My career goal is to improve the life of those around me through the advancement of scientific knowledge. I have chosen to study smart bioceramics. Bioceramics are ceramic materials which can be implanted into the body usually as a replacement for hard tissue. Smart bioceramics have been modified through chemistry and engineering to increase the compatibility of human cells and to decrease the ability of microbes to form biofilms.
Biofilm related infections add over one billion dollars per year to hospitalization costs. A microbe in a biofilm is 50 to 500 times more resistant to antibiotics as its free living counterpart. More than half a million people in the U.S. die due to biofilm related infections annually.
Through nanochemistry we can adjust the roughness, the electrochemistry, and other surface properties in order to achieve our goals. The ability to design bioceramics as coatings which can assist the adhesion of mammalian cells and deter the adhesion of biofilms will have a great impact on society. This will ultimately lead to theranostic devices which can accurately identity a pathogen and then create and release a combative drug in a monitorable way.
Through the research which I began less than 2 months ago we have already identified some of the factors which affect initial bacterial adhesion. Receipt of the Milton E. Mohr fellowship will help me to continue my research.
Posts
1 comment:
Max has a secretary who has missed months of work due to infection from a replaced knee. What a wonderful thing that would be if you can eliminate that worry. Did you get the fellowship? Love you! Bette
Post a Comment