Johns Hopkins undergrad Patrick Ting has been awarded a 2025 Summer Provost’s Undergraduate Research Award (PURA) to use bioengineering and machine learning to better understand how cancer cells behave and spread.
Since 1993, the Hopkins Office for Undergraduate Research (HOUR) has presented PURA awards to undergraduate students at Johns Hopkins. These awards fund and encourage undergraduate research, upholding the university’s commitment to providing research opportunities for undergraduates.
The electrical engineering major’s project involves creating artificial mini-organs, called organoids, in the lab to mimic conditions inside real tumors—an approach that promises to provide more accurate insights into cancer cell behavior than traditional models.
“Designing a functional device like this requires knowledge of fluid mechanics, electronics, and circuit design,” he said. “Conventional methods like periodic media swaps are time-consuming and don’t accurately replicate how tumors behave in the body. I wanted to build a system that supplies media autonomously and continuously, even remotely, to better simulate real conditions and support more effective cancer research.”
Ting’s mentors include Eun Hyun Ahn, an associate research professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, and Satvik Kethireddy, a graduate student in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.
Ting was among 113 students who were awarded Summer PURAs this year—more than doubling the usual number. According to the Hopkins Office for Undergraduate Research (HOUR), 74% of applicants received a PURA this summer.
Ting is currently in the early stages of his 10-week research project and says the focus has recently expanded to include studying how collagen influences tumor invasion. He expects to continue working on both areas through the summer and into the fall.
“It’s the first time I’ll be managing a project from start to finish, from design to testing and analysis,” Ting said. “I want to keep building my ability to apply what I know, like electronics, circuitry, and signaling, to real-world biomedical challenges.”