News

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!

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 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!

Brendan was recently invested as the Robert W Schaefer Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (department new release). The whole lab got to celebrate with Brendan at a department event honoring the investiture. Thank you to all HarleyLab members past and present who helped make this honor possible!

Congratulations to Tori for successfully defending her PhD thesis, ‘Developing a biomaterial model of the bone marrow perivascular niche for the study of hematopoietic stem cells.’ Tori developed approaches to replicate vascular structure in the bone marrow to examine their effect on hematopoietic stem cell activity. She will be moving to CRISPR Therapeutics in Boston as a Postdoctoral Scientist this summer. Congrats Dr. Barnhouse!

Samantha’ smost recent paper titled “Effects of Pregnancy-Specific Glycoproteins on Trophoblast Motility in Three-Dimentional Gelatin Hydrogels” will be featured as cover art for the Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering Vol. 15, Issue 2.

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!

Ali Nunes, an outstanding undergraduate in our lab attended the  Materials Science & Technology 2021 Technical Meeting & Exhibition (MS&T21). She won 1st place in the Material Advantage Undergraduate Student Speaking Contest with her presentation titled “Determining the effects of mesenchymal stromal cell remodeling on hematopoietic stem cell maintenance”. Congrats Ali!

Track: Women’s Health
Presentation Title: Modelling of Female Organs/Diseases, Endometriosis, Tissue Engineering, and Sex
Presenter: Samantha Zambuto
Session Time: 8 – 9:30 am EST, Friday, Oct 8th
Room Assignment: Crystal KL

Track: Biomaterials Scaffolds 1
Presentation Title: Formation of a Primary Murine Perivascular Model to Study Hematopoietic Stem Cells In Vitro
Presenter: Tori Barnhouse
Session Time: 8 – 9:30 am EST, Thursday, Oct 7th
Room Assignment: Crystal A

Title of Abstract: Gelatin Hydrogel to Benchmark Patterns of Glioblastoma Invasion and Chemotherapeutic Resistance
Poster Hall Assignment Number:103
Title of Session:Poster Session F with Refreshment Break – Saturday PM
Session Date: 10/9/2021
Session Room Assignment:Exhibit Hall
Time:3:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Track: Biomaterials
Theme: Biomaterials for Regenerative Medicine
Presentation Title: Isolating the Effects of Amnion and Chorion Soluble Factors and Matrix on hMSC Osteogenic Response
Presenter: Vasiliki (Aliki) Kolliopoulos, Ph.D. candidate
Session Time: Throughout BMES conference
Room Assignment: Virtual

Aliki, Alec, and Victoria each won research funding to help develop and commercialize a new technology. Aliki pitched a three dimensional high-throughput array based on the mineralized collagen scaffolds for the rapid downselection of structure-property relationships. Alec pitched a gradient hydrogel platform for the regeneration of cartilage inspired by the growth plate. Victoria pitched a hydrogel platform for high-throughput glioblastoma research. Congratulations!