Identifying Research Gaps:

Formulating and Defining Research

Problems for Evolving Innovation Processes
in Science and Technology

by
Prof. Nathaniel P. Dugos, PhD, ASEAN Eng
Chemical Engineering Department
De La Salle University
 What is a Research Gap?

 Research Gap is something that remains to

be done or learned in an area of research
 Itis a research question or problem that
which has not been answered
appropriately or at all in a given field of
study
 Itis the foundation of any research
problem
 Importance of the Research Gap

Research Gap is what makes your research

publishable or what makes your proposal
get accepted
 Not duplicating existing research
 A deep understanding of the status of the
body of knowledge in your chosen field
 Conducted a research that fulfills that gap in
the literature
 Research Gap Statement

 stated in the INTRODUCTION section of a

journal or poster and in the GOALS or
RATIONALE section of a research proposal
 Research Gap Statement -EXAMPLE

An example research gap from Hosaka,

Itao, and Kuroda (1995):

“… The relationship between the four

damping factors, i.e. internal friction,
support loss, airflow force in free space,
and squeeze force, has not yet been
clarified, so it is not obvious which one is
dominant in actual microsystems.”
 Research Gap Statement

Phrases that may be used to identify or

form a gap statement
…..has not yet been clarified
…has/have not been(studied/reported/elucidated)
…is required/needed…
…the key question is/remains…
…it is important to address…

 Fill the Gap

 Once the research gap is identified, you

must tell how you will address in your
project this lack of knowledge
 In a journal, poster or research proposal
- often done in a new paragraph
- should be accomplished in one
summary statement
 Fill the Gap
Example:
Therefore, the purpose of this study was to
determine the effects of lead on the
hepatobiliary system, especially on the liver
and on the gallbladder (adapted (from Sipos
et al. 2003)
 Fill the Gap
Some Phrases that can be used to indicate
gap “fill”
 “We therefore analyzed…”
 “In this study, we investigated…”
 “Therefore, the goals of this study are…”
 “In this paper, we report…”
 Fill the Gap
Example:
Therefore, the purpose of this study was to
determine the effects of lead on the
hepatobiliary system, especially on the liver
and on the gallbladder (adapted (from Sipos
et al. 2003)
 Research Gap Statement
Adapted from Monthioux et al. (2001):

Though ideally expected to be chemically very stable

due to the poor reactivity of the basal aromatic plane
from which SWNTs are built, the question of whether all
the chemicals which are now currently proposed in the
literature as purifying, suspending, or grafting agents
for SWNTs actually have a limited effect on the SWNT
integrity has to be addressed. In this paper, we report
the investigation of the effects of some commonly used
chemical treatments on SWNT structure by means of
high resolution transmission microscopy (HRTEM). We
also report the effect on purified SWNTs of an organic
solvent, dimethylformamide, used to tentatively
prepare SWNT suspension.
 Research Gap Statement
Adapted from Monthioux et al. (2001):

Though ideally expected to be chemically very stable

due to the poor reactivity of the basal aromatic plane
from which SWNTs are built, the question of whether all
the chemicals which are now currently proposed in the
literature as purifying, suspending, or grafting agents
for SWNTs actually have a limited effect on the SWNT
integrity has to be addressed. In this paper, we report
the investigation of the effects of some commonly used
chemical treatments on SWNT structure by means of
high resolution transmission microscopy (HRTEM). We
also report the effect on purified SWNTs of an organic
solvent, dimethylformamide, used to tentatively
prepare SWNT suspension.
 Research Gap Statement
Adapted from Zhang, Dawes, and Walker (2001):

Milly’s work recognized the importance of storage

capacity of the root zone in controlling
evapotranspiration and has the potential for assessing
the catchment-scale response of vegetation
changes. However, the practical application of this
model is limited because of the complex numerical
solutions required. The purpose of this paper is to
quantify the long-term impact of vegetation changes on
mean annual evapotranspiration at catchment scales
based on data and parameters that are easily
measurable at a regional scale.
 Research Gap Statement
Adapted from Zhang, Dawes, and Walker (2001):

Milly’s work recognized the importance of storage

capacity of the root zone in controlling
evapotranspiration and has the potential for
assessing the catchment-scale response of
vegetation changes. However, the practical
application of this model is limited because of the
complex numerical solutions required. The purpose
of this paper is to quantify the long-term impact of
vegetation changes on mean annual
evapotranspiration at catchment scales based on
data and parameters that are easily measurable at a
regional scale.
 Research Gap Statement
Adapted from Lecoanet, Bottero, and Wiesner
(2004):

A risk assessment of the potential impacts on health

and environment that the production, use, and
disposal of nanomaterials may engender
requires information concerning both the potential
for exposure to a given material and its (once
exposed) potential impacts such as toxicity or
mutagenicity. In this work, we address the issue of
nanomaterial exposure and transport in experiments
designed to assess their potential for migration in
porous media such as groundwater aquifers and
water treatment plant filters.
 Research Gap Statement
Adapted from Lecoanet, Bottero, and Wiesner
(2004):

A risk assessment of the potential impacts on health

and environment that the production, use, and
disposal of nanomaterials may engender
requires information concerning both the potential
for exposure to a given material and its (once
exposed) potential impacts such as toxicity or
mutagenicity. In this work, we address the issue of
nanomaterial exposure and transport in
experiments designed to assess their potential for
migration in porous media such as groundwater
aquifers and water treatment plant filters.
Research Gap Statement
 Research Problem
Formulating and Defining the
Research Problem
is a BIG problem!

One of most challenging!

Important Features of a Good and Suitable
Research Problem
1. It should be of great interest to you
2. The problem should be significant, novel
and timely
3. It should be delineated
4. You should be able to obtain the
information required
Important Features of a Good and Suitable
Research Problem
5. You should be able to draw conclusions
related to the problem
6. You should be able to state the problem
clearly and concisely
DLSU’s Project on
Tissue Engineering
 Research Team

DLSU Dr. Nathaniel Dugos

Project Head/Lead Researcher

Dr. Susan Dr. Cynthia Dr. Lawrence Mr. Joseph Rey

Roces Madrazo Belo Sta. Agueda

Dr. Custer C.
Deocaris
 Research Team

AdU
Engr. Erison Roque

Engr. Jerry Engr. Renato Engr. Ranier Engr. Pat

Olay Ong Gomez Lawrence Angeles
 Research Team

NKTI

Dr. Sigrid Agcaoili Ms. Julie M. Nana

PhD Students Research Assistant

Mr. Joseph Rey Engr. Peniel Jean Engr. Jarlie

Sta. Agueda Gildo Clemeña
 Research Team
MS Students

Ms. Say Engr. Kevin Engr. Neil Patrick

Sreypich Ocampo Angeles
BS/MS Students

Ms. Tosha Mae Mr. Sephi Marz

Manalastas Liclican
 Research Team
BS Students

Mr. Alquin Ryner Mr. Alex Rae Mr. Ivan Lemuel

Glenn Bedro Bondoc Wang

Mr. Neil Andrei Ms. Allison

Duguran Joyce Tan
 Research Team
BS Students

Ms. Adrianne
Ardon

Mr. John Ray Ms. Maria Gabrielle Ms. Niña Alexandria

Estrellado Galang Villena
DLSU Tissue Engineering Projects
Motivations
• Increase in prevalence of end-stage renal disorder
(ESRD) – one of the leading causes of death (7th)
among Filipinos
• Unreliability of dialysis in fully replacing a kidney’s
function
• Transplantation is the only definitive solution to
address ESRD
DLSU Tissue Engineering Projects
Motivations
• Transplantation is limited by the number of
organs available for transplant and the
probability of immune rejection.

Solution
• Bioengineering of Whole Kidney Organs
through Decellularization-Recellularization
Technique
DLSU Tissue Engineering Projects
Decellularization of Porcine Kidneys for
Bioengineering Applications

• First step in Bioengineering

• Fabrication of ECM scaffolds
Scaffold Goals:
• Devoid of cells
• Intact ECM
• Retention of certain growth factors
DLSU Tissue Engineering Projects

Decellularization of Porcine Kidneys for

Bioengineering Applications
• Physical
• Chemical
• Combination
An ad-hoc perfusion-decellularization chamber is
fabricated where a porcine kidney will be perfused
with detergents with the aid of sonication.
DLSU Tissue Engineering Projects
Decellularization of Porcine Kidneys for
Bioengineering Applications
Tests and Analyses
• Testing for cellular components
• Surface morphology
• Immunohistochemical assays
DLSU Tissue Engineering Projects
Mechanotransduction Research

• Investigation of physical cues to cell

attachment, proliferation, and differentiation.
• Will concentrate on glomerulus
• Understanding porosity leads to
• Better biomimicry
• Better design of artificial scaffold
DLSU Tissue Engineering Projects
Fabrication of Biomimetic Scaffolds

• Fabrication of artificial scaffold from

biocompatible materials.
• Electrospinning
• 3D Bioprinting
DLSU Tissue Engineering Projects
Engineered Recellularization/Repopulation
Techniques
• Development of an efficient engineered
method of cell seeding by fabricating a device
that inject cells simultaneously.
Tests and Analyses
• Cell attachment
• Cell proliferation
DLSU Tissue Engineering Projects
Bioengineering of Whole Kidney Organs
• Investigation of various cell sources for
recellularization (primary adult renal cells,
iPSCs, ESCs)
• Whole Scaffold recellularization
Tests and Analyses
• Cell Differentation
• Functional Assessments
Example of Problem Statement

Kidney-related diseases are the 7th most

frequent cause of death of Filipinos. The fact
that the number of patients in need of kidney
donors is not met by the actual organ donors
available contribute to the number of deaths
from these diseases. With the emergence of
new bioengineering techniques, bioengineered
organs could be created to address this
problem.
Example of Problem Statement

Kidney problems consistently rank among the top 10 causes of morbidity

(7th) and mortality (8th) among Filipinos, according to the Philippine
Statistics Authority in 2016. Kidney diseases almost always progresses to
kidney failure, which will require either dialysis or transplantation to
treat. One of the potential future treatment option is the use of
decellularized kidney scaffolds to engineer a new, functional, and
transplantable organ. Decellularization techniques involve physical,
chemical and enzymatic methods to remove native cells while
preserving the extracellular matrix (ECM). Perfusion through the
vasculature is the most preferred method, however, the use of
chemicals alone requires long treatment time. In this study,
decellularization was performed using a novel method that combined
physical (sonication) and chemical (perfusion) methods to efficiently
remove cellular contents, produce minimal damage to the ECM and
shorten treatment time.
The Kidney at Different Stages of Decellularization

0h 2h
4h 6h
The Kidney at Different Stages of Decellularization

8h
10h

12h
Thank you for your kind attention!

Nathaniel P. Dugos, PhD

Full Professor
Chemical Engineering Department
De La Salle University, Manila
2401 Taft Ave., Malate, Manila
nathaniel.dugos@dlsu.edu.ph

Affiliation: PIChE, AIChE, SBE, TERMIS