Warren Ruder Receives Award to Develop ‘Smart Biomaterials’

Warren Ruder, assistant professor in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering, is developing microparticles that carry engineered bacteria known as smart biomaterials, and the National Science Foundation has awarded him $338,414 through 2020 to continue the work. Ruder will use the biomaterials to reprogram mammalian cell signaling. The goal of the study is to use these biomaterials to better understand how cell signaling works and influence cell behavior when a problem occurs.