Sujala Sultana in the lab
Last month Chemical Engineering PhD student Sujala Sultana won the “Best Oral Presentation” award in the 2015 William R. Wiley Research Exposition for the category of Engineering and Physical Sciences. Sultana’s advisor is Dr. Haluk Beyenal. She will receive a $1,000 scholarship as part of the award.

The title of Sultana’s presentation was, “Electrochemical Scaffold for Acinetobacter baumannii Biofilm removal.” In this work, she has developed an electrochemical scaffold system that is capable of continuous controlled delivery of hydrogen peroxide via oxygen reduction reaction and thus remove A. baumannii biofilm from infected porcine dermal explant. This research offers a foundation for a future alternative antibiotic free wound dressing for the multi-drug resistant A. baumannii biofilm infections.