University of Otago Collaboration Visit

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S. McLoughlin and Dr. Jaydee Cabral

Shannon McLoughlin, a PhD Candidate in Professor John Fisher’s Tissue Engineering and Biomaterials Lab (TEBL), traveled to University of Otago in New Zealand to work with Associate Professor Jaydee Cabral on 3D printing nipple areolar complex (NAC) scaffolds for mastectomy patients. Dr. Cabral recently received a grant from the Royal Society of New Zealand Catalyst Fund for this collaborative work with Dr. Fisher’s lab. The proposal focuses on the use of 3D printing to generate vascularized NAC constructs and culturing them in 3D printed bioreactor systems. Shannon worked with an undergraduate honor’s student Emma Jackson on bioink synthesis, endothelial cell culture, and 3D bioprinting on the GeSIM Bioscaffolder. In addition to working in Dr. Cabral’s lab, she attended Queenstown Research Week Molecular Biology Meeting to present the lab’s work on “Biofabrication Strategies for the Generation of Bone Tissue Interfaces.” Outside of the lab, they explored Queenstown and Dunedin, learned about the rich history and culture of New Zealand, and even saw some penguins on the Peninsula!

S. McLoughlin and E. Jackson
bioprinting
S. McLoughlin presenting at the Queenstown Research
Week Molecular Biology Meeting

Story written by Shannon McLoughlin

2023 Fischell Fellowship in Biomedical Engineering

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On Friday, August 25, more than 80 Fischell Department of Bioengineering graduate students, faculty, and staff celebrated at the University of Maryland Golf Course for the sixth annual EPIC Retreat where the 2023 Fischell Fellows were announced.

The Fischell Fellowship is a remarkable opportunity for graduate students pursuing research and product design within the biomedical industry. But what does it mean to be a Fischell Fellow? The Fellowship is given to individuals for recognition of their work and achievements and provides them with more than just the ability to fund their Ph.D. projects. This fellowship encourages recipients to submit invention disclosures for their research in order to push their scientific findings toward commercialization, enabling their discoveries to help people across the world.

This year, the Department announced the two recipients of the 2023 Fischell Fellowship in Biomedical Engineering as David Boegner and Shannon McLoughlin. Shannon is a fifth year PhD student conducting her research here in the Tissue Engineering and Biomaterials Laboratory. Her research involves enhancing extrusion bioprinting resolution to generate thin membranous tissue structures, such as the periosteum.


“I’m incredibly honored to be selected for this award and am extremely grateful to the Department for supporting me throughout my final year,”

“This fellowship has given me the opportunity to focus on the translational capacity of my research so that the promise of the technologies I’ve developed in the lab can become a clinical reality.”

Shannon McLoughlin

BIOE Student Researchers Receive 2023 SFB Awards

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Blake Kuzemchak (left), Dr. John Fisher (middle), and Efran Jabari (right)

The Fischell Department of Bioengineering (BIOE) left a mark at this year’s Society For Biomaterials (SFB) 2023 Annual Meeting and Exposition. On April 19, 2023, senior Blake Kuzemchak and recent alum Erfan Jabari were awarded the SFB 2023 Outstanding Undergraduate Student Research Award and the C. William Hall Scholarship, respectively. Kuzemchak and Jabari have both worked in BIOE Chair Dr. John Fisher’s Tissue Engineering & Biomaterials Lab (TEBL). 

On receiving his award, Kuzemchak said that it felt great to be recognized for his efforts. However, the most valuable part of this experience, he said, was learning to write and publish a lead-author manuscript. It gives him a head start for what is coming in graduate school.

Kuzemchak is interested in studying regenerative medicine and bionics for amputees. Specifically, he wants to develop neural interfaces that take advantage of the regenerative properties of peripheral nerves to make a far more robust nerve recording device than what the field offers now. Amputees could control more advanced bionics with a more natural feel with this new recording scheme. In fact, these neural implants could, in general, allow the average person to interface their nervous system directly with machines rather than through physical touch. 

Kuzemchak enjoyed working in Fisher’s lab and was given a lot of independence after training—a rare opportunity for undergraduate researchers.

“I have an excellent graduate student mentor, Robert Choe, who helped me understand the key principles of tissue engineering and the workflow of research to shape my raw passion into productive research,” he said. “Robert pushed me to be independent and creative in my work, which I used to publish my manuscript. It has been, and continues to be, a rewarding experience working in the TEBL.” 

This project started as proposed by Fisher and turned into one of his projects. His research was on developing a material that mimics the electrical properties of skin that can be 3D printed on demand into complex structures. This can be used to calibrate Bioimpedance Spectroscopy (BIS) devices that take advantage of the electrical properties of tissue to identify skin cancer. Typical natural materials cannot be readily 3D printed to recapitulate complex tissue and tumor geometries, which can often skew results for BIS devices. However, the semi-synthetic material he developed and characterized is 3D printable and maintains similar electrical properties to the skin. 

Jabari is a recent BIOE graduate and has been a member of TEBL since 2019. He has assisted with osteochondral bioprinting studies and completed an honors thesis in bone regeneration. These experiences helped him better grasp the exciting role bioengineering plays in solving medicine’s most complex challenges and reinforced his interest in regenerative medicine.

Jabari noted that to be nominated by Fisher and to receive this scholarship award were exciting accomplishments. It was encouraging for his previous undergraduate thesis and the planned National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR)/TEBL post-bac research endeavors to be celebrated by SFB.

“During my junior and senior years, I completed an honors thesis that explored the role of hematopoietic osteoclasts in bone formation as a tissue engineering strategy for defect repair,” he explained. “The human mesenchymal stromal cell/osteoclast coculture system developed in this work elucidates the anabolic coupling capacity of osteoclasts and provides a platform for future investigations of osteoclast-directed bone formation.” 

Jabari plans to utilize the skills he gained from this experience to develop transplantable bone marrow models and investigate hematopoietic stem cell mechanobiology as an NIDCR/TEBL post-bac.

Story from the Fischell Department of Bioengineering.

Five BIOE Students & Alumni Named NSF Graduate Research Fellows

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Five members of the BIOE community were named recipients of the prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program. Three of these members are our very own Ryan Felix, Erfan Jabari, and Amal Shabazz.

The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) was established to ensure the vitality and diversity of the scientific and engineering workforce of the United States. The program recognizes outstanding graduate students who are pursuing full-time, research-based master’s and doctoral degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

Ryan Felix 

Ryan Felix is a first-year BIOE Ph.D. student in BIOE chair John Fisher’s Tissue Engineering & Biomaterials Lab (TEBL). Felix’s work involves the application of machine intelligence to the challenges facing 3D bioprinting by advancing a scientific understanding of how to improve tissue-engineered designs. 

“Working in Dr. Fisher’s lab has been a treasure. I’m blessed to be part of a cohort of Ph.D. students who are highly knowledgeable and driven toward progressing in the field of tissue engineering, all led by such an excellent mentor, researcher, and engineer,” Felix said. After graduation, he wants to pursue entrepreneurship built upon his Ph.D. work. “I think Maryland is a great place to pursue this as there are countless resources from the university and the state to support new bioengineering technologies going to market,” he said. 

Felix is overjoyed and grateful to have been selected for the fellowship. The funding will allow him to pursue his research and, hopefully, dramatically increase his research productivity by alleviating funding challenges. 

Erfan Jabari 

Erfan Jabari is a recent BIOE graduate and has been a member of Fisher’s Tissue Engineering & Biomaterials Lab since 2019. He has assisted with osteochondral bioprinting studies and completed an honors thesis in bone regeneration. These experiences helped him better grasp the exciting role of bioengineering in solving medicine’s most complex challenges and reinforced his interest in regenerative medicine.

To continue exploring this interest, Jabari will work with the Tissue Engineering & Biomaterials Lab (TEBL) and the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR)’s Immune Regulation Unit to engineer transplantable bone marrow as a National Institute of Health postbaccalaureate. “I am excited to further my involvement with TEBL’s supportive team of scientists who have already contributed so much to my growth as an engineer,” he said. 

In the future, he aims to serve as a clinician-scientist at the intersection of research and healthcare. By translating engineering innovations from bench to bedside in this position, he hopes to contribute to the actualization of regenerative therapies that will improve standards of care and human health outcomes globally. 

Jabari stated that winning the NSF fellowship was a huge honor. Although he will not accept the award, receiving such a prestigious offer has boosted his confidence to continue pursuing impactful research as an aspiring clinician-scientist. Jabari will apply for Medical Scientist Training Programs, which are federally funded and best suit his interest in translational medicine. 

Amal Shabazz 

Amal Shabazz is a first-year Ph.D. in Fisher’s Tissue Engineering & Biomaterials Lab (TEBL). She is interested in using tissue engineering, biomaterials, and stem cells to create regenerative medicine solutions for healthcare-related problems. She enjoys having the ability to work on solutions that can directly impact patients’ lives. 

“[In the lab,] I have the opportunity to work with a skilled team to study and explore 3D-printing solutions for various applications. In my first year, I am focused on learning as many skills as possible,” Shabazz said. 

After graduation, her goal is to close the gap in health disparities in the scientific community’s care and treatment of people of color. She would like to develop solutions that consider the treatment of different populations of people. After earning her Ph.D., she wants to continue research to work towards these solutions.

Shabazz is elated to have been chosen by the GRFP to represent the next generation of scientists within the STEM field. She is excited about the independence in research that comes with being a fellow. This opportunity will place her among an elite group of researchers and give her more opportunities for professional development beyond graduate school.

Congratulations to all five students on this achievement.

Story from the Fischell Department of Bioengineering.

BIOE Ph.D. Candidate Courtney Johnson Recognized at NSBE49

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The National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) hosted its 49th Annual Convention (NSBE49) on March 22–25, 2023. The event brought 13,000 attendees to Kansas City for a week of technical, professional, and soft-skill development. The University of Maryland (UMD) had much to celebrate at NSBE49, as three Maryland Engineering students were recognized for their leadership in advancing NSBE as an organization. One such student was Fischelle Department of Bioengineering Ph.D. candidate Courtney Johnson.

Johnson was recognized during the Golden Torch Awards (GTA), which celebrates NSBE members and corporations that have done phenomenal work to advance the mission of the society. It also celebrates Black engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally, and leave a positive impact on their community.

During the GTA, Johnson was recognized as the Mike Shinn NSBE Distinguished Member (Male), a prestigious honor given to members considered role models in NSBE based on their academic and professional success and service to the organization. Johnson has exemplified this criterion since becoming an NSBE member in 2012. He has been a leader for eight years at the chapter, regional, and national levels.

As National Programs Chair, Johnson was responsible for the strategic plan concerning the programs and partnerships needed to accomplish the society’s 2025 goal of graduating 10,000 Black engineers annually. Additionally, he has awarded over $500,000 in scholarships and grants to members and chapters as the head of NSBE’s Scholarships and Awards Committee. Johnson has established long-standing partnerships with STEM organizations, such as Engineers Without Borders and DiscoverE, to conduct robust and diverse programming for NSBE members.

“In my speech, I spoke of how NSBE impacted my life significantly and was an integral part of my journey to becoming an engineer and to working toward a cure for diabetes,” he said. Johnson concluded his acceptance speech by dedicating the award to his mother, who was celebrating her birthday that night and attending her first NSBE conference.

Story written by Courtney Johnson.

Published May 5, 2023