Mixing health care and engineering for new careers
A partnership of scientists from across the United States is tackling cancer not from a health care perspective, but from an engineering standpoint.
Using manufacturing models and scalable technologies, this $20 million National Science Foundation-funded effort—with $3 million sub-awarded to the University of Georgia—is developing the technology to infuse T-cells with a virus that attacks cancer cells from inside the body. Called the Center for Cell Manufacturing Technologies, or CMaT, the project is working to increase the quality, scalability, and ability to transport these specialized treatments to increase access to the new technology.
CMaT is a key component of an emerging field called bio-engineering. It’s cutting-edge and growing, and it needs a workforce to match.
Cory Buxton, a professor in the UGA College of Education, is here to help. Buxton is working on the educational component of CMaT to create programs and curriculum that can reach kids starting in elementary school, up to high school, technical college and college students.