A Clarkson University professor recently received an award for high quality placenta research.

The International Federation of Placenta Associations presented assistant professor of mechanical and aeronautical engineering Parisa Mirbod with the National Institute of Health Young Investigator Award at the annual conference in September in Portland, Ore.

"The placenta is the only link between the mother and the fetus," Mirbod said. "It is a transient, vascular organ which enables nutrients, blood and gases to be exchanged between the fetus and mother. The aim of our study is to provide deeper understanding of the fetal blood flow through the feto-placental vasculature system using shear-inducted migration of red blood cells and computational method."

The research was performed with mechanical engineering Ph.D. student Zhenxing Wu, mechanical engineering major Alexander T. Shannon, and collaborator Dr. John G. Sled of the University of Toronto, according to a press release from Clarkson.

Mirbod said the conference was an opportunity for the researchers to become more aware of the new frontiers in the field and gain exposure to new research.

Mirbod also was recently invited to serve as a mentor and give a lecture at the Gordon Research Seminar on Flow and Transport in Permeable Media in Girona, Spain.

The seminar focused on understanding and controlling material and process interfaces including flow and reactive transport in porous media. These topics are essential for the management of water resources, environmental protection and energy solutions such as carbon capture and storage, geothermal energy production and energy storage, the release said.

Mirbod said the research she presented at the seminar will provide the basis for understanding the flow of slurries over highly compressible porous materials, and can be used as a new bio-inspired concept for greatly enhancing the lubricating pressure while dramatically reducing friction and drag in a particle-laden slurry flowing over planar surfaces.

The slurry flow has broad applications such as biomedical devices, underground slurry flows and nature, the release said.