The Center for Engineering Complex Tissues (CECT) has officially launched its new website!

The CECT is a NIBIB/NIH Biomedical Technology Research Center (BTRC) aiming to grow the 3D printing and bioprinting community. It is a joint effort between TEBL at the University of Maryland with the Biomaterials Lab at Rice University and Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) at Wake Forest University. The Center is headed by TEBL PI Dr. John Fisher and features projects building on our previous work developing a tubular perfusion system (TPS) bioreactor that enables human mesenchymal stem cell expansion, their osteoblastic differentiation, and subsequent formation of boney tissue.

More information about the Center and its new website can be found here.

TEBL Principal Investigator and Fischell Department of Bioengineering(BIOE) Chair John Fisher was named co-Editor-in-Chief of Tissue Engineering Parts A, B, and C, effective January 1.

Tissue Engineering is the preeminent biomedical journal advancing the field with cutting-edge research and applications on all aspects of tissue growth and regeneration. The multidisciplinary journal brings together the principles of engineering and life sciences in tissue development and regenerative medicine. Tissue Engineering is divided into three parts, providing a central forum for groundbreaking scientific research and developments of clinical applications from leading experts in the field that will enable contributions to the ultimate care of patients. Fisher will serve alongside co-Editor-in-Chief Dr. Antonios Mikos of Rice University’s Department of Bioengineering.

Fisher’s work will focus most specifically on Tissue Engineering, Part A, the authoritative peer-reviewed journal centered on the convergence of the life sciences, engineering, and medicine for the generation of viable biological tissues to better fundamentally understand and treat human disease. Part A publishes 24 issues per year.

In December, Fisher was awarded the 2017 Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine – Americas (TERMIS-AM) Senior Scientist award for his contributions to the field.

In addition to his role as BIOE chair, Fisher serves as director of the newly established National Institutes of Health-funded Biomedical Technology Resource Center (BTRC) dedicated to advancing techniques to create complex tissues and parts of the body, such as for organs and bone. Funded in part by a $6.25 million NIH grant, the Center for Engineering Complex Tissues(link is external) (CECT) aims to create a broad community focusing on 3-D printing and bioprinting for regenerative medicine applications.

PhD student Vincent (Che-Ying) Kuo successfully defended his thesis, earning a PhD. He will be working for the Children’s National Health System researching projects on 3D bioprinting, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, and placental diseases such as preeclampsia. Congratulations, Vincent!

TEBL Principal Investigator John Fisher was named the recipient of the 2017 Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine – Americas (TERMIS-AM) Senior Scientist Award.

The award honors active contributors to the field whose body of work spans 10+ years and is well recognized by members of the tissue engineering and regenerative medicine community. Fisher formally received the award on Tuesday, Dec. 5, at the TERMIS-AM annual conference and exhibition in Charlotte, N.C.

“I am truly honored to receive the TERMIS-Americas Senior Scientist Award,” Fisher said. “It is humbling to be chosen by esteemed colleagues and peers in the field, as they reflect the thoughts of those most informed by this work. I am amazed at how our efforts in biomaterials, bioreactors, and 3D printing have grown in impact over the years. And, I am moved by the support I have received – from academic mentors, our lab researchers, and from my family; their support has made all of this possible.”

In addition to his role as PI, Fisher is the chair of the Bioengineering Department and serves as Fischell Family Distinguished Professor and director of a newly established National Institutes of Health-funded Biomedical Technology Resource Center (BTRC) dedicated to advancing techniques to create complex tissues and parts for the body, such as for organs and bone. Funded in part by a $6.25 million NIH grant, the Center for Engineering Complex Tissues (CECT)(link is external) aims to create a broad community focusing on 3D printing and bioprinting for regenerative medicine applications.

In his role as director of the Tissue Engineering and Biomaterials Laboratory, Fisher works with his research group to investigate biomaterials, stem cells, bioprinting and bioreactors for the regeneration of lost tissues, particularly bone, cartilage, and cardiovascular tissues. Most recently, Fisher’s laboratory has worked on developing strategies for the 3D printing of a variety of tissue engineering biomaterials and scaffolds. Overall, the laboratory has published more than 140 articles, book chapters, and proceedings, and delivered over 285 invited and contributed presentations while utilizing $15 million in financial support from NIH, the National Science Foundation, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the U.S. Department of Defense, and others.

Fisher currently serves as Chair Elect of TERMIS-AM. His work and contributions to the field were recently highlighted in Baltimore’s National Public Radio station’s On the Record program(link is external).

Congratulations to Dr. Josephine Lembong and Dr. Marco Santoro, both postdoctoral fellows in our lab, for winning fellowships from the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund (MSCRF)! Josephine’s proposal was titled “Stem Cell Expansion and Differentiation in Bioreactors via Coupling of Substrate Curvature and Shear Stress” while Marco’s was titled “Development of Tissue-Engineered Vascularized Scaffolds via 3D Printing of Endothelial/Stem Cells”. These fellowships will support their ongoing efforts in the lab.

For a full list of 2017 Awardees, visit the MSCRF Website.