Thomas Schaer
University of Pennsylvania, PA·Biomedical Engineering
Tissue engineering aims to regrow damaged or failed body parts, often on a scaffold that the body gradually absorbs. Implants face two challenges at once.
- Fields
Biomedical Engineering
Materials Science
Microbiology & Immunology
- Topics
tissue engineering
resorbable scaffolds
biomaterials
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Sep 2027
What they work on
- Use 3D printing to build fiber-based, resorbable polymer scaffolds with controlled fiber size and spacing that mimic the extracellular matrix, loaded with signaling factors that steer stem-cell differentiation.
- Make scaffolds 'self-defensive', releasing antimicrobials only when bacteria are present, using computational and experimental studies of polyelectrolyte complexation and directed self-assembly.
- Study competition between mammalian cells and bacteria on scaffolds with lab-on-a-chip devices, then test performance in small-animal infection models.
More about the research
They must support healthy tissue growth, and they must avoid infection by bacteria that colonize their surfaces. This project seeks to address both together.
Why it matters
Infection is a major risk when engineered tissues or implants are placed in the body. A resorbable scaffold that regrows hard tissue while releasing antimicrobials only when bacteria are present could reduce implant infections. It could also reduce unnecessary antibiotic exposure for patients who need bone or other hard-tissue repair.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Steven Nicoll
CUNY City College, NY·Biomedical Engineering
Build fiber-based resorbable scaffolds by 3D printing with controlled fiber size and spacing to mimic the extracellular matrix, incorporating signaling factors that direct stem-cell differentiation toward hard tissue.
Martha Grady
University of Kentucky, KY·Biomedical Engineering·Early-career
Identify the dominant parameters that promote strong biofilm adhesion using laser spallation, and establish an Adhesion Index comparing mammalian cell adhesion to biofilm adhesion on implant surfaces.
Miqin Zhang
University of Washington, WA·Biomedical Engineering
Test how the composition and stiffness of chitosan–alginate (CA) scaffolds control human induced pluripotent stem cell self-renewal, and whether optimized scaffolds support long-term growth of tooth epithelial stem cells and neural crest cells.
The school
University of Pennsylvania: 90 labs on PI Pages, $2.2B a year on research, 750 research doctorates a year.
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