Nicole H Urban (she/her)
Professor College of Arts & Sciences Biological and Physical Sciences Providence
Biography and Expertise
Nicole Urban received her B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Tulane University and her M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Her undergraduate research focused on orthopaedic surgical techniques, while her work at UAB included the design of a novel component for a knee arthroplasty system. She received a Ph.D. in Biomedical Science from Old Dominion University and Eastern Virginia Medical School for her work in cardiovascular physiology and cell signaling.
Her postdoctoral research at Virginia Commonwealth University included orthopaedic device failure analysis and prostate cancer cell signaling projects for the departments of biochemistry and orthopaedics. Additionally, she consulted on various confocal microscopy and quantitive image analysis projects across departments. Her research at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs included mathematical modeling of complex cell signaling cascades.
In 2014, she dove into the Intellectual Property arena, working for a contractor to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as a medical, biotechnology, and mechanical device patent analyst. She has conducted international stage analysis of over 500 novel devices and technologies and continues to consult on biotech and medical device intellectual property projects supporting determinations of patentability, freedom to operate and validity.
In 2016, she joined JWU where she strives to find ways to bring science to life in the classroom. She established her Bioinnovation Research Team in the fall of 2021 with the generous seed funding from the Provost’s Innovation Fund. The interdisciplinary team includes students and faculty from the Biology Department as well as the College of Engineering & Design, and the team works together to design and develop medical devices including assistive communication and musculoskeletal and neurological rehabilitation technologies. She will present the four Patent Pending prototypes at the Biomedical Engineering Society Meeting in October 2022. She was also recently awarded Pilot Project funding through the RI-INBRE to continue the development of the device prototypes throughout the 2022-2023 academic year. She is developing a series of free course supports to provide just-in-time remediation of the common algebraic techniques critical to success in general physics. She will launch a Physics You Tube channel in 2023 to further support learners needing a distraction-reduced learning environment.
Education
PhD
Eastern Virginia Medical School and Old Dominion University
MS
University of Alabama at Birmingham
BS
Tulane University
Certificate in MedTech Leadership
NEMIC – New England Medical Innovation Center
First Place, Masters Student Competition, ASME Fall International Conference and Exposition
American Society of Mechanical Engineers
Graduate Student of the Year
UAB, Department of Materials and Mechanical Engineering
Women in Science (Internet)
Ri BIO
January, 2024
Faculty Feature (Internet)
JWU
December, 2023
Ri BIO
Center for Engineering MechanoBiology
Rhode Island IDeA Network for Biomedical Research Excelence
Biomedical Engineering Society
American Association of Physics Teachers
National Science Teaching Association
Urban, N.
Physics Kinematics 1A – Uniform Motion Concept Map
Life Science Teaching Resource Community – Life Science TRC
Urban, N.
Motion with Constant Acceleration Concept Map Solving for Final Velocity
Life Science Teaching Resource Community – Life Science TRC
Urban, N.
Physics Kinematics 2B -Acceleration, Velocity, Change and Position Concept Map
Life Science Teaching Resource Community – Life Science TRC
Urban, N.
Physics Kinematics 2C -Acceleration, Velocity, Change in Position Concept Map – Solve for Initial Velocity
Life Science Teaching Resource Community – Life Science TRC
Almemar, Z. & Urban, N. & Lauderbaugh, L.
Metabolic State Alterations of Neural Stem Cell Controls Fas-mediated apoptosis and neurogenesis
Advances in Bioscience and Biotechnology
4
10C
1-8
Urban, N. & Chamberlin, B. & Ramage, S. & Roberts, Z. & Loria, R. & Beckman, M.
Effects of alpha/beta androstenediol immune regulating hormones on bone remodeling and apoptosis in osteoblasts
Journal of Steroid Biochem Molecular Biology
110
3-5
223-9
Ramage, S. & Urban, N. & Jiranek, W. & Maiti, A. & Beckman, M.
Expression of RANKL in osteolytic membranes: association with fibroblastic cell markers
Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery
89
4
841-848
Ratz, P. & Berg, K. & Urban, N. & Miner, A.
Regulation of smooth muscle calcium sensitivity: KCL as a calcium-sensitizing stimulu
American Journal of Physiology Cell Physiology
288
4
769-783
Urban, N. & Berg, K. & Ratz, P.
K+-Depolarization (KCl) induces RhoA Kinase (ROK) Translocation to Caveolae and Ca2+-sensitization of Arterial Muscle
American Journal of Physiology Cell Physiology
285
6
C1377-85
Preparing Young Scholars
Oral Presentation
Inclusive Academy Symposium
The Graduate School
Princeton University
Princeton
NJ
United States
Decreasing the Performance Gap in Introductory Physics: A Sustainable JWU Physics Accelerator Program
Panel Presentation
JWU Expo
JWU
Providence
RI
United States
Decreasing the Performance Gap in Introductory Physics: A Sustainable JWU Physics Accelerator Program
Poster
National Science Teachers Association Annual Conference
NSTA
New Orleans
Hidden, wearable, touch-sensing AACs – on-demand communication designed for social anxiety, ASD, selective mutism, and language learners
Poster
Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Meeting
Biomedical Engineering Society
Baltimore Convention Center
Baltimore
MD
United States
Reimagining BME Capstone and Summer Research Experiences – Roadmap for a Robust, In-Semester Device Design Program
Oral Presentation
Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Meeting
Biomedical Engineering Society
Baltimore Convention Center
Baltimore
MD
United States
Reimagining medical device user interfaces- Tactile and visual discrimination strategies to support users with mechanosensory, visual, and auditory disabilities
Poster
Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Meeting
Biomedical Engineering Society
Baltimore Convention Center
Baltimore
MD
United States
The Bear Paw – Customizable assistive grip devices for low-cervical spinal cord injury patients
Poster
Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Meeting
Biomedical Engineering Society
Baltimore Convention Center
Baltimore
MD
United States
Universal Kitchen Assistant – Novel device for single-handed, low-force stovetop to oven transfer
Poster
Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Meeting
Biomedical Engineering Society
Baltimore Convention Center
Baltimore
MD
United States
Using sparce inferred dynamics to estimate acoustic Forces in 12-well plates
Poster
Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Meeting
Biomedical Engineering Society
Baltimore Convention Center
Baltimore
MD
United States
Accessible, Game-based, Touch-sensing Devices for Rotator Cuff and Fine Motor Assessment and Therapy
Poster
Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Meeting
BMES
San Antonio
TX
United States
Computational Model to predict the pressure effects of ultrasonic waves on cytoskeletal reorganization in plant cells
Poster
Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Meeting
BMES
Seattle
WA
United States
Portable, touch-based, multi-modal assessment and therapy device (MAT) for post-surgical, neurological, and TBI assessment and rehabilitation
Poster
Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Meeting
BMES
Seattle
WA
United States
Wearable, accessible, assistive communication device providing customized, non-auditory communication and support for left- or right-handed users
Poster
Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Meeting
BMES
Seattle
WA
United States
Novel Device and Assay for exploring the role of resonance on cellulose deposition, tip growth, and cell viability in moss
Oral Presentation
Center for Engineering MechanoBiology IRT
CEMB
Philadelphia
PA
United States
Smart Textile Array Devices for Assistive and Augmented Communication
Oral Presentation
Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Meeting
BMES
San Antonio
TX
United States
AI in IP – Emerging applications of artificial intelligence in biotechnology, the basics of patent applications, and hurdles to obtaining a patent
Keynote/Plenary Address
Computer Science Forum 2019
JWU
Providence
RI
United States