Biomaterials Research and Education in Upstate New York

Abstract: Upstate New York is home to diverse research and education programs in the area of biomaterials—substances engineered to interact with biological systems for therapeutic or diagnostic medical purposes. This presentation will provide an overview of cross-institutional biomaterials research and education programs in Upstate, including the Syracuse Biomaterials Institute and the National Science Foundation-funded Interactive Biomaterials Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) site. The focus will be on sharing insights into collaborative research and education programs in Upstate and the invaluable role information infrastructure provides in enabling and advancing those programs.

Speaker Bio: James (Jay) Henderson, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering and the Bioengineering Graduate Program Director at Syracuse University. His training in Mechanical Engineering was performed at Rice University (BS) and at Stanford University (MS, PhD), where he was a dual Hertz Foundation/Burt and Deedee McMurtry Stanford Graduate Fellow. He performed postdoctoral training in the departments of Biology and Orthopaedics at Case Western Reserve University as an Arthritis Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow. Having joined the faculty of Syracuse University in 2008, Dr. Henderson’s lab focuses on the study and application of mechanobiology. Dr. Henderson is a faculty member of the Syracuse Biomaterials Institute and of the SUNY Upstate Medical University Cancer Research Institute and holds an adjunct position in the Syracuse University department of Biology. He received the Aspiring Investigator Award at the 5^th Annual Meeting of the Midwestern Tissue Engineering Consortium in 2005, the New Investigator Recognition Award at the Combined Meeting of the Orthopaedic Research Societies in 2007, the College of Engineering and Computer Science Faculty Excellence Award in 2010, the DARPA Young Faculty Award in the class of 2012, the James K. Duah-Agyeman Faculty Award in 2016, and the Excellence in Graduate Education Faculty Excellence Award in 2017.