Cell & Tissue Engineering

cell and tissue engineeringOne of the most exciting areas in biomedical engineering is tissue engineering. Tissue engineering is the ability to generate living tissue ex vivo for replacement or therapeutic applications through materials development, biochemical manipulations, cell culture, and genetic engineering.

This area of research and development has the potential to revolutionize the treatment of a wide variety of disorders and injuries.

Of fundamental importance in the design of such tissues is the ability to understand and predict how cell behavior, cell growth, and differentiation are affected by the mechanochemistry of the cellular environment. There is ample evidence showing that the physical surroundings of cells, both chemical and mechanical, can have profound effects on cellular behavior, including growth and differentiation.

Of particular importance is first understanding, then controlling, the effects of physical contacts between cells, between cells and artificial substrates, and between cells and the extracellular matrix that they produce.

Molecular, cellular and tissue engineering encompasses the study of cellular interactions using principles of engineering, physical chemistry, and physics to more clearly understand the mechanism of cellular responses to surface contacts. It includes the design of surfaces for the purpose of eliciting a particular cellular response, and it includes the application of this knowledge to generate cellular systems for therapeutics, sensors, and novel tools for research.

Example Research Projects

cellandtissue1cellandtissue2cellandtissue3cellandtissue4cellandtissue5biological effects of ultrasoundcell cytoplasm
basic biologybiomaterials skeletonbone repaircell based regenerationcontrast agentsdrug deliverydynamic bond formation
dynamic responseelectroprocessingflexor tendonfracture healinghydrogel cultureICAMlocal delivery
mechanical forcemicro-fluidicsmicrobubble arraysmodels of skeletal diseasemulti-scaled computational analysisnano-structured bioreactorsnanoparticles therapeutics
novel agentsred blood cellsregenerative medicineresponses fibronectintissue engineering allograftultrasound technologyvenular wall
wound healingmicrobubble stem cellsorgan of cortipolymer drugsporous biosensorsskin dendritictherapeutic ultrasound
massive bone

Current Researchers

Hani A. Awad, PhDMusculoskeletal tissue engineering
Danielle Benoit, PhDTherapeutic biomaterials
Mark Buckley, PhDViscoelasticity in soft biological tissues; soft tissue aging, disease and repair
Patricia Chess, PhDEffects of strain on pulmonary epithelium
Robert L. Clark, PhDDynamic systems, measurement and control, and the exploration of single-molecule mechanics
Diane Dalecki, PhDBiomedical ultrasound, acoustics, lithotripsy, biological effects of ultrasound
David Dean, PhDGene therapy
Lisa A. DeLouise, PhD, MPDEngineering smart bandage bio nanomaterials for healing skin
Angela Glading, PhDRole of cell-cell contact in regulating cellular function in both the normal and disease state

Herrera-Perez, Marisol

Tissue self-organization, biophysics of cell shape and motility, morphogenesis, mechanics of development, control of cell communication.
Denise C. Hocking, PhDRegulation of cell behavior by the extracellular matrix
Whasil Lee, PhDMusculoskeletal cell mechanics, mechanosensitive ion channels, knee joint tissue development, aging, disease and repair
Elena Lomakina, PhDCell adhesion, mechanical and thermodynamic properties of biological membranes; cellular mechanics and function of cytoskeletal proteins
Anne Luebke, PhDRole of cochlear outer hair cells in hearing and hearing loss, at both the molecular and systems levels
James L. McGrath, PhDCell motility, and quantitative light microscopy
Jong-Hoon Nam, PhDBiophysics of inner ear sensory cells, cell mechanics
Edward M. Schwarz, PhDPro-inflammatory cytokine signal transduction and novel drug and gene therapies for Rheumatoid Arthritis.
Vats, KanikaBiomedical nanotechnology, biomimetic membranes, cell-material interactions
Richard E. Waugh, PhD Cell adhesion, mechanical and thermodynamic properties of biological membranes; cellular mechanics and function of cytoskeletal proteins
David Wu, PhDBiochemical engineering, fermentation, biocatalysis, bone marrow tissue engineering, molecular biology
Yeh, Shu-Chi Intravital imaging-based approaches for direct visualization, quantification, and molecular profiling of the local regulatory machineries that harbor the skeletal, hematopoietic, and malignant stem cells