Bioink Development Competition

poster for the Bioink Competition

 

Dr. Won Hyuk Suh at UNH Manchester received funding for a NH BioMade education and workforce development seed grant to attract and train future advanced biomanufacturing and bioscience professionals through engagement with the UNH BioMakers Club and a Bioink Development Competition that the club hosted. The Summer 2023 UNH Biomakers Club Bioink Development Competition Workshop concluded on Friday, July 21, 2023.

The one-month Bioink Development Competition began with proposal submissions and research and development work that culminated with five (5) final research presentations at the UNH Manchester campus. Student team research outcomes involved usage of bioinks such as fibrinogen, silk, collagen, gelatin, and sodium alginate mixed with conductive paste. More comprehensive summaries of what the student teams learned will be posted on LinkedIn by Dr. Suh. Student teams will also conduct poster presentations during the Summer 2023 UNH STEM Symposium, which will be held at the UNH Durham campus on 08/03/23 (2-3:30 pm). The final event generated much interest and excitement. College of Professional Studies (CPS) Dean Mike Decelle, NH-BioMade Educational Program Coordinator Jennifer Baker, and UNH Leitzel Center Project Director Steve Hale attended the final presentations along with participants’ family members.

Photo collages of Bioink competitors presenting their research projects

As part of the competition, judges had to determine a winner. Judges Matthew Woodworth (club president, UNHM), Matt Young (external faculty partner, New England College), and Ofori A. Mensah (UNHM alum, industrial partner, Batavia Biosciences) applauded all the participants for their dedication, hard work, and curiosity. The inaugural 2023 competition's winning Bioink team turned out to be the Fibrinogen Team. Congratulations, Grant Mangan, Deepak Patil, and Sam Yanagimachi!

Written by Won Hyuk Suh, UNH-M & Jennifer Baker, NH EPSCoR
Photos: Won Hyuk Suh, UNH-M

Funding Acknowledgments: This workshop is primarily funded by a seed grant from NH-BioMade (National Science Foundation (NSF) RII Award # 1757371). Secondary funding comes from NH-INBRE (The National Institutes of Health Award # P20GM103506).