Graduate Seminar Series

To be announced...

Dr. Yi Hong is a Distinguished Research Professor in the Bioengineering Department at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA). His research focuses on developing functional and bioactive soft biomaterials and translational research for tissue repair and regeneration applications, especially for cardiovascular disease treatment, and women and children healthcare. He has published over 120 peer-review papers in the field of biomaterials and applied/issued 14 patents as well as over 180 conference abstracts. He received many awards, such as NSF CAREER award, University’s Outstanding Research Award, AHA Established Investigator Award, and COE Award for Distinguished Record of Research. He is an elected Fellow of AHA, AIMBE, RSC, and BMES and a Senior Member of National Academy of Inventors.

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Abstract: Engineering Biological Materials for Cardiac Engineering

Biomaterials have been broadly utilized for varieties of biomedical applications, including cell culture, tissue models, medical devices, and tissue repair and regeneration. Seeking a suitable biomaterial for soft tissue repair is complex and significant. The biomaterial properties are expected to be biosafe and mimetic to the native tissue, such as structure, mechanics and biofunctions. The decellularized extracellular matrix (ECM) materials, including heart ECM, have been used in biomedical engineering, clinic trials and clinic, because of their good biocompatibility and bioactivity and unique specific complex components mimicking the target tissues. Our group has been working on decellularized cardiac ECM materials for many years, focusing on applications in cardiac cell culture and myocardial repair. In this talk, I will introduce our works on utilizing cardiac ECM material to modify the synthetic biomaterials, enable localized drug release, and develop new material formulations for cardiac engineering, which would provide inspirations to broaden its new applications to address the fundamental questions and clinic challenges. 

Dr. Normal Li is the Founder, Chairman and President of NL Chemical Technology, Inc, a water treatment membrane technology company specializing in proprietary reverse osmosis and nanofiltration membrane manufacturing technologies for global water treatment applications.

Dr. Jane Li is the Vice President of NL Chemical Technology, Inc.

Together, Drs. Normal and Jane Li serve on the Board of Directors of the Li Family Charitable Foundation, which supports the next generation of Asian leaders in STEM by providing resources and opportunities for scientists, researchers, and students.

Abstract: Coming soon

Harold “Skip” Garner is the inventor of Orbit Genomics’ platform technology. He is a physicist, engineer, and biomedical/informatics researcher. He is a serial entrepreneur whose innovations have repeatedly resulted in market-validated, commercially successful products. He has held leadership roles across academia, including co-director of an NIH Genome Center; full professorships at UT Southwestern, Virginia Tech, and Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine; and associate deansh and associate vice-provost for research development, all while maintaining an active research laboratory.

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Abstract: The science and business of creating and bringing a new cancer diagnostic to patients

A new genomic platform technology based on Simple Tandem Repeats (STRs) has been developed which can be applied to complex multigenic diseases, such as cancer, heart, neurological and metabolic disorders.  It has been used to develop new diagnostics and identify potential therapeutic targets, initially focusing on cancer, specifically lung cancer.  The unique biology of STR genomic variants makes them more informative, resulting in higher sensitivity and specificity.  Recent advances in AI have further pushed the accuracy of future diagnostics.

The presentation will describe the academic science and business behind creating a new diagnostic modality, and the challenges, trials and tribulations of moving scientific findings from the laboratory to patient care. 

Dr. Samhita Rhodes’ expertise is in biomedical signal modeling and advanced image processing techniques. Her collaborative work includes analysis of EEG and ECoG signals to model mechanisms of epilepsy with neurosurgeons at Spectrum Health, quantifying the benefits of power mobility training in children with multiple developmental disorders, applying image processing techniques to develop algorithms for CT image registration, and analyzing neural correlates of postural stability from EMG signals with researchers in the Biomechanics Performance Laboratory. As a recipient of an American Heart Association Scientist Development Grant, she has investigated advanced signal processing techniques to characterize cardiac dysrhythmias.

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Abstract: Coming soon

Dr. Sundarakrishnan is a Biomedical Engineer by training, and he has a B.S. and M.S. from Drexel University (Philadelphia, PA), and a PhD from Tufts University (Medford, MA). He completed postdoctoral traineeships in Chemical & Biological Engineering at Princeton University (Princeton, NJ), and Developmental & Cell Biology at SickKids Hospital, which is affiliated with the University of Toronto. Dr. Sundarakrishnan currently holds the title of Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire’s Dept. of Materials Science and Biomedical Engineering. He is the principal investigator at S-LAB, which involves several talented students at the University of Wisconsin—Eau Claire (UWEC). Prior to joining UWEC, Dr. Sundarakrishnan taught graduate-level courses in Biotechnology & Bioengineering at Northeastern University—Toronto and at the Toronto Metropolitan University.

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Abstract: Coming soon

To be announced...

To be announced...