Bahareh Behkam, a distinguished associate professor in the field of mechanical engineering, has, along with her esteemed colleagues, recently been honored with a generous $2 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to advance their efforts in combatting airborne pathogens. The team’s primary focus is on the development of innovative technology for monitoring indoor air quality, with the goal of addressing the urgent need for sensitive, affordable, and user-friendly solutions for airborne pathogen monitoring, particularly in the wake of emerging threats such as COVID-19.
In response to these developments, Behkam has expressed her enthusiasm, emphasizing the significance of addressing this critical issue. She has highlighted the importance of exploring affordable and sustainable living sensors for air quality detection, an area that has historically been overlooked in research and development efforts. With the support of the grant, Behkam and her team will delve deeper into the realm of engineered living systems, with the overarching aim of enhancing indoor air monitoring capabilities.
The research project, entitled “Programmable Nano-Bio-Hybrid Living Systems for Continuous Monitoring of Airborne Pathogens,” is a multi-disciplinary effort that integrates various fields such as bio-hybrid microbotics, synthetic biology, nanotechnology, infectious disease transmission, bacterial genetics, biosecurity, safety, and ethics. Through this comprehensive approach, the team aims to develop a cutting-edge device capable of continuously monitoring and capturing airborne pathogens within engineered living materials, while also employing mobile bacteria-based sensors for detection.
The NSF’s Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation program has recognized the transformative potential of Behkam’s project and has chosen to fund its groundbreaking research. Behkam’s lab, the Micro/NanoScale Biotic/Abiotic Systems Engineering Laboratory, has previously developed bio-hybrid engineered systems for disease detection and targeted therapy, adding to her expertise in this domain.
Benefiting from collaborations with esteemed researchers from Virginia Tech and Johns Hopkins University, Behkam is well-positioned to drive her project forward. The comprehensive approach and collaborative nature of this project underscore its potential to yield significant breakthroughs in the field of airborne pathogen monitoring. Furthermore, the impact and value of such initiatives cannot be overstated, particularly in the context of global health and biosecurity.
Although the substantial grant will be instrumental in facilitating the project’s progress, Behkam has acknowledged the invaluable support provided by seed funding from the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science (ICTAS), which played a crucial role in providing preliminary data that strengthened the proposal for the NSF grant.
Behkam’s success mirrors the sentiment of Virginia Tech faculty, as the EFO-O seed grant has been fundamental in supporting innovative and interdisciplinary projects, ultimately strengthening the university’s contributions to society. Behkam’s project and several others serve as evidence of Virginia Tech’s commitment to fostering pioneering research and its profound impact on society.
In light of these developments, it’s evident that pioneering research is at the heart of academic progress and societal advancement. The EFO-O seed grants have opened doors for numerous faculty members, paving the way for groundbreaking discoveries and enriching the academic landscape. Looking ahead, Behkam’s research, along with other innovative projects, holds the promise of transforming various domains, instilling hope for a brighter and healthier future.
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