Andrew Shubin Awarded Grant from National Cancer Institute

January 13, 2015

Andrew Shubin, a graduate student in Danielle Benoit’s lab, was awarded an F30 grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) for his project titled “Poly(ethylene glycol) Hydrogels for Salivary Gland Regeneration.”

Radiation for head and neck cancers causes severe damage to salivary glands resulting in permanent dry mouth. This issue greatly affects the quality of life for cancer survivors, as proper saliva production is essential for eating, speaking, and oral hygiene. This project aims to develop at 3D tissue engineering scaffold utilizing poly(ethylene glycol) hydrogels in order to regenerate salivary gland tissue to help treat this condition.