Nicole McFarlane, ADVANCE and Associate Professor of electrical engineering has been named the first recipient of the Science Alliance’s Program for Advancing Collaborative Teams (PACT) Award. Her research proposes to investigate hybrid biomicroelectronic systems.
Introduced in late 2021, the PACT program provides support for collaborative research intended to target large external funding opportunities, such as the National Science Foundation’s Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers (MRSEC) award.
McFarlane has spent much of her career establishing expertise on electrical sensors and working with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) researchers on biomicroelectronics. Now she hopes to develop a system with a closed loop between biological and electronic components, transforming the existing communication model between electronics and cells.