Vertically Integrated Projects appoints Margolis faculty director

In July, Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) announced the appointment of BME assistant professor David Margolis as its faculty director. 

The VIP program is a scalable, cost-effective and equitable approach to engaging undergraduate and graduate students in research, creative inquiry and service learning. In the VIP model, multidisciplinary teams align student efforts with faculty research priorities in long-term, large-scale projects. At the University of Arizona, VIP team leaders represent more than a dozen colleges and campus units, providing research, design and service learning opportunities to students from all majors and programs.

Margolis has been a VIP team advisor since 2023, leading the Orthopaedic Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Laboratory. The team's focus is the development of orthopaedic biomaterials and implantable sensors that can lead to new treatment strategies for orthopaedic patients. The highly collaborative and multidisciplinary group uses a wide range of techniques, including materials fabrication, computer-aided design, additive manufacturing, biomechanics and hard-tissue histology.

In his role as VIP Faculty Director, Margolis will oversee faculty and student recruitment for the program, as well as efforts to advance VIP's research productivity, educational outcomes and core commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.