HarleyLAB received new collaborative NIH funding for bone regeneration

Dr. Harley is the Co-Investigator of a new R01 research award from the National Institutes of Health entitled, ‘Small Molecule Inhibition of Noggin to Induce Spinal Fusion.’ Dr. Harley is collaborating with a team of investigators from Emory (PI Scott Boden, Co-Is Sreedhara Sangadala, Steven Presciutti) and the University of Oregon (PI Nick Willett) to develop a biomaterial to improve spinal fusion. Exciting for the #harleylab team to adapt our mineralized collagen scaffolds for new clinical applications!

Congrats Dr. Samantha Zambuto!

Congratulations to Samantha for successfully defending her PhD thesis, ‘Biomaterial-based models of the endometrium and trophoblast invasion to investigate early pregnancy.’ Samantha reinvirogorated our women’s health platforms, developing an entirely new effort to examine the role of endometrial tissue microenvironment on trophoblast invasions. Her work has unlocked new research areas in placentation and in endometrial disorders such as endometriosis. She will be moving to Washington University in St Louis to begin a postdoc with Dr. Michelle Oyen to continue to expand her Women’s Health efforts. We are so proud of her and will miss her leadership and support. Congrats Dr. Zambuto!

Congratulations Dr. Aleczandria Tiffany!!

Congratulations to Alec for successfully defending her PhD thesis, ‘Mineralized collagen biomaterials for studying bone biology in vitro.’ Alec has been transformative to our group, pushing new scientific inquiries and leading changes in our processes and climate to be more inclusive. She lead studies related to biomolecule delivery for bone regeneration, to study disease processes such as osteosarcoma, and to pioneer new approaches to replicate the growth plate. Her PhD was a tour de force, weaving scientific discoveries with commentaries on white supremacy and a path forward to create a more inclusive academy. Alec is heading north, to begin a Postdoc with Prof. Molly Shoichet at the University of Toronto. We will miss her, but are forever changed by her presence in the group. Congratulations Dr. Tiffany!

Congratulations Dr. Raul Sun Han Chang!

Congratulations to Raul for successfully defending his PhD thesis, ‘Development of a biomaterial template for regeneration of the tendon-to-bone insertion.’ Raul transformed our efforts to create spatially-graded biomaterials, developing an entirely new fabrication approach to address mechanical and biological challenges of orthopedic insertion repair. He will be moving to Genentech as a Technical Development Scientist in their Individualized Therapies group. We are so proud of him and will miss him very much! Congrats Dr. Sun Han Chang!

HarleyLAB received new NIH funding for craniofacial bone regeneration

Dr. Harley is the PI of a new R01 research award from the National Institutes of Health entitled, ‘Mineralized collagen composite to accelerate craniofacial bone regeneration.’ Dr. Harley is leading a team, including Co-Investigators Dr. Justine Lee (UCLA) as well as Dr. Ramille Shah and Dr.  Adam Jakus (Dimension Inx) to develop a composite  biomaterial that blends surgical practicality and bioactivity so that it can be used off-the-shelf to improve implant integration and accelerate bone regeneration. Brendan, Justine and Ramille have been collaborators extended back almost two decades, and the #harleylab team is finally getting a chance to link the work of these great collaborators!

Congratulations Dr. Mai Ngo!!

Congratulations to Mai for successfully defended her PhD thesis today, ‘Developing a biomaterial model of the glioblastoma perivascular niche to investigate the effects of angiocrine signals on disease progression.’ Mai has led some exceptional programs in our group to reimagine how tissue engineering platforms can be generated and used to study progression and therapeutic resistance in glioblastoma, the most common and lethal form of primary brain cancer. Mai’s contributions fundamentally shifted our research program in GBM and we are so proud of all her work! She will be moving to a fantastic postdoc with Dr. Chris Chen in the Biological Design Center at Boston University and we will miss her very much! Congratulations Dr. Ngo!

HarleyLAB receives new NIH funding and joins the NCI Cancer Tissue Engineering Collaborative!

Dr. Harley is the PI of a new R01 research award from the National Institutes of Health entitled, ‘Perivascular tissue models to overcome MGMT-mediated temozolomide resistance in glioblastoma.’ Dr. Harley is leading a team, including Co-Investigators Dr. Paul Hergenrother & Dr. Time Fan (Illinois), Dr. Rebecca Riggins (Georgetown), and Dr. Jann Sarkaria (Mayo) to develop a cancer tissue engineering program to investigate pathophysiological processes responsible for invasive spreading, therapeutic resistance, and poor survival in glioblastoma, the most common and lethal form of primary brain cancer. Congrats all!

This is exciting news as this award also provides the opportunity for the HarleyLAB to join the NCI Cancer Tissue Engineering Collaborative (CTEC) program, and initiative to help push the boundaries of how tissue engineering technologies can be exploited to accelerate diagnosis and treatment of cancer!

HarleyLAB received new NIH funding!

Dr. Harley is the Co-Investigator of a new R01 research award from the National Institutes of Health entitled, ‘Osteoclast modulatory biomaterials for skull regeneration.’ Working with our long-time collaborators (and PI of this grant), Dr. Justine Lee (UCLA), the Harley LAB is developing a new class of mineralized collagen biomaterial to improve craniofacial bone regeneration!

Harley Lab received new NIH funding!

Dr. Harley is the PI of a new R56 research award from the National Institutes of Health entitled, ‘Stratified and mechanically-tough biomaterial implant to improve tendon-to-bone enthesis regeneration.’ Working with Co-Investigators Dr. Simon Rogers (Illinois) as wellas Dr. Meg Killian and Dr. Jim Carpenter (U. Michigan) our lab will lead efforts to develop processing conditions to stably integrate a hydrogel enthesis into a stratified biomaterial implant to improve repair of the structure, composition, and mechanical performance of the injured tendon-to-bone interface!