News

John Nicosia was the recipient of the BME Faculty Award for Teaching. John was recognized for his outstanding performance and dedication as a teaching assistant for the course BME101–Introduction to Biomedical Engineering. Last fall was the first time a laboratory component was added to BME101, and John was instrumental in the successful development and implementation of the laboratories. John is an undergraduate research assistant in the Dalecki lab and will spend the summer investigating applications of ultrasound technologies for tissue engineering.

Congratulations to the RCBU and BME students whose work was recognized at the prestigious annual University of Rochester Undergraduate Research Exposition 2011. Undergraduate students from RCBU and BME research laboratories participated in the symposium. BME undergrads Benjamin Freedman '11 and Kelli Summers '11 were both invited to speak at the Engineering and Applied Sciences Symposium Talks.

Freedman discussed his work, What is Q-Angle really measuring? A novel alternative to predict patellar maltracking, which received the Dean's Award. Summers spoke about her research with Dr. James McGrath, Mechanisms Underlying Collective Cell Migration in Vitro, which was recognized by President Seligman with the President's Award. Aaron Zakrzewski (ME '11), mentored by Mechanical Engineering Professor Sheryl Gracewski, gave an oral presentation of his research titled Natural frequency of bubbles within rigid and compliant tubes. Aaron also received a Deans' Award for Undergraduate Research in Engineering and Applied Sciences for his presentation. In addition, five of the seven poster exhibitions from the Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences were by BME students:

Molly Boutin (Benoit Lab) BME '11

A Polymeric Delivery System to Induce Differentiation in hMSCs

Jasmine Carvalho (Dalecki Lab) BME '11

Investigations of Ultrasound Parameters to Promote Spatial Organization of Cells in Three-Dimensional Engineered Tissues

Vlabhav Kakkad (McAleavey Lab) BME '12

Experimental Implementation of Shear Wave Induced Phase Encoding Imaging

Angela Ketterer (Carney Lab) BME '12

Design and Implementation of a Behavioral Apparatus for Auditory Research in Birds

Hannah Watkins (Benoit Lab) BME '11

Novel Parthenolide Delivery System for Acute Myeloid Leukemia Treatment

(Received the Professor's Choice Award)

An immunofluorescence image captured by two-photon microscopy by Carlos Sevilla, has been featured as the cover for the December issue of Tissue Engineering. The image is featured in an article by BME graduate student Carlos Sevilla, co-authored by Dr. Dalecki and Dr. Denise Hocking.

The article entitled, Extracellular Matrix Fibronectin Stimulates the Self-Assembly of Microtissues on Native Collagen Gels, demonstrates a novel role for cell-mediated fibronectin fibrillogenesis in the formation and vertical assembly of microtissues, and provide a novel approach for engineering complex tissue architecture.

Six current BME students participated in the summer session of the David T. Kearns Research Symposium for Leadership and Diversity in the Arts, Sciences, and Engineering by presenting posters about their research. The symposium was held on Thursday July 29, 2010 in the Sloan Auditorium at Goergen Hall, and was sponsored by the David T. Kearns Center for Leadership and Diversity in Arts, Sciences, and Engineering.

Threshold of Non-Eye Movement Vestibular Cells in Alert Monkeys

Daniel Barbash, mentored by Laurel Carney

Analysis of SHG (Second Harmonic Generation) Microscopy Sensitivity to Experimental Parameters

Jacy Bulaon, mentored by Edward Brown III

Investigating Acoustic Parameters that Optimize Ultrasound Standing Wave Fields for Cell Banding

Jasmine Carvalho, mentored by Diane Dalecki

Strategies for Erythrocyte Maturation In Vitro

Eric Lam, mentored by Richard Waugh

Identifying Potential Transcription Factors Regulating Cellulose Degradation in Ethanol Production in Clostridium Thermocellum

Kathleen Maloney, mentored by J.H. David Wu

Novel Parthenolide Delivery System for Leukemia Treatment

Hannah Watkins, mentored by Danielle Benoit

This month the RCBU recognizes Sally Child's 45 years of employment at the University of Rochester! Sally began employment at the University of Rochester in June 1965 in the Department of Electrical Engineering. She was first hired by Professor Edwin Carstensen as a technician for his laboratory that was dedicated to studying the biological effects of ultrasound and electric fields. Sally worked with Professor Carstensen for over 30 years, and in that time established herself as a key member in the broader community of scientists involved in advancing the use of ultrasound in medicine and biology. Upon the retirement of Professor Carstensen, Sally began to work with Professor Diane Dalecki and moved to the Department of Biomedical Engineering in 2000. Again, her efforts focused on researching the use of ultrasound in diagnostic imaging and developing new therapeutic applications of ultrasound.

Currently, Sally is a Senior Technical Associate, an author of approximately 70 publications, and a recognized expert in biomedical ultrasound. Sally has been a member of the Rochester Center for Biomedical Ultrasound since its founding. Throughout her career, Sally has provided expert training and guidance to numerous graduate and undergraduate students. Sally has made significant contributions to our understanding of the interaction of ultrasound with biological tissues and systems. Her ingenuity and technical skill are invaluable to progress in our lab, said Professor Diane Dalecki, Director of the Rochester Center for Biomedical Ultrasound. The field of biomedical ultrasound and the University of Rochester community are indebted to her dedicated efforts and contributions throughout her 45 years of service.

Diana K. Ladkany, BME class of 2009, has received a graduate fellowship from Tau Beta Pi for the 2010-11 year. Tau Beta Pi, the world's largest engineering society, awarded Ladkany a cash stipend of $10,000 to pursue her medical education at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. An honors student, Ladkany is the president of the New York Kappa Chapter of Tau Beta Pi, a member of the Rochester Early Medical Scholars, a member of Phi Beta Kappa Academic Honor Society, and a Girl Scout Gold Award Recipient. Tau Beta Pi membership represents the highest honor that can be obtained by an engineering student and is awarded on the basis of high scholarship and exemplary character. Tau Beta Pi Fellowships are awarded on the basis of high scholarship, campus leadership and service, and the promise of future contributions to the engineering profession. Through her junior and senior years, Diana has been involved in research on the effects of biomedical ultrasound on cellular processes as a member of Professor Diane Dalecki's laboratory.

Kelley Garvin won the Best Student Paper Competition at the 159^th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America held in Baltimore, MD from April 19-23. Her invited paper, titled Ultrasound standing wave fields induce endothelial cell sprouting within three-dimensional engineered tissues was recognized as the Best Student Paper in the Biomedical Ultrasound/Bioresponse to Vibration Technical Section. This was the second year in a row that Kelley has won this award. Kelley presented her recent work demonstrating the use of ultrasound standing wave fields to spatially organize cells and induce endothelial cell sprouting in three-dimensional engineered tissues.

Kelley is a graduate student in the Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) and her thesis research is co-advised by Dr. Diane Dalecki and Dr. Denise Hocking. Kelley is also a student member of the Rochester Center for Biomedical Ultrasound (RCBU) and organizer of the Ultrasound Journal Club. Kelley's research is part of a larger, multidisciplinary project, led by Drs. Dalecki and Hocking and funded by the NIH that aims to develop novel ultrasound technologies for the field of tissue engineering.

Nicholas Berry (UR BME class of 2010) was awarded the Professors' Choice Award for Undergraduate Research in Engineering at the UR Undergraduate Research Expo held on April 23, 2010. Nick was awarded this honor for his scientific poster titled, High Frequency Pulse-Echo Ultrasound for Three- Dimensional Engineered Tissue Characterization. In his research, Nick has developed a high-frequency ultrasound system to be used to characterize the biological, structural, and mechanical properties of three-dimensional engineered tissues. Nick has been working on this project for a summer and two semesters. His coauthors on this work are Diane Dalecki, Maria Helguera, and Denise Hocking.

During the Undergraduate Research Exposition, on April 23^rd, an awards ceremony will be held, in part, honoring Dr. Diane Dalecki as Professor of the Year in Engineering. This award is presented by the University of Rochester Students' Association for excellence in undergraduate teaching.

BME undergraduate student Jasmine Carvalho has been awarded a Xerox Undergraduate Research Fellowship. Jasmine will be working in the laboratory of Diane Dalecki, RCBU Director and Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering, on a project related to the use of ultrasound in cell and tissue engineering. The UR SEAS Xerox Undergraduate Fellows Program is a highly competitive program that provides engineering students with research experience. The program begins during the summer preceding the senior year, and continues as an independent research course in the fall and spring semesters of the senior year.

Diane Dalecki, Ph.D. (BME, RCBU) has been elected a Fellow of the Acoustical Society of America. She was recognized by the society for her contributions to the bioeffects of sound and ultrasound. Professor Dalecki's election to Fellow was acknowledged at an awards ceremony during the 158^th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America that was held in San Antonio, TX on October 26-30, 2009.

A new collaboration, funded by the NIH, brings together the expertise of Professor Maria Helguera (Center for Imaging Sciences, RIT), Professor Diane Dalecki (BME, UR), and Professor Denise Hocking (Pharmacology & Physiology, UR). The collaborative effort focuses on developing novel, ultrasound tissue characterization techniques for engineered tissues. This work is part of a larger project, led by Drs. Dalecki and Hocking and funded by the NIH, that aims to develop ultrasound-based technologies for the field of tissue engineering.

Dr. Helguera's laboratory is devoted to advancing multimodal imaging and materials characterization techniques. Over the years, she has developed a suite of nondestructive, ultrasound-based materials characterization techniques for non-biological materials, such as polymers, ceramics, and layered materials. Through this new collaborative effort, the novel approaches that Dr. Helguera has developed and implemented for ultrasound characterization of non-biological materials will be translated to characterize the biological properties of engineered tissues. We propose to extend and apply high frequency ultrasound-based, tissue characterization techniques to monitor non-invasively biological and structural properties of cells and extracellular matrix proteins within three-dimensional engineered tissues. NIH support for the next two years will allow Dr. Helguera to spend the fall semesters and part of her summers devoted full-time to the research project as a Visiting Scientist in the Dalecki lab at the UR BME department. Drs. Helguera, Dalecki, and Hocking are all members of the Rochester Center for Biomedical Ultrasound.

This month the RCBU recognizes Carol Raeman's 20 years of employment at the University of Rochester! Carol is currently a Technical Associate I working in the laboratory of Professor Diane Dalecki in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. Carol started her employment with the University in 1989 working with Professor Ed Carstensen in the Department of Electrical Engineering. During her early years of employment, Carol played a key technical role in many studies on the biological effects of lithotripter fields. Only one year after her initial hire, Carol was already a co-author on 5 papers dealing with the bioeffects of lithotripter fields and pulsed ultrasound on the kidney, chick embryo, and lung. As her career progressed, Carol contributed to many significant studies on the effects of ultrasound on tissues containing contrast agents, the mechanisms for ultrasound-induced lung damage, effects of ultrasound on the heart and neural tissue, and the interaction of very low frequency underwater sound with biological tissues. Recent areas of Carol's work include applications of ultrasound in wound healing and cell and tissue engineering. Carol is highly skilled in both our biological and acoustic techniques, and contributes to the design and completion of a wide variety of research projects in our lab. Her experience, ingenuity, technical ability, and collaborative skills make her an enormously valuable member of our laboratory team. She has made outstanding contributions to the field of biomedical ultrasound over the years and we are very fortunate that she is a member of our lab. said Dr. Diane Dalecki.

Carlos Sevilla was awarded a prestigious NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Individual Pre-doctoral Fellowship. This three-year award will provide funding for Carlos' thesis research project, titled ,Promoting Chronic Wound Healing with Ultrasound and Fibronectin. In his research, Carlos is investigating the ability of ultrasound to produce conformational changes in the extracellular matrix protein fibronectin that, in turn, stimulate cellular processes important for accelerating soft tissue wound repair. Carlos is a third year graduate student in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and his thesis research is co-advised by Dr. Denise Hocking and Dr. Diane Dalecki. Carlos is also a student member of the Rochester Center for Biomedical Ultrasound (RCBU). Carlos' research is part of a larger, multidisciplinary project, led by Drs. Dalecki and Hocking and funded by the NIH, that aims to develop the use of ultrasound for chronic wound therapy.

Dr. Denise Hocking and Dr. Diane Dalecki have received funding from the NIH to support the summer research projects and career development of undergraduate and high school students for two years. The funding is in response to American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) initiatives of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB). Research areas of student projects focus on studying the effects of ultrasound on cell growth and protein conformation, and novel applications of acoustic radiation force. This work will contribute to a larger, multidisciplinary project, led by Drs. Hocking and Dalecki and funded by the NIH, that aims to develop novel ultrasound technologies for the field of tissue engineering.

Kelley Garvin won the Best Student Paper Competition at the 157th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America held in Portland, OR from May 18-22. Her paper, titled Ultrasound standing wave fields control the spatial distribution of cells and protein in three-dimensional engineered tissue, was recognized as the best student paper in the Biomedical Ultrasound / Bioresponse to Vibration Technical Section. Kelley presented her recent work demonstrating the use of ultrasound fields to non-invasively control the spatial locations of cells in collagen-based engineered tissues. Ultrasound standing wave fields were used to organize cells into planar bands within collagen gels, resulting in a significant two-fold increase in cell-mediated gel contraction, suggesting that ultrasound-induced cell organization leads to a differential extracellular matrix remodeling. Further, using ultrasound to spatially band endothelial cells within collagen gels resulted in vessel sprouting. These novel technologies have important applications to the fabrication of engineered tissues with desired tissue characteristics. Kelley is a third year graduate student in the Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) and her thesis research is co-advised by Dr. Diane Dalecki and Dr. Denise Hocking. Kelley is also a student member of the Rochester Center for Biomedical Ultrasound (RCBU). Kelley's research is part of a larger, multidisciplinary project, led by Drs. Dalecki and Hocking and funded by the NIH, that aims to develop novel ultrasound technologies for the field of tissue engineering.

The RCBU was well represented at the Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America held in Portland, Oregon on May 18-22, 2009, with the following presentations: Ultrasound Standing Wave Fields Control the Spatial Distribution of Cells and Protein in Three-Dimensional Engineered Tissue by Kelley A. Garvin, Denise Hocking, and Diane Dalecki. Kelley Garvin won the Best Student Paper Competition in the Biomedical Ultrasound/Bioresponse to Vibration Technical Section with this paper. Lung Hemorrhage Produced by Exposure to Underwater Acoustic Impulses by Diane Dalecki, Sally Z. Child, and Carol H. Raeman. Comparison of Unconfined Compression and Spatially Modulated Ultrasound Radiation Force Estimates of Shear Modulus by Stephen McAleavey, Erin Collins, Johanna Kelly, Etana Elegbe, and Manoj Menon.

Diane Dalecki, Ph.D. (BME) and Denise Hocking, Ph.D. (Pharmacology and Physiology) are multi-PIs on a new, R01 NIH grant entitled "Mechanisms for Wound Healing with Ultrasound." The grant was awarded by the NIBIB for a five-year period. The overall goal of the project is to identify key biological and physical mechanisms for ultrasound-enhanced soft tissue wound healing in order to develop the use of ultrasound for chronic wound therapy. The guiding hypothesis of the work is that mechanical forces associated with ultrasound propagation are capable of triggering conformational changes to extracellular matrix proteins that in turn enhance cell growth and contractility, stimulate cellular migration, promote collagen organization and mechanical strength, and increase blood flow to tissues. The multi-disciplinary team of engineers, basic scientists, and physicians on the project are Ingrid Sarelius, Ph.D. (Pharmacology and Physiology), Sheryl Gracewski, Ph.D. (ME), Sabine Brouxhon, M.D. (Emergency Medicine), Charles Francis, M.D. (Medicine/Hematology), and Edwin Carstensen, Ph.D. (ECE).

RCBU members Kevin Parker (PI), Robert Lerner, Stephen McAleavey, and Diane Dalecki received funding from the Stanford University Center on Longevity for the project titled, “Elastography in the Early Detection and Management of Liver Disease”. The goal of this project is to develop a safe, non-invasive, inexpensive tool for the early detection and monitoring of liver disease.

Diane Dalecki, Ph.D. and Denise Hocking, Ph.D., serve as multi-PIs on a grant from the NIH NIBIB titled Ultrasound Technologies for Tissue Engineering. The overall goal is to develop ultrasound-based enabling technologies for the fabrication and monitoring of functional, 3D artificial tissues. Through the project, they will develop the use of ultrasound to regulate the structure and organization of the extracellular matrix in order to stimulate cell processes that are critical for engineering functional tissue constructs. Current studies are testing the ability of ultrasound to produce conformational changes in fibronectin, an extracellular matrix protein that plays key roles in regulating cell growth and migration. Working with co-investigators Stephen McAleavey, Ph.D. and Sheryl Gracewski, Ph.D., the team is also developing and applying new ultrasound imaging and tissue characterization techniques to noninvasively monitor the material and biological properties of engineered tissues, and to validate the measurements through mechanical testing and finite element modeling.

John Olschowka (PI, Dept. of Neurobiology & Anatomy) and Diane Dalecki (co-I) received a two-year grant from the U.S. Navy titled Neural Effects of Underwater Sound. Underwater sound fields are used for numerous commercial and military applications, including imaging, oil exploration, mapping the ocean, and harbor surveillance. Sponsored by the U.S. Navy, Drs. Olschowka and Dalecki have embarked on a new collaborative project that will investigate the interactions of continuous and impulsive underwater sound fields with the brain and spinal cord. The Olschowka lab, in the UR Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, has long-standing expertise in examining injury to neural tissues, including trauma, using molecular, protein, and immunohistochemical techniques. Using the acoustic sources and technical expertise of the Dalecki lab, the team will investigate neural bioeffects of sound fields at frequencies ranging from 500 Hz-30 kHz. To also study the effects of acoustic impulses, the facilities and expertise available at Hydroacoustic, Inc. will be employed to generate underwater impulsive sound fields using an air gun system. Neural tissues of animals exposed to these continuous and impulsive underwater sound fields will be assessed for vascular damage, axonal injury, and glial activation. Results of this project will help to establish safe exposure guidelines for human divers and marine life exposed to underwater sound fields.

Sheryl Gracewski (PI) and Diane Dalecki (co-PI) were awarded an NSF grant from the CMMI division titled “Dynamic Response of Constrained Bubbles to Acoustic Excitation.” This project will theoretically and experimentally characterize the linear and nonlinear dynamics of acoustically excited bubbles that are constrained within tubes and channels. The results of this work will be directly relevant to the use of ultrasound microbubble contrast agents in diagnostic imaging and new ultrasound-based therapies.

Diane Dalecki, associate professor of biomedical engineering, has been appointed the new director of the Rochester Center for Biomedical Ultrasound (RCBU) at the University of Rochester. Created in 1986, the RCBU provides a unique environment where researchers from many institutions can join together to investigate the use of very high frequency sound waves in medical diagnosis and therapy.