Shikha Nangia

Shikha Nangia Named Interim Department Chair for Biomedical and Chemical Engineering

With Professor Julie Hasenwinkel taking the position of associate provost for academic programs, Professor Shikha Nangia has been appointed as interim chair of the department of biomedical and chemical engineering (BMCE). Her role will begin effective August 1st.

Nangia joined Syracuse University in 2012. Her current research focuses on developing computational approaches to examine molecular and structural biophysics. Her primary project is to explore treatments for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases by examining the molecular architecture of the blood-brain barrier. Her work also includes multiscale modeling of integral membrane proteins, intrinsically disordered proteins, protein hydropathy, lipid membranes, bacterial membranes, epigenetics, drug delivery, thermo-responsive biopolymers, and polymeric gels. Her work is a highly multidisciplinary research portfolio that interfaces with computer science, math, engineering, biology, chemistry, and medicine. She has multiple collaborations with experimental bioengineers, chemists, and physicists worldwide. Nangia has published as a leading author in various journals, including Biomacromolecules, Macromolecules, JACS, JBC, PLoS Pathogens, Soft Matter, etc. She is also an artist and has designed artistic renditions of her scientific discoveries featured on the cover of several journals (Biomacromolecules, Langmuir, JCTC, JPC, and ChemComm). She is currently an Associate Editor of ACS Applied Bio Materials.

Nangia’s research has received substantial funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institute of Health (NIH). These awards include NSF CAREER (2015), NIH R21 (2015), NSF CBET (2017), NIH R01 (2019), NSF BMAT (2021), NSF DMR REU (2018 and 2021), NSF MCB (2022), NIH NIBIB ESTEEMED grant (2022), and NSF GCR (2022). She has also received numerous honors for her research, including the ACS OpenEye Outstanding Junior Faculty Award (2016) and ACS WCC Rising Star Award (2022).

Nangia was awarded the College Technology Educator of the Year (2016), Meredith Teaching Recognition Award (2017), Dean’s Award for Excellence in Education (2017), the Chancellor’s Citation Award for Outstanding Contributions to Student Experience and University Initiatives (2019) at Syracuse University, and Excellence in Graduate Education Faculty Recognition Award (2022). She is currently the director of the NSF Interactive Biomaterials REU site and NIH ESTEEMED programs.

Syracuse University Part of Collaborative Team Researching Preventing Infections in Engineered Tissue and Implantable Devices

Advancements in biomedical devices such as knee and hip implants, heart valves, pacemakers, dental implants, stents, and catheters have improved quality of life for patients worldwide. These devices, however, introduce foreign material into a patient and are prone to chronic infections. Through a new grant, a cross-disciplinary group of experts will collaborate to develop new approaches to prevent device-associated infections and enhance the use of these implants.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a $3.6 million grant to a team of researchers from five universities in a project titled “Collaborative Research: Growing Convergence Research: Infection-Resisting Resorbable Scaffolds for Engineering Human Tissue.” Syracuse University researchers teamed up with partners at Stevens Institute of Technology, Binghamton University, City College of New York, and the University of Pennsylvania Veterinary School.

The project will address the development of healthy tissue and mitigate the risk of infection in implantable devices as new biomaterials are being developed to replace failed, damaged, or defective body parts. 

The Syracuse University team is led by Shikha Nangia, Associate Professor of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering, and Dacheng Ren, Associate Dean of Research, College of Engineering and Computer Science and Stevenson Endowed Professor of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering. 

“The novelty of this project is the cross-disciplinary convergence of microbiology, polymer science, computational biochemistry, and biomaterials science,” said Nangia.

Another aspect of the project is to train the next generation in infection control.

“The Ph.D. and undergraduate students in the research labs will travel to partner institutions during summer and gain immersive research experience in a new lab to broaden their expertise,” Nangia added.  “I am very excited about this opportunity.”

“This project team includes researchers from five institutions, who have been working together over the past several years. It is a great example of how researchers from different disciplines can work together to solve challenging problems through convergence science,” said Ren.

Biomedical and Chemical Engineering Student Profile: Xuyang Qin G’22

Xuyang Qin was a 2022 Recipient of the All University Masters Prize.

Hometown:

Shijiazhuang, China

BMCE/ECS/other activities you have been involved with:

Research in Professor Nangia’s group; the quick presentation and poster session for the Stevenson Biomaterials Day of 2021

Favorite thing about BMCE:

I love all the faculty and staff who are of great patience and kindness. Collaborations and bonds of friendship are tight in our research team.

Favorite thing about SU:

The view on the campus is always great, whenever from summer to winter. Facilities are well-established, not only for meals, snacks, clinics and exercises, whatever you need can be found and solved on campus. Really feel great to have so many precious memories in my study at SU.

Plan after graduation:

I’m going to pursue my Ph.D. in SU and continue my journey on research.