TISSUE ENGINEERING JOURNAL CLUB
We believe that bringing the entire tissue engineering community together could make a significant impact for everyone, and we started taking the first steps towards achieving that.
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Past Tissue Engineering Journal Club Events
FEBRUARY 2022
Speaker: Dr. David Schaffer, Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Bioengineering, and Neuroscience at UC Berkeley
Talk Title: Molecular Elucidation and Engineering of Stem Cell Fate Decisions
Dr. David Schaffer is a Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Bioengineering, and Neuroscience at University of California, Berkeley, where he also serves as the Director of the Berkeley Stem Cell Center and the Director of QB3-Berkeley. He earned his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and conducted a postdoctoral fellowship in the laboratory of Fred Gage at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, CA, before moving to UC Berkeley in 1999. At Berkeley, Dr. Schaffer applies engineering principles to enhance stem cell and gene therapy approaches for neuroregeneration. This work includes mechanistic investigation of stem cell control, as well as molecular evolution and engineering of viral gene delivery vehicles.
DECEMBER 2021
Speaker: Dr. Claire Bomkamp, Senior Scientist at The Good Food Institute
Talk Title: Scaffolding Requirements for Cultivated Meat
Dr. Claire Bomkamp serves as the cultivated seafood-focused Senior Scientist at the Good Food Institute (GFI) and is a member of GFI’s Sustainable Seafood Initiative. She focuses on analyzing the technical landscape of the cultivated seafood industry, identifying bottlenecks, and engaging researchers in order to move cultivated seafood technology forward. She holds a PhD in neuroscience from the University of British Columbia and a bachelors in behavioral neuroscience from Western Washington University. Her academic research used both cell culture and computational techniques to understand molecular mechanisms of neuronal connectivity and function, and she has also been heavily involved in youth science outreach programs.
OCTOBER 2021
Speaker: Dr. Jessica M. Gluck is the Assistant Professor of Textile Engineering, Chemistry, and Science at North Carolina State University.
Talk Title: The Role of the Microenvironment in Tissue Engineering
Dr. Gluck works in the area of tissue engineering, specifically studying how the microenvironment influences cellular differentiation and function. She received her PhD in Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Physiology (2013) from UCLA. Her doctoral and postdoctoral work focused on recapitulating the cardiovascular progenitor cell niche and developing a biopacemaker using biomaterials and stem cells, respectively. Dr. Gluck worked at a small biotech startup dedicated to 3D bioprinting corneal tissue before joining the faculty at NC State University in 2019. Her research group is continuing to focus on cardiac and corneal tissue engineering.
SEPTEMBER 2021
Speaker: Dr. Cole DeForest is the Weyerhaeuser Endowed Associate Professor in the Departments of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering, as well as a core faculty member of the Institute for Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine at the University of Washington (UW) where he began in 2014.
Talk Title: User-Programmable Hydrogel Biomaterials to Probe and Direct 4D Stem Cell Fate.
Dr. DeForest earned his Ph.D. degree under the guidance of Dr. Kristi Anseth from the University of Colorado in Chemical and Biological Engineering with an additional certificate in Molecular Biophysics. His postdoctoral research was performed with Dr. David Tirrell in the Divisions of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at the California Institute of Technology. He has published ~55 peer-reviewed articles, including as the corresponding author for those appearing in Nature Materials, Nature Chemistry, Advanced Materials, JACS, PNAS, Science Advances, and Nature Reviews Materials.
AUGUST 2021
Speaker: Dr. Bhushan Mahadik is the Assistant Director for the NIH Center for Engineering Complex Tissues (CECT).
Talk Title: Role of Bioreactors in Complex Tissue Engineering.
Dr. Mahadik's research background spans tissue engineering techniques aimed at developing 3D biomaterial platforms to engineer the hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) niche, studying the effects of the bone marrow microenvironment on stem cell biology, and utilizing microfluidics-based and 3D printing biofabrication techniques to design patterned, heterogeneous tissues. His research interests involve the use of Biomedical and Tissue Engineering approaches in translational science to develop clinically relevant therapies for patients.
JULY 2021
Speaker: Dr. Erin Lavik is a Professor of Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) as well as the Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development in the College of Engineering and Information Technology.
Talk Title: Engineering Models for Repair and Understanding of Neural Tissues.
Dr. Lavik’s research focuses on engineering polymers to protect and repair the nervous system and treat trauma more broadly. The projects in the lab include developing intravenously administered nanoparticles to stop internal bleeding, drug delivery systems for diseases of the eye, and printing tissue models for high throughput screening applications.
JUNE 2021
Speaker: Amy Alexander is the Unit Head of Biomechanical Development & Applied Computational Engineering at Mayo Clinic’s Division of Engineering.
Talk Title: 3D Printing in Medicine and Applications in Tissue Mimicking Materials.
Amy Alexander received her Master of Science in Engineering Management from the Milwaukee School of Engineering and her certificate in Additive Manufacturing for Innovative Design and Production from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
MARCH 2021
Speaker: Dr. Trivia Frazier, PhD, MBA is the CEO and President of Obatala Sciences, a biotechnology toolkit company based in New Orleans, LA.
Talk Title: Fat-on-a-Chip for Drug Discovery and Preclinical Studies
Dr. Frazier will discuss the company’s Obacell Fat-on-a-Chip™ System for Drug Discovery, which is an adipocyte organoid system consisting of ObaGel™, Obatala’s human-derived hydrogel, in-house isolated stem cells, and in-house manufactured adipogenic media. The ObaCell™ system can be used for drug efficacy studies targeting new treatments for diabetes, obesity, and cancer and can be used in co-cultures with other cells to create mutli-organ models.
FEBRUARY 2021
Speaker: Dr. Callie Higgins, a Materials Research Engineer at the National Institute of Standards and Technology
Talk Title: Vat Photopolymerization: A Transformative Tool for Regenerative Medicine
Dr. Higgins’ presentation, Vat Photopolymerization: A Transformative Tool for Regenerative Medicine, focuses on supporting innovation in the photopolymer additive manufacturing industry by enabling unprecedented high-resolution, mechanically-precise vat photopolymerization via fundamental understanding informed by novel voxel and sub-voxel-scale characterization throughout all major stages of the printing process. This technology has the potential to transform tissue engineering via precise, micron-scale property control, which was the focus of her PhD research at the University of Colorado.
JANUARY 2021
Speaker: Dr. Shubhankar Nath, Ph.D., Senior Scientist at CELLINK
Talk Title: 3D Bioprinted Models for Immuno-oncology Applications
Dr. Shubhankar Nath received his doctorate from The University of Texas at Austin in 2016. His thesis work focused on the secretory mechanisms of T cells, and his postdoctoral training was in photodynamic therapy at the Wellman Center for Photomedicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School under the mentorship of Professor Tayyaba Hasan. He is currently a Senior Scientist at CELLINK where he is developing 3D bioprinted tissue and tumor models for drug discovery and regenerative medicine.
Reference Publication: Kercher EM, Nath S, Rizvi I, Spring BQ. Cancer Cell-targeted and Activatable Photoimmunotherapy Spares T Cells in a 3D Coculture Model. Photochem Photobiol. 2020
NOVEMBER 2020
Speaker: Dr. Stephanie Willerth, Chief Executive Officer at Axolotl Biosciences | Canada Research Chair and a full professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Victoria | Acting Director of the Centre for Biomedical Research.
Talk Title: 3D Bioprinting Complex Tissue Models
Dr. Stephanie Willerth’s research combines stem cells, tissue engineering, drug delivery, cellular reprogramming, and 3D bioprinting.
Reference Publications:
1. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/
S2468451120300118 Walus, K., Beyer, S., and Willerth, S.M. 3D bioprinting healthy and disease models of brain tissue using stem cells. Current Opinion in Biomedical Engineering, 2020, 14. 25-33
2. Davoodi, E.,...W., Willerth, S.M., Extrusion and microfluidic- based bioprinting to fabricate biomimetic tissues and organs. Advanced Materials Technologies. 1901044.1-30.
DECEMBER 2020
Speaker: Tomas Gonzalez-Fernandez, American Heart Association postdoctoral fellow in the Leach Laboratory at the University of California, Davis
Talk Title: Cell-Instructive Materials for 3D Bioprinting: From Stem Cells to Functional Musculoskeletal Tissues
Dr. Gonzalez-Fernandez’ research focuses on the combination of stem cells, biomaterials, and 3D bioprinting strategies for musculoskeletal tissue engineering. He received his PhD in Bioengineering from Trinity College Dublin. At Trinity College, he researched the development of novel bioinks for spatial gene delivery for cartilage and bone 3D printing.
OCTOBER 2020
Speaker: Olaia Vila, PhD Postdoctoral Researcher Gladstone Institute, UCSF
Talk Title: Engineering Neuromuscular Circuits
Dr. Vila shared her cutting edge research using neuromuscular junctions grown in 3D to examine changes in muscle control in myasthenia gravis.
Reference Publication: In vitro models of neuromuscular junctions and their potential for novel drug discovery and development Vila, O.F, et al. Expert Opinion on Drug Discovery March, 2020
MAY 2020
Speaker: Courtney Gegg, PhD Senior Director of Tissue Engineering
Talk Title: Engineering Cartilage with Biomimetic Structure and Function
Dr. Gegg reviewed methods and approaches for replicating the structure and function of natural cartilage for therapeutic applications.
Reference Publications:
Nanoparticle-Mediated TGF-β Release from Microribbon-Based Hydrogels Accelerates Stem Cell-Based Cartilage Formation In Vivo. Ann Biomed Eng, May 6, 2020.
Spatially patterned microribbon-based hydrogels induce zonally-organized cartilage regeneration by stem cells in 3D. Acta Biomater, Oct 9, 2019
Thyroid hormones enhance the biomechanical functionality of scaffold-free neocartilage. Arthritis Res Ther, February 11, 2015
JUNE 2020
Speaker: Melanie Matheu, PhD Founder and CEO of Prellis Biologics
Talk Title: A review of current bioprinting methods and recent tissue engineering advances
Dr. Matheu provided an overview of the status of the tissue engineering field by reviewing recent publications in the space.
Reference Publications:
Designing Biomimetic Triple-Layered Nanofibrous Vascular Grafts via Combinatorial Electrospinning Approach. J Nanosci Nanotechnol, Oct 1, 2020
Hair-bearing human skin generated entirely from pluripotent stem cells. Nature, June 3, 2020.
Harnessing nerve–muscle cell interactions for biomaterials‐based skeletal muscle regeneration. Society For Biomaterials, June 3, 2020
JULY 2020
Speaker: Aravind Natarajan, PhD Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Hematology at the Stanford University School of Medicine
Talk Title: Engineering E. coli to produce mucin-type O-glycoproteins
Reference Publication: A cell-free biosynthesis platform for modular construction of protein glycosylation pathways. Nature Communications, Kightlinger W. et al November, 2019.
AUGUST 2020
Speaker: Gavan Wilhite VP of Software Engineering Prellis Biologics
Talk Title: A Software Approach: From Games to Tissue
Gavan Wilhite shares how he is bringing the principles of 3D game design to the development of complex physiologic human tissues.
SEPTEMBER 2020
Speaker: Iman Yazdi, PhD Principal Biomedical Engineer at LiquiGlide
Talk Title: Harnessing Biomaterials Potential for Matrix-Guided Angiogenesis
Dr. Yazdi shared a deep-dive on the usage of various biomaterials in the development of complex tissues, drug delivery and reviewed recent advances in biomedical engineering with live cells to induce angiogenesis.
Reference Publications: Synthetic nanoparticles functionalized with biomimetic leukocyte membranes possess cell-like functions. Nature Nanotechnology January 2013
FEBRUARY 2020
Speaker: Milad Khorrami, PhD Director of Chemistry, Prellis Biologics
Talk Title: Fabrication of 3D Microstructures for Organic Bioelectronics and Tissue Engineering Applications
Dr. Khorrami outlined a practical approach to bioprinting electrical networks capable of supporting cell growth.
Reference publication: Conducting polymer microcontainers for biomedical applications. Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc, July 2017
AUGUST 2019
Speaker: Theo Roth CTO of Arsenal Bio
Talk Title: Reprogramming Immune Cell Function and Specificity
Theo Roth, CTO of Arsenal Bio shared the team's cutting edge work and CRISPR-based genetic engineering of human T cells.
Website: www.arsenalbio.com
Reference publications:
1. Nguyen, D.N., Roth, T.L., Li, P.J. et al. Polymer-stabilized Cas9 nanoparticles and modified repair templates increase genome editing efficiency. Nat Biotechnol 38, 44–49 (2020)
2. Leenay, R.T., Aghazadeh, A., Hiatt, J. et al. Large dataset enables prediction of repair after CRISPR–Cas9 editing in primary T cells. Nat Biotechnol 37, 1034–1037 (2019).
3. Simeonov DR, et al. A large CRISPR-induced bystander mutation causes immune dysregulation. Commun Biol. 2019 Feb 18;2:70.
SEPTEMBER 2019
Speaker: Mayasari Lim, PhD Regional Account Manager at RoosterBio
Talk Title: Radically Simplifying Clinical Translation and Scale Up of hMSCs for Tissue Engineering
Sourcing of cells for large scale tissue engineering is a critical roadblock when working to develop 3D tissues. Dr. Lim shared how RoosterBio
Website: www.roosterbio.com
Reference publications:
1. https://www.roosterbio.com/bioprinting-biofabrication/cells-as-bioinks-for-3d-bioprinting/
2. Angelopoulos, Ioannis & Allenby, Mark & Lim, Mayasari & Zamorano, Mauricio. (2019). Engineering inkjet bioprinting processes toward translational therapies. Biotechnology and Bioengineering. 117. 10.1002/bit.27176.
Speaker 2: Subhadeep Das, PhD Founder and CEO of Convalesce
Talk Title: Neural Tissue Engineering for Therapeutics
Dr. Das provided insight into the importance of novel biomaterials for therapeutic cell transplant in neuronal tissues.
Reference publications:
Das, S., Zhou, K., Ghosh, D. et al. Implantable amyloid hydrogels for promoting stem cell differentiation to neurons. NPG Asia Mater 8, e304 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/am.2016.116
Das S, Jacob RS, Patel K, Singh N, Maji SK. Amyloid Fibrils: Versatile Biomaterials for Cell Adhesion and Tissue Engineering Applications. Biomacromolecules. 2018 Jun 11;19(6):1826-1839. doi: 10.1021/acs.biomac.8b00279. Epub 2018 May 9. PMID: 29701992. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29701992/
NOVEMBER 2019
Speaker 1: Sara R-Vaziri, PhD Postdoctoral Fellow, Stanford University
Talk Title: Heterogeneity and Genetic Variation of Cardiac Cells on cardiac Injury and Repair
Dr. R-Vaziri is a cardiac tissue development specialist who shared her cutting edge research in cardiac tissue development.
Reference publication: Park S, Ranjbarvaziri S, Lay FD, Zhao P, Miller MJ, Dhaliwal JS, Huertas-Vazquez A, Wu X, Qiao R, Soffer JM, Rau C, Wang Y, Mikkola HKA, Lusis AJ, Ardehali R. Genetic Regulation of Fibroblast Activation and Proliferation in Cardiac Fibrosis. Circulation. 2018 Sep 18;138(12):1224-1235. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.118.035420. PMID: 29950403; PMCID: PMC6202226.
DECEMBER 2019
Speaker: Priya Mohindra, PhD Postdoctoral Scholar, UCSF
Talk Title: Hang on Tight: Reprogramming the Cell with Microstructural Cues
Dr. Mohindra provided a detailed review of the role of materials in cell adhesion and development, a critical component of tissue engineering.
Reference publication: Injectable hyaluronic acid based microrods provide local micromechanical and biochemical cues to attenuate cardiac fibrosis after myocardial infarction. Biomaterials, March 24, 2018
Speaker 2: Renaud Schuck, PhD Lead Engineer at Koniku
Talk Title: Discussing the use of Neurons in Detection Platforms
Dr. Schuck shared insights into the novel technology of in vitro neuron growth and using neurons as a detection platform for small molecules in the environment.
Reference publication: R Schuck, MA Go, S Garasto, S Reynolds, PL Dragotti, SR Schultz. Multiphoton minimal inertia scanning for fast acquisition of neural activity signals. Journal of neural engineering. 15 (2) (2018).
3. Simeonov DR, et al. A large CRISPR-induced bystander mutation causes immune dysregulation. Commun Biol. 2019 Feb 18;2:70.
JUNE 2019
Speaker 1: Hunter Jackson, PhD Computational Biology, 3Scan
Talk Title: Pre-Press: Mapping Neurons in the Cardiac System
Dr. Jackson shared a preprint article that defined the RNA expression patterns in cardiac neurons that defined the 3D spatial location of specific nerves in the rat heart.
Reference publication: Zimmer, T., Haufe, V., & Blechschmidt, S. (2014). Voltage-gated sodium channels in the mammalian heart. Global cardiology science & practice, 2014(4)
JULY 2019
Speaker: Mubhij Ahmad, MSc. Co-founder of DNALite Therapeutics
Talk Title: Using the GI tract as an Engineering Platform
Mubhij Ahmad shared the promise of a therapeutic delivery system that leverages the machinery of human cells. He discussed the development of human tissues for transplantation, clean meat, stem cell sourcing, and applications of associated technologies. He emphasized and further discussed how the GI tract he is looking at utilizing the GI tract as a means of an Engineering platform.
Website: www.dnalite.com
Reference publication: https://indiebio.co/dnalite-new-age-medicine-emerging/
