91探花

Two faculty members in the College of Science and Engineering (CSE) have been awarded (WRF) grant funding supporting biosciences innovation and student research and training. This is the first time 91探花 has received WRF funding.

The grant will fund two new programs—a Summer Innovation Fellows program and a Summer Bioscience Innovation Mini-Accelerator Program in conjunction with the Albers School of Business and Economics Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center—and enable 38 91探花 undergraduate students to engage in paid innovative research, most of which begins in the summer. The end game is research that accelerates technologies that can improve lives and help guide students into careers in related STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields.

Dr. Shen Ren, assistant teaching professor, will utilize the WRF funding with his students to further explore organ preservation research, specifically a technology he created called single-mode electromagnetic resonance or SMER. SMER could efficiently and effectively rewarm organs and expand the possibilities for organ transplantation, potentially extending a donor organ’s viability and biological functions from the current 24 hours to months.

“It is always exciting to engage student researchers in a translational research project, from conducting everyday lab tests to prototyping an integrated system and ultimately pitching the ideas to potential investors,” explains Dr. Ren. “The process is both challenging and rewarding, sparking innovation and real-world problem solving. I am grateful for the WRF funding support, which allows me to work with an incredible team to advance a technology that has the potential to improve patient outcomes and save lives.”

Associate Professor of Chemistry Dr. Katherine Frato is leading programs that speak to the strength of CSE’s STEM programs and commitment to undergraduate research, providing additional funds for students to engage in applied sciences and innovative research with their peers and faculty-mentors.

“What I find so exciting about this funding is it helps build skills critical for the success of our students,” says Dr. Frato. “By compensating students for their engagement over the summer, we democratize bioscience innovation training and give students the space to think deeply about how their basic science and engineering skills might be commercialized for the greater good.”

The WRF empowers researchers and entrepreneurs at Washington state institutions by supporting the development of innovative technologies through its grants and programs while supporting students in accessing STEM research opportunities and engage in entrepreneurship.