REU Site: Enabling Technologies and New REU Approaches to Engineer Complex Tissues

This three-year renewal REU Site, Enabling Technologies and New REU Approaches to Engineer Complex Tissues, will engage diverse cohorts of 10 undergraduate students each summer in highly collaborative, team-based 10-week multidisciplinary research projects in regenerative medicine at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM). A challenge facing the regenerative medicine field and the broader STEM disciplines is developing the next generation of skilled bioengineers. Regenerative medicine is a multidisciplinary field involving engineering and other STEM disciplines. Students will focus on learning about enabling technologies and biomanufacturing approaches in regenerative medicine and the emerging field of biofabrication. The REU experience is supplemented with additional program activities and education on the research process, hands-on instrumentation, workshops on bioethics, responsible conduct of research, effective oral and written communication, professional development, networking, and career opportunities topics. WFIRM has been at the forefront in RM research for nearly two decades and is an internationally recognized center of excellence in research and training. This renewal REU Site, Enabling Technologies and New REU Approaches to Engineer Complex Tissues, will engage diverse cohorts of 10 undergraduate students each summer for three years in highly collaborative, team-based 10-week multidisciplinary research projects in regenerative medicine (RM) at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM). Students will learn about enabling technologies and biomanufacturing approaches and the emerging field of biofabrication. This REU, emphasizing RM enabling technologies and biomanufacturing, is focused on two convergent research areas: 1) enabling technologies biomanufacturing and biofabrication (3D bioprinting, bioreactors, encapsulation and bioengineering of multi-cellular tissue constructs (organoids/body-on-a-chip) as modeling platforms and 2) stem cells/gene editing as applied to engineering one or more tissue/organ application. The REU experience is supplemented with additional program elements and education on the research process, hands-on instrumentation, workshops on bioethics, responsible conduct of research, effective oral and written communication, professional development, networking, and career opportunities topics. Also included is an introductory course to familiarize students with the essentials of the regenerative medicine field and seminars on “hot” topics in the field. All students will present their research findings throughout the summer and at a final research day symposium. WFIRM has been at the forefront in RM research for nearly two decades and is an internationally recognized center of excellence in research and training. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.