Education
B.S. in Biomedical Engineering, Brown University, 2010
Ph.D. candidate in Biomedical Engineering, Rutgers University, 2014-present
Research Interests
Orthopaedic Surgery, Medical Device Design, Implants, Tissue Engineering, Biomaterials, Mechanical Testing
Research Summary
Thesis: The development of a polymer fiber-reinforced composite scaffold that can be seeded with autologous chondrocytes and immediately implanted into large cartilage defect sites to promote cartilage tissue regeneration.
Background: Osteoarthritis is one of the major causes of joint pain and disability in middle-aged and older adults. Wear and sports-related injuries cause the degeneration of articular cartilage, and may necessitate surgical intervention due to the tissue’s natural inability for self-repair. The field of articular cartilage tissue regeneration is currently examining the development of implantable scaffolds seeded with autologous chondrocytes that can develop a strong and durable ECM that is identical to native cartilage.
Methodology: Our lab’s focus is to determine how a scaffold’s gradient mechanical properties that can condition chondrocytes to produce the desired ECM while in vivo, obviating the time and expense of preconditioning in vitro as well as the risks of using external growth factors. We have developed an acellular composite scaffold composed of a woven mesh of polycaprolactone fibers inundated with a collagen sponge that has the same compressive strength of native cartilage. We are designing this scaffold to protect an autologous chondrocytes population from external stresses in vivo while also promoting extra-cellular matrix remodeling for cartilage tissue regeneration.
Awards & Honors
NIH Biotechnology Fellowship (Award T32 GM008339), 2014 - 2016
Publications
Ghodbane SA, Brzezinski A, Patel JM, Pfaff WH, Marzano KN, Gatt CJ, Dunn MG Partial Meniscus Replacement with a Collagen-Hyaluronan Infused Three-Dimensional Printed Polymeric Scaffold. Tissue Engineering Part A, Feb 25 2019. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30351200
Representative Graduate Courses Taken
Biomaterials & Biomechanics
Biosignal Processing
Artificial Implants
Polymer Science & Engineering
Leadership & Outreach
Delaware Odyssey of the Mind Judge 2017-2018