WPI biomedical engineering professor receives $630K grant for fibrosis study
Photo | Courtesy of Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Catherine Whittington, associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at WPI
Worcester Polytechnic Institute researcher Catherine Whittington has been awarded a CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation for $629,998 to create laboratory models for the study of fibrosis in the pancreas, skin, and uterine fibroids.
The models could lead to advances in the understanding and treatment of fibrosis. Fibrosis is a condition that occurs when an injury results in too much scarring that stiffens tissues and can disrupt normal organ function.
“There is much to learn about fibrosis so that better treatments can be developed,” Whittington said in a Wednesday press release from WPI. “Better laboratory models for pancreatic, skin, and uterine fibroid tissues could lead to an improved understanding of factors at the cellular level that lead to fibrosis and how interventions could interrupt or reverse that process.”
Whittington's models will be made of materials like collagen and human cells, meant to represent tissue. That will then be placed in wells on laboratory plates and then exposed to hormones and other environmental factors.
As part of Whittington's project, she plans to create and lead educational programs for high school and college students at a free Worcester medical clinic. She intends to expand WPI's Frontiers high school biomedical engineering curriculum and collaborate with Epworth Medical Program to create patient education materials. She plans to collaborate with WPI undergrads on projects that utilize STEM to address social issues.
“A unique element of CAREER Award research is the opportunity to broaden educational outreach about science to the public,” Whittington said in the press release. “I am excited to work with others to improve medical literacy, inspire the next generation of scientists, and show how the research in my laboratory can positively impact people.”
In February, WPI received Research 1 status, making it the first of its kind in Central Massachusetts and joining prestigious institutions like Harvard University and MIT. This recognition comes after consistent growth in the amount of research funding the school has accumulated, increasing from $23.16 million to $59.95 million in 2024.
WPI has lost at least $2.3 million in federal funding after research cuts from the President Donald Trump Administration. While the school has lost ten grants to cancellation, it has not been impacted nearly as severely as other research institutions in Massachusetts, like Harvard University.
Lucy Coran is an editorial intern for Worcester Business Journal and a rising sophomore at Smith College.
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