Prof. Bencherif was recognized for his recent academic achievements by President Joseph E. Aoun at the 2019 Academic Honors Convocation. Honors are bestowed as recognition of outstanding academic achievement and as a means to further encourage academic excellence in teaching and research.

More information can be found here.

Sarah was recently awarded a fellowship by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP). The prestigious NSF GRFP is a highly competitive fellowship program that supports outstanding graduate students in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields by covering tuition and offering a monthly stipend covering cost-of-living for three years of graduate studies.

Sarah is now planning to join the PhD Program in Biomedical Engineering at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Congrats Sarah!

More information can be found here.

On April 10th , James was awarded the Best Poster Award at the 2019 ISPE New England Chapter Spring Conference for his project “Developing Hypoxia Inducing Cryogels for Pre-Clinical Anti-Cancer Drug Screening.” The International Society of Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE) is the
world’s largest non-profit association, and the New England Branch of ISPE is its largest, most active chapter. James was able to successfully secure 1 of the 2 best poster awards in what was his first time ever disseminating research. James’ rewards for winning the Best Poster Award include a $500 cash prize, as well as an all-expense paid trip to Las Vegas later in October 2019 to attend and compete at the International ISPE Conference.

More information can be found here.

Prof. Bencherif recently received a CAREER award from the National Science Foundation to develop biomaterials that generate oxygen. These materials could help us understand how low oxygen environments affect the immune system and potentially be used to supply oxygen to help train immune cells to fight cancer.

More information can be found here.

Mahboobeh Rezaeeyazdi was awarded the Outstanding Poster Presentation Award at the 2019 Society for Biomaterials (SFB) Conference in Seattle for her project titled, “Engineering autoclavable and injectable hyaluronic acid-based cryogel scaffolds”. The Society For Biomaterials is a multidisciplinary society of academic, healthcare, governmental and business professionals dedicated to serve as the world’s preeminent interactive global community committed to advancing excellence in all aspects of biomaterial science, engineering and technology for promoting human health and well-being.

Congratulations Mahboobeh!

Dr. Eggermont, a postdoctoral fellow in the Bencherif lab, has received the prestigious European Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Seal of Excellence Award for his work on biomaterials to re-educate immune cells. 

More information can be found here.

The Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) is the foundation’s most prestigious honor for junior faculty members who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations. This award supports Prof. Bencherif’s research proposal on “Modulating Local Tumor Hypoxia using Cryogel Scaffolds to Regulate Dendritic Cell Function and Activity” for a five-year period from 2019 through 2024.

More information can be found here.

In collaboration with Prof. Adnan Memic et al. at King Abdulaziz University, Prof. Bencherif recently received the King Abdulaziz City of Science and Technology Award for a project entitled “Biomaterials for Wound Healing and Diabetic Ulcer Treatment”.

The main objective of this international research partnership is to engineer novel, bioactive dermal cryogel-based scaffolds with integrated advanced features to emulate more closely the natural tissue microenvironment, and ultimately promote wound healing in diabetic patients.

More information can be found here.

Congratulations to Adnan Memic and team (Thibault Colombani, Loek Eggermont, Mahboobeh Rezaeeyazdi, Joseph Steingold, Zachary Rogers, Kasturi Navare, Halimatu Mohammed and Sidi Bencherif) on their
recent publication, which highlights the unique properties of cryogels and their multifaceted applications in the biomedical field.

Check it out here: Latest Advances in Cryogel Technology for Biomedical Applications.

Congratulations to Adnan Memic and team (Tuerdimaimaiti Abudula, Halimatu Mohammed, Kasturi Navare, Thibault Colombani and Sidi Bencherif) for their recent publication on the synthesis of electrospun scaffolds for applications in wound healing.

Check out the article here: Latest Progess in Electrospun Nanofibers for Wound Healing Applications.