Dissertation on Bioengineering Recognized

June 30, 2008

Doctoral graduate Richard A. Blidner from the Donald W. Clayton graduate program in engineering science was honored with the LSU Alumni Association Distinguished Dissertation Award in Engineering, Science and Technology in a public ceremony held May 14 at 2 p.m. at the LSU Faculty Club.

The Distinguished Dissertation Awards, granted annually by the graduate school after a competitive review process, recognize exceptional scholarship in two broad areas: arts, humanities and social sciences; engineering, science and technology.

Blidner was born in Columbus, Ohio, in 1979. He earned a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Tulane University in 2001 and a master’s in biomedical engineering from The Ohio State University in 2003. After serving as a surgical corneal tissue recovery technician, procuring human tissue for research and transplant at the Central Ohio Lion’s Eye Bank, Blidner enrolled at LSU in the interdisciplinary doctoral program of engineering science, receiving his PhD in December 2007.

Blidner’s dissertation, “Engineering a Photo-Control Mechanism for RNA Interference,” focuses on the control of cellular RNA activity with photocage chemistry, a class of light-sensitive compounds that inactivate a biological molecule until exposed to near UV light. Successful research in this field requires expertise in multiple branches of chemistry, biology, chemical and molecular engineering and molecular modeling. Blidner’s work led to the development of several novel compounds currently undergoing patent disclosure for LSU and that may form the basis of new drug manufacturing technologies.

Article excerpted from LSU Public Affairs News Release, Matt Mullenix, Office of Research and Economic Development, mlavall@lsu.edu, 225-578-5706