USD Students to Present Research at State Capitol
Eikanger and Rezvani are working with USD’s Department of Chemistry to create and functionalize a nanoparticle that will carry and release VTD only in the colon at the site of the tumor. This will help to reduce the amount of toxicity in the brain and body creating better outcomes for patients.
“I am very excited to present my research at the 2021 poster session,” said Eikanger. “This is such a great opportunity to share our research that we are so proud of. We are setting the stage for future developments that will improve the patient’s quality of life and significantly improve the course of treatment. Our goal is to create safer and more effect drug therapies to be used in conjunction with other metastatic colorectal cancer treatments.”
Tim Hartman, a junior biomedical engineering major from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is presenting his research in three-dimensional scaffold creation. Currently, much of the traditional cell and tissue engineering involves 2D models, such as a typical microscope slide. For years this was a great way to continue research into the human body. However, the human body is 3D itself, and cells respond differently on a 3D structure than they do on 2D structures. Adding data mining to the scaffold creation process will cut research time and costs while returning better scaffold designs.
Though Hartman’s research mainly involves software development, Hartman will also explore the USD Graduate Education and Applied Research (GEAR) Center's 3D bioprinting equipment to ensure that the software performs with high quality. The relationship between the software and hardware is key to a much-needed cycle of continuous improvement that can match rapid technological changes.
“It is an honor to present our lab’s research to people and their representatives,” said Hartman. “What we do is for the benefit of society, and it’s good for the people to know the positive things that are on the horizon.”
The Student Research Poster Session, sponsored by South Dakota EPSCoR and the Board of Regents, has been held in Pierre for more than 20 years. This event gives policymakers and other capitol visitors the opportunity to interact with students and faculty engaged in research activities on public university campuses to better understand not only how the research benefits the state, but also how it benefits the education of South Dakota students.
