2000
Delbert Day, working with Dr. David Westenberg, assistant professor of biological sciences, “has turned his research efforts toward finding new ways for doctors to treat severely broken bones by using glass pins and surgical sutures to treat those breaks.” [“FDA Approves UMR Engineer’s Invention to Treat Liver Cancer with Glass Beads,” Gasconade County Republican (Owensville), June 21, 2000, 8, https://www.newspapers.com/image/1123980498/?match=1&terms=Westenberg, accessed February 22, 2026 ]
2002
In the Winter 2002 issue of MSM-UMR Alumnus, the focus is upon engineering and medicine:
- “Today, some of the most profound research in biomaterials at UMR is occurring in ceramic engineering and biological sciences, where researchers are studying new ceramic materials for orthopedic implants, drug delivery and bone replacement.” [Claire Faucett, “Materialism Goes Bio,” p. 10]
- “Len Rahaman, professor of ceramic engineering, and Sonny Bal, a physician at the University of Missouri Health Sciences Center in Columbia, are investigating ways to improve orthopedic implants by switching plastics to ceramics. [Faucett, p. 12]
- Delbert Day has created “glass microspheres . . . for radiation treatment of tumors and arthritis. Day has found other applications for the glass spheres including the creation of a bone substitute and use as a drug-delivery vehicle.” [Faucett, p 12]
- Richard Brow, professor of ceramic engineering, and Roger Brown, professor of biological sciences “are developing glass coatings for titanium medical and dental implants. The coatings convert into a bone-like substance, making it compatible with surrounding tissue.” [Faucett, p. 12]
- “Gregory Hilmas and Wayne Huebner, both ceramic engineers, “are developing an adjustable intraocular lens for the human eye. The lens is similar to one that is surgically put in place to improve vision except that after the initial surgery, this lens can be adjusted non-surgically as a patient’s eye prescription changes over time.” [Faucett, p. 12]
- David J. Westenberg, assistant professor of biological sciences, “is studying the effect of biodegradable glasses embedded with compounds such as silver to see if the compounds stop the growth of various bacteria.” [Faucett, p. 12] All from: https://scholarsmine.mst.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1058&context=alumni-magazine, accessed February 24, 2026]
2013
Yinfa Ma, Curators’ Teaching Professor of chemistry, “has developed a new screening method that uses urinalysis to diagnose breast cancer – and determine its severity – before it could be detected with a mammogram.” Ma “uses a device called a P-scan, to detect the concentration of certain metabolites called pteredines in urine samples. These biomarkers are present in the urine of all human beings, but abnormally high concentrations can signal the presence of cancer.” [Mary Helen Stoltz, “S&T Research Develops Technique to Detect Breast Cancer in Urine,” Missouri “”S&T News and Events, May 28, 2013, https://news.mst.edu/2013/05/5356/, accessed February 21, 2026]
2017
Missouri S&T established a Center for Biomedical Research. Brief description, “Key research and development areas in the Center for Biomedical Research include bioactive glass science and engineering; bioactive glass and bioactive ceramic scaffolds for regenerating bone; nanofibrous bioactive glass for healing soft tissue wounds; biomarkers for early detection of cancer; and nanostructured biocompatible phosphate devices for drug delivery and growth factor delivery.” The center had existed, beginning in 2008, as the Center for Bone and Tissue Repair and Regeneration. [Mary Helen Stoltz, “Yinfa Ma to Lead S&T’s Center for Biomedical Research,” Missouri S&T News and Events, https://news.mst.edu/2017/09/yinfa-ma-to-lead-sts-center-for-biomedical-research/, accessed February 17, 2026]
2019
Summer 2019 issue of Missouri S&T Magazine focused upon traumatic brain injury and the various ways S&T professors are studying it. [pp. 22-35] --“In all, the S&T researchers have received more than $5.1 million in federal funding for their TBI research, and more is expected.” [p. 24]
- “Paul Nam, S&T associate professor of chemistry, leads a $412,000 multi-disciplinary project, also funded through the Leonard Wood Institute, to investigate the use of antioxidants to treat TBI {traumatic brain injury}.” [Delia Croessmann, “Seeking TBI Therapies,” p. 25]
- Article on Casey Burton, an adjunct professor of chemistry and director of research at Phelps Health: “Today he leads a $1.24 million research project, ‘Assessing Traumatic Brain Injury Noninvasively with Urinary Metabolites,’ which aims to develop a simple blood or urine test to assess whether a TBI has occurred. He hopes that this new approach will result in a new medical device that can be deployed in the field.” [Delia Croessmann, “Analyzing Small Molecules for Big Results,” Missouri S&T Magazine (Summer 2019), p. 30, https://scholarsmine.mst.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1007&context=alumni-magazine, accessed February 24, 2016]
