Graduate Student Profile: Chris Byrd
Serving Through Education
Home town: St. Albans, WV- B.S.: Design Engineering, University of Central Florida
- Technical Advisor: Dr. Jim Sumner, (Sensors and Electron Devices Branch [SEDD], Army Research Laboratories.
- Academic Advisor: Professor and Chair Bill Bentley (Fischell Department of Bioengineering)
- Started Program: Fall 2006
Chris Byrd is not your typical graduate student. A major in the U.S. Army with over a decade of service, his current assignment is to earn a Ph.D.
Byrd joined the army after graduating with a B.S. in design engineering from the University of Central Florida in 1995. For the first eight years, he served in what he describes as "typical" positions. But he had always wanted to make use of his engineering knowledge, and eventually began to look for new opportunities. The problem was, while he wanted to be involved in research, he had been "out of the loop" for a long time.
Byrd learned about the Acquisition Corps, an agency involved in research and development that works with scientists to define and serve the army's technology needs. He transferred to the Corps, and for three years served as a military advisor to civilian scientists at the Army Research Laboratory, working on soldier networks and wearable computing. It was there that he learned about the Corps' Uniformed Army Scientist and Engineer Program, and decided to apply. The UASEP's goal is to provide the army with officers with advanced science and engineering degrees to serve as consultants for senior staff involved in the development or deployment of new technology.
The program is highly selective. Candidates must already be assigned to the Acquisition Corps, have a degree in a technical field, and have solid service records to apply, and must then pass a series of tests and evaluations. Byrd is currently one of only about half a dozen people in the program.
The UASEP allows officers to choose their field of study and the school they attend. Byrd chose bioengineering because he is interested in technology used to assist soldiers, such as maintaining better health in high-pressure and dangerous situations, and better prosthesis for the wounded. For his education, he chose the University of Maryland's Graduate Program in Bioengineering.
"UM was at the top of my list [of schools] because of the location and program," he told us. "There are so many places I can go in this area to work. The location was absolutely ideal for me, and so was the fact that UM had a young BioE program that was doing great things. [Department Chair] Dr. Bentley was incredibly gracious when I came to visit. I feel very indebted to him for being as receptive to me as he was."
Byrd's personal interests and professional obligations—and the program providing him with the flexibility to accommodate them both—has him conducting most of his dissertation research at the Army Research Laboratory in Adelphi, Md., under the guidance of his technical advisor, Dr. Jim Sumner, a senior scientist in the Sensors and Electron Devices (SEDD) Branch. He sought to work with Sumner because of his involvement and expertise with areas such as biosystems modeling, bioelectronics, and electrochemistry.
Byrd will be working toward the development of advanced microscopic sensors by studying genetic mechanisms inherent to bacteria, and transplanting those processes into a synthetic sensor package. The genetic processes which naturally occur within bacteria such as E. Coli can be compared to a simple switching mechanism based upon the type of triggering molecule present. One type of molecule will initiate a cascade of genetic responses, while a different molecule will result in a distinctly different reaction. Byrd hopes to harness the power of this natural genetic response and create sensitive, quick sensors capable of detecting foreign or harmful airborne particles.
This investigation is directly related to Byrd's work with the Army. "There's a lot of emphasis being placed by the military on creating light, portable sensors that can be used to gather information about the environment," he explains. "If you can put these in the hands of soldier, it could prevent him from having to go into harm's way."
The sensors will be made with the proteins and DNA segments isolated from bacteria and affixed to a fabricated platform using a synthetic binding substrate such as chitosan in order to position the molecules and proteins in the correct order.
The assay will then be used as a switch. Once a triggering molecule is detected, the genetic mechanisms will naturally signal the presence of the molecule, and this signal may then be converted into a detectable, readable output for the user.
Since this work is still highly theoretical, Byrd is not currently working with dangerous molecules the sensors will ultimately be designed to protect against, such as anthrax or other toxins, but this is a natural 'next-step' which he plans to explore later in his research.
The properties and potential of genetic mechanisms have been explored in recent past, but Byrd's goal of removing proteins and DNA from a viable cell in order to create an abiotic detection system is an ambitious goal: "Since genetic processes inherent to an organism, even a bacterium, are highly complex and intertwined, it's difficult to remove a single portion and expect it to function as if it were still in its natural environment." The effort to isolate and distinguish the particular mechanisms of interest and maintain their functionality outside of a cell will be the crux of his research.
Byrd is confident that with Dr. Sumner's experience and mentorship, and collaboration with other subject matter experts at both the ARL and the University of Maryland, he’ll have all resources he'll need to succeed. "So far," he says, "everyone I've met at the University and the Army Research Laboratory has been very supportive. I was expecting to have to pull a lot of teeth to do this, but people are going out of their way to incorporate me into their research plans."
Byrd was concerned about jumping back into college after so many years away, but he quickly found support. He cites fellow students and the faculty as the best part of his experience so far: "Right now, I'm really enjoying getting to know and working with my classmates. Everyone is very generous with their time and willing to help each other. I guess I'd expected a cutthroat environment or someplace very competitive where I'd be working by myself.
"I'm very impressed by the faculty and how they constantly take into account the [students'] variety of backgrounds in how they teach—we have some [students] with engineering [degrees], some with biology [degrees], and I've been out of school so long...the professor has to customize the class based on a wide range of capabilities. Students have to work hard, too, though!"
After graduation, Byrd plans to continue in his career in the military. While the Army will ultimately determine his assignments, his personal preferences are taken into account. He tells us he would like to be stationed at a military defense laboratory, or work side-by-side with a 1- or 2- star general as a technical advisor. Ideally, he'd like to try out both roles. Whatever he ends up doing, he says, "...if it can be applied to the safety of soldiers, than I would consider it a success."
Byrd is enthusiastic about recommending the Graduate Program in Bioengineering to prospective students. "One of the greatest things about the BioE program and the school in general is your access to other departments and opportunities," he explains. "There are a lot of industry, military, and other educational programs that favor the [University of Maryland]. It was only after applying that I fully learned about the vast amount of BioE-related research going on at the school. I love the wide variety—I like that we're not being funneled into a specific area. I have plenty of leeway to make decisions about my education."
Living in the Washington, D.C. metro area also gives him a lot of choices about his work and social life. "I like that DC has everything you can possibly want to do in a city," he told us. "It's really interesting, frustrating, and exhilarating all at the same time. There are a million things going on, but if you drive an hour you can 'get the heck out of Dodge,' which is also refreshing. The D.C. area has many opportunities for employment after graduation. It's a good launching point, very well-connected."
Asked if he had any advice for undergraduates considering graduate studies in bioengineering, Byrd replied, "Be sure that you're dedicated to your studies, because it takes time, discipline, and patience."
