Congratulations to Martin Carrasco, who was recently selected for the Mickey Dale Family Foundation Endowed Distinguished Graduate Fellowship in Bioengineering! See below for a snippet of the story:
The A. James Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP) and the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) at the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) are proud to announce the selection of Martin Carrasco as the first inaugural Mickey Dale Family Foundation Endowed Distinguished Graduate Fellowship in Bioengineering.
This new fellowship, made possible through the Mickey Dale Family Foundation, supports UMCP and UMSOM’s shared mission to revolutionize organ transplantation and bring the world closer to a future where no one waits for an organ. As a second-year Ph.D. student in bioengineering, Carrasco brings both technical expertise and fresh perspective to this new role.
His work with John P. Fisher, chair of the Fischell Department of Bioengineering and Distinguished University Professor at UMCP, focuses on developing a two-chamber kidney bioreactor, a small-scale device designed to culture kidney-specific cells in a biomimetic environment. This system helps mature kidney cells to more closely resemble their natural function inside the body, a step critical to advancing tissue engineering applications and eventually creating viable kidney constructs for transplantation.
Carrasco will be co-advised by Dr. Fisher and Dr. Raphael P.H. Meier, Associate Professor of Surgery at UMSOM and Liver, Kidney, and Pancreas Transplant Surgeon at the University of Maryland Medical Center.
“This fellowship is an investment in the future of transplantation science,” says Fisher. “By empowering young researchers like Martin, we’re building the foundation for innovations that will not only advance the science of organ engineering but also directly improve patient care. Martin’s work exemplifies the collaborative spirit between engineering and medicine that is essential to eliminating the transplant waiting list.”
On the clinical side, Carrasco will collaborate with Meier, whose research explores the use of mesenchymal stem cells to treat organ failure. Carrasco’s bioreactor platform could one day be adapted to “precondition” stem cells for use in therapies targeting end-stage kidney disease, building on Meier’s work with liver and pancreas applications.
“As bioengineers, it’s easy to get lost in the benchwork and forget that the ultimate goal is to help patients,” Carrasco says. “Translational projects like these are a reminder of that. I’d encourage students not to be afraid of entering a space they’re unfamiliar with. Sometimes the best opportunities come from trying something new.”
Story adapted from the Fischell Department of Bioengineering.
