Honors and Awards

Bottenus lands prestigious research award from Boettcher Foundation

Anonymous — Tue, 20 Jun 2023 20:00:04 +0000

Bottenus lands prestigious research award from Boettcher Foundation Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 06/20/2023 - 14:00

Michael Lock Swingen

Assistant Professor Nick Bottenus of the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Biomedical Engineering Program has been awarded a Webb-Waring Biomedical Research Award for research advancing the state of ultrasound molecular imaging.

The award is given out by the Boettcher Foundation, which invests in leading Colorado researchers during the early stages of their career, with the goal of retaining top scientific talent in Colorado.

Bottenus will receive a $235,000 grant to support up to three years of his biomedical research that pushes the boundaries of what ultrasound imaging – or sonography – can do.

“It was an unexpected honor to win this award,” Bottenus said. “Along with giving us the resources to pursue our research, it means we get to join the broader network of biotechnology researchers and companies in Colorado, so I look forward to the opportunities that brings.”

Ultrasound imaging uses sound waves to see inside the human body. As the machine sends out waves, they reflect off body structures, and a computer receives the “echoes” to create a picture out of them. The images are used to diagnose and direct treatment for a variety of diseases and conditions.

For a lot of his career, Bottenus has worked on improving the design and performance of the ultrasound machine, working on signal and array encoding and decoding optimization problems.

But now Bottenus plans to take his research on the human body to an even smaller scale.

A new development in ultrasound is molecular imaging, which uses tiny, biocompatible, acoustically detectable gas bubbles to help contrast the structures or fluids within the body when observed in ultrasound imaging.

The microbubbles, coated with a shell of targeting molecules, are injected into the bloodstream and circulate until they encounter their specific, target biomarker. They adhere to it and become concentrated within the target tissue. As microbubbles accumulate, they then create a bright echo that ultrasound can detect.

However, the current technology has limitations on its application, with the mapping of only one biomarker possible per image session, which also takes a long time to complete as hundreds or thousands of bubbles amass.

In response to these problems, Bottenus and his research group plan to leverage current research in microbubble engineering and diabetes bioengineering to develop novel ultrafast and super-resolution ultrasound molecular imaging techniques.

With these advancements, Bottenus can detect a single microbubble in real time.

By using this new technology, Bottenus wants to understand the behavior of microbubbles better, while arguing that the scientific community uses an oversimplified model on how they work.

Bottenus argues that microbubbles behave like other biological agents, such as white blood cells, which have similar binding behaviors but do more than simply find their target biomarker and stick there.

“White blood cells can roll, sort of crawl along the surface and detach after they’ve attached,” Bottenus said. “We suspect that microbubbles can undergo all those same behaviors.”

Ultimately, Bottenus’s research will allow for the design of new approaches to ultrasound imaging, new possibilities for multi-target imaging and more rapid diagnostics and treatment for ailments like diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer.

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Corey Neu inducted into the 2023 class of the AIMBE College of Fellows

Anonymous — Sun, 02 Apr 2023 23:20:21 +0000

Corey Neu inducted into the 2023 class of the AIMBE College of Fellows Anonymous (not verified) Sun, 04/02/2023 - 17:20

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Two biomedical engineering students earn NSF Graduate Research Fellowships

Anonymous — Fri, 08 Apr 2022 20:58:57 +0000

Two biomedical engineering students earn NSF Graduate Research Fellowships Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 04/08/2022 - 14:58

Rachel Leuthauser

The National Science Foundation has awarded two graduate students in the Biomedical Engineering Program with Graduate Research Fellowships, a signal of the innovative and impactful research they will conduct in the years ahead.

The Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) recognizes students pursuing research-based master's and doctoral degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields. The five-year fellowship includes three years of financial support including an annual stipend of $34,000 and a cost of education allowance of $12,000 to the institution.

GRFP is the oldest graduate fellowship program of its kind. NSF fellows are anticipated to become knowledge experts in their future academic and professional careers who contribute significantly to research and teaching.

First-year PhD students Juliet Heye and Payton Martinez were awarded the five-year fellowship, which recognizes outstanding graduate students from across the country in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields.

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Shields earns NSF CAREER Award for biomarkers research tied to high school outreach

Anonymous — Tue, 01 Mar 2022 19:00:33 +0000

Shields earns NSF CAREER Award for biomarkers research tied to high school outreach Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 03/01/2022 - 12:00

Assistant Professor C. Wyatt Shields IV is the recipient of a National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) award for his proposal “Shape-Encoded Electrokinetic Particles for Multiplexed Biosensing.”

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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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PhD student is awarded NSF Integrated Data Science Fellowship

Anonymous — Mon, 31 May 2021 06:00:00 +0000

PhD student is awarded NSF Integrated Data Science Fellowship Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 05/31/2021 - 00:00

Payton Martinez is a PhD student in the Biomedical Engineering Program. The National Science Foundation has given him the Integrated Data Science Fellowship Award.

What does the Integrated Data Science Fellowship recognize?

I was given the Integrated Data Science Fellowship for being a part of the Interdisciplinary Quantitative Biology Program (IQ Biology). It recognizes interdisciplinary research mainly between computational and experimental work, which I learned through lab rotations and weekly idea exchanges.

What does your research focus on?

My main research is using focused ultrasound and microbubbles to disrupt the blood brain barrier. This technique will be used to delivery drugs more effectively in hard to reach places in the brain.

Bio

I am just starting my PhD in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder and am currently working in Professor Mark Borden's lab. I am also part of the IQ Biology Program, where I'm able to rotate between a few labs my first year. I'll rotate with Professor Nick Bottenus and Dr. Adam Green, who is based at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and is a major collaborator with the blood brain barrier disruption project, before coming back full time to Borden's lab in the summer. I am originally from Englewood, Colorado. I moved out to Chapel Hill, North Carolina to complete my undergraduate degree in Biomedical Engineering at the University of North Carolina and North Carolina State University.

Payton Martinez, who is pursuing his doctorate in Biomedical Engineering, received the National Science Foundation Integrated Data Science Fellow Award. The award recognizes interdisciplinary research.

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PhD student is awarded NSF Graduate Research Fellowship

Anonymous — Wed, 05 May 2021 06:00:00 +0000

PhD student is awarded NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 05/05/2021 - 00:00

Olivia Tonti is a PhD student in the Biomedical Engineering Program. The National Science Foundation has given her the Graduate Research Fellowship.

What does the Graduate Research Fellowship recognize?

The Graduate Research Fellowship is a signal of the innovative and impactful research that students will perform in the years ahead. The fellowship recognizes outstanding graduate students from across the country in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields. The five-year fellowship includes three years of financial support including an annual stipend of $34,000 and a cost of education allowance of $12,000 to the institution.

What does your research focus on?

My research explores proteomic changes in developing mouse hindlimbs, focusing on how mechanical loading resulting from embryonic motility affects the development of the tendon-bone enthesis. I plan to translate that research to study the spatiotemporal proteome distribution and mechanical properties of the glial and fibrotic scars after traumatic spinal cord injury.

Bio

I am a first-year biomedical engineering PhD student working in Professor Sarah Calve’s Musculoskeletal Extracellular Matrix Laboratory. I received my bachelor's degree in Chemical and Biological Engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder.

The National Science Foundation has awarded a prestigious Graduate Research Fellowship to a University of Colorado Boulder biomedical engineering student, a signal of the innovative and impactful research she will perform in the years ahead.

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