Maureen Cheung, a senior University of Akron student who is studying chemical and biomolecular engineering, received first-place recognition for her poster presentation at the October 2008 International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE) annual meeting held in Boca Raton, Fla. A resident of Boston Heights and graduate of Hudson High School, Cheung advanced to the ISPE International Student Poster Competition with her presentation, “Development of a Swine Model for the Evaluation of Novel Compounds in the Prevention of Pelvic Adhesions,” after placing first in the Great Lakes Competition in April 2008 in Chicago.
Her research centered on the difficulty of measuring the effectiveness of compounds used in the prevention of adhesions following surgery. Most methods of comparison are qualitative measures with potential bias and little comparability. Cheung’s approach involved a histological assessment, which allowed quantitative measurements of adhesion strength; this can be used to test both current and newly developed compounds.
“Ms. Cheung’s success in this rigorous international competition underlines the potential of such vertically integrated, university-industry research teams: significant findings with immediate, real-world applications,” says Dr. George Haritos, dean of the UA College of Engineering.
Collaborators on this research include Dr. Bradford Fenton, Michelle Chapman, Mark Kovacik, Don Noe, Dr. Nicholas Ree, and Dr. James Fanning of Summa Health System and the late Dr. Stephanie Lopina, associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at UA.
“Dr. Lopina was a remarkable woman and my success is a testament to her love of education and student research, “ says Cheung. “She will be greatly missed at The University of Akron.”
The ISPE Great Lakes Chapter is composed of students from a six-state area. There are 18 chapters in North America and South America and 19 international affiliates. The ISPE student poster competition allows students in pharmaceutical studies to showcase their research. Winning competitors at the international competition receive a plaque and a cash award as well as the opportunity to write about their research in Pharmaceutical Engineering magazine. ISPE is a nonprofit association dedicated to developing innovative professionals globally to achieve technical and operational excellence in the pharmaceutical industry.