Tissue Engineering & Regenerative Medicine

Host responses to combination products, biomaterial interactions with dendritic cells, tissue engineering for rheumatoid arthritis, targeted DNA vaccine delivery, and biomaterial-applied immunology.

Collaborative robotics

Tissue engineering and biomaterials, microvascular growth and remodeling, stem cell engineering The Botchwey Laboratory takes a multidisciplinary approach for improvement of tissue engineering therapies through study of microvascular remodeling, inflammation resolution and host stem cells. Our goal is development of effective new strategies to repair, replace, preserve or enhance tissue or organ function. 

Developing therapeutic protein materials, where the protein is both the drug and the delivery system Engineering proteins to control and understand protein particle self-assembly Repurposing and engineering pathogenic proteins for human therapeutics Creating materials that mimic cell-cell interactions to modulate immunological functions for various applications, including inflammation, cancer, autoimmune disease, and vaccination

Bone Tissue Engineering, Computational Design and Fabrication of Resorbable Scaffolds, Composite Scaffolds, Direct Digital Manufacturing Technologies, Large-Area Micro- and Nanoscale Photopolymerization, Patterning, and Interference Lithography Technologies, Laser Materials Processing.

Our laboratory focuses on various aspects of cardiac regeneration and preservation using molecular-based and biomaterials-based approaches to restoring function after cardiac injury

Bioengineering: lymphatics, lipid metabolism, biomechanics, biomedical optics, image processing, and tissue engineering.

The Dreaden Lab uses molecular engineering to impart augmented, amplified, or non-natural function to tumor therapies and immunotherapies. The overall goal of our research is to engineer molecular and nanoscale tools that can (i) improve our understanding of fundamental tumor biology and (ii) simultaneously serve as cancer therapies that are more tissue-exclusive and patient-personalized. The lab is housed on the Emory SOM campus and currently focuses on three main application areas: optically-triggered immunotherapies, combination therapies for pediatric cancers, and nanoscale cancer vaccines. Our work aims to translate these technologies into the clinic and beyond.

My research area is biomechanics and mechanobiology with focus on: Glaucoma, including studies of aqueous humour drainage, optic nerve head biomechanics, and stem cell therapies in glaucoma; and Mechanobiology of osteoarthritis.

Biomolecular, cellular, and tissue engineering strategies to direct cell function for biomaterial and regenerative medicine applications.

Cardiovascular mechanics, soft tissue growth and remodeling, and tissue engineering.

My research interests focus on image-based computational design and 3D biomaterial printing for patient specific devices and regenerative medicine, with specific interests in pediatric applications. Clinical application interests include airway reconstruction and tissue engineering, structural heart defects, craniofacial and facial plastics, orthopaedics, and gastrointestinal reconstruction. We specifically utilize patient image data as a foundation to for multiscale design of devices, reconstructive implants and regenerative medicine porous scaffolds. We are also interested in multiscale computational simulation of how devices and implants mechanically interact with patient designs, combining these simulations with experimental measures of tissue mechanics. We then transfer these designs to both laser sintering and nozzle based platforms to build devices from a wide range of biomaterials.  Subsequently, we are interested in combining these 3D printed biomaterial platforms with biologics for patient specific regenerative medicine solutions to tissue reconstruction.

Stem cell, tissue engineering, mitochondrial engineering and bioenergetics, aging, muscular dystrophy, and neuromuscular disease.

Traumatic brain and spinal cord injury, Neural tissue engineering, Injury biomechanics, Neural interfacing, and Cognitive impairment associated with brain injury and aging.

I am a co-founder of STELAR: the Studio for Transforming Engineering Learning and Research. STELAR is a one-of-its-kind learning sciences research group embedded within the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University. Our goal is to contribute to changing the engineering workforce so that it is diverse and inclusive and fully leverages all of our national talent to effectively address the complex problems of the 21st century. We aspire to graduate students who have agency as inclusive engineers who understand the need for a diverse and inclusive engineering workforce and have the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to create, and thrive within, inclusive study and work environments.

Microfluidics; bioMEMS; behavior neuroscience; cell biology; automation and high throughput engineering approaches to biology and biotechnology.

Our research is in the areas of biomolecular engineering and nanotechnology, with a focus on bioconjugated nanoparticles for cancer molecular imaging, molecular profiling, pharmacogenomics, and targeted therapy.

Dr. Oshinski is well known for his collaborative efforts between Emory and Georgia Tech's Department of Biomedical Engineering, along with his dedication to advancing the technologies of MR imaging. One area of concentration is the development of Cardiovascular MRI for clinical and basic science applications. Dr. Oshinski has worked on development of the contrast-enhanced MRA and phase-contrast MR for rapid assessment of the aorta and the peripheral runoff vessels. He also Implemented SSFP cine imaging for rapid breath-hold assessment of cardiac function, IR recovery sequences for myocardial perfusion imaging, and creating a protocol for using MR coronary angiography to diagnose the proximal course of the coronary arteries.

RNA regulation, single molecule imaging, and RNA virus pathogenesis

Evolution and development of functional systems.

Bioengineering and Microelectromechanical Systems: Atomic force microscopy, pathogen adhesion and endocytosis, cell biomechanics, single molecule biophysics, drug delivery and targeting, cell membrane mimetics, and biosensors.

The MNM Biotech Lab uses engineering expertise to assist life scientists in the study, diagnosis, and treatment of human disease. By developing better models of the body, we help advance drug discovery, increase understanding of the mechanisms of disease, and develop clinical treatments.

Vascular biology with an emphasis on the role of vascular inflammation in the pathogenesis of hypertension, diabetes and atherosclerosis.

Development of novel polymeric biomaterials, regeneration of tendon/ligament, and protein delivery for orthopaedic tissue engineering.

Spinal cord injury, stroke, intermittent hypoxia, rehabilitation, motor control, and whole limb mechanics.

Our research focuses on applying systems analysis approaches and engineering tools to identify novel clinical therapeutic targets for complex diseases. It is challenging to develop new treatments for these diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), because they do not have a single genetic cause and they simultaneously present broad physiologic changes. By combining novel engineered in vitro platforms, mouse models, and multivariate computational systems analysis, we will be able to 1) capture a holistic systems-level understanding of complex diseases, and 2) isolate specific mechanisms driving disease. The ultimate goal of our laboratory is to use these tools to identify new mechanisms driving disease onset and progression that will translate to effective therapeutic strategies.

Disruptive technologies enabled by nanoscale materials and devices will define our future in the same way that microtechnology has done over the past several decades. Our current research centers on the design and synthesis of novel nanomaterials for a broad range of applications, including nanomedicine, regenerative medicine, cancer theranostics, tissue engineering, controlled release, catalysis, and fuel cell technology. We are design and synthesize/fabricate novel nanomaterials that could serve as: 1) theranostic agents for cancer and other diseases; 2) multifucntional probes for cellular tracking; 3) smart capsules for site-specific, on-demand delivery; and 4) scaffolds for the repair or regeneration of tissues.

The spinal cord is the gateway for information transfer between body and brain but is not simply a conduit. Within its central gray matter lie millions of neurons that integrate and coordinate complex sensory, motor and autonomic events. Spinal cord injuries can permanently sever descending command pathways and produce paralysis. After some time the injured cord often become hyper-responsive and may result in spasticity (hyperreflexia), autonomic dysfunction and devastating chronic pain syndromes. Brain modulatory systems regulate spinal cord excitability and it may be disruption of their actions that are primarily responsible for the hyperactivity seen after cord injury or in diseases states. A major goal of our lab is to understand how the major brain monoamine modulatory transmitters (serotonin, dopamine, and nor-adrenaline) regulate cord function. These transmitters have been linked to activation of the spinal cord circuitry generating locomotion, control of autonomic NS function, as well as the potent inhibition of spinal cord pain systems. Dysfunction is spinal dopamine is also strongly implicated in the emergence of Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS). We are also very interested in additional mechanisms that limit body sensations.

Current research in the lab focuses on:
 1. Non-classical control of body sensations. 
2. Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) and spinal cord dopamine.
 3. Plasticity of spinal cord function after injury.
 4. Regulation of spinal cord locomotor activity.
 5. Unusual modulatory mechanisms controlling spinal cord function.

Neuroengineering, Tissue Engineering, Organ-on-chips, Microfluidics, Drug Delivery, Cell Mechanics

Exploration of the coordination of skeletal muscle structure and function. This work has two thrusts: understanding the mechanism by which mechanical signals alter muscle structure and understanding the functional demands on muscle

Medical Device Innovation / Clinically Translational Technology

Microfluidics, Arterial Thrombosis, Platelets, vWF

Guldberg’s research interests focus on musculoskeletal growth and development, functional regeneration following traumatic injury, and degenerative diseases, including skeletal fragility and osteoarthritis. His research is supported by the NIH, NSF, DoD, and several biotechnology companies and has resulted in over 150 book chapters and publications. Guldberg is a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) and holds several national leadership positions.

Lymphatic biology, lipid uptake and metabolism, obesity, lymphatic imaging, in situ imaging, image processing, vessel biomechanics, microfluidics, machine learning.

Bioengineering aspects of vascular biology, thrombosis, inflammatory response, and infectious disease Cellular engineering

Systems Biology Computational Modeling, Personalized Medicine, Immunotherapeutics

Generation and regeneration of cells into hepatopancreatic lineages, Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP) 2b signaling, Zebrafish genetics, Morphogenesis and organogenesis

Microfluidics, Organoids, Microphysiological Systems

Regenerative medicine, aging, longevity, stem cell engineering, tissue engineering, neuroengineering