| NSF Org: |
CBET Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | February 4, 2019 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | February 4, 2019 |
| Award Number: | 1907604 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Aleksandr Simonian
asimonia@nsf.gov (703)292-2191 CBET Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems ENG Directorate for Engineering |
| Start Date: | May 1, 2019 |
| End Date: | April 30, 2020 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $7,900.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $7,900.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
ONE CASTLE POINT ON HUDSON HOBOKEN NJ US 07030-5906 (201)216-8762 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
Castle Point on Hudson Hoboken NJ US 07030-5991 |
| 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): | Engineering of Biomed Systems |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| 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
Nontechnical abstract
This project supports a research conference called the Stevens Conference on Bacteria-Material Interactions. This two-day Conference will be held in June 2019 on the campus of the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey, very close to New York City. The 2019 Conference is the 5th in a series of Conferences that started in 2011, and this series is recognized as a key national and international venue for pushing the limits of scientific understanding about how bacteria interact with man-made surfaces. Bacterial-material interactions is an important scientific subject because of the devastating impact that bacterial colonization of man-made biomedical devices, such as hip or knee implants, can have on patient outcomes. Such infection can lead to long and painful hospital stays that can culminate in compromised function, chronic disease, or death. This project is helping graduate research students, post-doctoral research fellows, and early-career Faculty members to attend the conference and develop their expertise and professional careers in this important emerging field.
Technical abstract
Understanding the fundamental science underlying how bacteria interact with biomaterials surfaces and how those surfaces can be modified to resist colonization is at the heart of an emerging new sub-field within Biomaterials Science and Engineering, namely, infection-resisting biomaterials. While the idea of creating antifouling surfaces that resist bacterial colonization has been known for decades, antifouling surfaces are not useful in many key clinical applications, because their ability to resist bacterial colonization also prevents the desirable tissue interactions associated with healing. The scientific challenge thus focuses on creating surfaces that are differentially interactive and can simultaneously promote favorable tissue-cell interactions while also inhibiting bacterial interactions. To deeply explore this subject, the 5th Stevens Conference is focused on the scientific fundamentals addressing: (i) antimicrobials and antimicrobial action; (ii) infection models; (iii) bacterial response to a surface; and (iv) surface modification. The Conference features fifteen invited lectures by recognized topical experts from around the world. Significantly, the Conference also involves the perspectives of highly expert clinicians who can help keep fundamental scientific advances aligned with critical societal needs. This project is providing partial financial support that enables graduate research students, post-doctoral research fellows, and early-career Faculty members to attend the Conference. These young scientists and engineers consequently have the opportunity to present their own research findings, network with and learn from internationally recognized experts in the field, as well as develop their professional careers to help impact this important emerging field in the future.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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 project provided support for the 5th Stevens Conference on Bacteria-Material Interactions held in June, 2019. This was the 5th in a series of Conferences (2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019) on this scientific theme held at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey. The 5th Conference lasted for two days and attracted over 100 partipants from across the country and world. The scientific focus of the conference centered on how biomaterials can be modified to prevent the colonization of bacteria on them. This is an important subject, because it is directly related to the engineering problem of how to make a better biomedical implant (such as a hip or knee prostheses). The clinical objective underlying the Conference was to develop new strategies to prevent tissue-contacting biomedical implants from becoming infected.
Invited presentations described ongoing research and addressed such topics as antimicrobial peptides and peptoids, identifying critical intervention points during colonization to prevent biofilm development, the effect of nano/micro surface topography on bacterial adhesion, and self-defensive surfaces that release antimicrobials in response to bacterial triggers. The Conference was bracketed by an opening talk defining the state of the field (David Grainger, University of Utah) and a closing talk outlining the future of the field (Henny van der Mei, University Medical Center Groningen, NL). A lively hour-long panel discussion assessed how far the field has come, fundamental barriers, and how far it now must go. A clear consensus emerged that clinically acceptable solutions must address diverse challenges from the many different stakeholders - clinicians, basic/translational biomaterials scientists, device industries, regulatory bodies, and health providers/insurers. To solve this clinical issue, all must agree on language and test methods in order to create materials, devices and approaches for implanting medical devices that can simultaneously promote healing while inhibiting infection.
In addition to 14 invited presentations, over 40 poster presentations were contributed. The Conference featured two dedicated poster sessions for scientific exchange/networking. Three were recognized at the Conference's closing session as the top poster presentations with judging by a panel of four experts: Ms. Nathalie Karaky from Manchester Metropolitan University, U.K. (Antimicrobial Activity of Metals & Graphene Derivatives against Multi-Drug Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae); Ms. Carly Deusenbery from Brown University (Utilizing IDR-1018 to Develop Antibiofilm Gellan Hydrogels); and Dr. Hao Wang from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (An Ex Vivo Model of Medical Device-Mediated Bacterial Skin Translocation).
NSF funding was used specifically to provide partial travel support to nineteen research students who present their work at the conference. Among the group funded were nine women. These awardess came from universioties across the United States as well as from the Netherlands, the U.K., Poland, Spain, and Portugal.
Last Modified: 09/01/2020
Modified by: Matthew R Libera
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