OMAHA,
Neb., July 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The National
Strategic Research Institute (NSRI) at the University of Nebraska, a University Affiliated
Research Center designated by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD),
has established a new strategic partnership with Lincoln
Laboratory, the Federally Funded Research and Development Center of
the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT). Their aim:
Launch a student research program that will tackle historical
national security questions for the DOD with new and innovative
approaches.
Partnership supports students to develop
groundbreaking solutions to detect and neutralize emerging
biological threats.
The joint initiative brings together the scientific expertise,
cutting-edge capabilities and student capacity of the University of Nebraska System (NU) and MIT for critical issues within global health and
agricultural security and aims to develop groundbreaking solutions
to detect and neutralize emerging biological threats before they
can endanger American citizens.
"In an era of rapidly evolving dangers, we must stay ahead of
the curve through continuous innovation," said David Roberts, NSRI research director for
special programs. "This partnership harnesses a unique combination
of strengths from two leading academic institutions and two
research institutes to create new paradigms in biological
defense."
With funding from a DOD agency, the partners conducted a pilot
project at MIT throughout the 2023-2024
academic year. The challenge: Current methods to rapidly screen for
novel biosynthetic capabilities are limited by the lack of
standardized, high-throughput devices that can support the culture
of traditionally "uncultivable" microorganisms, which severely
limits the cell diversity that could be probed for bioprospecting
or biomanufacturing applications.
Led by Dr. Todd Thorsen, a
technical staff member in the Biological & Chemical
Technologies Group at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, MIT students created the project, "Bioprospecting
Experimentation Apparatus with Variable Environmental Regulation,"
which focused on developing simple high-throughput tools with
integrated environmental control systems to expand the
environmental testing envelope.
"This program, which emphasizes both engineering design and
prototyping, challenges students to take what they learned in the
classroom in their past undergraduate and graduate studies, and
apply it to a real-world problem," Dr. Thorsen said. "For many
students, the hands-on nature of this class is an exciting
opportunity to test their abilities to prioritize what is important
in developing products that are both functional and easy to use.
What I found most impressive was the students' ability to apply
their collective knowledge to the design and prototyping of the
biomedical devices, emphasizing their diverse backgrounds in areas
like fluid mechanicals, controls and solid mechanics."
In total, 12 mechanical engineering students contributed to the
program, producing and validating a gas gradient manifold prototype
and a droplet-dispensing manifold that has the potential to
generate arbitrary pH gradients in industry-standard 96-well plates
used for biomedical research. These devices will greatly simplify
and accelerate the microculture of complex mixtures of organisms,
like bacteria populations, where the growth conditions are unknown,
allowing the end user to use the manifolds to dial in the optimal
environmental parameters without the need for expensive, bulky
hardware like the anaerobic chambers typically used for
microbiology research.
"This class was my first experience with microfluidics and
biotech, and thanks to our sponsors, I gained the confidence to
pursue a career path in biotech," said Rachael Rosco, an MIT student in the program. "The project itself was
meaningful, and I know that our work will hopefully one day make an
impact. Who knows, maybe one day it will lead to cultivating
extremophile bacteria on a foreign planet!"
The partnership will continue to target DOD research funding to
create workforce development opportunities for top scientific
talent and introduce students to long-standing DOD challenges.
Projects will take place at several NSRI, NU, Lincoln Laboratory
and MIT facilities nationwide.
"We are excited to combine forces with NSRI to develop critical
biotechnologies that will enhance national security," said
Catherine Cabrera, who leads Lincoln
Laboratory's biological and chemical technologies group. "This
partnership underscores our shared commitment to safeguarding
America through scientific leadership."
About the National Strategic Research Institute
Through the National Strategic Research Institute at the
University of Nebraska leading
scientists deliver innovative national security research,
technology, product and strategy development, training and
exercises, and subject matter expertise to the Department of
Defense and other federal agencies. One of only 15 DOD-designated
University Affiliated Research Centers in the country, NSRI is
sponsored by U.S. Strategic Command and works to ensure
the United States' safety and
preparedness against increasingly sophisticated threats.
nsri.nebraska.edu
About MIT Lincoln Laboratory
Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT) Lincoln
Laboratory researches and develops advanced technologies to meet
critical national security needs. What sets us apart from many
national research and development laboratories is an emphasis on
building operational prototypes of the systems we design. Learn
more at ll.mit.edu.
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SOURCE National Strategic Research Institute