Rowan University Researcher Wins Science Center Award for Innovations in Cornea Injury Repair

By: Olivia Armstrong, Writer / Follow South Jersey News Reporting Intern

Photo courtesy of Rowan University

GLASSBORO, N.J. — Dr. Iman Noshadi, a Rowan University researcher, won an award from the University City Science Center’s Proof-of-Concept program for his discovery of a new and improved way to repair certain eye injuries.

Dr. Noshadi is a chemical engineering assistant professor in the College of Engineering at Rowan University. He worked on this discovery along with his team that includes Dr. Baishali Kanjilal, Vaishali Krishnadoss, Dr. Jeff Carpenter, and Dr. Stephen Noshahi. His team has created a substance that is safe and can be used on wet surfaces of the eye, which reduces risk of infections and secondary complications that may be brought about by traditional suturing.

This new discovery also brings down health care costs due to the reduced risk of infections. Dr. Noshadi’s team began working on this project two years ago, and researchers from Penn State and Temple also received the same award as Dr. Noshadi.

“A core mission of the Science Center is to transition promising new technologies to market faster,” Aron Starosta, vice president of Commercialization and New Ventures at the Science Center, said in a press release. “These three projects represent the considerable commercial potential of technologies being developed at institutions across our region. We’re eager to be working alongside the awardees to develop a road map to transition these projects from bench to bedside.”

Dr. Noshadi and his team will receive $200,000 of funding on their project with assistance from the Science Center in Philadelphia — half of which will come from the Science Center and the other half from Rowan University.


This article was produced by a Follow South Jersey news intern thanks to a grant provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation through the New Jersey Health Initiatives program to create hyper-local news to meet the informational and health needs of the City of Bridgeton, N.J.