Provost Office: Memorandum
To: The Drexel University Community
From: Ken Blank, Ph.D. Vice Provost for Research
Subject: Update on the Major Research Initiatives
Date: 23 March 2007
The University is committed to developing interdisciplinary research programs that will play an important role in continuing to build the research enterprise. Towards this goal, The Major Research Initiative (MRI) Program was initiated to identify and develop new interdisciplinary research initiatives in areas in which we have, or can efficiently develop, significant strength. The purpose of this document is to report on the status of the MRI program.
The process for identifying potential MRI programs began with an RFP that was sent to the University community and included the following steps:
- Submission of white papers written by faculty describing the proposed research program
- Meetings with the Vice Provost for Research to develop the interdisciplinary nature of the program proposal and identify collaborative faculty
- Submission of a full MRI proposal and an oral presentation for evaluation by a MRI Review committee
As stated in the original announcement of this program, the criteria for selecting MRI’s included:
- The probability that Drexel will become a leader in the field in the next five years
- The possibility of developing intellectual property that will lead to commercialization
- The opportunity to integrate research with teaching
- The ability to attract outstanding undergraduate and graduate students as well as postdoctoral trainees
- The ability to attract and retain exceptional faculty
- The ability to sustain the program through external funding
Six full MRI proposals were submitted. After reviewing these proposals, the MRI Review Committee (membership is posted on the Office of Research website) has initially identified two interdisciplinary initiatives, Neuroengineering: Brain Machine Interface and Plasma Biology and Medicine, for which Drexel is positioned to attain national prominence. A description of these initiatives is available on the Office of Research web site and the University community will have the opportunity to learn more about these initiatives in the near future through presentations that will be made for this purpose. These initiatives will receive University funding to continue to develop the programs to attain national prominence.
Other initiatives were also identified that the committee believed had a very high potential to provide platforms for novel interdisciplinary research across many of the University’s academic units. To increase the probability that these initiatives become nationally recognized programs, the Committee felt that additional work was needed to better integrate the groups interested in these areas. The Vice Provost for Research will continue to work with faculty involved in these initiatives with the goal that they may subsequently be designated as MRIs.NEUROENGINEERING PROGRAM: BRAIN-MACHINE INTERFACE FOR RESTORATION OF SENSORY AND MOTOR FUNCTION
The goal of this program is to develop a closed-loop brain-machine interface that can restore motor and sensory function after spinal cord injury. While ongoing research is working to repair the spinal cord after traumatic injury using biological methods, there are likely to be many instances when repair is not feasible and for which by-passing the injury with a brain-machine interface (BMI) will be the best clinical option. Drexel University is in a unique position to be a leader in this field because it is one of the few universities with expertise in 1) motor systems, 2) sensory systems, 3) spinal cord injury, and 4) development of microelectrode devices to both record from and stimulate neural tissue. Furthermore, Drexel, unlike most other universities, is also pursuing the development of portable, non-invasive brain scanning devices that can augment or even supplant the need for invasive devices.
The approach that the neuroengineering faculty have taken to address the development of a BMI include breaking down the challenge into its constituent elements and optimizing solutions for each component in order to ultimately produce a complete solution. These constitutive elements for a clinically applicable BMI device include:
- Extracting motor commands regarding the intention to remove a limb from the brain
- Transmitting motor commands from the brain to output devices to restore movement
- Extracting sensory information from nerve stimulation in the limbs
- Restoring sensory information to the brain
Implementation of each of these components provides a complete closed-loop solution to restoring motor and sensory function.
Drexel researchers have many skills that will be important in developing this BMI.
- Drexel is the only university to have a patent on a microelectrode device to record single neuron activity that can be used to extract information related to motor commands generated in the brain.
- Neurorobotic researchers are developing mathematical algorithms that will convert brain motor signals into limb movements which will enhance functional recovery after spinal cord injury
- Drexel researchers are leaders in studying how sensory information is transmitted to the brain for processing
The academic units involved in this program are the College of Medicine, the School of Biomedical Engineering, the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Nursing and Health Professions and the LeBow College of Business.
PLASMA BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE PROGRAM
Recent breakthrough inventions at Drexel University in electron plasma science and engineering have resulted in the opportunity for novel research and application of non-thermal plasma interactions with living organisms from viruses and bacteria to human tissue. Led by Drexel researchers, new exciting and promising research areas of plasma biology and medicine have been created recently on the border of medical and engineering sciences that will contribute to Drexel’s potential for international leadership in this area of research. The goal of this program is to examine the use of non-thermal plasmas in areas of clinical practice where a plasma can be a more effective medical tool than existing procedures or in cases where no treatment presently exists
One area where the use of plasma is being investigated is in blood coagulation to stop bleeding in critical life threatening situations. For example, coagulation is a vital issue in severely injured individuals in situations involving accident victims. Methods of inducing coagulation rapidly in such cases are critical for emergency medical responders to treat victims at the scene of an incident. A non-thermal electron plasma provides this opportunity to induce coagulation very rapidly in a safe manner both at the accident site and in hospital emergency rooms.
Another important area where a non-thermal plasma may have a significant impact on healthcare is related to the prevention of infection in skin wounds including burns and ulcerations that occur, for example, in patients with diabetes. The use of a plasma has been demonstrated to have the capacity to kill bacteria that cause infections in such wounds without having an adverse affect on human tissues. Such infections are often difficult to treat with conventional antibiotic treatment. Plasma treatment could potentially be used continuously in cases of severe burns as an adjunct to antibiotic therapy to attain sterilization of the affected areas thus preventing infections. Plasmas will also be tested for their ability to effectively treat melanoma, a cancer of the skin, by selectively killing cancer cells while leaving normal skin tissue unharmed.
Research in this area will include:
- Continued development and characterization of novel non-thermal plasma discharges to provide clinically important treatments
- Identification of major electron plasma components (e.g., charged particles, free radicals, ozone) that are responsible for the desired clinical effects of plasma treatments
- The effect of plasma on various pathogenic microbes and cancer cells
- The use of plasma discharges in surgical procedures
The academic units involved in this research program include the College of Engineering, the College of Medicine, the School of Biomedical Engineering, and the College of Arts and Sciences.
MRI Review Committee
Michel Barsoum
Anthony Curatola
John DiNardo
Stephen Director
Frank Ferrone
Kirk Heilbrun
Michele Marcolongo
Kambiz Pourrezaei
Ken Simansky