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June 5: Mayer Mall Dedication June 7: Pirates of Penzance Performing Arts Scholarship Benefit June 11: 5th Annual Engineering Alumni and Faculty Golf Outing and Banquet June 12: Terps Take Manhattan June 24: Baltimore Regional Alumni Event |
Join the university as we celebrate the dedication of the William E. and Kathy Mayer Mall just outside of the Smith Business School. To RSVP and learn more, contact Tina Murphy at 301.405.3467 or |
 Major Gifts, Major ImpactFischell Fellow May Revolutionize Medicine with Handheld Device
But his “lab on a chip” concept may significantly change this picture. The idea is to develop a hand-held device the size of a cell phone or diabetes test meter. A disposable sample is placed in a receptacle of the device much like a glucose test strip is inserted in a meter. “It would allow us to detect very minute quantities of pathogens in ways that are not necessarily out there right now,” says Dandin. This innovative idea was the winning proposal at the 2nd Annual Fischell Festival making Dandin the 2008 recipient of the Fischell Fellowship in Biomedical Engineering. “I still cannot believe I am associated with Dr. Fischell. It’s a tremendous honor,” says Dandin, who receives a $35,000 one-year stipend, full tuition waiver and full health benefits. Also, the fellowship is renewable up to five years. Fellowships provide students with opportunities to gain valuable research experience, from developing proposals to conducting research. Elisabeth Smela, an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, who is also one of Dandin’s advisors adds, “fellowships allow faculty to devote more time to mentoring students because we don’t have to spend as many non-teaching hours writing grant proposals.” The Fischell Department of Bioengineering, its new wing in the Jeong H. Kim Engineering Building, and the Fischell Fellowship were created through a $31 million gift from biomedical devices pioneer Robert E. Fischell and his sons—Scott, David and Tim. Fischell M.S. ’53, Honorary Doctorate ’96 has devoted his life’s work to improving people’s health. William Bentley, chair of the bioengineering department and the Robert E. Fischell Distinguished Professor says, “Marc really personifies exactly what Dr. Fischell had in mind when he put this program together.” Dandin, who is also advised by Pamela Abshire, an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, participates in research groups in three engineering departments. Although the idea of detecting pathogens using portable devices is not new, “what’s novel is the approach,” Dandin says. “One of the major bottlenecks of innovative research is that you have this really great prototype, but the technology is not out there yet to commercialize it. In our research/business plan, we identified the standard microchip technology that is already out there to get this to market really fast.” Dandin points out one of the reasons E. coli makes its way to someone’s grill is because there are not portable devices able to rapidly detect it. “One of the advantages of having a small, portable device is you can use many of them at once, as opposed to one, to more accurately assess the food's quality,” says Dandin. “This device would not only save lives, you wouldn’t see beef and other food recalls in the news so frequently.” Some of Dandin’s interest in health comes from his mother Yanick, who is a public health specialist. His father Marvel, a journalist, and long time family friend Frantz Verella strongly influenced his decision to study engineering. “They insist that you learn as many things as you can,” he says. With much enthusiasm Dandin says, “My highest reward is to see my research efforts lead to a technology that will one day save lives.”  | ||||||
