Srinivasa Raghavan and Leah Borden Win UMD Life Sciences Invention of the Year

Srinivasa Raghavan and Leah Borden Win UMD Life Sciences Invention of the Year

Srinivasa Raghavan and Leah Borden Win UMD Life Sciences Invention of the Year

Leah Borden and Srinivasa Raghavan in their lab. Credit: Sage Levy for UMD.
Leah Borden and Srinivasa Raghavan in their lab. Credit: Sage Levy for UMD.

Srinivasa Raghavan, a professor in the University of Maryland (UMD) Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (CHBE), and CHBE Ph.D. Student, Leah K. Borden ('22), won the 2022 UMD Invention of the Year Award in the Life Sciences category for their technology, "Suture-free Repair for Surgery, Cuts and Wounds." 

Many surgeries conducted to repair and connect tubular tissues, such as arteries or intestines, fail because of badly-sewn sutures, or fragile body tissues. To help circumvent this problem, Raghavan and Borden developed a method to streamline the suturing process and move it beyond traditional needle and thread with a biocompatible polymer gel (i.e., hydrogel) that can attach to tissue and strongly adhered using an electric current, slightly more than that from a standard 9-volt battery. The researchers call this phenomenon "electroadhesion." These electroadhered gel-patches — easily removed again using the same "electric switch" process — provide a seal over cuts, or openings, in tissue, while a gel "sleeve" could rejoin pieces of a severed tube. This technique — a potential gamechanger in many industries — could replace sutures in surgical settings, also having applications in soft robotics, 3D printing, the automotive industry and beyond.

The duo were recognized at this year’s Innovate Maryland event in early May.

Related media:

At Innovate Maryland, Pines Heralds Turning 'Expertise Into Action' - UMD May 3, 2022

May 4, 2022


Prev   Next

Current Headlines

Senta Kapnick Promoted to Associate Research Scientist

Rudolph Awarded Women in Defense Scholarship

Edward Eisenstein Elected President of American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Why 'Thinking More' Isn't Always Making Generative AI Smarter

BIOE Professor Publishes Global Consensus on Brillouin Microscopy in Nature Photonics

Researchers Develop Autonomous Materials Discovery Engine Using AI

UMD Team Led by Yu Named Best Paper Award Finalists at DAC 2025

ECE Professor and Former Chair Pat O'Shea Named Vice President for Research for UMD's Joint Research Enterprise

News Resources

Return to Newsroom

Search News

Archived News

Events Resources

Events Calendar