This award continues the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Site program at the macromolecules and Interface Institute, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. This eleven-week program supports 12 undergraduates for 11 weeks each summer during 2009 to 2011. Faculty and graduate student mentors drawn from departments of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Physics, and Wood Science and Forest Products will train the REU students. The program offers interdisciplinary research experience in the areas that bridge macromolecular materials design, pharmacological applications and biophysical interactions. Research focus is at the scientific junction of polymers and life sciences and projects are designed to instill teamwork, communication, and leadership skills in a cutting-edge research environment. Students will work on the synthesis of well-defined polymers for drug delivery systems, characterization of polymer-drug complexes and their properties, and study of the interactions of these materials with biological cells. Other activities in the program include leadership workshop for graduate student mentors, community building retreat for all participants, ethics workshop, short courses on polymers, drug delivery, and training for technical communication skills development. The program also offers opportunities for REU participants to mentor and work with middle school students on science demonstration projects and take their research to the local community through presentations at a public event.
This award is jointly funded by the Division of Materials Research and Chemistry in the Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate of National Science Foundation,
Intellectual Merit: Eighty-four outstanding U.S. undergraduates were introduced to research in the interdisciplinary area of Polymers in Medicine and Biology in mentored summer programs spanning from 2009-2013. Their research objectives were to design, synthesize and characterize macromolecular complexes carrying drugs and/or imaging agents for the potential delivery of drugs while tracking the drugs in real-time through improved images. Some highlights of the interdisciplinary technical program included: 1. Design and characterization of nanoscale polymer complexes with DNA for potential gene transfection 2. New polymers that could encapsulate contrast agents for MRI imaging:These had extremely high contrast with the potential to append drugs to the materials and track the location of those drugs in the body. 3. Nanoscale complexes of polymers with antibiotics: The polymer sheaths on the complexes enhanced entry of the antibiotics into infected cells. 4. Polymer complexes carrying drugs for treating HIV that aided in dissolution in the body so that these drugs would have improved bioavailability to kill the viruses. 5. Design and implementation of a method for constructing model networks for cells to adhere and grow on: This was used to track the rate of cell protrusion growth to better understand how cell dynamics influenced cell differentiation. 6. Opportunities for the REU students to attend major national/international technical conferences: a particularly important aspect was that Virginia Tech hosted the World Polymer Conference in the summer of 2012. This was sponsored by the International Union of Pure and Applied Science (IUPAC) and was attended by ~1500 scientists and engineers from all over the world. Special lectures were given by Nobel Laureates. All of our 2012 cohort of REU students attended this and also volunteered to help. This allowed them to meet distinguished scientists in person. Broader Impacts: Of the 84 undergraduates, 40 were men, 44 were women, and 17 (20%) were from underrepresented groups. The undergraduates worked and studied under the direction of faculty from our departments of Chemistry, Physics, Sustainable Biomaterials, Biomedical Sciences and Pathology, Chemical Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering. Each student was also paired with a graduate student in their respective research group who provided daily mentoring throughout the summer programs. The undergraduates also carried out an outreach program to K-12 students each summer. Overall, 106 K-12 students carried out science projects and demonstrations in these programs, mentored by our REU undergraduates. Highlights of our educational program each summer included: 1. An introductory short course on fundamentals of polymer science together with special lectures on drug delivery and medical imaging concepts 2. A kick-off day filled with a leadership, teaming and scientific ethics workshop 3. Weekly seminars and practice sessions on communications skills: These included instruction in both oral and written technical communications 4. Instruction and mentoring regarding job opportunities and preparing resumes 5. A K-12 outreach program called Youth Experiencing Science (YES!) with the slogan of "Say YES to Science!": This culminated in the YES students presenting their Science Projects orally at Steppin' Out, Blacksburg, Virginia's annual street fair weekend 6. An end-of-summer oral symposium where each REU student presented their summer research methods and findings 7. An end-of-summer picnic and variety show (by REU talent) and awards session
