报告摘要

Cells within the human body are in intimate contact with a 3D nanostructured extracellular matrix composed of numerous organic and inorganic components. As a result, one of the revolutionary changes in the field of biomaterials and tissue engineering is to develop biologically inspired nanomaterials and advanced 3D biofabrication techniques to create complex tissue construct mimicking native tissue. However, related studies are limited. Therefore, the main objective of our research is to develop novel biologically inspired nanomaterials and advanced 3D printing techniques to fabricate the next generation of nanocomposite scaffolds for complex tissue regeneration. For this purpose, we designed and synthesized innovative biologically inspired nanomaterials (i.e., nano hydroxyapatites, carbon nanomaterials, DNA based self-assembly nanotubes, and core-shell nanospheres with bioactive factors). Through 3D printing in our lab, a series of biomimetic tissue scaffolds with nano and micro features were fabricated. Our results show that these 3D printed nanocomposite scaffolds have not only improved mechanical properties but also excellent cytocompatibility properties for enhancing various cell growth and differentiation, thus promising for complex tissue regeneration.

报告人简况

Dr. Lijie Grace Zhang is an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering and Department of Medicine at the George Washington University. She obtained her Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering at Brown University in 2009. Dr. Zhang joined GW in 2010, after finishing her postdoctoral training at Rice University and Harvard Medical School. She is the director of the Bioengineering Laboratory for Nanomedicine and Tissue Engineering at GW. She has received the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award, Young Innovator in Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering, GW SEAS Outstanding Young Researcher Award, John Haddad Young Investigator Award by American Society for Bone and Mineral Research, GWU SEAS Faculty Recognition Award, Early Career Award from the International Journal of Nanomedicine, Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award by the Oak Ridge Associated Universities Organization, Joukowsky Family Foundation Outstanding Dissertation Award at Brown and the Sigma Xi Award. Her research interests include nanobiomaterials, 3D bioprinting, complex tissue engineering, stem cell engineering, drug delivery and breast cancer bone metastasis. Dr. Zhang has authored 2 books, over 61 journal papers, book chapters and conference proceedings, 3 patents and has presented her work on over 160 conferences, university and institutes.