A prestigious award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) will help a University of Iowa engineering professor to create 3D-printed pancreatic endocrine tissues to effectively manage diabetes.
See the technology behind 3D "bioprinting." Video by David Gamradt
Ibrahim Ozbolat, assistant professor of mechanical and industrial engineering in the UI College of Engineering, has been selected by the NSF to receive a 2014 Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award. As an award recipient, over the next five years Ozbolat will receive $400,005, effective July 1.
Ozbolat, who also serves as co-director of the Advanced Manufacturing Technology Group in the Center for Computer-Aided Design, says that the goal of the project is to bioprint human pancreatic endocrine tissue from cells culled from an individual’s own body. The project will investigate in-vitro development of vascularized tissues, which will be a complement to his ongoing studies in collaboration with Dr. Nicholas Zavazava from the UI Department of Internal Medicine.
Ozbolat says of his work: “The fundamental research in this study will have a direct impact on the bioprinting of glucose-sensitive pancreatic tissues. It will benefit society in the form of an alternative solution to managing diabetes, which, due to its devastating nature, contributes to other mortal diseases such as heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, blindness, kidney disease, and amputation. This project has the potential to make significant progress in organ printing technology that will eventually be applied to other organs and drastically reduce the demand for organ transplantation and the need for animal testing.”
Ozbolat received his CAREER Award for the project titled “Hybrid Bioprinting of Engineered Vascularized Endocrine Tissues.”
The CAREER award is the most prestigious NSF honor for junior faculty and recognizes research and teaching excellence, as well as scholars who are likely to become future academic leaders. The awards, presented to engineers and scientists across the country, are designed to help universities attract and retain outstanding young faculty members.