UAB Receives $1.35 Million Grant from NSF for Interdisciplinary Research into Nanoscale Science and Engineering

University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) physics professor and University Scholar Yogesh K. Vohra, Ph.D., has received a four-year, $1.35 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to fund the UAB Nanoscale Interdisciplinary Research Team, which will develop the next generation of hip and knee replacement joints.

Posted on June 15, 2004 at 4:45 p.m.

BIRMINGHAM, AL — University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) physics professor and University Scholar Yogesh K. Vohra, Ph.D., has received a four-year, $1.35 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to fund the UAB Nanoscale Interdisciplinary Research Team, which will develop the next generation of hip and knee replacement joints.

“Right now, most implants are made out of conventional metals and polymers,” said Vohra, principal investigator on the grant. “The new nanostructured, metalloceramic implants will be more wear resistant and cell friendly than the biomedical implants currently offered.”

Vohra said the new implants will be different in that the core will be metal but a gradual transition will be made to a smooth, nanostructured ceramic surface on the outside.

“This smooth surface will cause low friction and wear, while at the same time be very biocompatible,” he said. “The life expectancy of the new materials is anticipated to be 30 to 40 years, versus about 10 years in current implants.”

The interdisciplinary team brings together researchers from the UAB schools of Natural Science and Mathematics, Engineering, Dentistry, and the Department of Joint Health Sciences. The team, under the direction of Dr. Vohra, also includes: Alan W. Eberhardt, Ph.D., associate professor of biomedical engineering, who will perform wear testing on the new implants; Jack E. Lemons, Ph.D., professor of dentistry, who will coordinate with industry on more extensive testing; Shane A. Catledge, Ph.D., physics research assistant professor, who along with Vohra will fabricate the actual implant; and Susan L. Bellis, Ph.D., assistant professor of physiology and biophysics, who will study how cells attach and multiply on the implant’s surface.

In addition to developing the new implant, the grant also supports four graduate students, two post-doctoral scholars and three Birmingham-area high school teachers. The teachers will spend part of their summer working on various parts of the interdisciplinary research project and will be able to transfer what they learn in UAB’s labs to the students at their respective classrooms.

This interdisciplinary program also will contribute to the training of the nanotechnology workforce in the United States. The graduate students supported by this program will attend courses and workshops in nanostructured biomaterials, interaction of cells with biomaterials surfaces and commercialization of nanotechnology tools and materials. They also will participate in a semester-long internship with the team’s industry partner, working on the testing of the new implant.

The Nanoscale Science and Engineering program at NSF was highly competitive, with approximately 10 percent of the proposals submitted receiving funding.