Dr. Zhao Awarded a NIH R01 Grant from National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

January 20, 2020

Congratulations to Dr. Zhao for being awarded a R01 grant from the NIH National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) for the project titled “Engineering Anisotropic and Vascularized Human Cardiac Patch”.


Dr. Zhao Chaired the Engineering Tissues/Organs and the Path to Translation Session in the CMBE Conference

January 6, 2020

Dr. Zhao Chaired the “Engineering Tissues/Organs and the Path to Translation” Session in the Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering Conference in Puerto Rico.  She also presented our work entitled “Maturation of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Derived Cardiomyocytes on Anisotropic Cardiac Specific Extracellular Matrices”.


Dhavan and Vicky Received Travel Grants from Health Research Institute

December 17, 2019

Both Dhavan and Vicky received travel grants from the Health Research Institute (HRI), which were used to support their attendances and presentations in the 2019 TERMIS Annual Meeting and the 2019 BMES Annual Conference, respectively.  Congratulations!


Oral and Poster Presentations in 2019 TERMIS Annual Conference

December 5, 2019

Dhavan attended Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS) Annual Conference in Orlando, FL. He gave a podium presentation entitled “Anisotropic nanofibrous cardiac-specific extracellular matrix scaffold for cardiac tissue engineering”. He also presented a poster titled “Enhancement of lymphangiogenesis by human mesenchymal stem cell-secreted extracellular matrix.”


Book Chapter Accepted in Methods in Cell Biology – Cell derived Matrices Part B

November 26, 2019

Our book chapter titled “A step-by-step protocol for generating human fibroblast cell-derived completely biological extracellular matrix scaffolds” has been accepted for publication in the book “Cell-derived Matrices Part B, Volume 157”. Dhavan Sharma, Morgan Ferguson and Dr. Feng Zhao are co-authors in the paper. Congratulations!


Undergraduate Researcher Alex Fetner Presented at the 2019 HRI Student Research Slam

November 8, 2019

Alex gave a 3-minute talk at the 2019 Health Research Institute (HRI)  Research Slam Student forum. He presented his research “Comparison of Two Different Decellularization Methods for Development of Cardiac Fibroblast ECM”. Good job, Alex!


Wenkai (Vicky) Jia Won the Third Place of Oral Presentation at the 2019 HRI Student Research Slam

November 8, 2019

Vicky won the third place of oral presentation at the 2019 Health Research Institute(HRI)  Research Slam Student forum. Vicky presented herPhD project entitled “Anisotropic Cardiac Tissue-Specific Scaffold from Pluripotent Stem Cell Derived Cardiac Fibroblast for Cardiac Tissue Engineering”. Congratulations!


Dhavan Sharma Won the Second Place of Oral Presentation at the 2019 HRI Research Slam Student forum

November 8, 2019

Congratulations to Dhavan for winning the second place of oral presentation at the 2019 Health Research Institute(HRI)  Research Slam Student forum. Dhavan presented his graduate project entitled “Polydopamine and collagen coated micro-grated polydimethylsiloxane for human mesenchymal stem cell culture”.


Oral and Poster Presentations in 2019 BMES Annual Conference

October 19, 2019

Wenkai (Vicky) and Alex attended the 2019 Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) Annual Conference in Philadelphia, PA. Vicky gave a podium presentation entitled “Polydopamine Based Surface Coatings on Micro-Grated Polydimethylsiloxane for Human Mesenchymal Stem Cell Culture”. She also presented a poster titled “Cardiac Tissue-Specific Nanofibrous Scaffold Derived from Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Derived Cardiac Fibroblast for […]


Vicky Received Travel Grant

October 4, 2019

Vicky received a travel grant of $250 from the Graduate Student Government (GSG), which was used to support her attendance and two presentations in the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) Annual Meeting – 2019.  Congratulations!


Dhavan Received Travel Grant

October 4, 2019

Dhavan received a travel grant of $250 from the Graduate Student Government (GSG), which was used to support his attendance and two presentations in the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS) Annual Meeting – 2019.  Congratulations!


Dr. Zhao Gave an Invited Talk in The City College of New York

September 25, 2019

Dr. Zhao gave an invited talk titled “Nanofibrous Extracellular Matrix for Tissue Engineering Applications” to Department of Biomedical Engineering at the City College of New York.


Paper Published in Acta Biomaterialia

September 17, 2019

Our collaborative work with Dr. Bo Liu has been accepted for publication in Acta Biomaterialia.  The paper is entitled “In situ synthesis of biocompatible imidazolium salt hydrogels with antimicrobial activities”.  Wenkai (Vicky) and Dr. Zhao are coauthors in the paper.  Congratulations!


Review Paper Published in Advanced Healthcare materials

August 23, 2019

Morgan Ferguson’s review paper titled “A Critical Review of Microelectrode Arrays and Strategies for Improving Neural Interfaces” has been published in Advanced healthcare materials.  Dhavan Sharma, David Ross and Dr. Feng Zhao are co-authors in the paper. Congratulations!


Review Paper Published in Emergent Materials

August 3, 2019

Dhavan’s review paper titled “Constructing biomimetic cardiac tissues: a review of scaffold materials for engineering cardiac patches” has been published in Emergent Materials.  Morgan Ferguson, Dr. Timothy J. Kamp and Dr. Feng Zhao are co-authors in the paper. Congratulations!


Dr. Zhao Gave an Invited Talk in University of Michigan Ann Arbor

August 2, 2019

Dr. Zhao gave an invited talk titled “Nanofibrous Extracellular Matrix for Cardiovascular Tissue Engineering” to the Department of Cardiac Surgery at Cardiovascular Research Center University of Michigan.


Lexie Wansten Presented Her Research

June 27, 2019

Our Michigan College and University Partnership (MiCUP) scholar Lexie presented her poster titled “Polydopamine and collagen coated micro-grated polydimethylsiloxane for human mesenchymal stem cell culture” in the MiCUP student poster gallery.


Paper Published in Journal of Materials Research

June 14, 2019

Our collaborative work with Dr. Mullins was accepted for publication in Journal of Materials Research.  The paper is entitled “Formation of Aligned Core/Sheath Microfiber Scaffolds with a poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) Sheath and a Conductive poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) Core”.  Rachel, Zichen and Dr. Zhao are coauthors in the paper.  Congratulations!


Dr. Zhao is a Notable Women in STEM

May 30, 2019

Dr. Zhao has been listed among Crain’s 2019 Notable Women in STEM. The women featured in this Notable Women in STEM report were selected by a team of Crain’s Detroit Business editors based on their career accomplishments, track record of success in the field, contributions to their community and mentorship of others, as outlined in a […]


Dr. Zhao Gave an Invited Talk in University of Wisconsin-Madison

May 2, 2019

Dr. Zhao gave an invited talk titled “Natural Extracellular Matrix for Diverse Tissue Engineering” to the Department of Engineering Physics at University of Wisconsin-Madison.


MedIndia: New Cardiac Patches to Help People Recover from Heart Attacks Developed

March 29, 2019

New cardiac patch which is entirely biological, comprised of stem cells with vasculature that mimics real tissue could help repair a heart, reports a new study. A team led by Feng Zhao, associate professor of biomedical engineering at Michigan Technological University, recently published two new papers on best practices in engineering prevascularized tissues.


Medical News: Researchers show potential of biomimicry to grow prevascularized tissues for cardiac patches

March 29, 2019

A team led by Feng Zhao, associate professor of biomedical engineering at Michigan Technological University, recently published two new papers on best practices in engineering prevascularized tissues.


ScienceDaily: Biomedical engineers grow cardiac patches to help people recover from heart attacks

March 28, 2019

A little goes a long way. Tiny blood vessels are essential for regenerative engineering and a team led by engineers has detailed innovative methods to ensure highly aligned, dense and mature microvasculature in engineered tissue that can be used for cardiac patches.


Research Highlighted by Tech News

March 28, 2019

Our research on Prevascularization of Engineered Cardiac Patch has been highlighted by Tech News. Click the title to read more.


MedicalXpress: Biomedical engineers grow cardiac patches to help people recover from heart attacks

March 28, 2019

Patching up a heart needs the help of tiny blood vessels. Aligning dense vascular structures in engineered cardiac patches can help patients recover from a heart attack. A team led by Feng Zhao, associate professor of biomedical engineering at Michigan Technological University, recently published two new papers on best practices in engineering prevascularized tissues.


NanoWerk: Engineers grow prevascularized tissue for cardiac patches

March 28, 2019

A team led by Feng Zhao, associate professor of biomedical engineering at Michigan Technological University, recently published two new papers on best practices in engineering prevascularized tissues. The team’s research paper, published in Theranostics (“Engineering Stem Cell Cardiac Patch with Physiological Myocardium Microvascular Features”), focuses on developing a stem cell cardiac patch made with tissue engineered with […]


Our Research Highlighted by National Science Foundation (NSF)

March 28, 2019

Our research on cardiac patch engineering has been highlighted by NSF: A little goes a long way. Tiny blood vessels are essential for regenerative engineering and a team led by engineers from Michigan Technological University has detailed innovative methods to ensure highly aligned, dense and mature microvasculature in engineered tissue that can be used for cardiac […]


Wenkai (Vicky) Jia and Dhavan Sharma Presented at the Graduate Student Colloquium (GRC)

March 27, 2019

Both Vicky and Dhavan gave podium presentations at the Graduate Student Colloquium. The title of Vicky’s presentation was “Mesenchymal stem cells on stimulating lymphedema regeneration”.  Dhavan presented “Polydopamine and collagen coated micro-grated polydimethylsiloxane for human mesenchymal stem cell culture”.  Good job, guys!


Dr. Zhao Awarded a Grant from National Institutes of Health (NIH)

March 13, 2019

Congratulations to Dr. Zhao for being awarded a grant from the NIH National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) for the project titled “Development of Off-the-shelf Completely Biological Small-Diameter Blood Vessel with Human Stem Cells”.


Publication Accepted in Acta Biomaterialia

March 13, 2019

Dhavan Sharma’s review paper titled “Upgrading prevascularization in tissue engineering: a review of strategies for promoting highly organized microvascular network formation” has been accepted for publication in Acta Biomaterialia.  David Ross, Dr. Guifang Wang, Wenkai Jia, Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick and Dr. Feng Zhao are coauthors in the paper.  Congratulations!


Paper Published in Bioactive Materials

February 21, 2019

Dhavan Sharma’s research paper entitled “Polydopamine and collagen coated micro-grated polydimethylsiloxane for human mesenchymal stem cell culture” has been published in Bioactive Materials.  Wenkai Jia, Shweta Pati(high school student),and Dr. Feng Zhao are coauthors in the paper. Dr. Fei Long (MEEM), Dr. Qinghui Chen (KIP), Dr. Yibing Qyang (our collaborator at Yale University), Dr. Bruce Lee, and Dr. CK […]


Publication Accepted in Theranostics

February 14, 2019

Dr. Zichen Qian’s paper titled “Engineering stem cell cardiac patch with microvascular features representative of native myocardium” has been accepted for publication in the journal of Theranostics.  Dhavan Sharma, Wenkai Jia, Daniel Radke, Dr. Timothy Kamp (our collaborator at University of Wisconsin Madison), and Dr. Feng Zhao are coauthors in the paper.  Congratulations!


Dr. Zhao Gave an Invited Talk in University of North Texas

February 8, 2019

Dr. Zhao gave an invited talk titled “Nanofibrous Extracellular Matrix for Soft Tissue Engineering” in the Department of Biomedical Engineeringat University of North Texas.


Dr. Zhao Gave an Invited Talk in UT Arlington

February 6, 2019

Dr. Zhao gave an invited talk titled “Nanofibrous Extracellular Matrix for Tissue Engineering Applications” in the Department of Bioengineering at University of Texas at Arlington.


Dr. Zhao Gave an Invited Talk in Biological Sciences

January 17, 2019

Dr. Zhao gave an invited talk titled “Natural Nanofibrous Extracellular Matrix for Diverse Tissue Engineering” in the Department of Biological Science at Michigan Tech.


Anderson Lind Received Undergraduate Research Internship Program Award

November 27, 2018

Congratulations to Anderson for receiving the URIP Award, which will support him to conduct the lymphatic tissue regeneration research.


Book Chapter Published in Skin Stem Cells, 2nd Edition

November 14, 2018

Our invited book chapter entitled “Protocols for Full Thickness Skin Wound Repair Using Prevascularized Human Mesenchymal Stem Cell Sheet” has been published in the 2nd Edition “Skin Stem Cells”, a book published by Springer Publisher.   The authors are Lei Chen (former visiting scholar), Daniel Radke (MS student), Dr. Shaohai Qi (collaborator in China), and Dr. […]


Dhavan Sharma Awarded PHF Graduate Assistantship

November 9, 2018

Congratulations to Dhavan for receiving the Portage Health Foundation Graduate Assistantship award for his thesis work on vascular engineering.


Wenkai (Vicky) Received Travel Grant

November 1, 2018

Vicky received a travel grant from the Graduate Student Government (GSG), which was used to support her attendance and two presentations in the Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Conference 2018.  Congratulations!


Wenkai (Vicky) Jia Presented in BMES Conference 2018

October 20, 2018

Vicky gave a podium presentation entitled “Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Promoting Lymphatic Regeneration” in the Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Conference 2018 in Atlanta, GA (BMES 2018). She also presented a poster titled “Fate of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Prevascularized Cell Sheet”.


Book Chapter Published in Encyclopedia of Biomedical Engineering

September 13, 2018

A book chapter titled ” Bioengineering Scaffolds for Regenerative Engineering” has been published in the book “Encyclopedia of Biomedical Engineering“. Zichen Qian, Daniel Radke, Wenkai Jia, Mitch Tahtinen, Guifang Wang and Dr. Feng Zhao are co-authors in this book chapter. Congratulations!


Daniel Radke Received Graduate Recruitment Tuition Award

August 20, 2018

Congratulations to Daniel Radke for receiving the Graduate Recruitment Tuition Award (GRTA) for fall 2018.


Dhavan Sharma Passed Both Master’s Thesis and PhD Proposal Defenses

August 1, 2018

Dhavan has successfully defended both his Master’s thesis and his PhD proposal. Congratulations!


Dr. Zhao Gave an Invited Talk in Shanghai Jiaotong University

July 30, 2018

Dr. Zhao gave an invited talk titled “Vascularization of Natural Nanofibrous Extracellular Matrix for Tissues Engineering” in Shanghai Jiaotong University, China.


Dr. Zhao Gave an Invited Podium Presentation in the Third Sino-American Nanomedicine Symposium

July 28, 2018

Dr. Zhao gave an invited talk titled “Vascularization of Natural Nanofibrous Extracellular Matrix for Diverse Tissues Engineering” it the Third Sino-American Nanomedicine Symposium in Nanjing, China.


Dr. Zhao Received Mid-Career Research Excellent Fund Award from Portage Health Foundation

July 1, 2018

Congratulations to Dr. Zhao for receiving a Mid-Career Research Excellent Fund from Portage Health Foundation (PHF)!  The award will support her to engineer a completely biological and vascularized stem cell patch for skin wound healing.


Dr. Feng Zhao and Dr. Victor Busov Received Infrastructure Enhancement Grant from Michigan Tech

July 1, 2018

Congratulations to Dr. Zhao and Dr. Busov for receiving an infrastructure enhancement grant to purchase a 3D bioprinter.


Alannah Elliott Presented Her Research

June 21, 2018

Our Michigan College and University Partnership (MiCUP) scholar Alannah presented her poster titled “Using Mesenchymal Stem Cells to Treat Lymphedema” in the MiCUP student poster gallery


Invited Paper Accepted for Publication in Advanced Healthcare Materials

May 7, 2018

Our invited review paper titled “Tissue Engineering at the Blood-Contacting Surface: A Review of Challenges and Strategies in Vascular Graft Development” has been accepted for publication in Advanced Healthcare Materials.   This review is a follow-up to our previous research publication: “Aligned nanofibrous cell-derived extracellular matrix for anisotropic vascular graft construction,” Advanced Healthcare Materials. 2017; 6:1601333 (1-6).  […]


Dhavan Sharma Received Graduate Recruitment Tuition Award

May 7, 2018

Congratulations to Dhavan for receiving the Graduate Recruitment Tuition Award (GRTA) for summer 2018.


Dr. Zhao and Zichen Qian won the 2018 Bhakta Rath Research Award

May 2, 2018

Congratulations to Dr. Zhao and Zichen for receiving the Bhakta Rath Award, which is Michigan Tech’s top honor to a doctoral student and faculty advisor working on cutting edge research that has important social implications. The Bhakta Rath Award was established in 2010 by an endowment from Bhakta B. Rath and his wife, Sushama Rath, […]


David Ross Won the Biomedical Engineering Outstanding Undergraduate Research Award

April 26, 2018

Congratulations to David for winning the Biomedical Engineering Outstanding Undergraduate Research Award. This award recognizes undergraduate student who has significant research accomplishments, including presentations at conferences or co-authorship of publications


Daniel Radke Won the Biomedical Engineering Graduate Research Excellence Award

April 26, 2018

Congratulations to Dan for winning the Biomedical Engineering Graduate Research Excellence Award. This award recognizes graduate students who have demonstrated independence, creativity, and significant productivity in their graduate research with high standards in professionalism, scientific ethics, and contributions to the Michigan Tech Biomedical Engineering Graduate Program.


Mini Review Published in Journal of Stem Cell Research & Therapeutics

April 19, 2018

Our mini review titled “Mesenchymal stem cells for pre-vascularization of engineered tissues” has been published in Journal of Stem Cell Research & Therapeutics.   The authors are Dhavan Sharma (MS student), Juan Felipe Chica (undergraduate researcher), and Dr. Zhao.  Congratulations!


David Ross Won the Undergraduate Merit Prize at the 3rd Annual LSTI Research Forum

April 11, 2018

David gave a poster presentation at the 3rd Annual Life Science and Technology Institute (LSTI) Research Forum and won the undergraduate merit prize. Congratulations!


Dr. Zhao Presented at the Society for Biomaterials (SFB) Annual Meeting

April 11, 2018

Dr. Zhao gave a podium presentation titled “Pre-vascularized Human Mesenchymal Stem Cell Sheets for Full Thickness Skin Wound Repair” at the Society for Biomaterials (SFB) Annual Meeting in Atlanta, GA. She also presented a poster on pre-vascularized biological materials.


David Ross Won the Second Place of Poster Presentation in 2018 Undergraduate Research Symposium

March 27, 2018

Congratulations to David for winning the second place of Undergraduate Research Symposium poster presentation. David presented his project entitled “Bioactive Polydimethylsiloxane Surface for Optimal Human Mesenchymal Stem Cell Sheet Culture”.


David Ross Won the Second Place of Poster Presentation in 2018 Undergraduate Research Symposium

March 6, 2018

Congratulations to David for winning the second place of Undergraduate Research Symposium poster presentation. David presented his project entitled “Bioactive Polydimethylsiloxane Surface for Optimal Human Mesenchymal Stem Cell Sheet Culture”.


Wenkai (Vicky) Jia Presented at the Graduate Student Colloquium (GRC)

February 28, 2018

Vicky gave a podium presentation at the Graduate Student Colloquium. The title of her presentation was “Prevascularization of Mesenchymal Stem Cell Sheets for Bone Tissue Regeneration”.  Good job, Vicky!


Invited Paper Accepted for Publication in Bioactive Materials

January 19, 2018

Our invited paper entitled “Bioactive Polydimethylsiloxane Surface for Optimal Human Mesenchymal Stem Cell Sheet Culture” was accepted for publication in the journal Bioactive Materials.   The paper is co-authored by Zichen Qian (former PhD), David Ross, Wenkai Jia, Qi Xing (former postdoc), and Dr. Zhao. Congratulations!


Gabrielle and Trevor Selected as Portage Health Foundation Fellows

October 10, 2017

Congratulations to Gabrielle Lohrenz and Trevor Simmons for having been selected as Portage Health Foundation Fellows through the Undergraduate Research Internship Program. Gabrielle’s proposal was titled “Regeneration of Lymphatic Vessels using Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells”.  Trevor’s proposal was titled “The Neuroprotective Effect of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells in a Spinal Cord Ischemia Model”.


Invited Book Chapter Accepted for Publication in Encyclopedia of Biomedical Engineering

September 19, 2017

Our invited book chapter entitled “Bioengineering Scaffolds for Regenerative Engineering” was accepted for publication in a book titled “Encyclopedia of Biomedical Engineering”, which will be published by Elsevier Publisher.   The chapter is co-authored by Zichen Qian, Daniel Radke, Wenkai Jia, Mitch Tahtinen, Guifang Wang, and Dr. Zhao. Congratulations!


Rachel Martin Passed her PhD Dissertation Defense

August 30, 2017

Rachel has successfully defended her PhD dissertation. Congratulations, Dr. Martin!


Dr. Zhao Receives CAB Young Investigator Award

August 22, 2017

Dr. Zhao was selected to receive the Chinese Association for Biomaterials (CAB) Young Investigator Award.  The Award recognizes an individual who has demonstrated outstanding achievement and leadership in biomaterial-related research and profession.  Dr. Zhao was one of the six winners selected internationally. Dr. Zhao was invited to give a podium presentation at the Symposium of […]


Wenkai Awarded PHF Graduate Assistantship

August 4, 2017

Congratulations to Wenkai for receiving the Portage Health Foundation Graduate Assistantship award for her thesis work on lymphatic vascular engineering.


Publication Accepted in the Journal of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine

July 12, 2017

Dr. Zichen Qian’s paper entitled  “ Prevascularization of Natural Nanofibrous Extracellular Matrix for Engineering Completely Biological 3D Prevascularized Tissues for Diverse Applications” has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine.  Lijun Zhang (former visiting scholar), Mitch Tahtinen, Dr. Shaohai Qi and Dr. Feng Zhao are coauthors in the paper.  Congratulations!


Invited Book Chapter Accepted for Publication in Wounds: Background, Principles, and Recent Research and Clinical Techniques

July 12, 2017

Our invited book chapter entitled “Prevascularized Stem Cell Sheet for Full Thickness Skin Wound Repair” was accepted for publication in a book titled “Wounds: Background, Principles, and Recent Research and Clinical Techniques”, which will be published by Springer Publisher.   The chapter is co-authored by Daniel Radke, Lei Chen (former visiting scholar), Dr. Shaohai Qi (collaborator […]


Publication Accepted in ACS Sensors

June 29, 2017

Our collaborative work with Dr. Haiying Liu (Chemistry) was accepted for publication in ACS Sensors.  The paper is entitled “ Luminescent Probes for Sensitive Detection of pH Changes in Live Cells through Two Near-infrared Luminescence Channels.”   Zichen, Avik and Dr. Zhao are coauthors in the paper.  Congratulations!


Invited Paper Accepted in AIMS Cell and Tissue Engineering

June 23, 2017

Zichen’s paper entitled “Effects of Short Term Hypoxia-Preconditioning on Glial Phenotype Induction of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells” has been accepted for publication in the journal of AIMS Cell and Tissue Engineering. Zichen Qian, Qi Xing, Corey Fase  (former undergraduate researcher), Kyle Jansen (former undergraduate researcher), and Dr. Zhao are co-authors in this paper.  Congratulations!


Dr. Zhao Awarded a Grant from National Science Foundation (NSF)

June 23, 2017

Congratulations to Dr. Zhao for on her new NSF award “Anisotropic human mesenchymal stem cell patch with oriented vasculature”.


Darryl Bryant Presented His Research

June 15, 2017

Our Michigan College and University Partnership (MiCUP) scholar Darryl presented his poster entitled “Hypoxia Created Human Mesenchymal Stem Cell Spheroids Cocultured with Lymphatic Endothelial Cells Promote Lymphatic Angiogenesis” in the MiCUP student poster gallery.  Good job, Darryl.


Zichen Qian Passed his PhD Dissertation Defense

May 23, 2017

Zichen has successfully defended his PhD dissertation. Congratulations, Dr. Qian!


Vascular Graft Tissue Research Featured in Synthecon

April 11, 2017

Our research “Aligned Nanofibrous Cell-Derived Extracellular Matrix for Anisotropic Vascular Graft Construction” is featured in Synthecon. Read more in the article “VASCULAR GRAFT TISSUE ENGINEERING IN THE RCCS” in Synthecon: http://synthecon.com/news.asp?pageid=16&calid=182


Zichen Qian Received the Graduate Research Excellence Award

March 26, 2017

Congratulations to Zichen for receiving the Graduate Research Excellence Award from the department of Biomedical Engineering, which honors his excellent performance in research.


David Ross Presented in the Undergraduate Research Symposium (URS)

March 17, 2017

David presented his poster entitled “Covalently Bonding Collagen I Coating To Polydimethylsiloxane” in the Undergraduate Research Symposium.


Publication Accepted in Angewandte Chimie International Edition

March 15, 2017

Our collaborative work with Dr. Bruce Lee was accepted for publication in Angewandte Chimie International Edition.  The paper is entitled “A Moldable Nanocomposite Hydrogel Composed of a Mussel-Inspired Polymer and a Nanosilicate as a Fit-to-Shape Tissue Sealant”   Zichen and Dr. Zhao are coauthors in the paper.  Congratulations!


Rachel Martin Received Finishing Fellowship

March 15, 2017

Congratulations to Rachel for receiving the Graduate School  Finishing Fellowship, which will support her to complete her thesis work on neural tissue engineering.


Zichen Qian Won the Third Place of Poster Presentation in 2017 Graduate Student Colloquium

February 16, 2017

Congratulations to Zichen for winning third place for his Graduate Student Colloquium (GRC) poster presentation. Zichen presented his graduate project entitled “Engineering Oriented Microvessels on Aligned Extracellular Matrix Scaffold.”  He also participated in the oral presentations discussing the same project.


Zichen Qian Received the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Scholarship

February 16, 2017

Congratulations to Zichen for receiving the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Scholarship, which honors his excellent performance in research, leadership, academic accomplishment, and work ethic.


Paper accepted in Advanced Healthcare Materials

January 18, 2017

Our paper entitled “Aligned Nanofibrous Cell-Derived Extracellular Matrix for Anisotropic Vascular Graft Construction” has been accepted for publication in the journal of Advanced Healthcare Materials. Qi Xing, Zichen Qian, Mitchell Tahtinen, Ai Hui Yap (Houghton High School Student), Keegan Yates (former undergraduate researcher), and Dr. Zhao are co-authors in this paper.  Congratulations!  


Invited Book Chapter Published in Tissue Engineering and Nano Theranostics

December 6, 2016

Our invited book chapter entitled “Engineering Approaches for Creating Skeletal Muscle” was published in a book titled “Tissue Engineering and Nano Theranostics” (ISBN: 978-981-3149-18-2,  http://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/10263), which was published by the World Scientific Publisher.   The chapter is co-authored by our former lab member Caleb Vogt, Mitchell Tahtinen, and Dr. Zhao. 


Daniel Radke Received Graduate Recruitment Tuition Award

December 5, 2016

Congratulations to Daniel Radke for receiving the Graduate Recruitment Tuition Award (GRTA) for spring 2017 in the amount of $4,500.


Paper Accepted in ACS Biomaterials Science and Engineering

November 28, 2016

Our invited review paper entitled “Naturally Derived Extracellular Matrix for Cellular and Tissue Biomanufacturing” has been accepted for publication in the journal of ACS Biomaterials Science and Engineering.  The paper is co-authored by Qi, Zichen, Wenkai, Avik, Mitch, and Dr. Zhao.  Congratulations!


RegMedNet: Engineered Stem Cell Sheet Enhances Grafts for Treating Severe Burns

November 4, 2016

Our research was highlighted in RegMedNet. Click here to read more.


Genetic Literacy Project: Burn Victims May Recover Quicker With Stem Cell Skin Grafts

November 2, 2016

Our research was highlighted in Genetic Literacy Project. Click here to read more.


The Peninsula: Joint U.S.-Chinese Research Project Yields Promising Therapy For Burn Victims

October 31, 2016

Our research was highlighted in The Peninsula. Click here to read more.


Iran Daily: Researchers Develop New Method For Healing Burns

October 31, 2016

Our research was highlighted in Iran Daily. Click here to read more.


Latest Technology: A Skin Graft for Bad Burns

October 29, 2016

Our research was highlighted in Latest Technology. Click here to read more.


ScienceDaily: A Skin Graft for Bad Burns

October 28, 2016

Our research was highlighted in ScienceDaily. Click here to read more.


Tech News: A Skin Graft for Bad Burns

October 27, 2016

Full thickness skin grafts are the gold standard for treating burn wounds. However, most skin grafts for severe burns require a donor and for large or complicated injury sites, a full thickness skin graft is hard to come by. Split thickness skin grafts that use tissue from the patient may be a solution—but not by […]


Paper Accepted in Theranostics

October 27, 2016

Our paper entitled “Pre-vascularization Enhances Therapeutic Effects of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cell Sheets in Full Thickness Skin Wound Repair” is accepted for publication in the journal of Theranostics.  The research is based on the collaborative research with Dr. Shaohai Qi and Dr. Lei Chen in the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China.  The […]


David Was Selected As A Portage Health Foundation Fellow

October 20, 2016

Congratulations to David Ross for having been selected as a Portage Health Foundation Fellow through the Undergraduate Research Internship Program. David’s proposal was titled “Covalently Bonded Collagen Coating on PDMS Improved Human Mesenchymal Stem Cell Sheet Formation.”


Zichen Presented in BMES Conference 2016

October 7, 2016

Zichen presented his poster entitled “Engineering Oriented Microvessels on Aligned Extracellular Matrix Scaffold ” in the Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Conference 2016 in Minneapolis (BMES 2016).


Zichen Awarded PHF Graduate Assistantship

August 31, 2016

Congratulations to Zichen for receiving the Portage Health Foundation Graduate Assistantship award for his thesis work on vascular and neural tissue engineering.


Zichen Presented in 4th Annual Keweenaw Medical Conference and Awarded Best Poster Presentation

August 29, 2016

Zichen presented a platform presentation and a poster entitled “Engineering Oriented Microvessels on Aligned Extracellular Matrix Scaffold ” in the 4th Annual Keweenaw Medical Conference 2016 in Copper Harbor. He received the award of the best poster presentation.


Dr. Zhao Received a Grant from The Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC)

July 11, 2016

Dr. Zhao Received a grant from The Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), which will support her to create a composite tissue from natural and artificial cells for better healing wounds. Congratulations! [Read More]


Dr. Zhao Received PHF-Research Excellent Fund Award

July 1, 2016

Congratulations to Dr. Zhao for receiving a Portage Health Foundation Research Excellence Fund (PHF-REF) award! The award will support her to engineer a prevascularized cell patch for multiple tissue engineering applications.


Dr. Zhao Awarded a Grant from National Institutes of Health (NIH)

July 1, 2016

Congratulations to Dr. Zhao for being awarded a grant from the NIH National Cancer Institute (NCI) for the “Therapeutic Lymphatic Vessel Regeneration.”


Our Research is Featured in the Biomedical Engineering Spring 2016 Newsletter

May 6, 2016

Our research is featured in the Biomedical Engineering Spring 2016 Newsletter. [Read More]


Dr. Zhao Received Early Promotion

April 29, 2016

Dr. Zhao Received an early promotion to Associate Professor with tenure. Congratulations!


Mitch Presented at South Range High School

April 28, 2016

Supported by the Portage Health Foundation (PHF) Undergraduate Fellowship, Mitch presented to the South Range High School science classes to explain the research being conducted in the biomedical engineering program at MTU. Specifically, he focused on research being done in Dr. Zhao’s lab. The talk explained the impact and current progress in the stem cell […]


Zichen Won the First Place of 3MT Competition

April 14, 2016

Congratulations to our lab member Zichen Qian who won the first place of 3MT competition! Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) celebrates the exciting research conducted by PhD students. Developed by The University of Queensland (UQ), the exercise cultivates students’ academic, presentation, and research communication skills. The competition supports their capacity to effectively explain their research in […]


Emily’s Research Featured in the Graduate School Annual Report

April 7, 2016

Our former lab member Emily Shearier is highlighted in the Graduate School Annual Report, both on the cover and page 6. The article entitled “For the Love of Research” at page 6 reported her stem cell research in our lab in the past three years. [Read More]


Research Highlighted as Cover Art of Tissue Engineering Journal

April 5, 2016

Our research is highlighted as the cover art of the April issue of Tissue Engineering C—Methods [Image Here].  The image is from our paper entitled “Physiologically low oxygen enhances biomolecule production and stemness of mesenchymal stem cell spheroids,” which is published in the same issue of the journal [Read More]. The paper is authored by […]


Our Lab Members Presented at the 2016 U.P. ACS Student Research Symposium

April 2, 2016

Our graduate students Zichen and Avik presented their posters at the 2016 Student Research Symposium hosted by the Upper Peninsula (UP) Local Section of the American Chemical Society (ACS). Zichen’s poster is entitled “Response of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells to ZIF-8 Particles Embedded Gelatin Hydrogel.”  Avik’s poster is entitled “Mannose-based Water Soluble Near-Infrared Fluorescent Probes […]


Publication Accepted in Advanced Healthcare Materials

March 8, 2016

Our collaborative work with Dr. Drelich and Dr. Goldman was accepted for publication in Advanced Healthcare Materials.  The paper is entitled “Biodegradable metals for cardiovascular stents: from clinical concerns to recent Zn – alloys.”   Emily and Dr. Zhao are coauthored in the paper.  Congratulations!


Paper Accepted in ACS Biomaterials Science and Engineering

March 3, 2016

Our paper entitled “In Vitro Cytotoxicity, Adhesion, and Proliferation of Human Vascular Cells Exposed to Zinc” is accepted for publication in the journal of ACS Biomaterials Science and Engineering.  The research is based on the collaborative research with Dr. Jeremy Goldman and Dr. Jaroslaw Drelich.  The paper is coauthored by Emily, Patrick, Weilue, Adam, Dr. […]


Zichen Qian Presented in the Graduate Student Colloquium (GRC)

February 24, 2016

Zichen presented his poster entitled “Effects of Soluble Angiogenic Growth Factors and Focal Adhesion Proteins on Microvasculature Formation” in the Graduate Student Colloquium (GRC).


Publication Accepted in Journal of the Optical Society of America A

February 6, 2016

Our collaborative research with Dr. Xuan Liu (former BME faculty) is accepted to publish in the Journal of the Optical Society of America A.   The paper is entitled “Iterative l1–min algorithm for fixed pattern noise removal in fiber bundle based endoscopic imaging.” Our former visiting scholar Lijun Zhang and Dr. Zhao are co-authored in the paper.  Congratulations!


Emily Received Travel Grant

February 2, 2016

Emily received a travel grant from the Life Science and Technology Institute (LSTI), which was used to support her attendance and platform presentation at the 7th Symposium on Biodegradable Metals in Carovigno, Italy.  Congratulations!


Publication Accepted in Tissue Engineering C – Methods

January 27, 2016

Congratulations to Emily for having a paper published in Tissue Engineering C-Methods.  The paper is entitled “Physiologically low oxygen enhances biomolecule production and stemness of mesenchymal stem cell spheroids” and coauthored by Emily, Qi, Zichen, and Dr. Zhao.


Dr. Zhao Receives Rising Star Award

January 7, 2016

Dr. Zhao was selected to receive the Biomedical Engineering Society-Cellular and Molecular Engineering (BMES-CMBE) Rising Star Award.  The Rising Star Awards designate exceptional junior principal investigators who have done extraordinary work in the CMBE research field.  Dr. Zhao was one of the six winners selected nationally. Dr. Zhao was invited to give a podium presentation […]


Publication Accepted in RSC Advances

December 16, 2015

Emily’s paper entitled “Surface defection reduces cytotoxicity of Zn(2-methylimidazole)2 (Zif-8) without compromising its drug delivery capacity” has been accepted for publication in the journal of RSC Advances. The paper is based on our collaborative research with Dr. Yunhang Hu’s group in Material Science and Engineering.  Congratulations!   The link for the full paper can be found here.


Emily Shearier Passed her PhD Dissertation Defense

November 12, 2015

Emily has successfully defended her PhD dissertation. She is the first PhD student to graduate from our lab. Congratulations, Dr. Shearier!


Hugh and Mitch were Accepted for the Pavlis Honors College’s Undergraduate Research Internship Program

October 20, 2015

Congratulations to Hugh Stanton and Mitchell Tahtinen for having their proposals accepted for the Pavlis Honors Undergraduate Research Internship Program. Hugh’s proposal was titled “The Effect of Nitric Oxide Releasing Systems on Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells.” Mitchell’s proposal was titled “Prevascularization of a Natural Highly Aligned Nanofibrous Extracellular Matrix Scaffold.”


Our Lab Members Presented at the 2015 BMES Annual Meeting

October 8, 2015

Mitchell Tahtinen and Qi Xing presented posters at the 2015 BMES Annual Meeting in Tampa, Florida. Mitchell’s poster was titled “Effects of Physiological Oxygen on Vascular Network Formation on Human Mesenchymal Stem Cell Sheets.” Qi’s poster was titled “Three Dimensional Anisotropic Tissue Composed of Mesenchymal Stem Cells with Myogenic Phenotype Expression.”


Publication Accepted in Advanced Healthcare Materials

October 2, 2015

Our paper entitled “Hypoxia Created Human Mesenchymal Stem Cell Sheet for Prevascularized Three-Dimensional Tissue Construction” is accepted to publish in the journal of Advanced Healthcare Materials. The authors of the paper are Lijun, Qi, Zichen, Mitch, Emily, Zhaoqiang (former visiting scholar), Dr. Shaohai Qi, and Dr. Zhao. Congratulations! The link for the full paper can […]


Publication Accepted in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces

September 29, 2015

Congratulations to Qi for having a paper published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. The paper is entitled “Osteogenic differentiation evaluation of an engineered extracellular matrix based tissue sheet for potential periosteum replacement” and is co-authored by Qi, Zichen, Baratwaaj, Mitch, and Dr. Zhao.


Our Lab Members Presented at the 2015 Fall LSTI Research Forum

September 25, 2015

Our PhD student Zichen and undergraduate student, Mitch, presented their posters at the 2015 Fall LSTI Student Research Forum. Their posters were titled as follows: Zichen Qian: “Engineering 3-D Neural Repair Conduit Constructed from Nanofibrous Extracellular Matrix and Glial Differentiated Mesenchymal Stem Cells” Mitchell Tahtinen: “Prevascularization of Highly Aligned Nanofibrous Extracellular Matrix Scaffold”


Publication Accepted in Materials Science and Engineering

September 22, 2015

Our collaborative work with Dr. Jeremy Goldman and Dr. Jaroslaw Drelich was published in the paper entitled “Metallic zinc exhibits optimal biocompatibility for bioabsorbable endovascular stents.” Emily and Dr. Zhao are co-authored in the paper. Congratulations!


Emily Shearier Presented at the 7th Symposium on Biodegradable Metals

August 27, 2015

Emily Shearier presented a platform presentation at the 7th Symposium on Biodegradable Metals in Carovigno, Italy. The title of her presentation was “In vitro cytotoxicity of vascular cell types after exposure to zinc.”


NIH Awarded Grant to Support Collaborative Project

August 6, 2015

Drs. Jeremy Goldman, Jaroslaw Drelich, and Feng Zhao received a grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of NIH, which supports the development of Zn-Mg stent materials and to characterize their biodegradation rate, biocompatibility, and toxicity.


Publication Accepted in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces

July 23, 2015

Our collaborative work with Dr. Jeremy Goldman was published in the paper entitled “Fabrication and short-term in vivo performance of a natural elastic lamina – polymeric hybrid vascular graft.” Dr. Zhao is co-authored in the paper. Congratulations!


Our Research is Highlighted by the Lake Superior Magazine

July 2, 2015

Our research on cardiovascular tissue engineering is highlighted by the July issue of Lake Superior magazine. The article is entitled “Engineering Better Health.” Dr. Zhao’s picture is featured in the article.


Publication Accepted in Journal of Biomedical Materials Research: Part A

June 10, 2015

Our paper entitled “Nitric Oxide Regulates Cell Behavior on an Interactive Cell-Derived Extracellular Matrix Scaffold” has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Biomedical Materials Research: Part A (JBMRA).  The authors of the paper are, Qi Xing, Lijun Zhang, Travis Redman, Shaohai Qi, and Dr. Feng Zhao.  Congratulations!


Dr. Feng Zhao Received Research Excellent Fund Award from Michigan Tech

May 7, 2015

Congratulations to Dr. Zhao for receiving a Research Excellent Fund-Seed Grant from Michigan Tech!  The award will support her to engineer a completely biological cardiac patch using stem cells.


Dr. Feng Zhao and Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick Received Infrastructure Enhancement Grant from Michigan Tech

May 7, 2015

Congratulations to Dr. Zhao and Dr. Kirkpatrick, who received an Infrastructure Enhancement Grant to repair and upgrade the fluorescent microscope in our department.


Research Featured in Michigan Tech Research Magazine

May 1, 2015

Dr. Zhao’s research is featured in the 2015 Research Magazine of Michigan Tech (cover art and page 10-11).  The article entitled “Scaffolding Goes Natural” highlights our recently created highly aligned completely biological nanofibrous scaffold.  This finding has been published in Advanced Functional Materials (2014) and Tissue Engineering (2015).  [Read More]


Our Lab Members Recevied BRC Travel Grants

March 27, 2015

  Our lab members Qi Xing and Zichen Qian received BRC travel grants for the TERMIS 2014 Conference and the Gordon Research Conference – Glial Biology 2015. Congratulations! [Read more]


Mitchell Tahtinen Received SURF Award

March 14, 2015

Congratulations to Mitchell Tahtinen for receiving the SURF award for his research titled: “Prevascularization of Highly Aligned Nanofibrous Extracellular Matrix Scaffold.”


Zichen Qian Received Graduate Student Government Travel Grant Award

March 2, 2015

  Our lab member Zichen Qian received a graduate student government travel grant award for his poster presentation at the Gordon Research Conference – Glial Biology 2015. Congratulations! [Read More]


Zichen Qian Presented at Gordon Research Conference – Glial Biology

March 1, 2015

Our lab member Zichen Qian presented a poster at the Gordon Research Conference – Glial Biology 2015 in Ventura, CA. The poster was entitled “Engineering 3-D Neural Repair Conduit with Nanofibrous Extracellular Matrix and Glial Differentiated Mesenchymal Stem Cells”. Qi Xing, Corey Fase, Kyle Jansen and Dr. Feng Zhao were co-authored in this poster.


Dr. Qi Xing Received 2nd Place of SYIS-AM Poster Award in 2014 TERMIS-AM Annual Conference

December 15, 2014

Congratulations to Dr. Qi Xing for being awarded 2nd place in Young Investigator Section-America (SYIS-AM) poster competition at the 2014 Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society-American (TERMIS-AM) annual conference in Washington D.C. Her poster titled “Highly Organized Three-Dimensional Tissue Created in a Rotating Wall Vessel Bioreactor” was selected to win the prize from total […]


Our Lab Members Presented at the 2014 TERMIS-AM Annual Conference

December 13, 2014

Our Lab Members had both podium and poster presentations at the 2014 Annual Conference of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS) – American in Washington D.C.  The presentations were titled as follows:   Podium Presentation: Vasculature Formation on Human Mesenchymal Stem Cell Sheets Authors:  Lijun Zhang, Qi Xing, Zichen Qian, Shaohai Qi, Feng […]


Paper Published in International Journal of Nanomedicine

November 11, 2014

Congratulations to Dr. Yu Zhao for having a paper published in International Journal of Nanomedicine.  The paper is entitled “Facile electrochemical synthesis of antimicrobial TiO2 nanotube arrays” and coauthored by Qi Xing, Jagadeesh Janjanam, Kun He, Fei Long, Ke-Bin Low, Ashutosh Tiwari, Feng Zhao, Reza Shahbazian-Yassar, Craig Friedrich and Tolou Shokuhfar.  [Read More]


Qi’s Abstract is Identified as One of the Top 25 Abstracts in the TERMIS Conference

November 6, 2014

Qi’s abstract entitled “Highly Organized Three-Dimensional Tissue Created in a Rotating Wall Vessel Bioreactor” is identified as one of the top 25 abstracts in the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS) Annual Conference.   She has been invited to take part in the poster competition.  Congratulations!


Our Research is Highlighted by the Engineering Society of Detroit’s Magazine, Technology Century

November 2, 2014

Our research on blood vessel and cardiac patch engineering is highlighted by the Engineering Society of Detroit’s magazine, Technology Century.  [Read More]


Mitchell Tahtinen Presented at the 2014 BMES Annual Meeting

October 25, 2014

Mitchell Tahtinen presented a poster titled “Prevascularization of Natural Extracellular Matrix Scaffold” at the 2014 BMES annual meeting in San Antonio, TX.  Co-authors were, Lijun Zhang, Qi Xing, and Feng Zhao.


Congratulations to our lab Members for winning 3 of the 5 Awards at the 2014 Fall BRC Research Forum

October 23, 2014

Emily Shearier Received a Graduate Merit Prize. Caleb Vogt Received the Undergraduate Grand Prize.  Mitchell Tahtinen Received the Undergraduate Merit Prize [More Info]. Congratulations and Good Job, Guys!!!


Caleb Gave an Invited Talk at the 2014 BRC Research Forum

October 23, 2014

Caleb gave an invited talk entitled “Human Mesenchymal Stem Cell Response to Nitric Oxide Releasing Materials” at the 2014 BRC Research Forum [More Info].  Good job, Caleb!


Our lab Members Presented at the 2014 Fall BRC Research Forum

October 23, 2014

Our PhD students Emily and Zichen, undergraduate students Caleb, Mitch and Keegan presented their posters at the 2014 Fall ESC/BRC Student Research Forum. Emily Shearier: MSC Spheroids for Therapy Following Axillary Lymph Node Dissection Zichen Qian: Engineering 3-D Neural Repair Conduit Constructed from Nanofibrous Extracellular Matrix and Glial Differentiated Mesenchymal Stem Cells Caleb Vogt: Human […]


Publication accepted in Biomedical Optics Express

October 7, 2014

Our collaborated work with Dr. Xuan Liu was published in the paper titled “Motion analysis and removal in intensity variation based OCT angiography.”  Congratulations! In this work, we investigated how bulk motion degraded the quality of optical coherence tomography (OCT) angiography that was obtained through calculating interframe signal variation, i.e., interframe signal variation based optical […]


Lijun Zhang and Mitchell Tahtinen Received BRC Travel Grant Award

September 29, 2014

Congratulations to Lijun Zhang and Mitchell Tahtinen for receiving a 2014 BRC Travel Grant.  Lijun received her grant for the TERMIS-AM 2014 conference in Washington D.C.  Mitchell received his grant for the 2014 BMES Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas.


Publication Accepted in Biomicrofluidics

September 16, 2014

Our collaborated work with Dr. Adrienne Minerick’s lab was published in the paper titled “Characterizing the dielectric properties of human mesenchymal stem cells and the effects of charged elastin-like polypeptide copolymer treatment.”  Congratulations! Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) have three key properties that make them desirable for stem cell therapeutics: differentiation capacity, trophic activity, and ability to self-renew. However, current […]


Emily passed qualifying examination and proposal defense

August 28, 2014

Emily passed the qualifying examination and proposal defense of our department. Congratulations!


Dr. Feng Zhao Named an Academic Editor for PLOS ONE

July 24, 2014

Feng Zhao, assistant professor of biomedical engineering, has been named an academic editor for PLOS ONE. PLOS ONE is the largest journal in the world, publishing well over 2000 articles per month. The underlying philosophy of PLOS ONE is that all research, if well-performed and well-reported, has something of value to offer the scientific community, […]


MICUP Student Research EXPO

June 25, 2014

Our MICUP students Pursu Neopaney and Anaflavia Almendras-Reyes from Grand Rapids Community College presented their work in the MiCUP EXPO at Michigan Tech.


Zichen passed qualifying examination and proposal defense

May 20, 2014

Zichen passed the qualifying examination and proposal defense of our department.  Congratulations!


Publication Accepted in Tissue Engineering

May 7, 2014

Congratulations to Qi Xing for having a paper accepted for publication in Tissue Engineering, Part C: Methods.  The paper is titled “Decellularization of Fibroblast Cell Sheets for Natural Extracellular Matrix Scaffold Preparation” and coauthored by Keegan Yates, Mitchell Tahtinen, Emily Shearier, and Dr. Zhao.  [Read More]


Mitchell Tahtinen Received Kenneth L. Stevenson Research Fellowship

April 25, 2014

The Department of Biomedical Engineering announces the recipients of the 2014 Kenneth L. Stevenson Research Fellows. Two undergraduate and two graduate students are selected annually to receive these competitive research fellowships. The Stevenson Fellows program provides an opportunity for upper-level undergraduate and early-stage graduate students to spend the summer in a total immersion research experience […]


Keegan Yates to Attend NSF Research Program for Undergraduates

April 11, 2014

Keegan Yates, a third-year biomedical engineering major, has been selected to participate in the National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates, to be held this summer at Virginia Tech. He is among 10 students selected nationwide to participate in the program, which will focus on multiscale approaches to biomechanics. Yates has been working on research […]


Our Research is Highlighted by MTU Biomedical Engineering Newsletter: Arteries on Aisle 9

April 1, 2014

Feng Zhao dreams of the day when replacement blood vessels will be as easy as buying garden hoses. In the United States alone, hundreds of thousands of people a year undergo surgery to bypass a blocked artery and restore blood flow.  Typically, surgeons first cut a vein from the patient’s leg or chest.  Then they […]


Publication Accepted in Scientific Reports

March 28, 2014

Congratulations to Qi Xing for having a paper accepted for publication in Scientific Reports.  The paper is titled “Increasing Mechanical Strength of Gelatin Hydrogels by Divalent Metal Ion Removal” and coauthored by Caleb Vogt, Zichen Qian, Dr. Megan C. Frost, and Dr. Feng Zhao.  [Read More]


Keegan Yates Received Undergraduate Grand Prize at the 2014 Annual ESC/BRC Student Research Forum

March 19, 2014

Congratulations to Keegan Yates for receiving the Undergraduate Grand Prize at the 2014 Annual ESC/BRC Student Research Forum for the poster titled “Decellularization of Fibroblast Cell Sheets for Natural Extracellular Matrix Scaffold Preparation.”


Keegan Yates Presented at the 2014 Annual ESC/BRC Student Research Forum

March 19, 2014

Keegan Yates presented a poster titled “Decellularization of Fibroblast Cell Sheets for Natural Extracellular Matrix Scaffold Preparation” at the 2014 Annual ESC/BRC Student Research Forum.


Zichen Qian Presented at the 2014 Annual ESC/BRC Student Research Forum

March 19, 2014

Zichen Qian presented a poster titled “Glial/Neural-Differentiation of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Peripheral Neural Repair Grafting Design” at the 2014 Annual ESC/BRC Student Research Forum.


Lijun Zhang Presented at the 2014 Annual ESC/BRC Student Research Forum

March 19, 2014

Lijun Zhang presented a poster titled “Hypoxia Promotes Pre-vasculature Formation on Human Mesenchymal Stem Cell Sheets” at the 2014 Annual ESC/BRC Student Research Forum.


Mitchell Tahtinen Presented at the 2014 Annual ESC/BRC Student Research Forum

March 19, 2014

Mitchell Tahtinen presented a poster titled “Prevascularization of Decellularized Fibroblast Cell Sheet” at the 2014 Annual ESC/BRC Student Research Forum.


Keegan Yates Received SURF Award

March 6, 2014

Congratulations to Keegan Yates for receiving the SURF award for his research titled: “Human Mesenchymal Stem Cell Differentiation to Cardiomyocytes through Culture on Nitric Oxide Releasing Extracellular Matrix.”


Kurzweil: Nanopatterned natural biological scaffold for stem cells may allow for softer engineered tissues

February 26, 2014

Feng Zhao of Michigan Technological University (MTU) has persuaded fibroblasts — cells that make up the extracellular matrix in the body — to make a well-organized nanopatterned scaffold (support structure). This discovery could have major implications for growing engineered tissue to repair or replace virtually any part of our bodies. In all multicellular organisms, including […]


Scicasts: New Biological Scaffold Offers Promising Foundation for Engineered Tissues

February 25, 2014

Houghton, MI (Scicasts) – Our cells don’t live in a vacuum. They are surrounded by a complex, nurturing matrix that is essential for many biological functions, including growth and healing. In all multicellular organisms, including people, cells make their own extracellular matrix. But in the lab, scientists attempting to grow tissue must provide a scaffold […]


Our Research is Reported by Eurekalert: New Biological Scaffold Offers Promising Foundation for Engineered Tissues

February 24, 2014

Our cells don’t live in a vacuum. They are surrounded by a complex, nurturing matrix that is essential for many biological functions, including growth and healing. In all multicellular organisms, including people, cells make their own extracellular matrix. But in the lab, scientists attempting to grow tissue must provide a scaffold for cells to latch […]


Stem Cells Freak: New biological scaffold for growing stem cells

February 24, 2014

Usually, researchers develop scaffolds using synthetic materials or natural animal or human substances. All have their strengths and weaknesses, but no scaffold grown in a Petri dish has ever managed to mimic the highly organized structure of the matrix made by living things, at least not until now. [Read more]


Science Daily: New biological scaffold offers promising foundation for engineered tissues

February 24, 2014

Engineered tissues like the ones used to create artificial skin need a scaffold for cells to grow on. Now a team of researchers has coaxed cells called fibroblasts into creating a scaffold that mimics the body’s own internal matrix, and in early tests, cells seem happy to set up residence, and had the added advantage […]


Tech News: New Biological Scaffold Home, Sweet Home, for Stem Cells

February 24, 2014

Feng Zhao of Michigan Technological University has persuaded fibroblasts, cells that makes the extracellular matrix, to make just such a well-organized scaffold. Its fibers are a mere 80 nanometers across, similar to fibers in a natural matrix. And, since her scaffold is made by cells, it is composed of the same intricate mix of all-natural […]


Zichen Qian Presented at the 2014 MTU Graduate Research Colloquium

February 19, 2014

Zichen Qian presented a poster titled “Glial/Neural-Differentiation of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Peripheral Neural Repair Grafting Design” at the 2014 MTU Graduate Research Colloquium.


Emily Shearier Presented at the 2014 MTU Graduate Research Colloquium

February 19, 2014

Emily Shearier presented a poster titled “Mesenchymal Stem Cell Spheroids for Therapy Following Axillary Lymph Node Dissection” at the 2014 MTU Graduate Research Colloquium.


Caleb Vogt Nominated for Goldwater Scholarship

February 4, 2014

Michigan Tech has nominated two students, Alexandra Glover and Caleb Vogt, for Goldwater scholarships. The Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program was established by Congress in 1986 in honor of former senator and 1964 presidential candidate Barry Goldwater. The scholarship is considered the premier undergraduate award for students pursuing degrees in science, […]


Our Research is Highlighted by MTU Research Magazine: Arteries in Aisle 9

January 1, 2014

Stem cells are a body’s newborns, bright, malleable, and full of promise. Feng Zhao is guiding them toward a future as life-saving blood vessels.  In the United States alone, hundreds of thousands of people a year undergo surgery to bypass a blocked artery and restore blood flow. Typically, surgeons first cut a vein from the […]


Superior Ideas: Off-the-Shelf Blood Vessels: New Tool for Heart Bypass Grafts

January 1, 2014

Coronary artery diseases result in over 500,000 heart bypass grafts each year in the United States, but more than one-fifth of these patients are not candidates for the procedure due to changes in their vascular system or previous use of veins for other procedures. We aim to provide a solution for patients in this critical—and […]


Publication Accepted in Advanced Functional Materials

December 9, 2013

Congratulations to Qi Xing for having a paper accepted for publication in Advanced Functional Materials.  The paper is titled “Highly aligned nanofibrous natural extracellular matrix scaffold derived from fibroblast cell sheets” and coauthored by Caleb Vogt, Dr. Kam Leong from Duke University, and Dr. Zhao.  [Read More]


TERMIS-NA 2013 Annual Conference Presentation by Lijun Zhang

November 10, 2013

Lijun Zhang presented a poster titled ‘Macrophagic response to Human Mesenchymal Stem Cell Sheets Under Different Oxygen Tension’ at the TERMIS-NA 2013 Annual Conference in Atlanta, GA.  Co-authors were: Xing Q, Tahtinen M, Zhang Z, and Zhao F.


TERMIS-NA 2013 Annual Conference Presentation by Emily Shearier

November 10, 2013

Emily Shearier presented a poster titled ‘Prevascularized Cell Sheets’ at the TERMIS-NA 2013 Annual Conference in Atlanta, GA. Co-authors were: Zhang L, Zhang Z, and Zhao F.


Emily Shearier Received BRC Travel Grant

November 10, 2013

Congratulations to Emily Shearier for receiving a 2013 Travel Grant for the TERMIS-AM 2013 Conference and Exposition in Atlanta, GA.


Keegan Yates Presented at the 2013 BMES Annual Meeting

September 25, 2013

Keegan Yates presented a poster titled “Increasing Mechanical Strength of Gelatin Hydrogels by Divalent Metal Ion Removal,” at the 2013 BMES annual meeting in Seattle, WA.  Co-authors were, Qi Xing, Caleb Vogt, Megan C. Frost, and Feng Zhao.


Keegan Yates Received BRC Travel Grant

September 25, 2013

Congratulations to Keegan Yates for receiving a 2013 Travel Grant for the 2013 BMES Annual Conference in Seattle, WA.


Publication Accepted in Surface Innovations

August 27, 2013

Congratulations to Qi Xing for having a paper accepted for publication in Surface Innovations.  The paper is titled “Effects of Local Nitric Oxide Release on Human Mesenchymal Stem Cell Attachment and Proliferation on Gelatin Hydrogel Surface” and coauthored by Keegan Yates, Avery Bailey, Caleb Vogt, Weilue He, Dr. Megan C. Frost, and Dr. Feng Zhao.  […]


Qi Xing Presented at the MSC 2013 Adult Stem Cell Therapy & Regenerative Medicine Conference

August 19, 2013

Qi Xing presented a poster titled ‘Highly Aligned Nanofibrous Natural Extracellular Matrix Scaffold for Three-Dimensional Tissue Engineering’ at the MSC 2013 Adult Stem Cell Therapy & Regenerative Medicine Conference in Cleveland, OH.  Co-authors were: Vogt C, and Zhao F.


Lijun Zhang Presented at the MSC 2013 Adult Stem Cell Therapy & Regenerative Medicine Conference

August 19, 2013

Lijun Zhang presented a poster titled “Hypoxia Promotes Pre-Vasculature Formation on Human Mesenchymal Stem Cell Sheets,” at the MSC 2013 Adult Stem Cell Therapy & Regenerative Medicine Conference in Cleveland, OH.  Co-authors were: Zhang Z, Shearier E, Xing Q, Tahtinen M, and Zhao F.


Lijun Zhang Received BRC Travel Grant

August 19, 2013

Congratulations to Lijun Zhang for receiving a 2013 Travel Grant for the MSC 2013 Adult Stem Cell Therapy & Regenerative Medicine Conference in Cleveland, OH.


Publication Accepted in Biomacromolecules

July 11, 2013

Congratulations to Caleb Vogt for having a paper accepted for publication in Biomacromolecules.  The paper is titled “Fabrication and Characterization of a Nitric Oxide-Releasing Nanofibrous Gelatin Matrix” and coauthored by Qi Xing, Weilue He, Bowen Li, Dr. Megan C. Frost, and Dr. Feng Zhao.  [Read More]


Dr. Feng Zhao Awarded a Grant from National Institute of Health (NIH)

July 8, 2013

Congratulations to Dr. Zhao, who was awarded a grant from NIH for the “Development of Off-the-shelf Completely Biological Small-Diameter Blood Vessel with Human Stem Cells.”


Dr. Feng Zhao Awarded Michigan Technological University Research Seed Grant

July 1, 2013

Dr. Zhao is awarded a Research Excellence Fund (REF) – Research Seed Grant “Human Mesenchymal Stem Cell Sheet Fragment Guided Delivery of Delta-24-RGD for the Eradication of Breast Tumors” from Michigan Tech.


Emily Shearier Received Kenneth L. Stevenson Research Fellowship

April 8, 2013

Congratulations to Emily Shearier for receiving the Kenneth L. Stevenson Research Fellowship for the research titled “Pre-vascularized Cell Sheets for Treatment of Heart Disease.”


Keegan Yates Received Undergraduate Merit Award at the 2013 Annual ESC/BRC Student Research Forum

March 27, 2013

Congratulations to Keegan Yates for receiving the Undergraduate Merit Award at the 2013 Annual ESC/BRC Student Research Forum for the poster titled “Divalent Ion Removal Improves Stability and Mechanical Properties of Gelatin Hydrogel.”


Keegan Yates Presented at the 2013 Annual ESC/BRC Student Research Forum

March 27, 2013

Keegan Yates presented a poster titled “Divalent Ion Removal Improves Stability and Mechanical Properties of Gelatin Hydrogel” at the 2013 Annual ESC/BRC Student Research Forum.


Caleb Vogt Presented at the 2013 Annual ESC/BRC Student Research Forum

March 27, 2013

Caleb Vogt presented a poster titled “Nitric Oxide-Releasing Gelatin Nanofibrous Matrix for Antibacterial Wound Dressing” at the 2013 Annual ESC/BRC Student Research Forum.


Avery Bailey Received SURF Award

February 28, 2013

Congratulations to Avery Bailey for receiving the SURF award for his research titled: “Engineering Neural Tissue Using Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Natural Protein Scaffold.”


Caleb Vogt Received SURF Award

February 28, 2013

Congratulations to Caleb Vogt for receiving the SURF award for his research titled: “Evaluating the Functionality of Pre-formed Microvasculature in Tissue-Engineered Skin Grafts.”


Emily Shearier Presented at the 2013 MTU Graduate Research Colloquium

February 21, 2013

Emily Shearier presented a poster titled “Pre-vascularized Cell Sheets for the Potential Treatment of Ischemic Heart Disease” at the 2013 MTU Graduate Research Colloquium.


Caleb Vogt Presented at the 2012 BMES Annual Fall Meeting

October 24, 2012

Caleb Vogt presented a poster titled “Nitric Oxide-Releasing Gelatin Nanofibrous Matrix for Antibacterial Wound Dressing,” at the BMES Annual Fall meeting in Atlanta, GA.  Co-authors were, Qi Xing, Megan C. Frost, and Feng Zhao.


Caleb Vogt Received BRC Travel Grant

October 24, 2012

Congratulations to Caleb Vogt for receiving a 2012 BRC Travel Grant for the BMES 2012 Annual Conference in Atlanta, GA.


Qi Xing Presented at the Golden Research Conference on Signal Transduction by Engineered Extracellular Matrices

July 8, 2012

Qi Xing presented a poster titled “Nitric Oxide-Releasing Natural Aligned Extracellular Matrix” at the Golden Research Conference on Signal Transduction by Engineered Extracellular Matrices in Biddeford, ME.  Co-authors were: Vogt C, Frost MC, Leong KW, and Zhao F.


Dr. Qi Xing Received BRC Travel Grant

July 8, 2012

Congratulations to Dr. Qi Xing for receiving a 2012 BRC Travel Grant for the Gordon Research Conference on Signal Transduction by Engineered Extracellular Matrices in Biddeford, ME.


Dr. Feng Zhao and Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick Received Michigan Technological University Infrastructure Enhancement Grant

July 1, 2012

Dr. Kirkpatrick and Dr. Zhao are awarded a Research Excellence Fund-Infrastructure Enhancement (REF-IE) grant “Oxygen-Controlling System for Tissue Regeneration, Stem Cells, and Drug Delivery Research” from Michigan Tech.


Dr. Feng Zhao Received Michigan Technological University Research Seed Grant

July 1, 2012

Dr. Zhao is awarded a Research Excellence Fund (REF) – Research Seed Grant “Development of Individual-Matching Completely Biological Small-Diameter Blood Vessel with Human Stem Cells” from Michigan Tech.


Feng Zhao Presented at the Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute’s Eleventh Scientific Symposium

May 3, 2012

Feng Zhao presented a poster titled “In-vivo Remodeling of Scaffold-free Small-Diameter Blood Vessels with Aligned Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells” at the Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute’s Eleventh Scientific Symposium in Miami, FL.  Co-authors were: Zhang Z, Ren L, Chen L, Klitzman B, and Leong KW.


Anna Sinclair and Caleb Vogt Presented at the 2012 Annual ESC/BRC Student Research Forum

March 30, 2012

Anna Sinclair and Caleb Vogt presented a poster titled “Fabrication of Nitric Oxide-Releasing Gelatin Scaffolds for Human Mesenchymal Stem Cell Culture” at the 2012 Annual ESC/BRC Student Research Forum.


Caleb Vogt Received SURF Award

February 28, 2012

Congratulations to Caleb Vogt for receiving the SURF award for his research titled: “Optimization of nitric oxide releasing dose for human mesenchymal stem cell growth in biodegradable nanofibrous scaffold.”


Dr. Feng Zhao Received the Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute (FAMRI) Young Clinical Scientist Award

January 9, 2012

Dr. Zhao is awarded a grant “Small-Diameter Blood Vessel Regeneration by Biomimetic Engineering” from FAMRI.


Feng Zhao Presented at the TERMIS-NA 2011 Annual Conference

December 11, 2011

Feng Zhao presented a poster titled “In-vivo Remodeling of Scaffold-free Small-Diameter Blood Vessels with Aligned Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells” at the TERMIS-NA 2011 annual conference in Houston, TX.  Co-authors were: Jiant Y, Chou A, Ren L, Chen L, Klitzman B, and Leong KW.