Body-on-chip technology developed by UCF and Cornell University scientists has been awarded a major international prize for its capability to test pharmaceuticals without using animal subjects. This innovative technology, also known as Human-on-a-Chip, was recently awarded the 2015 Lush Prize for Science over 11 finalists from Japan, Switzerland, Germany, South Korea, Australia, the U.K. and the U.S.

The Hickman lab is currently collaborating with Stephanie Rice and the UCF Nicholson School of Communication to produce a documentary piece to air on PBS. The documentary will serve to highlight the cutting edge research currently underway at the Hybrid Systems Lab and the implications this research will have on drug development in the near future.

The Journal of Visualized Experiments will be coming to the Hybrid Systems Lab in May to film content for an article highlighting the patented cantilever technology employed by UCF researchers to investigate the contractile properties of cultured human muscle cells. This article will provide in depth instruction on how to use the cantilever system to scan cultures for contractile activity and how to perform analysis on the collected data to identify differences between treatment groups.

The recent paper “Correlation of embryonic skeletal muscle myotube physical characteristics with contractile force generation on an atomic force microscope-based bio-microelectromechanical systems device” has been featured in Advances in Engineering. The Advances in Engineering readership includes Engineering industry, universities, colleagues, research institutions, and libraries and is dedicated to providing a forum for free and open exchanges of ideas, information, and experiences concerning scientific matters. To meet this objective, the activities of Advances in Engineering include publishing subjects of interest with special focus on key published scientific articles, promising technologies, top patents and licensing opportunities, top events and conferences in all Engineering disciplines. We are very happy to have our work featured in such an important scientific forum.