Adapting to Remote Research George Mason University suspended almost all research activities conducted in its labs and facilities amid the coronavirus pandemic, but Mason Engineering researchers found ways to continue their work remotely. Many did computer-based work, conducted portions of studies at home, and wrote papers about results.
USING ULTRASOUND TECHNOLOGY TO OPERATE PROSTHESES
Bioengineering professor Siddhartha Sikdar is using technology to help individuals with limb loss better control their prostheses. His team is investigating a new way to operate prostheses using ultrasound waves to sense muscle activity. The research group was recently awarded a Bioengineering Research Partnership grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop this technology for commercial use and perform clinical trials in subjects. The project was just ramping up when the lab had to close. However, the team developed plans to continue making progress remotely.
Bioengineering professor Siddhartha Sikdar continued his research on controlling prostheses using ultrasound waves. Photo by Evan Cantwell
“Our NIH grant has a strict schedule of milestones, but we were able to reprioritize some of the tasks that were more focused on software development, which could be done remotely,” Sikdar says. The group also continued some portions of testing and evaluation tasks remotely. His graduate students built temporary workstations at home with equipment from the lab to continue testing prototypes. The students and trainees also worked on analyzing data that had been collected and continued working on journal papers.
LAYING THE FOUNDATION TO DEVELOP VACCINES
Remi Veneziano, an assistant professor in the Department of Bioengineering, is using DNA nanotechnology to lay the foundation for developing vaccines that could fight viruses such as the coronavirus. While his lab was closed, some graduate students used software that allows 3D designs and renderings to explore new DNA nanoparticle architectures. These can be used for vaccine platform development and other biomedical applications, Veneziano says. “It’s a safe and elegant way to design vaccines,” he says. “If successful, our strategy could be adapted for emerging viruses and applied to several other pathogens, including the coronavirus.”
22 VOLGENAU SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING ANNUAL REPORT 2020
Remi Veneziano, an assistant professor in the Department of Bio engineering, and his research team are laying the foundation for developing vaccines that could fight viruses such as the coronavirus. Photo by Ron Aira.
