News:Dr. William Federspiel Named to Prestigious NIH Center for Scientific Review - Regenerative Medicine at the McGowan Institute

Dr. William Federspiel Named to Prestigious NIH Center for Scientific Review

McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine faculty member William Federspiel, PhD, William Kepler Whiteford Professor of Chemical Engineering, Surgery and Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, has been vetted to be a member of the Bioengineering, Technology and Surgical Sciences Study (BTSS) Section of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Center for Scientific Review (CSR). The BTSS Study Section reviews grant applications in the interdisciplinary fields of surgery and bioengineering to develop innovative medical instruments, materials, processes, implants, and devices to diagnosis and treat disease and injury. Within BTSS there is a balance between basic, translational, and clinical research, and application and development of emerging cross-cutting technologies relevant to the cardiac system. Specific areas covered by BTSS include:

Development of advanced tools and techniques, including the design, construction, and function of cellular and tissue-engineered constructs, vascular and vein grafts.
Design, development, and evaluation of medical devices using animal models and pre-clinical human studies, including endo-surgical procedures, catheter-based surgery, minimally invasive surgery, microsurgical procedures, and robotics.
Development of therapeutic implantable devices, including delivery systems for drug delivery as well as the delivery of nano-molecules and bio-molecules.
Fluid mechanics studies of circulation, microcirculation, and transport systems. Biomechanics, computational fluid dynamics, hemodynamics, mathematical modeling, simulation, ventricular remodeling, tissue and organ mechanics, and the mechanics of injury.
Sensors, biosensors, sensing, laser, acoustics, mems, microarrays, imaging, and nanotechnology.

CSR is the portal for NIH grant applications and their initial review for scientific merit. CSR organizes the peer review groups or study sections that evaluate the majority (70%) of the research grant applications sent to NIH. CSR’s mission is to see that NIH grant applications receive fair, independent, expert, and timely reviews -- free from inappropriate influences -- so NIH can fund the most promising research.

Congratulations, Dr. Federspiel!