Members of the Biomed Club participated in the Spring 2024 Dean’s Award for Student Leadership (DASL) Expo, held at the courtyard between the William P. Hytche Athletic Center and Student Services Center on the UMES campus.
As part of the event, club members comprised of undergraduate students in the fields of biomedical engineering, computer science, and mechanical engineering, showcased a robotic system that can administer vaccinations to contagious COVID patients in a closed room setting, reducing the infection and death risk for healthcare workers. Space exploration, emergency response, and robotic surgery are all potential applications for this technology.
“Understanding and utilizing Bio-signaling could pave the way for a future in which the human body can be seamlessly integrated with robotics and artificial intelligence,” said Dr. M.D. Sarker, assistant professor, biomedical engineering at UMES. “Bio-signaling is one of the research areas of the UMES Biomedical Engineering program, which seeks to understand and develop smart prosthetic limbs, unmanned surgical systems, and mind-controlled mechatronics devices.”
Sarker added that, in addition, a better understanding of Bio-signaling could aid in the development of treatments for Alzheimer’s, Dementia, and Cancer disease.
Sarker’s experience in biomedical engineering research included work at Columbia University’s Regenerative Engineering Lab, where he previously served as a post-doctoral fellow.
While at Columbia, Sarker’s work concentrated on developing highly adjustable tissue scaffolds for the healing of injured tissue in the knee meniscus, patellar tendon, rotator cuff, and temporomandibular joint disc. This was done by combining cutting-edge biomanufacturing techniques with stem cells, functionalized hydrogel biomaterials, genome therapy, and nanotechnology.
Photos by Edwin Linderkamp and his fellow Derrick Ukhuegbe
