BioE wins Third at BMEidea

June 2007 Congratulations to recent Bioengineering Ph.D. recipient Shyam Patel, who won 3rd place in BMEidea this year! Patel and associates won for their Bioactive Nanopatterend Grafts for Nerve Regeneration project, developed in BioE Associate Professor Song Li's lab. The team is working on the Nano Nerve Graft, a novel nanofiber graft that enhances and guides nerve regeneration in people suffering from peripheral nerve injuries. It is a tubular graft composed entirely of nanoscale polymer fibers and loaded with bioactive molecules that serve as growth cues for regenerating nerve fibers. Their project is very close to being used in clinical applications, and is being developed by Shyam in a startup company. Patel's team placed third in the 2007 Biomedical Engineering Innovation, Design and Entrepreneurship Award (BMEidea) Competition -- a national competition celebrating student biomedical innovation. If this sounds familiar, it's because another team from Li Lab won First Place at BMEidea last year. Congratulations again Li Lab!