| NSF Org: |
CBET Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | January 23, 2015 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | August 22, 2018 |
| Award Number: | 1451959 |
| Award Instrument: | Continuing Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Christina Payne
cpayne@nsf.gov (703)292-2895 CBET Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems ENG Directorate for Engineering |
| Start Date: | May 1, 2015 |
| End Date: | April 30, 2022 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $525,684.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $525,684.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
FY 2016 = $203,976.00 FY 2017 = $103,512.00 FY 2018 = $113,563.00 |
| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
1400 TOWNSEND DR HOUGHTON MI US 49931-1200 (906)487-1885 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
1400 Townsend Dr. Houghton MI US 49931-1295 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | Interfacial Engineering Progra |
| Primary Program Source: |
01001617DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT 01001718DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT 01001819DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT |
| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.041 |
ABSTRACT
1451959
Heldt
This CAREER project proposes a shift in the design and creation of next-generation virus removal and detection technologies. Instead of screening large libraries of chemistries to determine the ones that will most efficiently remove viruses, this project will first examine the surface chemistry of the viruses. This will lead to targeted chemistries that will attract viruses and exponentially increase the efficiency of screening processes. The process to be followed will benchmark new surface evaluation techniques with currently established surface chemistry analysis to determine if chemical forces of viruses can be determined at the single-particle scale. The CAREER education plan will train undergraduate and graduate students to be role models to high school and community college students in order to attract and retain underrepresented minorities to STEM fields. The main focus of the education plan is a collaboration with Wayne County Community College in Detroit, MI to provide engaging and hands-on research opportunities to community college students. The goal is to use research as a vehicle for sustained STEM engagement and to encourage B.S. degree completion. This unique program will expose over 500 inner city students to research opportunities and expanded career options.
The proposed work is built upon the hypothesis that an advanced understanding of viral surface chemical interactions and interparticle forces will enable a significant transformation in virus removal and detection technologies, dramatically reducing the cost while simultaneously increasing efficiency. The outcome may result in an increase in availability and accessibility to life-saving biotherapies. The overall goal of this CAREER project is to transform virus removal processes by creating a fundamental framework of viral surface and interparticle forces. The specific goals to be accomplished are: 1) Analyze the surface chemistry of several model viruses, 2) Quantify interparticle forces of model viruses and 3) Prototype a surface and interparticle force-informed method for virus removal. This study of surface and interparticle forces will benchmark traditional techniques against novel surface characterizations. Quantitative surface chemistry and interparticle force data will inform an innovative design of virus removal processes. Three relevant viruses will be used in this study, an enveloped mammalian virus, a non-enveloped mammalian virus and a bacteriophage.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
This CAREER award was truly a way to push the lab and my career forward through innovative science and technology development. The ability to have five years to develop chemical force microscopy (CFM) as a single particle measurement of virus surface chemistry has propelled my lab into multiple new directions that were unfathomable before this award. Prior to this CAREER award, my lab focused on viral vaccine purification. We have now expanded this work to virus inactivation, thermal stability of viral vaccines, and exosome purification. We are able to study virus surface interactions at a single particle level and bring physical science to virus and macromolecule purification. This is leading to new insight into many areas of vaccine manufacturing that will have a large impact for years to come. None of this would have been possible without this award.
With the establishment of CFM for single-particle virus studies, we are learning how to separate empty and full adeno-associated virus (AAV), which is a novel new gene therapy vector and could potentially be a cure to many single-gene diseases. We are exploring how continuous purification of viral particles using aqueous extraction could decrease the development time for novel vaccines and applying this to an influenza vaccines. Continuous extraction can also be applied to many vaccines to decrease costs and time to market. We are also studying how virus inactivation occurs with surfactants, as well as understanding how virus thermal stability occurs for vaccine formulations. All of these avenues of study are being explored due to the development of CFM to study virus particles.
This CAREER award also established a research exploration at Wayne County Community College, a community college in Detroit. Community college students were exposed to research through the study of the Detroit River. Students who participated in the project were more likely to graduate from community college and more likely to complete a four-year degree than those that took a microbiology class but did not complete the research project. This helped to diversify the pipeline of students entering STEM fields. Engaging students in hands-on, exploratory projects helps to engage them with STEM and retain them through degree completion.
Bioprocessing is now an established part of the chemical engineering curriculum at Michigan Tech. We have two courses in bioprocessing and we have had over 50 undergraduate students engage in research in the Heldt Bioseparations Laboratory. Students have been placed in academic and industrial positions in many industries, but in particular in the pharmaceutical industry. This CAREER award helped to solidify the lab as a knowledge center on viral particle separation, stability, and inactivation. Industry, foundation, and federal partners have funded work in our lab and this is highly due to the development of key knowledge from this project.
Last Modified: 07/29/2022
Modified by: Caryn Heldt
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