Wesley Lo (BME, 2nd year) participated in Armour R&D during the fall 2015 semester, but has recently been presenting his work at research expos at Illinois Tech and in Chicago. He was recently named the recipient of the fall 2015 High Score and Overall High Score awards at the 2nd Annual Armour R&D Expo, the Top Presenter from Illinois Tech at the Chicago Area Undergraduate Research Symposium (CAURS), and the Undergraduate Winner for IIT Research Day. Taking top honors at all three competitions is an astounding achievement and is a testament to the dedication he gave to his research.

Lo was awarded for his work on the project Estimation of Pro-Angiogenic Peptide Diffusion Coefficient from Crosslinked Hydrogel Nanoparticles. He teamed up with Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Papavasiliou, to conduct the research. Their objective was to estimate the diffusion coefficient of a VEGF-mimetic peptide, QK, from hydrogel nanoparticles of varying crosslink density.

Through their research, the team was able to learn how these peptides diffuse through hydrogel materials that are used to create tissue scaffolds. The researchers also developed a better understanding of the role that a sustained release of pro-angiogenic peptide sequences plays in stimulating scaffold neovascularization. The team hopes this newfound knowledge will lead to the development of advanced biomaterial scaffolds and allow for the creation of new engineered tissues.