Virginia Ferguson

Ferguson elected to AIMBE College of Fellows

Anonymous — Fri, 18 Feb 2022 17:01:29 +0000

Ferguson elected to AIMBE College of Fellows Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 02/18/2022 - 10:01

Rachel Leuthauser

Professor Virginia Ferguson

Biomedical Engineering Professor Virginia Ferguson has been elected to the distinguished American Institute for Medical and Biomedical Engineering’s College of Fellows.

The College of Fellows is a prestigious group comprised of the most accomplished and distinguished engineering and medical school professors, researchers, innovators and entrepreneurs. Only the top two percent of engineers in the country are elected to the college, according to the AIMBE.

Ferguson, who is also a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, was chosen for her outstanding contributions to the fields of musculoskeletal tissue and biomaterial mechanics through research, education and service. She was nominated, reviewed and elected by her peers in the AIMBE College of Fellows.

All of Ferguson’s work points back to advancing society, which is AIMBE’s mission. Each of her research projects are built on enhancing human health by better understanding the materials and mechanics of the body, as well as finding effective solutions to treat patients’ injuries and illnesses.

Ferguson’s research focuses on the nano-scale characterization of materials and biological tissues. She has become an expert in soft-hard tissue interface mechanics and in nano and micro indentation of bone, soft tissues and hydrogels for tissue regeneration.

Ferguson also has expert knowledge in how aging, disuse and metabolic disease negatively affects the quality of bone and other musculoskeletal tissues. She has recently received a nearly $400,000 National Science Foundation grant to study the mechanisms that lead to tissue degradation in microgravity.

The study will look at the bone loss, muscle atrophy and degradation of soft tissues of mice on the International Space Station. Biomedical and mechanical engineering Professor Sarah Calve is also leading that project.

In another study, Ferguson is researching how chronic inflammation and degeneration of the extracellular matrix is connected to pelvic organ prolapse. She hopes the work, funded by an AB Nexus grant, will help develop early intervention strategies to prevent this kind of prolapse.

Ferguson will be officially inducted into the College of Fellows, along with 152 colleagues making up the AIMBE Fellow Class of 2022, during a ceremony on March 25.

The American Institute for Medical and Biomedical Engineering's College of Fellows is a prestigious group comprised of the most accomplished and distinguished engineering and medical school professors, researchers, innovators and entrepreneurs.

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Calve, Ferguson awarded grant to study mechanisms that lead to tissue degradation

Anonymous — Mon, 20 Sep 2021 18:13:36 +0000

Calve, Ferguson awarded grant to study mechanisms that lead to tissue degradation Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 09/20/2021 - 12:13

Rachel Leuthauser

Professors Sarah Calve and Virginia Ferguson

Professors Sarah Calve and Virginia Ferguson have received a nearly $400,000 National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to study the mechanisms that lead to tissue degradation in microgravity—by sending mice on a spaceflight.

Calve and Ferguson's project, titled 'Quantifying the Effect of Unloading on Extracellular Matrix Remodeling in the Musculoskeletal System,' will look at the bone loss, muscle atrophy and degradation of soft tissues while housed on the International Space Station (ISS). While there are exercises and countermeasures to reduce that deterioration on Earth and in spaceflight, they point out that those measures are not always enough.

Studies in the past have focused on the molecular and cellular mechanisms that underlie atrophy and recovery. Calve and Ferguson will study the extracellular matrix (ECM) instead, which is where cells reside. The ECM is a complex network that varies in composition depending on the mechanical and functional demands.

Their goal is to understand how microgravity compromises tissue function by fundamentally changing the ECM. Calve and Ferguson's proposal explains that "changes to the ECM can permanently alter tissue material properties, prevent resident cells from re-establishing homeostasis and affect functionality."

Calve and Ferguson will focus on changes in ECM proteins in response to microgravity by studying the reentry, landing and transport of mice from the ISS.

The NSF and the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) awarded grants to three tissue engineering projects in all—to leverage the ISS U.S. National Laboratory to advance fundamental science and biomedical engineering to help patients on Earth.

CASIS, manager of the ISS National Lab, will facilitate hardware implementation and astronaut crew time to support the investigations on the orbiting laboratory.

Professors Sarah Calve and Virginia Ferguson's tissue engineering project is one of three space-based experiments that recently received a NSF grant to help patients on Earth.

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Ferguson, Borden earn AB Nexus grants to partner with CU Anschutz

Anonymous — Tue, 01 Jun 2021 06:00:00 +0000

Ferguson, Borden earn AB Nexus grants to partner with CU Anschutz Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 06/01/2021 - 00:00

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BME faculty members awarded Colorado Clinical and Translational Science Institute funding

Anonymous — Mon, 01 Feb 2021 07:00:00 +0000

BME faculty members awarded Colorado Clinical and Translational Science Institute funding Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 02/01/2021 - 00:00

Two faculty members with the Biomedical Engineering Program have received grants from the Colorado Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CCTSI).

CCTSI awarded BME Program Director Mark Borden and Associate Professor Virginia Ferguson two Translational Methods Pilot Grants. The TM-Pilot Program funding supports the development of novel methods and innovative technologies for clinical and translational research. This year, seven awards were given out in all.

Borden's project studies endoskeletal nandrops for x-ray photoacoustic dosimetry. He is working with the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus' David Thomas on the project.

The funding awarded to Ferguson will go towards her work on the development of a novel animal model for osteochondritis dissecans. Osteochondritis Dissecans is a bone and cartilage condition.

CCTSI is based at the CU Anschutz Medical Campus. The TM-Pilot Program puts an emphasis on recognizing the development of new assays, methods or tehcnologies which are not currently available to the CU Anschutz campus and CCTSI affiliated institutions.

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