AKRON—Abraham Joy, University of Akron assistant professor of polymer science, will receive the Faculty Early Career Development Award from the National Science Foundation, worth $500,000.
According to the university, Joy will use the funding to develop and evaluate a novel polyester system for biomedical uses.
Joy's five-year study will explore how the polyester system's new modular, or Lego, design can be adapted for various applications, including drug/protein delivery and potential use as antimicrobials. Joy's research will include examining several multifunctional polymers for use in developing bone cells from stem cells.
“This synthetic polyester platform with ‘peptide-like' pendant functional groups is designed to bridge the performance gap between natural and synthetic polymers used in several biomedical applications,” Joy said. “This funding from NSF will enable us to evaluate and tailor this design hypothesis.”
The NSF said it presents CAREER Awards to junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations.