Tissue Engineering & Regenerative Medicine

Tissue engineering is a fast growing area of research that aims to create tissue equivalents of blood vessels, heart muscle, nerves, cartilage, bone, and other organs for replacement of tissue either damaged through disease or trauma. As an interdisciplinary field, principles from biological, chemical, electrical, materials science, and mechanical engineering are employed in research and development. Concepts and discoveries from the fields of molecular and cell biology, physiology and immunology are also readily incorporated into research activities for tissue engineering. Recent advancements in stem cell research provide exciting opportunities of using stem cells for regeneration of tissues and organs. Understanding and directing stem cell differentiation and functions are new frontiers in cell and tissue engineering.

Many faculty members at UCB and UCSF are active in the area of tissue engineering, with the goal of creating the equivalent of native tissue or reparative components in the laboratory for ultimate use in medical therapies. Current efforts in tissue engineering at UCB/UCSF focus in the areas of biomaterials synthesis and biological performance evaluation, biomimetic nanomaterials, stem cell engineering, drug delivery, and the characterization of the physical, chemical and biomechanical behavior of these tissues. To improve these "engineered tissues," substantial effort is also placed on understanding the physical properties of native tissues they aim to replace. Critical challenges in this area include understanding the interaction between the cells and novel materials and the effect of physical and chemical stimuli on cell function, including cell growth, migration and differentiation.

Tissue Engineering & Regenerative Medicine faculty in the Graduate Group:

J. Christopher Anderson, UCB, Core Member
Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, Genomics; Tissue Engineering

Adam Arkin, UCB, Core Member
Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, Genomics; Tissue Engineering

Mina Bissell, UCB, Affiliate
Tissue Engineering

Harvey W. Blanch, UCB, Affiliate
Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, Genomics; Biomaterials; Tissue Engineering

Irina Conboy, UCB, Core Member
Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, Genomics; Biomaterials; Tissue Engineering

Deborah Dean, UCSF, Affiliate
Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, Genomics; BioMEMS, Nanotechnology, Robotics; Tissue Engineering

Tejal A. Desai, UCSF, Core Member
BioMEMS, Nanotechnology, Robotics; Drug Delivery; Tissue Engineering

John Featherstone, UCSF, Affiliate
Biomaterials; Biomedical Imaging; Tissue Engineering

Daniel A. Fletcher, UCB, Core Member
Biomechanics; Biomedical Imaging; Biomedical Instrumentation; Drug Delivery; Tissue Engineering

Xiaohua Gong, UCB, Core Member
Tissue Engineering; Vision

Julius Guccione, UCSF, Affiliate
Biomechanics; Biomedical Imaging; Tissue Engineering

Bernard Halloran, UCSF, Affiliate
Biomaterials; Biomechanics; Biomedical Instrumentation; Tissue Engineering

Kevin Healy, UCB, Core Member
Biomaterials; Drug Delivery; Tissue Engineering

Serena S. Hu, UCSF, Core Member
Biomechanics; Tissue Engineering

C. Anthony Hunt, UCSF, Core Member
Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, Genomics; Drug Delivery; Tissue Engineering

Tony Keaveny, UCB, Core Member
Biomechanics; Tissue Engineering

Sanjay Kumar, UCB, Core Member
Biomaterials; Biomechanics; Biomedical Imaging; Tissue Engineering

Patricia Leake, UCSF, Core Member
Biomaterials; Biomechanics; Drug Delivery; Neural Systems Analysis; Tissue Engineering

Seung-Wuk Lee, UCB, Core Member
Biomaterials; Tissue Engineering

Randall Lee, UCSF, Core Member
Tissue Engineering

Song Li, UCB, Core Member
Biomaterials; BioMEMS, Nanotechnology, Robotics; Tissue Engineering

Hao Li, UCSF, Core Member
Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, Genomics; Biomechanics; Tissue Engineering

Jeffrey Lotz, UCSF, Core Member
Biomechanics; Biomedical Instrumentation; Tissue Engineering

Howard I. Maibach, UCSF, Affiliate
Tissue Engineering

Sally J. Marshall, UCSF, Affiliate
Biomaterials, Biomechanics, Biomedical Imaging, Tissue Engineering

Grayson W. Marshall, UCSF, Affiliate
Biomaterials; Biomechanics; Biomedical Imaging; Tissue Engineering

Mohammad Mofrad, UCB, Core Member
Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, Genomics; Biomechanics; Tissue Engineering

Mark Ratcliffe, UCSF, Affiliate
Biomechanics; Tissue Engineering

David M. Rempel, UCSF/UCB, Core Member
Biomechanics; Tissue Engineering

Boris Rubinsky, UCB, Affiliate
Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, Genomics; Biomedical Imaging; Biomedical Instrumentation; BioMEMS, Nanotechnology, Robotics; Drug Delivery; Neural Systems Analysis; Tissue Engineering

David Schaffer, UCB, Core Member
Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, Genomics; Biomaterials; Drug Delivery; Tissue Engineering

David Sretavan, UCSF, Core Member
Biomedical Instrumentation; BioMEMS, Nanotechnology, Robotics; Neural Systems Analysis; Tissue Engineering; Vision

Francis Szoka, Jr., UCSF, Core Member
Biomaterials; Drug Delivery; Tissue Engineering

William Young, UCSF, Core Member
Biomechanics; Biomedical Imaging; Tissue Engineering