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This discovery has proved important to Arun and his lab, who have had a long-standing collaboration with Sam and his team. While Sam's lab developed the nanofibers, Arun's team engineered their anti-inflammatory components. Originally, they refined the design of the nanofibers to target inflammation associated with bladder regeneration. Now, they are finalizing research to demonstrate next-generation nanofibers constructed with both a homing mechanism and anti-inflammatory components that can travel directly to the intestine and combat inflammation associated with Crohn’s disease—a research focus Arun credits as being inspired by a discussion between him and his team member about her relative with the disease. Moreover, these new applications open additional doors to scalable therapeutics and potential investments.
The collaboration between Sam and Arun illustrates the role interdisciplinary research plays in taking discoveries in the lab and evolving them into novel therapies. Within our Engineered Solutions for Health neighborhood, we’ve seen how combining the expertise of biomedical researchers and engineers has led to solutions in the surgical operating suite, and to medical devices specifically designed for infants. Cross-disciplinary partnerships illuminate new pathways to the therapies and technologies we need to serve the pediatric patient population, and I’m looking forward to celebrating more of these achievements.
With kindness and respect,
Pat
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