Ozgul Yasar

Research Interests:

• Synthesis and characterization of nanomaterials.
• Nanomaterials based devices.
• Characterization, design, and fabrication of scaffolds for tissue/organ regeneration.

CURE-E Course: Material Science and Engineering (MECH 210L), first introduced with CURE-E Fall 2022

Project Title: Mechanical Properties of Scaffolds for Tissue/Organ Regeneration 

Scaffolds are building blocks which are used to regenerate the injured or damaged organs. In order to achieve healthy tissue growth, cells must be seeded on scaffolds and supported with appropriate growth factors and scaffold properties. Since the scaffolds are under pressure of the surrounding tissues, mechanical properties of the scaffolds play an important role for its performance. This CURE-E project will focus on the effect of the scaffold material concentration on the mechanical properties. This project will help students to learn how to conduct literature search and effective use of databases. Students will review at least five peer-reviewed research papers which are published within the last five years. It will also allow students to identify the research questions, identify the candidate materials for scaffolds, and fabricate the scaffolds at different concentrations. Students will identify the mechanical test techniques, perform the experiments, and analyze the experiment results. They will also gain experience in entrepreneurship mindset. The CURE-E project will help students to understand the importance of the scaffolds in bio-related applications/tissue regeneration and further give chance to student teams to propose their ideas for the future work.