" A cross between engineering and biology, my project is a unique opportunity to use your imagination to come up with a unique design, while drawing on basic science. As part of this project, you will develop a system that will help researchers further explore the diverse community of bacteria that live in our intestines and play a major role in our overall health!

To understand these species of bacteria, we first need to be able to grow them in the laboratory, something that researchers have struggled with over the last few decades. Many species of bacteria originating from the gut do not survive well in the laboratory due to various factors, such as access to nutrients and gases. To solve these problems, we will develop a method for enveloping bacteria in a unique material, which can then be contained and reincorporated into the gut. This project will provide you with skills and knowledge in computer-aided design, 3D printing and bacteria cultivation to use the human body as an incubator! "