Kelly Schultz (left), professor in the Davidson School of Chemical Engineering, and Luis Solorio, associate professor in the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, will co-direct the Purdue Biomaterials and Biointerfaces Training Program, funded by a National Institutes of Health T32 grant to prepare graduate students for careers in biomedical research. (Purdue University photo)

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue Engineers have been awarded a training grant by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to prepare graduate students to fill the growing national need for scientists who can lead the design, characterization and application of engineered biological systems.

“We need scientists who can integrate in vitro, in vivo and ex vivo experimentation with advanced microscopy, materials design and computational modeling,” said co-principal investigator and program co-director Kelly Schultz, a professor in the Davidson School of Chemical Engineering. “This is a must-have in order to improve biomaterials and biointerfaces that mimic native environments for biomedical applications.”

The $1.96 million NIH T32 Training Grant will fund the Purdue Biomaterials and Biointerfaces Training Program (PUBB). Its focus will be on the use of materials to influence basic cellular processes for applications like tissue engineering, wound healing, and disease treatment.

“The program will deliver cross-disciplinary training that emphasizes scientific rigor, research reproducibility and ethical conduct, with a strong foundation in engineering principles, preparing graduate students for impactful careers in the biomedical research workforce,” said co-principal investigator and co-director of the program Luis Solorio, an associate professor in the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering.

It’s important to note that the awarded program does not exist in a vacuum, but rather builds upon Purdue’s significant institutional and commercial investments and draws on a collaborative team of faculty with expertise in biomaterials, biointerfaces, imaging sciences and computational design.

The cross-disciplinary emphasis is key. Typically, graduate education focuses on disciplinary depth, limiting student ability to design comprehensive experiments, interpret complex data sets and translate findings into clinical or industrial applications. This leads to silos of knowledge and gaps in training, limiting discoveries that require collaborative science.

“Purdue’s substantial investment in research infrastructure — including state-of-the-art imaging, biomaterials laboratories and high-performance computational resources — along with established industrial partnerships provide an ideal environment for interdisciplinary training,” said Schultz, who specializes in materials characterization, specifically rheology, and heads up the Schultz Lab at Purdue.

Mentors show the way

Trainees in the program will receive mentored research experiences and develop individualized training plans to cultivate critical thinking, quantitative skills and interdisciplinary approaches to solve complex biomedical problems. The PUBB framework and ongoing assessments will ensure effective mentor-trainee communication, promote accountability and support steady progress toward research and professional milestones.

The training will focus on developing technical competency, operational independence and professional development. All students will complete an integrated course across multiple domains during the two-year program, assessed through project reports, skill demonstrations and coursework evaluations.

Mentors will develop student leadership skills by giving them leadership responsibilities in the lab, recruiting undergraduates that the trainees will mentor, and supporting trainees to apply for leadership positions in PUBB, on-campus student organizations and in their professional societies. Mentors will also send students to professional meetings to build their networks, explore career choices and make vital connections toward their desired career path.

Upon completion of the program, the students will have developed the ability to independently design rigorous experiments emphasizing reproducibility, data transparency and ethical practices. Mandatory internships with industry partners will provide practical experience, with success measured through internship assessments and project milestones.

The curriculum will also stress professional development opportunities by teaching trainees to conduct scientific communication workshops, write grants and instruct others. Outreach partnerships will prepare the students to communicate science effectively to broad audiences and foster interest in biomedical research. Trainee career outcomes will be tracked and published to promote transparency and guide future cohorts.

The trainees are integrated into the program administrative structure. They will provide feedback to their mentors, the executive committee, the program directors, the administrative support and the external advisory committee. This is designed so trainees can pick the path they feel most comfortable with and enable collection of honest feedback on the program.

The program includes sixteen faculty from five departments across three colleges, chosen for their specific research expertise as well as alignment with the categories of materials design and characterization, computational tools, and fundamental biological characterization.

The mentors include five assistant professors, four associate professors and seven full professors with extensive research expertise and a track record in student training. The mentors will create individual development plans with their students yearly and are committed to making them independent researchers by the time they get their PhDs.

The Purdue program is in response to the sheer breadth of scientific knowledge today and the complex challenges facing engineers in mastering and integrating numerous complementary domains. The program links individual domain expertise with collaboration across disciplines like biomedical, chemical and mechanical engineering, as well as material science, biology, computational science, chemistry, industrial and molecular pharmaceutics, life sciences and others.

PUBB fits squarely within the thrust of Purdue's presidential OneHealth initiative, which involves research at the intersection of human, animal and plant health and well-being.

“PUBB will equip the next generation of biomedical researchers to use fundamental principles across materials design, engineering and cell biology to improve innovation and translation,” said Solorio, who heads Purdue’s Tissue Microenvironment and Therapeutics Lab. “This fulfills the NIH mission to improve health through rigorous and collaborative biomedical research.”

Note: Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number T32GM165273. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

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