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Research Quick Takes

May 14, 2026

NIH Grant to Translate Neurotransmitter Sensor Technology

PhD student Dongyeol "Shin" Jang, PhD Innovation Fellow Bella Schaub, Research Scientist Wendy Qi, and Professor Hui Fang received a $3M grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to translate their sensor technology for real-time monitoring of neurotransmitters into a human medical device. The funding will enable the Fang Research Group to develop a preclinical proof-of-concept for integrating their novel carbon coating technology into neurotransmitter sensors for humans. "This grant is a tribute to years of extraordinary work by our team—Wendy, Shin, and Bella's contributions in particular have been indispensable," said Fang. "By translating our neurotransmitter sensor technology into a human medical device, we stand to transform neurological care, enabling more precisely targeted therapies and accelerating the development of next-generation drugs for brain disorders."

May 07, 2026

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Tendons

PhD candidate Afton Limberg (pictured) is first-author with Lily Giurleo '28, Victoria Ruiz '26, PhD candidate Amritha Anup Th'23, and professors Jay Buckey, Doug Van Citters and Katie Hixon as co-authors on "In Vitro Modulation of Murine Tenocyte Behavior by Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy" published in the Journal of Orthopaedic Research. The study—a collaboration between Hixon Lab and DBEC—aimed to improve understanding of the effects of oxygen therapy on tendon cells and healing. "I consider tendons one of the most under-studied musculoskeletal tissues," said Limberg. "Hyberbaric oxygen presents a novel non-invasive therapy that could actually promote tendon healing, and we showed that it does have an effect on tendon cells. Next steps are to conduct both ex vivo and in vivo studies that include the full system of biomechanics."

May 07, 2026

AFIT Faculty Fellowship

Professor Wesley Marrero was selected for an Operations Research & Data Science Faculty Fellowship at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT). His appointment will focus on fundamental research in sequential decision-making with applications at the DoD. The overall goal is to develop decision-support techniques that account for noncompliance with AI-driven recommendations. "By recognizing that optimal solutions may not always be adopted in practice, this work will help establish a basis for operationally-acceptable automated decision-support throughout the Air Force and Department of Defense," said Marrero.

May 07, 2026

3D Printing Thermoelectric Materials

Yehalah Fernando '26 won 1st place at the EE Just Program Research Science Fair for her poster presentation about her work in Yan Li's lab in collaboration with PhD students Ya Tang and Mingzhao Li. "My honors thesis research is on 3D printing thermoelectric materials using the direct ink writing method, which would significantly change the manufacturing process when optimized," said Fernando.

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