Creative Research Medal

Hitesh Handa, associate professor and Distinguished Faculty Fellow in the School of Chemical, Material, and Biomedical Engineering, is developing nitric oxide (NO) releasing biomaterials for medical devices to decrease the morbidity, mortality, and hospitalization costs associated with thrombosis and infection. NO is a potent anti-inflammatory and inhibitor of platelet activation. Handa’s group is designing novel surfaces that release NO, mimicking the human physiology of NO production to make medical devices hemocompatible and antimicrobial. This state-of-the-art coating is now progressing toward commercialization. Handa’s startup, Nytricx, Inc., has received more than $3.5 million in funding from a National Institutes of Health Phase II Small Business Innovation Research grant and Defense Medical Research Development award to expedite the commercialization process.