Kuna huyu Calvin Marambo.
Undergraduate summer research spotlight: Calvin Marambo, S.B. ’19
By Selena Zhang, SEAS Correspondent
NAME: Calvin Marambo
CONCENTRATION: Bioengineering
RESEARCH FOCUS: Improving battlefield treatment of burns
RESEARCH LAB:
David J. Mooney, Robert P. Pinkas Family Professor of Bioengineering
ADVISOR: Joshua M. Grolman, postdoctoral fellow
Calvin Marambo has always been interested in seeing how his classwork translates to actual patient care. Growing up in Tanzania, he read extensively in his early academic career, but found there were not many opportunities for him to get involved in meaningful scientific research. Since coming to Harvard, he has applied his knowledge and learned new lab skills by joining a neurobiology lab at the
Harvard Medical School in the spring of his freshman year, and working at a research institute in South Africa during that summer. He has now joined the Mooney bioengineering research group, turning his attention to new challenges.
This summer, Marambo worked on a project to improve battlefield treatment of burns. The battlefield environment imposes significant challenges on the provision of treatment. Combat and high-energy blasts in the battlefield result in burn injuries that are easily infected. Soldiers may not receive the extensive care needed to treat these infections due to prolonged delays in returning stateside. Currently, these burn injuries are treated on the battlefield with traditional dry wound dressings and intravenous administration of antibiotics. However, high doses of antibiotics can have potential toxic side effects for the patient and lead to bacterial resistance.
To improve control of topical drug delivery. Marambo worked on part of a revolutionary new Platform Wound Device (PWD), a sterile and transparent protective dressing that steadily releases increasing amounts of antibiotics. This summer, Marambo focused on developing specialized alginate hydrogels for topical delivery of ultra high-concentration antibiotics. He manipulated the mechanical properties of these hydrogels to achieve different rates of release for the antibiotics.
Marambo found that his research experience and feedback from his mentors improved his time management, data analysis, and presentation skills.
“My involvement in research has positively shaped the way I approach my learning at Harvard,” he said. “It has informed my future career aspiration to be a physician scientist.”
He encourages others who are interested in research to reach out to professors to discuss their interests, so that they too can gain hands-on laboratory experience
The Boss