| FIELDS FOR PROJECTS - Individual
Project descriptions will be added as the professors design the projects.
Biotechnology
#1 Northwestern University - Project Title:
Gene transfer and Microbial kinetics and downstream processes
Faculty Mentor: Gulnur Birol
Project Description, including student’s role: We
are developing two modules for biotechnology on gene transfer and on
microbial kinetics. The modules contain a set of challenges/objectives
that associate with the How People Learn (HPL) framework. Collaborating
with learning scientists and assessment experts here at NU is an essential
component of the educational module development. As an undergraduate
student, your task will be to work with faculty to identify and develop
materials that can be used as an instructor’s manual for both modules.
There is also some work on assessment of the modules that we need
assistance. There will be considerable opportunities to help maintain a
website for the modules as well.
Skills/background student should possess: We expect this student to have exceptional written
communication skills. Possessing a biotechnology background with an
emphasis on gene transfer and microbial kinetics, as well as html
experience, would be a big plus.
Biomechanics
#1 - The
University of Texas-Pan American- Project Title: An Interactive Module
for the study of the Motion Control of the Lower Limb.
Faculty Mentor:
Mounir Ben Ghalia
Project
Description, including student’s role: We are developing an
interactive graphics-based module for the study of the musculo-skeletal
model and motion control of the human leg. The model introduces the
concept of kinematics and dynamics of the human leg using interactive and
animation tools. The computer model of the human leg is used for testing
different control strategies intended for functional neuromuscular
stimulation, which is extremely important for partial restoration of
function to paralyzed limbs. The module contains a series of challenges
developed within the How
People Learn (HPL) framework. The undergraduate student will participate
in different aspects of the project including, but not limited to: (i)
the design and implementation of the module, (ii)
the task of defining the sequence of challenges and their
associated learning objectives, and (iii) uploading project material to
the project website.
Skills/background
student should possess: The student should have some background in
control systems and have interest in curricular development. Possessing a
working experience with MATLAB and SIMULINK is highly recommended.
Bio-optics
Systems Physiology
#1 Northwestern University -
Project Title:
Enhanced Teaching of BME students
Faculty Mentor: Robert Linsenmeier
Project Description, including student's role: There are a number
of possible projects. The
student will work on one or two, with the goal of having materials ready
for use in the 2004-2005 academic year. 1) Building automated
critiquing into lab reports, 2) Improved design of a sophomore
Introduction to BME course, 3) Implementation of an on-line system for
physiology homework. All of these will involve using technology to enhance
learning and/or save effort. The technologies exist, but not always
in a fully developed form. The student will adapt them for the
particular requirements of these projects. In addition, methods of
assessing the new materials for their effectiveness need to be developed.
Skills/background student should possess: The student should have
some familiarity with biomedical engineering in general, basic computer
skills including familiarity with webpage design, and an interest in
curricular development, especially in physiology for BME students. The
ideal candidate would have finished junior year in a BME program.
#2
Project Title: Control of Arterial Endothelial
Identity by Fluid Mechanical Forces
Faculty Mentor: Guillermo Garcia-Cardena, Ph.D
Assistant Professor of Pathology
Harvard
Medical School
Project Description, including
student's role: The formation of the vascular system
occurs early during vertebrate development and it is now clear that
particular genetic programs are involved in the formation and
differentiation of blood vessels. Nevertheless, the possibility that
fluid mechanical forces generated by the pulsatile nature of blood flow
can act as regulators vascular development remains to be explored.
Recently, our laboratory has demonstrated that fluid mechanical forces
influence endothelial arterial vs. venous specification. We did that by
culturing venous endothelial cells and exposing them to arterial or
venous shear stress waveforms (derived form the human vascular tree via
MRI and ultrasound measurements) using a novel in vitro device in
combination with genomic and cell biological approaches. These
observations strongly argue for a role of fluid mechanical forces in the
development of the vascular system, and have fundamental implications
for mechanobiology and medicine.
Your
project for this summer will focus on the definition of the particular
components a waveform (magnitude, amplitude, flow reversal, etc) that
are sense and "decode" by the endothelial cell, and lead to
the arterial-to-venous plasticity we have observed. You will make
modifications to the "archetype" waveform currently in use,
and test the role of those modifications on the expression of arterial
markers in venous cells via real-time PCR. Once you have defined a
relevant component of the waveform for the expression of arterial
markers you will perform genome-wide comparisons of the archetype vs.
modified waveforms using microarrray technology to assess the global
response of the endothelial cell to arterial waveform components.
Skills/background
student should possess: Background
in fluid mechanics, knowledge of molecular biology principles (you will
be learning a lot of experimental procedures here), computer programming
skills.
Instrumentation
Design -
#1 - Vanderbilt University -
Project Title: Senior Design Course Challenges
Faculty Mentor: Paul King -
Project Description: A student is
needed to generate and/or test units of instruction that are
challenge-based that will be used in the senior design course. These
challenges will be based on faculty member's consulting/legal work.
Student will also help complete the updating of the powerpoint slides for
the lecture portion of the class. The slides need artistic
improvement and need to be changed to present material in a more HPL-based
approach.
Skills/background student should
possess: Student should have some engineering coursework background and
would prefer a rising senior. The student should have some familiarity
with engineering in general, basic computer skills including familiarity
with powerpoint layouts, and an interest in curricular development,
especially in design for BME students.
Bioethics
Bioinformatics
Imaging
#1 - Vanderbilt University - Project
Title: Biomedical Imaging Education: Safe, Inexpensive Hands-on
Learning
Faculty Mentor: Cynthia Paschal
Project Description: Biomedical imaging is a strong and
growing subdiscipline of BME with applications in basic science research,
medical diagnosis, and the guidance of therapeutic interventions.
The use of actual biomedical imaging equipment for education is typically
not feasible due to safety concerns, high cost, and lack of availability.
The hands-on exercises of the proposed project are unique in that they
will utilize carefully chosen, very inexpensive, safe alternatives -
models - to the actual imaging technique to teach the relevant principles.
For example, a desk lamp is used to simulate an x-ray tube and the shadow
cast by a small object is the analog to an actual x-ray image.
Moving the object relative to the simulated x-ray tube and detector
qualitatively and quantitatively demonstrates the principle of x-ray
magnification. Exercises on general imaging principles, x-ray
imaging, radionuclide imaging, ultrasound, and basic magnetic resonance
imaging will be developed.
This project will have broad impact as a consequence of several key
features intended to enhance the experiences of all learners. First,
the hands-on exercises are targeted to cost no more than $25 per
experiment and in many cases will cost even less by utilizing common,
everyday items. This low cost will allow learners in economically
disadvantaged settings to learn the principles of imaging. The
second factor that will broaden the impact of this project is that the
exercises will be hands-on, thus benefiting kinesthetic, language impaired
and ADD learners, and constructed in the context of real-life
applications, benefiting all learners, especially females. Finally,
the second aim of this project is to present and distribute these
activities and exercises in an electronic (CD-ROM or web-based) form with
encapsulated video and still images of BMI experts including many
under-represented minorities and women, thus amplifying the impact of a
limited number of role models and potentially inspiring learners from
these groups to pursue careers in imaging.
The summer undergraduate participants in this project will design and
document hands on activities, help plan and present a two-week activity
testing session for high school students, provide administrative support,
and interview imaging experts. Some travel within the U.S., paid by
the project, may be involved.
Skills/Background the student should possess: have an
interest in medical imaging; some knowledge of medical imaging preferred
but not required
two semesters college physics
one semester calculus
experienced with MicroSoft Power Point, Access, and Word or similar
software
Transport
#1 - University of Texas-Austin - Project Title: Modular
Development for Challenge-based Learning in Bio-transport
Faculty Mentor: Prof.
Kenneth Diller
Project Description, including student’s role:
(Two students requested for
this project). We are developing challenge based learning modules
for transport in biological systems with special focus on bio-heat
transfer. The modules are developed on the philosophy underlined in the
How People Learn (HPL) framework. As an undergraduate student working on
this project, your task will be to work with the faculty in designing new
modules and improving previously developed modules. Methods for assessing
the modules for their appeal and effectiveness need to be developed. There
will also be work involving modeling using computational tools like Matlab.
Student will also help in developing power point slides for the class. The
project may also offer opportunity to design and maintain innovative
websites for the developed modules.
Skills/background student
should possess: The student should have some familiarity with
Human Physiology and Heat Transfer and interest in curriculum development.
The student should have basic computer skill and familiarity with
computational software such as MatLab/Mathematica. Knowledge and
experience in designing websites will be a plus.
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