Mentor Areas
You'll work with a mentor experienced in both fundamental biological processes and the tissue engineering approaches aimed at translation to treat patients. With expertise ranging from stem cell biology to FDA regulatory pathways, your mentor can guide you through the science while also showing you how research transitions from lab to clinic—knowledge that's valuable whether you're considering medical school, graduate studies, or industry careers. Our lab mentoring combines strong technical skills in biomaterials and tissue engineering with established collaborations with pediatric surgeons, giving you exposure to both the research and clinical sides of biomedical innovation. Previous undergraduate mentees have gone on to publish papers, present at conferences, and gain admission to competitive graduate and medical programs. You'll learn from someone committed to undergraduate training who understands how to help you build the skills and experiences that will strengthen your professional profile, regardless of your career path.
Description:
There is a lot of engineered cartilage developed in labs around the world, but very little finds its way to the patients. We have adopted a fast translation approach to rapidly reach the clinic. Our priority target is engineering cartilage for laryngotracheal reconstruction to enable infants and children with subglottic stenosis to breath again without a tracheostomy. For rapid translation, we design scaffolds based on FDA approved materials: starting from the simplest building blocks we build the complexity that drives stem cell differentiation. Moreover, the engineered tissues we develop are based on new stem cell sources that can be harvested with minimally invasive outpatient procedures.
In this project, the students will have the opportunity to learn about 3D printing/bioprinting, cell culture, and materials fabrication. Students will not be directly involved in animal work, but they will have the opportunity to study engineered tissues grown in the lab before they are implanted in animals, and to work with graduate students and postdocs to study how the engineered tissues perform after they are implanted.
We are looking for enthusiastic and motivated undergraduate students with good verbal and communication skills who want to join us in our research journey.
Some of the technique we routinely use in the lab are: cell and tissue culture, fluorescence microscopy, histology and immunohistochemistry, real time PCR, mechanical testing and 3D printing. No previous experience in any of these techniques is required.
We offer:
• A collaborative and open environment that fosters learning and scientific growth
• An exciting environment where trainee can learn and grow to develop new research directions working with incredible collaborators
• Individual mentoring to enhance your professional profile and tailored opportunities to support specific professional goals
• A highly translational focus to address patient-centered medical problems and to push research from bench to bedside
Preferred Qualifications
We're looking for:
- Enthusiastic and motivated students
- Strong communication and teamwork skills
- Commitment to making a difference in pediatric medicine
- Curiosity about tissue engineering and regenerative medicine
Project Website
Learn more about the researcher and/or the project here. Lab website
Details:
Preferred Student Year
First-year
Academic Term
Spring, Summer
I prefer to have students start during the above term(s).Volunteer
Yes
Yes indicates that faculty are open to volunteers.Paid
No
Yes indicates that faculty are open to paying students they engage in their research, regardless of their work-study eligibility.Work Study
No
Yes indicates that faculty are open to hiring work-study-eligible students.