Jeremy Caplin will travel to Seoul National University for international collaborations
The National Science Foundation (NSF) East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes (EAPSI) recently announced the Fellows selected for its summer program designed to promote international, collaborative research projects in Asia.
Mechanical engineering graduate student Jeremy Caplin was one of the students chosen for the honor. His research at Iowa State focuses on developing and designing a “placenta-on-a-chip,” which utilizes human cell lines to mimic the nutrient and waste transfer between a mother and fetus in the placenta. He employs the principles of microfluidics, advanced materials, and tissue engineering to simulate tissue and organ-level physiology for in vitro biological studies and real-time imaging in a functional condition.
Caplin will be continuing his research this summer in Korea at Seoul National University, specifically focusing on creating skin-on-a-chip devices using 3-D printing technology. Caplin looks forward to learning more about successful organ function replication in the organ-on-a-chip field and creating long-term relationships for future international collaborations.
One goal of Caplin’s research is to create an alternative to using animals to test drugs that is affordable and accessible. He would also like his technologies to be available in drug testing and toxicology settings. He has recently published a review article entitled “Microfluidic Organ-on-a-Chip Technology for Advancement of Drug Development and Toxicology” in the Advanced Healthcare Materials journal.
Caplin’s research advisor Nicole Hashemi, assistant professor and William March Scholar in mechanical engineering, was selected for the NSF EAPSI Fellowship to conduct research at Seoul National University in 2007. Hashemi said, “I am pleased Jeremy has continued the tradition and hope that one day his students will be selected for this award.”