Student: Kelly Seims
Project: Modular biomaterials for functional tissue regeneration
View: Research Poster (PDF) | Presentation (YouTube)
Department: Materials Science and Engineering
Advisor: Lesley Chow
Abstract
The Chow Lab focuses on the design of novel biomaterials for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications. Our approach involves the combination of different materials and advanced fabrication techniques to generate scaffolds with spatially organized biochemical and physical properties that resemble native biological tissues. We recently developed a 3D printing approach to organize the spatial deposition of multiple bioactive peptide-functionalized polymers in a single construct. This platform allows us to investigate how matrix organization affects local cell response and tissue function to improve the clinical translation of biomaterials. We are currently focused on approaches to improve the regeneration of interfaces between hard and soft tissues, such as the osteochondral interface between bone and cartilage. Recreating these complex tissues poses a significant engineering challenge as they contain gradients in biochemical, structural, and mechanical properties that are critical for normal biomechanical function. Our lab is developing biomaterials-based strategies to guide spatial cell behavior and tissue formation to engineer tissues that mimic these structure-function-property relationships.
About Kelly Seims
Kelly Seims is a third year PhD student in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Lehigh University. She previously earned her B.S. in Bioengineering with a concentration in Biomaterials and Biomechanics at Lehigh University. She started in the Chow Lab as an undergraduate researcher in 2016 and joined as a PhD student in 2018. Her project focuses on the design and synthesis of novel polymer-based molecules to construct scaffolds with tunable, spatiotemporal properties that mimic native biological tissues. Outside of research, Kelly is also involved in the The Bach Choir of Bethlehem!