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Associate Professor Graduate Program Director B.S. in Chemical Engineering (1988)     University of Toledo     Toledo, OH Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering (1994)     University of Michigan     Ann Arbor, MI

The projects in my laboratory are diverse, but all have the common theme of applying engineering first principles to the solution of problems involving biological systems. These problems include:

• the production of ethanol and other high value products from biomass
• tissue engineering of a human spinal disc
• development of techniques for non-invasive measurement of metabolites and compounds

Just as petroleum has been used as a feedstock for fuels and polymers, biomass can serve as a feedstock for the production of fuels and other value-added compounds. Biomass is an attractive alternative to petroleum because of its abundance, cost, and renewability. However, biomass has a very complex, organic structure and must be deconstructed and reformed by physical, chemical and biological methods.

Degeneration of the human spinal disc through injury and aging results in loss of mobility and pain, and usually requires surgical intervention. The disc serves as a living spacer between adjacent spinal segments. It is a complex tissue with a distinct extracellular matrix structure that provides strength in compression. We are working on methods for reconstructing a living spinal disc that can be used to restore normal vertebral spacing.

Both projects described above require analytical techniques for identifying and quantifying compounds of interest. We are developing non-invasive methods to detect and quantify compounds of interest using enzyme systems and optical techniques.