Ashley Brown, a B.S. student in Biochemistry and Health Humanities, has recently received the PEAK Experiences Summit Award for her project entitled, “Exploring Oxygen-Generating Cryogels’ Potential as Delivery System in Prostate Cancer Vaccine”. The Office of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships grants this competitive award to individuals who have demonstrated a passion for research and a high level of sophistication and skill developed from previous academic endeavors.

Ashley will make immunostimulatory cryogels that encapsulate different prostate cancer antigens. These cryogels will be evaluated for their ability to stimulate the immune system at a level that may be sufficient to overcome immunosuppression and mount an effective antitumor response.

Congrats Ashley! 

Congrats to Prof. Bencherif for being selected as a 2022 Academic Young Investigator by the American Chemical Society’s Division of Organic Chemistry. This distinction is meant to honor young researchers who have made significant contributions to their respective fields within the field of organic chemistry.  As part of this award, Prof. Bencherif was invited to present the lab’s recent research advancements in the 2022 Academic Young Investigator Symposium at the Fall 2022 ACS National Meeting in Chicago, IL.

For more information on the Academic Young Investigator award, visit the Division of Organic Chemistry website here. 

In collaboration with international researchers, including the Reza Saeb lab at Gdańsk University of Technology in Poland, the Bencherif Lab has recently published a review article titled “Clickable polysaccharides for biomedical applications: A comprehensive review” in Progress in Polymer Science. This review outlines key aspects and breadth of polysaccharide-derived bioclick reactions as a powerful and versatile toolbox to design advanced polymeric biomaterials for biomedical applications such as molecular imaging, drug delivery, and tissue engineering. Additionally, their past achievements, present developments, recent trends as well as their challenges, clinical translatability, and future perspectives are discussed.

Check it out here.

Ramya has been selected as one of Northeastern’s Huntington 100. This is a significant milestone! The Huntington 100 honors every year the best and brightest students who exemplify the principles, missions, and values of Northeastern University. 

Congrats to Prof. Bencherif for receiving a Young Investigator Award by the American Chemical Society’s Division of Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering (ACS PMSE). Prof. Bencherif presented the lab’s recent research advancements in the PMSE Young Investigator Symposium at the Spring 2022 ACS National Meeting in San Diego, CA.

For more information on the PMSE Young Investigator award, you can visit the PMSE website here. 

Our research published in Macromolecular Materials and Engineering is among top cited papers and generated immediate impact in the field. Congrats everyone!!

Check out our article here for more information.

Jonathan Keeley, a B.S./M.S. student in chemical engineering, has recently been awarded the PEAK Experiences Summit Award for his project “Mechanically Induced Osteogenesis of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Silk Fibroin Cryogel Scaffolds”. This competitive award, offered by the Office of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships, is granted to individuals who have demonstrated high levels of expertise and independence through their prior engagement in their fields. 

With his project, Jonathan will seed silk fibroin cryogels with human mesenchymal stem cells and measure the effects of sustained periodic compression on their differentiation along the osteogenic lineage.

Congrats Jon! More information can be found here.

Ke (Chloe) Wen, a B.S. student in Chemical Engineering and Biochemistry, has recently received the PEAK Experiences Summit Award for her project entitled, “Evaluating the Effect of Matrix Stiffness on Glycocalyx Expression using a Fluidic Device”. The Office of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships grants this competitive award to individuals who have demonstrated a passion for research and a high level of sophistication and skill developed from previous academic endeavors.

In collaboration with the Ebong’s Lab, Chloe will develop an in-vitro platform with non-swelling hydrogels with tunable rigidity to study the effect of matrix stiffness on the expression of endothelial glycocalyx, which would help to further understand the role of mechanobiology in atherosclerosis development.

Congrats Chloe! More information can be found here.

Joyce Shen, a third-year Biochemistry student, has recently received a PEAK Experiences Ascent Award for her project “Engineering Polyester-Coated Microparticles for Extended Oxygen Release” for Spring 2022. This award is granted by the Office of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships to students with basic conceptual and practical skills who seek to broaden and deepen their competencies in research and creative endeavor.

With her project, Joyce will coat calcium peroxide particles with polyester and incorporate them into cryogels in order to potentially extend oxygen release and address hypoxia.

Congrats Joyce! More information can be found here.

Congratulations to Mahboobeh Rezaeeyazdi and team (Thibault Colombani, Loek Eggermont, and Prof. Sidi A. Bencherif) on their recent publication in Materials Today Bio. This work reports the design of biomimetic cryogel scaffolds fabricated from hyaluronic acid (HA) as a platform to reconstruct CD44-positive breast tumor microtissues with aspects of the complex tumor microenvironment in 3D. 

HA-based cryogels represent an effective starting point for designing more realistic tumor models for preclinical research, therapeutic drug screening, and early cancer diagnosis.

Check it out here for more information:

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