a poster in the competition. It was overall a great experience and I really enjoyed participating.”

http://uknow.uky.edu/content/uk-grad-student-wins-nsf-competition

Engineers Day 2012

Webmaster — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 20:43:12 +0000

The annual University of Kentucky Engineers Day Open House, also known as E-Day, was held on Saturday, Feb. 25. More Hosted by the UK College of Engineering, the popular event features contests, displays and demonstrations for students of all ages. IGERT trainees had a table with prosthetic samples and talked with visitors about the advances being made in artificial joints and limbs. Other trainees gave fluorescence demonstrations while discussing how fluorescence is used to identify cells in the lab.

Howard Wins at National IGERT Competition

Webmaster — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 20:42:09 +0000

At the National Science Foundation 2010 IGERT Principal Investigators Meeting in May, Melissa Howard represented the University of Kentucky in the Trainee Poster Contest. The posters were to communicate significant impacts from the trainees’ IGERT program. There were 126 competitors and Howard was 1 of 10 award winners with her poster on “Solid Lipid Nanoparticles for the Targeted Delivery of Dexamethasone to Tumors.” As part of this prestigious award, the NSF provides travel funds to the winners. This is the second year in a row that a trainee from the University of Kentucky received an award at the national meeting.

Read White House press release.

Trainees Win Big at Biomaterials Day

Webmaster — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 20:41:54 +0000

On Sept. 25, 2009, the Society for Biomaterials sponsored Biomaterials Day in Lexington, KY. The event was organized by the University of Kentucky and Case Western Reserve University. Dr. James Anderson gave the keynote address on “The Foreign Body Reaction: Unsolved Issues at the Biomaterial/Tissue Interface.” The day included both poster and oral competitions for students. IGERT Trainee Samantha Meenach placed 1st in the oral competition with her presentation entitled “Magnetic Hydrogel Nanocomposites for Chemotherapy and Hyperthermia-Based Treatment of Cancer” and Trainee Justin Poag placed 1st in the poster competition with his poster “Endothelial Cell Culture in a Ceramic Microfluidic Device”.

Bruce Hinds Receives Presidential Award

Webmaster — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 20:41:15 +0000

Dr. Bruce Hinds, Associate Professor and William Bryan Professor, was named by President Obama as one of 100 recipients of the 2009 Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on young professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers. The recipient scientists and engineers will receive their awards in the fall at a White House ceremony.

Read White House press release.

Trainees Win Poster Competitions

Webmaster — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 20:40:57 +0000

Scott Lewis gave both an oral and a poster presentation at the North American Membrane Society (NAMS) Annual Conference in Charleston, SC in June 2009. There were about 80 posters presented during the NAMS Poster Competition, and Lewis’s “Iron- Functionalized MF Membranes for Hydroxyl Radical Reactions” poster won 3rd place. For this achievement Lewis was awarded a cash prize.

At the National Science Foundation 2009 IGERT Principal Investigators Meeting in May 2009, Daniel Scott represented the University of Kentucky in the Trainee Poster Contest. The posters were to communicate significant impacts from the trainees’ IGERT program. There were 120 competitors and Scott was 1 of 10 award winners with his poster on “Development of highly sensitive aequorin based sensing systems through protein engineering.” As part of this prestigious award, the NSF is providing travel funds to the winners.

Doleman Recieves 100% Plus Award

Webmaster — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 20:40:29 +0000

The Department of Chemistry recently bestowed its 100% Plus Award to Chemistry graduate student and IGERT trainee Leslie Doleman. This award is given to the graduate (or undergraduate) student who shows the most exemplary professional attitude. Such an individual is enthusiastic about his/her research and frequently works nights and weekends, attends most departmental seminars and ACS Section Meetings (even when the talk is not in his/her research area of immediate interest), is interested in and helpful toward the research of other graduate and undergraduate students, tries to keep up with the research literature in his/her field and is responsible in the performance of duties outside of the research area. Doleman credited her IGERT outreach activities as playing a role in her receiving this award.

Ale-8-One Visit

Webmaster — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 20:39:56 +0000

On March 20, 2009, accompanied by Tom Dziubla, trainees headed to Winchester, KY to discover the goodness of Kentucky’s only soft drink bottling company, Ale-8-One. En route, there was a Wienermobile sighting on I-64. At the factory, trainees learned about the history of the company and were treated to a tour of the production facility. After some product sampling, trainees visited a local restaurant known for its good home cookin’ before returning to Lexington.