"FRESH 3D Bioprinting Functional Tissues and the Path Towards Translation"

Adam Feinberg, Professor of Materials Science & Engineering and Biomedical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University

Abstract: Over the past decade, 3D bioprinting has rapidly expanded from a niche technology and in to a versatile platform for fabricating tissues with complex geometries and features ranging from the cellular to organ length scales. Recent advances include engineering the 3D cell microenvironment, hierarchical vascular networks in thick tissue constructs and biodegradable tissue scaffolds implanted in animal models and human patients. However, the range of additive manufacturing technologies currently used each has distinct advantages and disadvantages, and specifically it is critical to understand how the resolution of these different approaches dictate structure and function of the engineered tissue constructs. I will discuss how our team is developing new 3D bioprinting techniques to create multiscale ECM-based structures that incorporate functional anatomy from capillaries, to arteries, to whole hearts, while using custom-built open-source technologies.  Ongoing work is focused on developing a range of applications from anatomical models to functional cardiac tissues at the organ scale. Long-term we look to extend these approaches to additional tissue and organ systems for in vitro disease modeling and in vivo regeneration. Finally, I will highlight how FRESH 3D bioprinting is being translated towards the clinic, and the process of moving from the lab bench to industry while building a startup company along the way.

Speaker Bio: Dr. Feinberg is the principal investigator of the Regenerative Biomaterials and Therapeutics Group and a Professor at Carnegie Mellon University. He earned his BS in Materials Science and Engineering from Cornell University in 1999 with Co-op experience at Abiomed, Inc., working on total artificial hearts. He then earned his PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Florida, focused on engineering cell-material interactions to prevent and enhance adhesion. This was followed by postdoctoral training at Harvard University, developing new biomaterials and stem cell-based cardiac tissue engineering strategies. He joined the faculty at Carnegie Mellon in the fall of 2010 with joint appointments in Biomedical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering. Dr. Feinberg has co-authored over 45 peer-reviewed publications, holds over 20 US patents and patent applications and is Co-Founder and CTO of FluidForm Inc, a start-up company commercializing FRESH 3D bioprinting technology. He has also been awarded the NSF CAREER Award, the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award, and the American Heart Association Scientist Development Grant. Current research is focused on extracellular matrix (ECM) protein scaffolds engineered using advanced nanofabrication and 3D bioprinting approaches for a wide range of applications including breast cancer, cornea, skeletal muscle and cardiac muscle tissue engineering. Further, he is working to understand the biomechanics and mechanobiology of these engineered ECM protein materials, specifically how stress and strain modulate biological activity.