Opportunities to dramatically enhance biomedical technology drive strong partnerships between biology and engineering experts in the NanoCenter, addressing goals including targeted drug delivery and localized therapeutics that minimizes side effects, novel antimicrobial therapies to combat antibiotic resistance, biomaterials and scaffolds for tissue regeneration, microdevices to medical implants, and understanding of how cells communicate to modulate evolution of colonies and tissues. Techniques to pursue these goals range from single-cell studies with “optical tweezers” to biochips that replicate biological interactions within platforms that dramatically enhance research advances in understanding and controlling biology. The breadth of impact is illustrated in research in viruses, which ranges from understanding pathogens that threaten humans to using viruses as nanoscale scaffolds for batteries. NanoCenter bio-related research is closely linked to other University Maryland institutions, including medical and pharmacy schools in Baltimore and the Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research, as well as NIST, FDA, and other federal labs and small companies.
The Fisher group, in collaboration with clinicians, engineers, and researchers across various institutions, is focused on applying new biomaterial technologies to address the challenges of vascularizing tissue engineered constructs.
