Description:

Gordana Vunjak‐Novakovic, PhD
Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Medical Sciences
Columbia University

Thursday, May 26th
4:00-5:00PM, Tech L361
Host: Professor Guillermo Ameer

Title:
“Engineering Human Tissues for Regenerative Medicine and Study of Disease”

Abstract:
Tissue engineering is becoming increasingly successful with authentically representing the actual environmental milieu of the development, regeneration and disease. A classical paradigm of tissue engineering is related to the integrated use of human stem cells, biomaterial scaffolds (structural and logistic templates for tissue formation) and bioreactors (culture systems providing environmental
control, molecular and physical signaling) in regenerative medicine. Today, living human tissues can be bioengineered from the autologous stem cells, and tailored to the patient and the medical condition being treated. A reverse paradigm is now emerging with the development of platforms for modeling of integrated human physiology, using iPS cell derived micro‐issues of different types functionally connected by microvasculature. The biological fidelity of these “tissues on a chip” and the capability for high‐throughput work and real‐time measurement of physiological responses are poised to transform preclinical drug screening and modeling of human disease. This talk will discuss the biomimetic approach as the common underlying principle for tissue engineering, and some recent advances in the application of this approach to regenerative medicine, modeling of disease,
and drug screening.