Melanie Ecker, assistant professor and director of the Ecker Lab: Smart Polymers for Biomedical Applications in UNT’s Department of Biomedical Engineering, argues that some plastics are smart — like shape-shifting polymers that can remember their original shape and be used in applications such as artificial muscles. “We need to combine polymers in smart ways,” she says. “By doing so, we can help many patients and even save lives.” Dr. Melanie Ecker is an assistant professor and
director of the Ecker Lab: Smart Polymers for
Biomedical Applications in UNT’s Department of
Biomedical Engineering, where her research interests
include polymer science and biomedical engineering.
She hopes the combination of both fields will lead
to the development of next-generation biomedical
devices based on polymeric biomaterials, such as
conformal and biocompatible neural devices, to study
the electrophysiology of the enteric nervous system.
Dr. Ecker has published 27 peer-reviewed publications
with more than 480 citations, holds two patents, and
has delivered numerous presentations at national
and international conferences. In the Ecker Lab, she
currently mentors a group of six undergraduate
and six graduate students from diverse and
multidisciplinary backgrounds, and is the faculty
advisor for the Biomedical Engineering Society
student organization. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at [ Ссылка ]
