All are welcome to attend a special seminar presented by Dr. Julianne Holloway, Post Doctoral Fellow, University of Pennsylvania. “Engineering Biomimetic Cues to Restore Musculoskeletal Tissue Function” will be presented on Monday, March 30, in WEB 1680 at 1:30pm.
Abstract:
Musculoskeletal injuries and diseases, which include meniscal tears and degenerative disc disease, are a significant health concern in the United States. Current treatments, however, typically rely on donor tissues (either allo- or autografts) and suffer from poor availability. Furthermore, donor tissue does not always adequately restore function, integrates poorly with surrounding tissue, and can have a high morbidity. Tissue engineering aimed at replicating and/or restoring the biological and mechanical cues required for tissue function offers an advantage to current treatments and prevents further musculoskeletal degeneration. In this seminar, I will discuss several unique musculoskeletal tissue engineering approaches, including: (1) engineering fiber-reinforced hydrogel composites to mimic the native structure of the meniscus and (2) delivering biochemical cues to increase cell migration and promote bone repair. Together, these projects demonstrate how biomaterials can be designed to incorporate various biomimetic cues towards improving tissue repair and functionality.
Biography:
Julianne Holloway received her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at Drexel University in 2012. Currently, she is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania under the mentorship of Jason Burdick. Through her research proposal on engineering hydrogels for synergistic biomolecule delivery, she was awarded the National Institute of Health Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Postdoctoral (NIH NRSA F32) Fellowship. Her research interests are in the field of tissue engineering, with a focus on designing materials to mimic the native biochemical and biophysical cues of musculoskeletal tissues and developing a better understanding of the role dynamic biomechanics plays on cellular behavior. Julianne’s research has been recognized through several awards, including: University of Washington’s Distinguished Young Scholars Seminar Participant (2014); Most Promising Graduate Student Commencement Award (Drexel University, 2012); National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship (2009-2012); and First Place in the Society for Advancement of Material and Process Engineering University Research Symposium (2010).