The Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron is creating a center of research excellence with core strengths in biopolymers, orthopaedics and wound healing. The Center for Biomaterials and Medicine (CBMM) will leverage world-class polymer science and engineering into high-value clinical applications aimed at accelerating biomedical innovation.

CBMM will span the full R&D continuum composed of basic sciences, translational and preclinical research, clinical research and commercialization. The Center will capitalize on Northeast Ohio's rich 100-year history in polymer science and engineering, including extended R&D capabilities, a highly educated workforce and knowledgeable capital sources.

In fact, Akron is already developing early-stage companies and clinical centers with a key emphasis on orthopaedics. The region boasts more than 200 researchers in orthopaedics and polymers, and more than 50 companies are directly linked with the orthopaedic device industry.

CBMM is recruiting 40 additional researchers and their lab teams in the following focus areas:

• Biomaterials for orthopaedic and wound care applications;
• Polymers as coatings for implanted medical devices; and
• Polymers combined with growth factors and/or seeded with cells for tissue generation and repair.

Meet some of Akron's top researchers