Speakers

Dr. Delphine Dean is Assistant Professor of Bioengineering at Clemson University. She earned her Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2005 and started her faculty position at Clemson in January 2007. Her lab leads a wide range of studies focused on understanding mechanics and interactions of biological systems across length scales. Her expertise is in nano- to micro-scale characterization of biological tissues including experimental techniques such as atomic force microscopy and mathematical modeling such as finite element analysis. Some of her prior work has focused on characterizing the effect of the microenvironment on cardiovascular cell mechanical properties and, more recently, she has led several studies investigating the use of dental pulp stem cells for tissue engineering applications.

Dr. Simon earned a B.S. in Biology from Bucknell University in 1992 and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from University of Virginia in 1999. He did a post-doctoral fellowship in the Polymers Division at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST, Gaithersburg, MD) and became a staff scientist at NIST in 2003. He currently leads a project entitled “3D Tissue Scaffolds” and his research is focused on developing methods for characterizing cell-material interactions. He has developed combinatorial methods for screening cell-material interactions where the material is presented to the cell in a 3D format. Much previous work has centered on using 2D material surfaces for screening cell response to materials yet cells exist in a 3D matrix in vivo, cells in vitro behave more physiologically when cultured in 3D and biomaterials are commonly used in a 3D scaffold format for tissue engineering applications. Thus, Dr. Simon’s group has developed several platforms for fabricating combinatorial libraries of polymer scaffolds with varied material properties. These scaffold libraries can be used to screen material property phase space to identify scaffold designs that optimize tissue generation.

Jason Pomerleau is a Scientist II in Research & Development at LifeCell Corporation in Branchburg, NJ, a leading innovator in the field of regenerative medicine. Jason has been with LifeCell since 2004, and has held various levels of responsibility in product and process development, assay and new technology development, and concept and platform development, as well as conducting basic research in areas such as cell-tissue interaction, tissue revascularization, and matrix resistance to irradiation.

Prior to joining LifeCell, Jason worked for four years as a Research Assistant at Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, where he investigated mechanisms of skeletal muscle signaling and metabolism, with a focus on proteins that regulate glucose uptake.

Jason graduated with a B.S. and Highest Thesis Honors in Biology from Tufts University.

Jon A. Rowley, PhD, is the Innovation Director of Cell Processing Technologies at Lonza Biosciences, responsible for driving technology development and innovation related to commercial scale bioprocessing of therapeutic cell-based products. Jon is heavily involved with the International Society for Cell Therapy as a member of the Commercialization Committee, and is chairing a subcommittee related to Process and Product Development. Jon holds a PhD from the University of Michigan in Biomedical Engineering and has authored over 20 peer reviewed manuscripts and 10 issued or pending patents related to biomaterials development, tissue engineering, and cellular therapy. Jon spent several years at BD as a scientist and R&D manager in a Cell & Tissue Technologies group focused on applying high throughput screening technologies to cell therapy media development and tissue engineering. Jon then contributed to the clinical development of Aastrom Biosciences’ Tissue Repair Cell product, where he was Sr Manager of Process Development responsible for manufacturing process improvements and cell delivery to the patient. Jon joined Lonza’s Cell Therapy business in March of 2008, and currently resides in Walkersville, MD with his wife and 3 young children

Dr. Otto C. Wilson, Jr. is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the Catholic University of America. Dr. Wilson earned a B.S. (1988), M.S. (1991) and Ph.D. in Ceramic Science and Engineering at Rutgers University. He conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Maryland on enhanced machinability of dental ceramic materials (1995-1996) and was a Ford Foundation Postdoctoral fellow at John’s Hopkins in 2006 prior to joining the Materials Science and Engineering faculty at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Dr. Wilson became a faculty member in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Catholic University in 2003 and established the Biomimetics, Orthopedics, and Nanomaterials Education/Composite Research for Advanced Biomaterials (BONE/CRAB) Lab. The research vision of the BONE/CRAB Lab is to develop nanophase materials to enhance the healing and remodeling of hard tissue at the whole tissue, cellular, and subcellular levels. Dr. Wilson’s research Interests include biomineralization phenomena, nanomaterials chemistry, biological liquid crystals, and the synthesis and surface modification of hydroxyapatite. Dr Wilson was awarded a NSF CAREER Award (DMR-0645675) in 2007 for his work involving bone inspiration in research and education. He is very active in K-12 educational outreach and developing tools and teaching methodologies to encourage young people to excel in STEM education.