Officers

President – Chad Winter

Secretary – Suzanne Hutchinson

Student Advisor – Dr. Joel D. Bumgardner
Chapter Industrial Mentor – Harry Puryear (Medtronic, Inc., Minneapolis, MN)

 

Members

Hsin-Yi Lin                                       

Dana Nettles

Vickie Ramsey

Brad Shirley

Chris Burks

Melanie Hand

Melanie Smith

Kori Brabbham

About the Chapter

Although the MSU chapter is composed primarily of students from the Ag and Bio Engineering Department, the chapter welcomes membership of all students at MSU.If interested, contact Chad Winter (lwinter@abe.msstate.edu) or Dr. Joel D. Bumgardner (jbumgard@abe.msstate.edu).

Most of our members have interests in biomechanics, biomaterials, and orthopedics fields. Through the Society for Biomaterials, SFB, we network with academic, industrial and governmental agencies on all aspects of biomaterials research, development, and regulation, as well as develop strong liaisons and contacts that will promote research at MSU and future employment opportunities for students. Goals of our chapter include recruiting more members and interacting more with MSU’s Student Chapter of the Institute of Biological Engineering. 

The National Student Section of the Society for Biomaterials is an organization designed to enhance student research and interest in biomaterials and related disciplines. Promoting the advancement of biomaterials research and education and its related aspects and furthering the aims and objectives of the SFB as they relate to student research and education are goals, as well.

 

 

Noteworthy News

·        Suzanne Hutchinson and Chad Winter were accepted to present their research at the 6th World’s Biomaterials Congress in Kamuela, Hawaii in May 2000.Chad received a student travel and professional development award for his abstract.

·        Chad Winter was accepted to present his research at the Mississippi Academy of Sciences in Biloxi, MS, in February 2000.

·        Melissa Knight, Suzanne Hutchinson, Hsyn-Yi Lin, and Chad Winter were accepted to present their research at the 19th Southern Biomedical Engineering Conference (SBEC) in Blacksburg, VA, in April 2000.Suzanne received a travel award for her abstract and Melissa won the Undergraduate Award for Best Poster. 

·        Chad Winter was elected By-Laws Chair for the National Student Section of the Society for Biomaterials (SFB) for 2000-2002. 

·        Hsin-Yi Lin, Dana Nettles, and Vickie Ramsey were accepted to present at the 20th Annual SBEC in Birmingham, AL, in February 2001.

·        Members of our SFB chapter raised the 2nd largest total (over $400) out of 30 teams in the Starkville City Heartwalk.

·        Dana Nettles received the National Science Foundation Graduate Student Fellowship beginning June 2000.Dana was 1 of only 2 students from the state of MS to receive the award. 

·        Hsin-Yi Lin and Dana Nettles attended the 8th Annual Advances in Tissue Engineering Short-Course at Rice University in Houston, TX, in August 2000.

·        Suzanne Hutchinson, Hsin-Yi Lin, and Chad Winter were accepted to present at the 2001 Annual meeting of the SFB in St. Paul, MN, in April 2001.

·        Dana Nettles was accepted to present her research at the 47th Annual Orthopaedic Research Society in San Francisco, CA, in February 2001.

·        Dana Nettles won 1st place in the 2001 MSU Engineering Week Research Poster Competition ($500).

·        Chad Winter received a 2001-2002 Fulbright / Netherlands-America Foundation Fellowship for a 9-month term in the Netherlands.

·        Undergraduate student Chris Burks will be interning at Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics, Inc. during the 2001 summer.  Chris will be working in the Trauma Division developing and testing fixation devices.

·        Undergraduate student Brad Shirley hit for the cycle in a Little League Baseball game baseball game when he was 10 yrs old.

 

Activities

 

Summer 1999- Spring 2000

 

                The Student Chapter for the Society for Biomaterials at Mississippi State University received its charter during the summer/fall semester of 1999. To get the student chapter rolling, Dr. Joel D. Bumgardner, the chapter’s faculty advisor, organized visits to various regional biomedical facilities. The visits included the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) in Jackson, MS, the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), Wright Medical Technology, Inc. in Memphis, TN, and Birmingham Polymers, Inc. in Birmingham, AL.

            At UMMC, Dr. Lyle Zardiakus and Dr. Aaron Puckett hosted a tour of the orthopedic and dental biomaterial laboratories highlighting research into alloys and polymers used in orthopedics and dental clinical applications. Dr. Venugopalan guided us through UAB’s biomedical implant center, and he discussed metal and alloy systems used in cardiovascular stints and catheters. At Wright Medical Technologies, Inc., Dr. Warren Haggard organized a tour of the company’s manufacturing and testing facilities allowing us to observe all aspects of how implants are manufactured from start to finish, including the making of wax patterns, casting of cobalt-chromium devices, and machining of titanium devices. Wright Medical specializes in the manufacture of joint implants for the hip, knee, shoulder, elbow, hand, wrist, and foot; as well as biologic products, including bone graft substitutes.At Birmingham Polymers, Inc. (BPI), Dr. Middleton discussed biodegradable polymers in controlled-delivery applications, and Ms. Stacey Sullivan directed a tour of BPI’s facilities.

             

Summer 2000- Spring 2001

 

            Activities for the chapter have included visiting Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics, Inc., in Memphis, TN, attending the 1st annual Biomaterials Day at Southern Biosystems in Birmingham, AL, and attending a total knee replacement surgery at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) in Jackson, MS.

            Several students along with a few professors visited the orthopaedics unit of Smith & Nephew during the summer of 2000.Before a rather large audience of the company’s engineers, managers, and employees, four MSU graduate students presented 20-minute presentations of their research. Following the presentations and discussions, students were able to corroborate with Smith & Nephew colleagues over lunch. Following lunch, Laura Whitsitt, Director of Research, gave a tour of the facilities. Mechanical testing equipment, electron microscopes, and other types of orthopaedic testing instruments were demonstrated. Students were also able to see brand-new orthopaedic devices in their infancy that has yet to be introduced to the market.

            Students and faculty also attended the 1st Annual Biomaterials Day in Birmingham, AL. Dana Nettles, Hsin-Yi Lin, and Suzanne Hutchinson presented their research along with representatives from several other universities. Following the presentations students spent the afternoon over drinks and appetizers “rubbing elbows” with representatives of local biomedical companies. It was a good experience to see what other regional research groups were accomplishing. 

            Dr. Aaron Puckett with the UMMC, in Jackson, MS, organized an opportunity for students to view a total knee replacement surgery. Students were actually able to stand 3 feet away during the procedure. It was a very interesting and eye-opening experience to actually see the implant device placed in the body. We hope to attend a total hip replacement, soon.

 

 

 

 

PICTURES

 

MSU grad student, Chad Winter (far rt) and former MSU undergrad and

current UAB grad student, Steve Summey (far lt), along with other students

from throughout the US at the 6thWorld’s Biomaterials Congress in Hawaii.
 
 

 

 

 

 


 

MSU grad student, Dana Nettles, former MSU undergrad and current Duke

grad student, Melissa Knight, and MSU undergrad, Lulu Lin at the

19thSouthern Biomedical Engineering Conference in Blacksburg, Virginia.             

 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Students and professors enjoying dinner at Dreamland Bar-B-Que in Tuscaloosa, AL, following a visit to Birmingham Polymers, Inc.
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

Chad Winter and NASA representative, Barbara Douglas, at the Biomaterials Congress in Hawaii.

 

 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

Hula dancers at a Luau during the Biomaterials Congress in Hawaii.

 

 

 

 

 

Suzanne Hutchinson (middle) and biomaterial scientists at the World Congress in Hawaii
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 Scenery around the hotel during the Biomaterials Congress.
 
 

 


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Graduate student, Suzanne Hutchinson, and famous scientist, Jeffrey Hubbel, at the World Congress in Hawaii.