Abstract: Engineered biomaterials have emerged as powerful tools for a range of biomedical applications, including regenerative medicine, drug delivery, and additive manufacturing. These engineered biomaterials possess tunable biophysical properties, specific biochemical cues, and complex architecture, enabling precise control over cellular behavior. In this talk, I will outline three biomaterials-based approaches developed in our lab for biomedical applications. Firstly, I will highlight how engineered biomaterials can be used to control and direct cellular functions. Our work has resulted in a new class of biomaterials for bone regeneration and mitochondrial biogenesis. The second approach emphasizes the design of biomaterials tailored for the sustained and controlled release of therapeutics, targeting osteoarthritis treatment, angiogenesis promotion, and wound healing. We have pioneered a suite of nano-toolkits adept at delivering both small molecular drugs and sizeable proteins, characterized by efficient loading and adaptable release dynamics. Lastly, I will demonstrate the design of 3D printing bioelectronics and anatomically sized tissue constructs. These advanced tissue structures enable the creation of physiologically accurate tissue models, replicating complex disease conditions like vascular pathophysiology and intricate vascularized tumor representations.

Biography: Dr. Akhilesh K. Gaharwar is the Tim and Amy Leach Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Presidential Impact Fellow at Texas A&M University. He received his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Purdue University and completed his postdoctoral training at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University. The goal of his lab is to design new biomaterials for regeneration, therapy and biomanufacturing. In particular, his lab is leveraging principles from materials science, cell biology, additive biomanufacturing, and high-throughput genomics to design smart and responsive biomaterials, with wide-ranging applications in the field of bioengineering. Dr. Gaharwar is a Fellow of the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), and a senior member of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI).

~ BME Host: Taimoor H. Qazi ~