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Ben Freedman \u201911 looks to nature to inspire engineering solutions<\/h3>\n
It is not uncommon for scientists like Ben Freedman \u201911 to look to nature for engineering inspiration\u2014including the development of a super tough surgical gel that can strongly adhere to wet and dynamic surfaces inside the body. Think about a beating heart, entangled tissues, collapsed lungs, damaged cartilage, and broken bones.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur hydrogel technology is based on the incredibly stretchy mucous that Dusky Arion slugs emit when they sense danger,\u201d says Freeman, a post-doctoral fellow at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University. \u201cOur tough gel can stretch 20 times its length without breaking, which is more than what the most resilient rubber band can do.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Freedman, many of the medical grade adhesives available now just aren\u2019t tough or sticky enough, and they are rigid. They behave, as he says, like super glue. Because of this, they can kill cells. Fortunately, his research team\u2019s tough gel addresses all of this and more. Health care practitioners can mold it into any shape, insert it into syringes, and then apply or inject it into a specific area. Although not commercially available yet, this tough gel is far along in the clinical study stage.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe future of medicine is all about developing materials that respond to the way tissues heal,\u201d Freedman adds. \u201cIt is rewarding to work on technology that will promote healing and drug delivery and make a difference in people\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/h3>\n
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Ben Freedman \u201911, currently a post-doctoral fellow at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University.<\/p><\/div>\n
[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]Freedman enjoys many aspects of his work, from making gels and looking at tissue cultures to analyzing data and planning studies. He also appreciates interacting with extremely smart, motivated people with similar goals. Working with early career scientists and sparking their interest in innovative technologies is also a plus.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt all comes back to my undergraduate education,\u201d he adds, noting how he spent several summers working in the National Institutes of Health research labs. This was an opportunity presented to him through the biomedical engineering faculty, with whom he is still close. \u201cIf I hadn\u2019t had access to great faculty and gone to Rochester, I wouldn\u2019t be where I am today.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”25px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”grid” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1553538091016{border-top-width: 1px !important;padding-top: 10px !important;border-top-color: #999999 !important;border-top-style: solid !important;}”]<\/p>\n
\u2014 Kristine Thompson, 2019<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”25px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It is not uncommon for scientists like Ben Freedman \u201911 to look to nature for engineering inspiration\u2014including the development of a super tough surgical gel that can strongly adhere to wet and dynamic surfaces inside the body<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":2192,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[152],"tags":[762,752,212,722],"class_list":["post-2122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-bay-area-san-francisco","tag-boston","tag-new-york-city","tag-rochester"],"yoast_head":"\n