Medical Engineering Distinguished Seminar Series, Professor Karen Christman

Biomaterials have significant potential to treat various cardiac conditions, including both adult and pediatric. In particular, new therapies for myocardial infarction are needed given that heart failure post-myocardial infarction continues to be the leading cause of death in the western world. Biomaterial and tissue engineering approaches to myocardial repair are providing exciting new possibilities. Injectable biomaterials are particularly attractive since they have the potential to be delivered via minimally invasive approaches, thereby requiring less recovery time and reducing the chances of infection. In addition to these minimally invasive materials, hydrogels can also play a role in improving outcomes for cardiac surgery patients. Recent developments and translational progress with biomaterials designed specifically for treating the heart will be discussed.

Biography: Dr. Christman is a Professor in the Shu Chien-Gene Lay Department of Bioengineering, the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Welfare, and holds the Pierre Galletti Endowed Chair for Bioengineering Innovation in the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego. She received her B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Northwestern University in 2000 and her Ph.D. from the University of California San Francisco and Berkeley Joint Bioengineering Graduate Group in 2003, where she examined in situ approaches to myocardial tissue engineering. She was also a NIH postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Los Angeles in the fields of polymer chemistry and nanotechnology. Dr. Christman joined the Department of Bioengineering in 2007 and is Co-Director of the Sanford Advanced Therapy Center at the UC San Diego. Her lab, which is housed in the Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine, focuses on developing novel biomaterials for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications, and has a strong translational focus with the main goal of developing minimally invasive therapies for cardiovascular disease and women's health. Dr. Christman is a fellow of the American Heart Association, the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, the Biomedical Engineering Society, and the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society, and has received several awards including the NIH Director's New Innovator and Transformative Research Awards, the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation Early Career Translational Research Award, the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society's Young Investigator and Senior Scientist Awards, the Society for Biomaterials Clemson Award for Applied Research, and the AIMBE Professional Impact Award for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Dr. Christman is also a Senior Member of the National Academy of Inventors and a co-founder of Ventrix, Inc. and Karios Technologies, Inc.

Host: Changhuei Yang