Laboratory tour
From the 12th to the 18th of July, I embarked on a week-long research trip in the United States. I visited School of Engineering, Columbia University and talked to PhD student, Zhou and Professors Chandran there about the details of bio-synthetic fur.
I went into the laboratory to see the various experimental equipment and to experience the sealing tests that were being carried out in the laboratory on that day.
At the same time, I had an in-depth conversation with Zhou and Prof Chandran about the feasibility of collaborating on the bio-synthetic fur, the duration of the experiments, the possible parties involved in the experiments, and other collaborative matters. First of all, Dr. Chandran agreed with the theoretical feasibility of my proposal, but also pointed out the difficulty of combining hair and skin, therefore, the specific methodology that would be applied on achieving bio-synthetic fur would be worked out by the KC Lab in collaboration with experts in stem cell transplantation. As a collaborative project, KC Lab showed a great deal of enthusiasm and clarity. Dr. Chandran expects the project will last for two years, and that the exact timing, budget, and collaboration agreement will be decided in subsequent meetings, along with the methodology.