This seminar has been postponed due to weather related travel cancellation. A new date will be posted shortly.
Faculty Candidate
Engineered Biomaterials to Improve Regeneration and Disease Modelling
Muhammad Rizwan, PhD
Assistant Professor in BME
Michigan Technological University
Monday, January 29, 2024
Gateway 1002
12:00pm – 12:50pm
Abstract: This presentation will highlight the development of advanced biomaterials and pioneering bioengineering techniques to grow engineered tissues for regeneration and disease modelling. By incorporating micro-nano features into biomaterial, the growth and functional markers of human corneal endothelial cells were enhanced, resulting in a functional and transplantable corneal endothelium graft to treat corneal blindness. In another application, using hydrogel biomaterial that enables light-triggered cell signaling, stem cells were differentiated spatio-temporally into bile duct cells. Moreover, a viscoelastic, tissue-mimicking hydrogel was developed for the 3D culture of liver bile duct organoids for disease modelling. Finally, I will discuss a range of novel hydrogels that are injectable, bioadhesive, and stimuli- responsive, improving graft-host integration and enabling controlled biotherapeutic delivery. These innovative biomaterials offer extensive tunability, and provide a versatile platform to manipulate cell behavior, modulate the immune response, and achieve regeneration.
Biography: Dr. Muhammad Rizwan is a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Michigan Technological University. He received Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from National University of Singapore in 2017 and completed his postdoctoral training at the University of Toronto in 2021 with Dr Molly Shoichet. His research group is focused on engineering hydrogel-based biomaterials for tissue engineering applications. The overarching goal of his research program is to leverage the adaptable nature of hydrogels to modulate cell functions and precisely control the delivery of cells and drugs for in-situ regeneration. Dr. Rizwan is a recipient of the prestigious Singapore International Graduate Award for doctoral research, the University of Toronto Research Excellence Award for postdoctoral research, and NIH awards for current research projects in the lab. He has published over 25 peer-reviewed research articles in leading biomaterial and tissue engineering journals.
For a zoom link please contact June Norton at jnorton@wpi.edu or Kate Harrison at kharrison@wpi.edu