IMSE Seminar with Yunzhi Peter Yang on Bone Tissue Engineering: What Have We Learned from Bone?
Musculoskeletal disorders have an estimated cost of US$950 billion annually, placing a significant economic burden on national healthcare systems of the United States. Musculoskeletal ailments severely impact mobility, dramatically reducing the quality of life for patients, especially the elderly. Regenerative medicine and tissue engineering hold great promise to improve the treatment of these diseases and trauma as well as to restore lost functions. Despite great progress in the past two decades, there are still three fundamental challenges in tissue engineering that hinder translation and clinical success, including how to recreate microenvironments to control cell fate, how to promote vascularization for cell viability, and how to harness stem cells as cell source. In this presentation, I will introduce and discuss our bio-inspired approaches to integrate materials science and engineering, bone and stem cell biology, and orthopedic surgery to systematically address these challenges.
Yunzhi Peter Yang (PhD) is a Full Professor with tenure in the Departments of Orthopaedic Surgery, (by courtesy) of Materials Science and Engineering, and of Bioengineering at Stanford University. Dr. Yang’s research interests are in the areas of biomaterials, drug delivery, medical devices and hybprinting for musculoskeletal tissue engineering (MTE). Hybrinting is a special type of 3-D printing, which is a hybrid of materials plus bioagents to create unique hybrid structures. Dr. Yang’s research leads to more than 150 peer-reviewed journal papers, more than 40 patents and patent applications, multiple technology licensing, and a commercially available research tool. His research program has been funded by US federal government, non-profit foundations, and global industry leaders. He also serves on prestigious journal editorial boards and is a standing member of NIH MTE study section. He is a recipient of research and teaching awards including the March of Dimes Birth Defect Foundation Award, the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation Translational Award, the Annals of Biomedical Engineering Award, the NIH Star Award, and the TechConnect Innovation Award for 3D printing. He has been inducted to be an AIMBE fellow in 2020. His research in synthetic bone grafts and stem cells has been featured by Science News, New York Times, Telegraph, Wired and TV stations.
Faculty, students, and the general public are invited.