Biswajit Saha is a postdoctoral research associate in the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering (CBE). Saha is from Alipurduar, India and received his doctoral degree from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research-Kolkata.
He works under the direction of Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering Hoyong Chung in collaboration with Choogon Lee from the Florida State University College of Medicine.
Saha’s research focuses on drug-loaded, degradable multifunctional biomedical adhesives for internal organs. The biomedical adhesives he is working with are engineered to provide mechanical support for repaired tissues.
What is your research and why is it important? We focus on different strategic approaches in the fabrication of bottlebrush architecture-based polyesters of biomedical adhesives. Biomedical adhesives can deliver anticancer and antibiotic drugs to a localized area of an internal organ. Simultaneously, they also provide strong adhesion behavior in tissues. This eliminates the safety concern associated with the bacterial infections that can occur during difficult surgeries and delay wound healing. Existing biomedical adhesives have some limitations, like poor wet adhesion and complex application methods. Additionally, biomedical adhesives are engineered to have only one function—to provide mechanical support for the repaired tissues. We hope to strengthen the performance of biomedical adhesives and broaden their applications in medicine.
What inspired you to go into this field of study? A growing interest in designing backbone-degradable bottlebrush polymeric biomaterials has inspired me to do an in-depth study and improve my skills in this field of research. I have gained experience in the fabricating of polymeric assemblies for anticancer drug delivery. I want to apply this training to a new and promising field.
What fellowships or awards have you received and how they have helped? During my bachelor’s degree program, I was awarded the INSPIRE scholarship from the Department of Science and Technology, India. The award empowered me to achieve my academic and career goals in science by removing financial barriers. In 2014, I was awarded “Gold Medalist” in masters in chemistry from the University of North Bengal, India. This motivated me to work hard and qualify for the national eligibility test (NET) to pursue my doctoral studies in chemistry.
What do you like to do when you’re not in the lab? In my free time, I love to watch movies, listen to songs and play cricket.
What do you look forward to, and what are your plans? After the completion of my postdoctoral tenure, I would like to continue with another postdoctoral research program to gain more experience in improving biomedical adhesives. My long-term career goal is to work either as a scientist or academic professor in a national research and development laboratory or in a university to solve real-life problems in the domain of polymer materials. I believe the postdoctoral experience will accelerate my ability to find new scientific dimensions that will help me learn, grow and educate myself and my peers.
What advice do you have for students? Though I’ve just started my professional career, my advice for the students is to work hard, dedicate themselves to a cause, be passionate about science, and understand and investigate new avenues of interest.