Journal of Undergraduate Research

Jordan Eatough and Dr. Alonzo Cook, Chemical Engineering According to the World Health Organization, cardiovascular (heart) diseases have been the number one cause of death throughout the world for over a decade. The proliferation of heart failure presents an ever-increasing demand for transplantable organs to treat such diseases. In the United States alone, more than […]

Robert Fuller and Dr. Alonzo Cook, Chemical Engineering I. Introduction Decellularized porcine tissue is currently used for allografts of tendons, blood vessels, and dermal tissue. The success of these procedures has been attributed to the conservation of collagen structures across mammalian species, making porcine collagen nearly identical to that of humans. Signaling chemicals for cellular […]

Steven Stanley and Bradley C. Bundy, Department of Chemical Engineering The genetic code, once mainly restricted to the 20 canonical amino acids, has been expanded to include many unnatural amino acids (UAAs). These new amino acids grant novel chemistries to proteins, unlocking functionalities that could be used in vaccine development and medical diagnosis methods. Unfortunately, […]

Luke Reed Wilding and Dr. Alonzo Cook, Chemical Engineering Introduction Whenever someone has a serious traumatic injury and has damage to the peripheral nerves it is very common to lose motor function in that area of the body due to slow axon regeneration. For example, if someone were to severely cut their arm above the […]

Russell Peterson, Sean Brown, and Dr. Randy Lewis, Chemical Engineering Introduction During his travels to Porcon, Peru, Dr. Randy Lewis took note of how the locals wanted to improve their living situations. One request was for hot water in their main restaurant, “Jesus Pan de Vida.” Hot water was already present in Porcon’s tourist venues […]

Jeffery Nielson and Dr. Alonzo Cook, Department of Chemical Engineering Introduction Several kinds of organ failure are among the leading causes of death in the United States. Organ donations cannot meet the demand for organ transplants due to the sensitive time period in which viable organs can be harvested and utilized. Those patients who actually […]

Benjamin Lindsay and Dr. WIlliam Pitt, Chemical Engineering Background The purpose of this project, as stated in the proposal, was to develop a modified liposome with nano-sized perfluoropentane (PFC5) emulsions encapsulated inside. The emulsions were to contain gold nanorods (GNRs) that would act as triggers to vaporize the PFC5 emulsions, bursting the liposome, releasing drug […]

Westley Kirkham and Dr. Alonzo Cook, Chemical Engineering The removal of cells from an organ leaving behind the extracellular matrix (ECM) is termed decellularization. In the realm of tissue engineering, decellularization is important as it provides a scaffold (the ECM) onto which stem cells or differentiated cells may attach to potentially regrow an organ that […]

Christopher Burns & Chase Jackson with Dr. Alonzo Cook, Chemical Engineering Introduction Diseases of the retina, such as age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy, affect millions of people.1 In humans, photoreceptors lost as a result of these diseases are unlikely to be replaced naturally. Thus, these diseases can lead to vision loss. Our team aims […]

Cory Fronk and Professor Alonzo Cook, Chemical Engineering Introduction Renal failure is among the most prevalent chronic diseases in the United States today. Treatment options include blood dialysis and whole organ transplantation. Dialysis mimics the filtration function of the kidneys but cannot replicate other renal functions such as hormone secretion and homeostatic regulation. Whole organ […]