Eugenia Kharlampieva Appointed as Co-Director of CNMB

Congratulations to Dr. Eugenia Kharlampieva

Eugenia Kharlampieva
Dr. Eugenia Kharlampieva, Chemistry

Dr. Eugenia Kharlampieva has been appointed as Co-Director of the Center for Nanoscale Materials and Biointergration.  Dr. Kharlampieva’s primary appointment is Associate Professor in the College of Arts and Sciences Department of Chemistry where her research is in the design of polymeric materials for biomedical applications. Her lab works on synthesis and assembly of water-soluble stimuli-responsive macromolecules to develop novel nanostructured materials as “intelligent” platforms for therapeutic applications such as controlled drug delivery, regenerative medicine, and biosensing.

Dr. Kharlampieva joined the Chemistry faculty in 2010 from Georgia Institute of Technology. Since coming to UAB, she has authored more than 50 peer-reviewed publication and five book chapters. Dr. Kharlampieva was a recipient  of NSF CAREER Award, UAB Dean’s Award for Excellence in Mentorship, UAB College of Arts and Sciences Interdisciplinary Innovation Award, Faculty Innovator of the Year Award from the UAB Bill L. Harbert Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. She was named as an Emerging Investigator by the Royal Society of Chemistry, Journal of Materials Chemistry B.

In her role as Co-Director of the CNMB, her primary responsibilities will be assisting in advancing the mission of the Center which is to promote interdisciplinary research and student training in the synthesis and characterization of nanoscale materials with broad applicability in materials under extreme environments, nano-enabled biomedical imaging and drug delivery platforms, and nanostructured coatings and materials for biomedical implants and vascular grafts. Dr. Kharlampieva will play an instrumental role in aiding in the achievement of core-objectives of CNMB, identify and lead interdisciplinary grant opportunities, contribute to acquiring new and maintaining existing core facilities.

Dr. Vinoy Thomas Receives Deans Award

Congratulations to Dr. Vinoy Thomas

Dr. Vinoy Thomas, Assistant Professor in the School of Engineering has been awarded the Graduate Dean’s Award for Excellence in Mentorship.

The numerous students that Dr. Thomas has mentored have greatly benefited from both his extensive knowledge and dedication to his research in polymer composites, biomaterials and nanomaterials..

(See original article by Kim Eaton, published April 4, 2019)

McWane Center Engineering Showcase

McWane Center Engineering Showcase

On February 22, 2019, the McWane Science Center hosted an event called the Engineering Showcase to celebrate the end of National Engineering Week. A team from UAB Materials Science and Engineering and Society for Plastics Engineers UAB Student Chapter (Dr. Vinoy Thomas: faculty sponsor, Bernabe Tucker: student chapter president) had a demonstration table with a hands-on activity “Plasma and Nano-Spider webs: How Nature Inspires Engineering.” During the demo, students were able to see an electrospinner in action which produces nano and microscale fibers that resemble a tiny spider’s web (a popular super-hero was mentioned by several attendees). Microscope station and fluorescence demonstrations were also set up. Students were able to see a plasma source and learn about how plasmas are being used in research conducted in Alabama, specifically at UAB, to change the properties of polymer materials for biomedical applications, (URLs to recent publications: https://avs.scitation.org/doi/10.1116/1.5023259 and https://www.springerprofessional.de/en/low-temperature-air-plasma-modification-of-electrospun-soft-mate/16510664?searchResult=1.tucker&searchBackButton=true ).

According to the McWane Science Center there were over 2000 students in the K-12 range in attendance. Furthermore, many were from inner city Birmingham (which includes >75 % minority representation). This event highlighted plasma science and technology research being conducted in Alabama funded through the NSF EPSCoR CPU2AL: Connecting the Plasma Universe to Plasma Technology in Alabama project (Cooperative Agreement OIA-1655280). Dr. Yogesh Vohra (CPU2AL lead for UAB) oversees the plasma surface processing research which includes the synthesis of superhard materials (lead by Dr. Aaron Catledge and Dr. Paul Baker) and the surface processing of biomaterials (lead by Dr. Vinoy Thomas). This event demonstrated plasma technology and biomaterials to students from K-12 age ranges, thus, increasing exposure for CPU2AL project and STEM concepts. Involvement included UAB Faculty/Postdoc/Grad Students from Materials Science and Engineering (MSE), Physics, and Center for Nanoscale Materials and Biointegration (CNMB). (written by Bernabe Tucker)

Support for Interdisciplinary Materials science Program

University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers Drs. Yogesh K. Vohra, Eugenia Kharlampieva and Amber Genau  have won a $597,000 federal grant to support up to five doctoral students in the interdisciplinary materials science program.  Read entire article here.

REU Brian Davis Selected for BMES 2018

Brian Davis Presented Poster at 2018 BMES

Congratulations to Brian Davis for being selected to present his poster at the 2018 Biomedical Engineering Society, October 17-20 in Atlanta, GA.

Abstract Title: Cardiac Magnetogenetics: Noninvasive Control of the Heart
Authors: Brian Davis, Lufang Zhou, Patrick Ernst

Brian’s poster presentation is scheduled for Saturday, October 20 in the from 9:30am – 1:00pm.

You’ll find more information about the BMES on their website.