American Ceramic Society Bulletin

In the next year I hope to make the
transition from materials to medicine.
As an undergraduate student studying
materials science and engineering at
Pennsylvania State University I am
planning on applying to medical school
next year.
My interest in biomaterials led me to
the MatSE department where I began
research my freshmen year. By working
with a postdoctoral researcher, I
learned about the different characterization
techniques for testing polymeric
artificial heart membranes. A Research
Experience for Undergraduates opportunity
in soft materials at Penn State gave
me the opportunity to develop my own
investigation. I worked collaboratively
with the MatSE and the food science
departments to create complexes using
amylose isolated from potatoes. My
senior thesis project, developed from
this research, has possible implications
as a drug delivery system.
I have enjoyed my exposure to biomaterials
in my coursework. My junior
design class project focused on developing
a technique to prevent degradation
of colloidal nanoparticles used as
deliver agents for chemotherapeutics.
An elective course also gave me exposure
to materials selection criteria for
implant devices and practical medical
applications.
But, I wish that a stronger emphasis
on healthcare applications of materials
could be incorporated into traditional
materials science and engineering
ceramics courses. Materials science and
engineering may soon be responsible for
helping to solve some modern medical
52
deciphering the discipline
Biomaterials
innovation: Student
exposure to ‘bio’ and
health fields needed
dilemmas. We are pushing the boundaries
to find more effective treatments
for cancer and HIV. Other serious
health concerns include the overuse
of antibiotics, leading to drug-resistant
strains of bacteria, which pose a challenge
to pharmacologists. The expertise
of materials scientists and engineers
may offer new insights to treat these
rapidly evolving bacterial strains. . For
example, creating more effective ways
of manufacturing drugs and providing
targeted in-vivo delivery may rely on
viewing medicine from a nanomaterials
perspective.
Materials scientists and engineers
are finding solutions to offer medicine
worldwide. One of the biggest problems
with diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis
is distributing unstable pharmaceuticals
or vaccines. Innovations in
materials science and engineering may
soon find ways to store vaccines in hot
climates or increase the stability time of
sensitive medicine while driving down
costs. Glass or piezoelectric materials
may provide imaging techniques that
decrease radiation exposure while providing
higher image quality. And, there
are endless possibilities for tissue engineering
in the future.
I wish that materials science and
engineering curriculums reflected these
exciting opportunities and focused more
heavily on collaboration with biological
fields. Surprisingly, I have been required
to take classes in all of the basic sciences
except biology. And, I know from
speaking with students in materials
programs across the country, that this
practice is common. But, incorporating
an introductory course in biotechnology,
biochemistry, molecular biology or
agriculture sciences could help expose
students to an entirely different side of
materials that is often underemphasized
in traditional ceramics curriculums. We
know that organisms can design and
build materials with extreme precision
Erica Marden
Guest columnist
and that some organic materials exceed
the mechanical properties we can
design. Studying these biological systems
may highlight new opportunities
for material advancements.
I am hopeful that the construction
of a new Millennium Science Complex
at Penn State will encourage more collaboration
and coursework with the
biological sciences. The building will
house faculty from the MatSE, chemistry
and biology departments under
one roof. Characterization institutes
from each department will be housed
in a central location, and hopefully this
proximity will encourage research and
coursework collaborations. Many other
schools have begun to establish interdisciplinary
graduate school programs
that focus on combining expertise in
materials with computer science, math,
physics, chemistry or biology. Ideally,
these programs will soon carry to the
undergraduate level so that students
may have more flexibility in choosing
ceramics courses that provide a broader
perspective on biological applications.
I am pursuing medicine to incorporate
my interest in science and technology
with my love of interacting with
and helping people. I am confident that
my strong education in materials science
and engineering will provide me
with a unique perspective on modern
medicine. I am optimistic that my work
and plans will lead me into medicine
and, eventually, collaborations on
future medical materials. Hopefully, I
can add to the amazing biomaterial and
biomedical work by ceramists worldwide
that needs to be reflected in future
undergraduate ceramic curriculums.
Marden is a senior at Penn State.
She is the vice president of her
college’s student council and the
secretary of her Keramos chapter.
American Ceramic Society Bulletin, Vol. 90, No. 4