Dr. Firouzeh Sabri, Dr. Jeffrey Marchetta

The cold shipping of biological materials requires new kinds of packing materials to make it feasible. Drs. Sabri and Marchetta are heading up a team that is designing, constructing, and testing cold-chain biologic packaging made with aerogel, a synthetic, ultralight material with strong thermal insulating capabilities. According to Dr. Sabri, current packaging options are "rather primitive" and not adequate to meet the demands of biologistics in the future. "We envision an advanced form of packaging technology that will dramatically outperform current technology," Dr. Sabri says. The new packaging will help spur new procedures and advancements in medicine that would be difficult or impossible without reliable cold transport and storage.

Alternative Biologistics for Pharmaceutical Products: 3D-Printed Tablets and Pills

Dr. Ebrahim Asadi, Dr. Sabya Mishra

What if a pill could be made-to-order at the point of delivery? Drs. Asadi and Mishra are exploring the technical viability and biologistics impact of using 3D-printing technology to manufacture tablets and pills in custom dosages, shapes, and dissolvability
rates to match the needs of each patient. According to Dr. Asadi, "This technology is in its early stages, but eventually, it has the potential to not only improve patient care but also reduce the need for mass-production facilities, as well as the costly transportation and storage of pharmaceuticals."

Assessment of Biologistics Research and Practices for the Purposes of Processing a New Cutting-edge Research Agenda

Dr. Mehdi Amini, Dr. Mihalis Golias

While demand for biologistics services is growing at a fast pace, its theory and practice are at their early stages of development. That's why Drs. Amini and Golias are engaged in an in-depth assessment of biologistics research in order to recognize and implement best practices and develop a cutting-edge research agenda. According to Dr. Amini, the specialized nature of biologistics, compared with traditional logistics, introduces a new set of complexities and challenges for both academics and supply chain executives. "Studying best practices in research, as well as in practical applications, will benefit the U of M research community and all interested researchers and practitioners of biologistics around the world," he says.

Post-disaster Management of Freight Transportation Networks

Dr. Charles Camp, Dr. Shahram Pezeshk, Dr. Chris Cramer

What impact will future earthquakes and other disasters likely have on transportation system infrastructure? Drs. Camp, Pezeshk, and Cramer are using FEMA's HAZUS-MH 2.2 software to study this question and, more specifically, assess how damage may affect temperature-controlled logistics services. "The ability to plan and manage transportation after a major disaster, such as an earthquake or flooding," says Dr. Camp, "is critical not only to the long-term economic viability of our community but also to the post-disaster recovery of the region."

Biologistics of Lung Cancer Screening and Management Using Field Effect of Carcinogenesis and a Novel Biophotonics Technique

Dr. Prabhakar Pradhan 

Biologistics Security: Implications for Market Growth, Transportation and Logistics

Dr. Haskel D. Harrison, Dan Pallme 

Big Data Analytics Meets the Internet of Things: A Paradigm Shift in Biologistics

Dr. Mohammed Yeasin, Dr. Sabya Mishra 

Engineering Novel Supercapacitor: Batteries for Biologistics

Dr. Sanjay Mishra, Dr. Jiangbiao Cui 

Smart Packaging Temperature Sensing for Biologistics

Dr. Firouzeh Sabri, Steve Allison