Dr. Arul Jayaraman, a professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University and holder of the Ray Nesbitt Professorship, was one of the recipients of the 2015 Engineering Genesis Award for Multidisciplinary Research. The award was presented to during the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station's (TEES) External Advisory Board meeting May 29.
As a TEES researcher, Jayaraman received this award in recognition of securing significant research funding valued at $1 million or more.
He was awarded a $1.9 million grant from the Department of Health and Human Safety/National Institute of Health/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. His co-PI is Dr. Robert Alaniz from the Texas A&M Health Science Center.
His research project, “Modeling and Analysis of the Role of Microbiota Metabolites in T-Cell Differentiation,” seeks to understand the role that the microbiota metabolites play in mediating an anti-inflammatory environment in the gut, which will potentially improve treatment for inflammatory bowel disease.