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Worcester Polytechnic Institute Researcher Awarded $629,998 for Fibrosis Research

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Catherine Whittington, an associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), has been awarded a prestigious CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop three distinct laboratory models for the study of fibrosis in pancreas, skin, and uterine fibroids. The five-year project aims to create models that could lead to research advances in the understanding and treatment of fibrosis, a condition that occurs when an injury results in too much scarring that stiffens tissue and threatens to disrupt the normal functioning of organs.

Key Takeaways:

  • Catherine Whittington, an associate professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, has received a CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation to study fibrosis in pancreas, skin, and uterine fibroids.
  • The $629,998 five-year grant will fund the development of three distinct laboratory models to study fibrosis, with potential applications in understanding and treating chronic pancreatitis, keloid scars, and uterine fibroids.
  • Whittington's models will be composed of materials such as collagen and human cells, placed in wells on laboratory plates, and will be exposed to hormones, mechanical inputs, and other environmental factors.
  • CAREER Awards are given to promising researchers in the early stages of their academic careers, and Whittington is among more than 40 WPI faculty members to have received the award since the NSF program launched in 1994.
  • Whittington's research has explored cancer, tissue engineering, lymphatic disorders, and the role of fat cells in pancreatic fibrosis, and has been financially supported by the National Cancer Institute, the NSF, Genentech, and the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.

Statistics:

  • $629,998: the amount of the NSF CAREER Award granted to Catherine Whittington for the five-year project.
  • 5 years: the duration of the NSF CAREER Award project.
  • 40: the number of current WPI faculty members who have received CAREER Awards since the NSF program launched in 1994.
  • 1994: the year the NSF CAREER Award program was launched.

Sources:

  • "Worcester, Mass.--Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) researcher Catherine Whittington has been awarded a prestigious CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop three distinct laboratory models for the study of fibrosis in pancreas, skin, and uterine fibroids."
  • Worcester Polytechnic Institute Press Release, "Catherine Whittington Awarded $629,998 CAREER Award from NSF"
  • National Science Foundation, "CAREER Award Program"
  • NewsRx LLC, "Worcester Polytechnic Institute Researcher Awarded $629,998 for Fibrosis Research"

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