Pitt BioE faculty and students made numerous presentations at the Annual Meeting of the American Society for Artificial Internal Organs in San Francisco, June 19 - 21.

 Pitt BioE faculty and students made numerous presentations at the Annual Meeting of the American Society for Artificial Internal Organs in San Francisco, June 19 - 21:

 ASAIO FELLOWSHIP AWARDEE: Jeremy Kimmel (Ph.D. candidate in Professor William Federspiel's lab), “Cytokine Hemoadsorption Dynamics Using Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy”

Marina Kameneva, Ph.D., "Drag-Reducing Polymer Solution as a Test Fluid for Evaluation of Blood Trauma in Blood Pumps"

Jack Patzer, Ph.D., "Thermodynamics of Solid Sorption for Acute Liver Failure"

CARDIAC SYMPOSIUM: William Wagner, Ph.D., "Temporary Elastic Support for the Ventricular Wall Post- Infarct: Altering Remodeling"

William Federspiel, Ph.D., "Respiratory Assist Devices for the Pulmonary Intensivist"

Amanda Daly (PhD candidate in Professor Marina Kameneva's lab), "Blood Parameter Assessment in Sham and Pediaflow™ VAD Implanted Sheep"

Josh Woolley (PhD candidate in Professor William Wagner's lab), "Clotting Time Assessment of Candidate Materials for Use as Blood Contacting Surfaces in Blood Pumps"

Carl Johnson (PhD candidate in Professor William Wagner's lab), "Platelet Activation in Ovines Implanted with the Levitronix® Pedivas™"

James Antaki, Ph.D., "Progress with Extremum-Seeking Feedback Controller for a Rotary Blood Pump"

Andrew Hunsberger (MS graduate from Professor Sanjeev Shroff's lab now working for Mohawk Innovative Technology, Inc., Albany NY), "Durability of Diamond-Like Carbon Coatings for Rotary Blood Pump Applications"

Trevor Snyder, Ph.D. (Dr. Snyder is a graduate from Professor William Wagner's lab and is now @University of Maryland School of Medicine), "HMGB1 Elevation in VAD Patients.

A recent plenary presentation by Dr. Tamer Ibrahim’s: T.S. Ibrahim, "Electromagnetics and Field Modeling for UHF MRI and B1 Shimming" in the 6th BI-ANNUAL 2007 MINNESOTA WORKSHOPS on HIGH FIELD MR IMAGING AND SPECTROSCOPY and MR IMAGING of BRAIN FUNCTION, October 2007.  http://www.cmrr.umn.edu/workshops/Workshop_07/2007faculty.shtml

An update on presentations from Dr. Tamer Ibrahim's lab:

PLENARY LECTURE:  (1) "Electromagnetics and Field Modeling for UHF MRI and B1 Shimming" in the 6th BI-ANNUAL 2007 MINNESOTA WORKSHOPS on HIGH FIELD MR IMAGING AND SPECTROSCOPY and MR IMAGING of BRAIN FUNCTION http://www.cmrr.umn.edu/workshops/Workshop_07/2007program.shtml , (2) T. S. Ibrahim, "Understanding RF Safety Using Computational Electromagnetics'', MR Safety Study Group, The 15th International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM) Annual Meeting, Berlin, Germany, May 2007.  http://ismrm.org/07/saf.htm   (3) T. S. Ibrahim, "Electromagnetics of High Field MRI'', Hardware and Physics, The ISMRM Workshop on Advances in High Field MR, Asilomar Conference Center, Pacific Grove, CA, March 2007. http://www.ismrm.org/workshops/HighField/program1.htm

INVITED PRESENTATIONS: (1) T. S. Ibrahim and L. Tang, "RF power requirements in human MRI: Does higher field strength necessitate higher RF power?" Special Session on Bioelectromagnetics in the 23rd Annual Review Progress in Applied Computational Electromagnetics, Verona, Italy, pp 841-845, March 2007.  (2) L. Tang, and T. S. Ibrahim, "On the radio-frequency power requirements of human MRI", Special Session on Bioelectromagnetics in the Progress in Electromagnetics Research Symposium, Beijing, China, pp 511-514, March 2007.

Two invited lectures that Dr. David Vorp will deliver next week at the by-invitation only Cardiovascular Conference being held in Darwin, Australia. (1) “Tissue engineered blood vessels, including their use in the study of vascular tone pathophysiology” and (2) “Stem cells in cardiovascular tissue engineering”.

BioE graduate student, Rebecca Long has been selected to attend and present a poster at the Second Annual NIH National Graduate Student Research Festival on October 11 - 12, 2007 on the main campus of the NIH in Bethesda, MD.  In addition to scientific presentations, the Festival also introduces pre-doctoral fellows to NIH investigators with whom they might want to pursue postdoctoral training.  Rebecca is undertaking her dissertation research in Professor Michael Sacks' lab.

Two recent keynote lectures given by Professor Marina Kameneva:  (1) Invited one hour lecture to the Conference of the American Association of Blood Banks (March 23-25, 2007, San Diego, CA).  Title of presentation: "Rheological Phenomena in Normal and Pathological Blood." (2) Invited lecture to the Pediatric Mechanical Circulatory Support Systems & Pediatric Cardiopulmonary Perfusion Conference (May 17-19, Hershey, PA). Title of presentation: "Hemorheology of Mechanical Blood Damage."

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BioE contributions to the 2006 Annual BMES Meeting in Chicago, IL.  As in past years our Department is one of the most active departments at the annual BMES meeting in terms of abstract submissions, scientific podium and poster presentations.

For the presentations below, the “code” is as follows: underlined name = graduate student; italicized name = BioE faculty; bold, underlined name = former student;  bold, underlined, italicized name = undergraduate student

Thrombotic Complications Associated With The Berlin Heart Pediatric VAD, T.A. SNYDER, P.D. WEARDEN, V.O. MORELL, S.A. WEBBER, R.L. KORMOS, S. WINOWICH AND W.R. WAGNER.

Diameter Vascular Graft In A Rat Model,  A. NIEPONICE, L. SOLETTI, J.J. STANKUS, T.M. MAUL, J. GUAN1, W.R. WAGNER AND D.A. VORP.

PKC-Induced Troponin I Phosphorylation And The Dynamic Force-Length Relationship In Mouse Myocardium , S.H. SMITH, J.A. KIRK AND S.G. SHROFF

Multiscale Models Of Aortic Valve Mechanics And Mechano-Biology, M.S. SACKS AND D. SCHMIDT.

In vivo Biocompatibility Assessment Of A Magnetically Levitated Pediatric Ventricular Assist Device , T.A. SNYDER, C.A. JOHNSON, J.R. WOOLLEY, P.D. WEARDEN, M.V. KAMENEVA, J.S. RICHARDSON, A.J.KOERT AND W.R. WAGNER.

Development Of Flow Cytometric Assays For Biocompatibility Assessment In Ovines, C.A. JOHNSON, T.A. SNYDER, J.R. WOOLLEY AND W.R. WAGNER.

Aortic Valve Interstitial Cell Mechanobiology: Response To Cyclic Tension And Tgf-1,   W.D. MERRYMAN, H.D. LUKOFF, R.A. LONG, G.C. ENGELMAYR, R.A. HOPKINS AND M.S. SACKS.

Pressure-Calcium Relationships In Perfused Mouse Hearts,  J.A. KIRK, G.A. MACGOWAN, C. EVANS AND S.G. SHROFF

Mn2+ Enhances Integrin 51 Binding Affinity By Resisting Ca2+ Induced Down Regulation,  N.A. PERRUSQUIA, H. LIN AND S.G. SHROFF

Identifying The Lifting Patterns Of Chronic Lower Back Pain Subjects With A Data Reduction Procedure,  J.C. SLABODA, J.R. BOSTON AND T.E. RUDY

Conducting Polymer/Hydrogel-Based Skin Electrodes For High Quality Multi-Channel EEG Acquisition,  G. JUSTIN, R. WADHWA, K. LESK, R. SCLABASSI, M. SUN AND X.T. CUI

Changes Of Structural And Biomechanical Properties Of Inner Limiting Membrane During Development,  J.E. CANDIELLO, W. HALFTER AND H. LIN.

A Novel Clinical Cardiovascular Internship For Undergraduate BME Students, R. SCHAUB

Electrically Controlled Drug Release System Based On Electroactive Conducting Polymers,  X.T. CUI

Whole Blood Biocompatibility Of A Hollow Fiber-Based Four Compartment Bioreactor,  K.L. GAGE, M.J. BAUN, D.T. MCKEEL, M.S. HOUT AND J.C. GERLACH

Role Of Contraction Dyssynchrony On Global Left Ventricular Mechanics And Performance, L. JOHNSON, H.K. KIM, M.P. CANNESSON, S.G. SHROFF AND M.R. PINSKY

The Cardiologists Toolbox,  M. SIMON

Mechanisms of Heart Failure, S.G. Shroff

Supporting The Failing Lung: The Need For New Strategies, W.J. FEDERSPIEL

Application Of Carbonic Anhydrase For Improved CO2 Gas Exchange In Artificial Lungs, H. OH, J.L. KAAR, A.J. RUSSELL AND W.J. FEDERSPIEL

Effects Of Decellularization On Mechanical And Structural Properties Of Porcine Aortic Valve Leaflet, E.M. JOYCE, J. LIAO AND M.S. SACKS

Biocompatibility Challenges In The Design Of A Pediatric VAD, W.R. WAGNER

Specific Antibody Filter (SAF) For Removal Of Anti-A Antibodies For ABO-Incompatible Transplantation, E.M. CIAK, S. GAUTAM, A. ALIKHANI AND W.J. FEDERSPIEL

Design Of A Novel Scaffold For Autologous Stem Cells In Peripheral Nerve Tissue Engineering, L.E. KOKAI, L. SANTIAGO, J. CLAVIJO, L. SOLETTI, D.A. VORP, J. RUBIN AND K. MARRA

Diabetes Induced Alternations In The Biomechanic Properties Of The Urinary Bladder Wall, C. WANG, J. NAGATOMI, K. TOOSI, N. YOSHIMURA, M.B. CHANCELLOR AND M.S. SACKS

Synergistic Effects Of EGF And Adhesion Ligands On Differentiation Of Mesenchymal Stem Cells,  N.A. MARCANTONIO, A. AU, C.A. BOEHM, A.M. MAYES, G.F. MUSCHLER, A.WELLS AND L. GRIFFITH

Regional Dynamic Strains Of The Native Aortic Valve, D.M. GAITAN, P. BIENEK, B. ZUBIATE AND M.S. SACKS

Utilizing Surface Plasmon Resonance To Increase Antibody Removal Of Specific Antibody Filters,  A. ALIKHANI, N.V. BOVIN AND W.J. FEDERSPIEL

PID Control Of An Ex-Vivo Vascular Perfusion System, M.S. EL-KURDI, J.S. VIPPERMAN AND D.A. VORP

Mathematical Model Of Adsorption Column Used In Treatment Of Liver Failure, S.A. SAFTA, R. MILLER AND J. PATZER II

Structural Constitutive Model Of The Urinary Bladder Wall With Basal Smooth Muscle Tone,  S. WOGNUM AND M.S. SACKS

Ex Vivo Alterations Of The Female Rat Urethra After Spinal Cord Injury,  R. PRANTIL, W. DE GROAT AND D.A. VORP

Application Of Multiphase Computational Fluid Dynamics To Analyze Monocyte Adhesion,  R.W. LYCZKOWSKI, B.R. ALEVRIADOU, M. HORNER, C.B. PANCHAL AND S.G.SHROFF

Bone Marrow Derived Cells Express More Collagen When Seeded On Elongated Small Intestine Submucosa,  A.J. ALMARZA, G. YANG, T. NGUYEN, S. ABRAMOWITCH AND S.L. WOO

Comparing The Remodeling Capabilities Of Aortic And Pulmonary Valve Interstitial Cells,  W.D. MERRYMAN, J. LIAO, A. PAREKH, J.E. CANDIELLO, H. LIN AND M.S. SACKS

Relaxin Mediates Systemic Vasodilation And Increased Arterial Compliance In Early Pregnancy, D.O. DEBRAH, J. NOVAK, J.E. MATTHEWS, R.J. RAMIREZ, S.G. SHROFF

Fabrication Of Planar Patch Clamp Chip,  K.V. UPADHYE AND H. LIN

Subspace System Identification Of An Ex-Vivo Vascular Perfusion System,  M.S. EL-KURDI, J.S. VIPPERMAN AND D.A. VORP

Constitutive Models For Cell-Integrated Elastomeric Scaffolds For Soft Tissue Engineering,  T. COURTNEY, J. LIAO, J. STANKUS, J. GUAN, W.R. WAGNER AND M.S. SACKS

Development Of Flexible Thermosensitive Hydrogels For Soft Tissue Engineering,  J. GUAN AND W.R. WAGNER

Fabrication Of A Cell Integrated Tissue Engineered Vascular Graft,  J. STANKUS, L. SOLETTI, K.L. FUJIMOTO, J. GUAN, D.A. VORP AND W.R. WAGNER

Gene Regulation By Controlled Release From A Biodegradable Poly(Ester Urethane)Urea,  P. RAMASWAMI, J. FRIZ, D. CRESS, J. GUAN AND W.R. WAGNER

BioE graduate student, Tom Gilbert served as a presentation chair and invited speaker at the Japan Society for Promotion of Science (JSPS) 2nd International Symposium entitled, "Fusion of Advanced Technologies for Regenerative Medicine," which was held in Tokyo on September 14, 2006.  The title of Tom's presentation was, "Development of Medical Devices from Extracellular Matrix Scaffolds."  Tom will be defending his PhD dissertation research, which was conducted in Dr. Stephen Badylak's lab, next month.  Dr. Badylak also was an invited presentation chair and keynote speaker at the recent JSPS Symposium.

Dr. James Wang’s lead, review article is published in the current issue of THE JOURNAL OF BIOMECHANICS.  Wang, James H.-C. “Review: Mechanobiology of Tendon.”  JOURNAL OF BIOMECHANICS 39 (2006) 1563-1582.

There are several honors won by our students at the 2006 ASME Summer Bioengineering Conference held recently at Amelia Island, FL from June 21-25.

·     Michael Anderson, who received his B.S. with us this past April, presented his poster in the B.S. Student Paper Competition and received 2^nd Place in the Solids/Design/Rehab division. The details of Mike’s abstract are listed below:  Anderson M, Stehle J, McMahon PJ, Debski RE: “Rotator Cuff Muscle Forces are Inversely Related to the Value of the Glenohumeral Joint Constraint Angle”. 2006 Summer Bioengineering Conference, Amelia Island, FL, Abstract BIO2006-152620, June 21-25, 2006.  Michael was mentored by Professor Richard Debski @MSRC.

·     An undergraduate student @MSRC, Nicole Bailey, also presented @ASME.

·     BioE graduate students, Eric Rainis in Professor Richard Debski’s lab and Matt Fisher, in Professor Savio Woo’s lab, were 1^st authors of papers presented at the ASME Summer Bioengineering Conference.  Susan Moore, a recent BioE PhD from the MSRC also presented at this conference.

·     Dan Hubbard (a Pitt BioE baccalaureate who is currently a doctoral student in BioE @Penn): Dan received 1^st place for the Ph.D. Student Paper Competition (podium) in the Solids/Design/Rehab division.

BioE graduate student, Carl Johnson's poster presentations at the 2006 ASAIO meeting entitled, "Development Of Flow Cytometric Assays For Biocompatibility Assessment In Ovines," and "Biocompatibility Evaluation Of The Levitronix Pediatric VAD In Ovines," received outstanding poster presentations designations.  Carl is conducting this work in Dr. William Wagner's lab.

Please find below the following presentations by Pitt BioE at the 2006 annual meeting of the American Society for Artificial Internal Organs (ASAIO) in Chicago:

(1) Adsorption Column Kinetics In Treatment Of Liver Failure, Stefan Safta (Ph.D. candidate in Dr. Jack Patzer’s lab) 

(2) Development Of Flow Cytometric Assays For Biocompatibility Assessment In Ovines, Carl Johnson (M.D., Ph.D. candidate in Dr. William Wagner’s lab)

(3) Biocompatibility Evaluation Of The Levitronix Pediatric VAD In Ovines, Carl Johnson (M.D., Ph.D. candidate in Dr. Jack Patzer’s lab)

(4) Functional Platelet And Heparin Activity Assays Applied To Ovines, Joshua Woolley (M.S. Candidate in Dr. William Wagner’s lab)

(5) Validity Of Normalized Index Of Hemolysis In Pediatric Mechanical Circulatory Assist Devices, Dr. Marina Kameneva, PhD

(6) Optimization, Validation, And Re-Optimization Of PediaFlow Maglev Turbo-VAD, James Antaki, PhD

(7) A Biohybrid Lung Prototype With Active Mixing And Oxygenation Of Endothelialized Microporous Hollow Fibers, Alexa Polk, (Ph.D. candidate in Dr. William Wagner’s  lab)

(8) Rheological Properties Of Bovine Blood Assessed By A Viscoelasticity Analyzer.  Potential Applications In Testing Of Heart-Assist Device Biocompatibility, Philip Marascalco (Ph.D. candidate in Dr. Marina Kameneva’s lab)

(9) Effects Of Drag-Reducing Polymers On Blood Flow In Microchannels, Joie Marhefka (Ph.D. candidate in Dr. Kameneva’s lab)

(10) System To Assess Perfusion Adequacy In Pediatric Patients, Mark Gartner, Ph.D.

(11) Progress With The Pediatric Cardiopulmonary Assist System, Mark Gartner, Ph.D.

(12) Porous Media Technique For Computational Modeling Of A Novel Pump-Oxygenator, Mark Gartner, Ph.D.

Professor Michael Sacks has been invited to give a keynote presentation at the upcoming SES meeting at Penn State.  Professor Sacks' keynote address will be part of the symposium on mechanics of soft materials and soft tissues.

BioE student presentation at the Regenerate meeting.  Philip Marascalco and Joie Marhefka are both BioE PhD candidates in Professor Marina Kameneva’s lab.  Marascalco PJ, Marhefka JN, and Kameneva MV. Drag-reducing polymer effect on RBC mechanical properties and microcirculation. Potential applications in regenerative medicine. Regenerate World Congress, Pittsburgh, PA on April 25, 2006 (poster).  

The following presentations by our BioE students were presented at the Regenerate and the Society for Biomaterials April 2006 conference.  Alicia DeFail, Christina Lee and Candace Brayfield are BioE PhD candidates in Dr. Kacey Marra’s lab; William Stauffer is a BioE graduate student in Dr. Xinyan Cui’s lab; and Tim Maul is working in Dr. David Vorp’s lab.  Adam Iddriss is a BioE undergraduate student. 

(1) DeFail, A.J.;* Edington, H.D.; Matthews, S.L.; Lee, W.C.; Marra, K.G. “Controlled Release of Bioactive Doxorubicin from Microspheres Embedded within Gelatin Scaffolds,” Society for Biomaterials National Meeting, Pittsburgh, PA on April 28, 2006. 

(2) DeFail, A.J.;* Iddriss, A.; Marra, K.G. “Injectable PEG-Genipin Hydrogels for Tissue Engineering,”  Society for Biomaterials National Meeting, Pittsburgh, PA on April 28, 2006 (poster). 

(3) Brayfield, C.A.;* Marra, K.G.; Leonard, J.P.; Stauffer, W.R.; Cui, X.T.; Gerlach, J.  “Compartmentalized In Vitro Neuronal Cell Culture Models with Excimer Laser Modified Polyethersulfone Hollow Fibers,” Society for Biomaterials National Meeting, Pittsburgh, PA on April 28, 2006 (poster).

(4) Lee, W.C.;* Maul, T.M.; Vorp, D.A.; Rubin, J.P.; Marra, K.G. “Effects of Uniaxial Cyclic Strain on Adipose-derived Stem Cell Morphology, Proliferation, and Differentiation,” Regenerate World Congress, Pittsburgh, PA on April 27, 2006.

(5) DeFail, A.J.;* Marra, K.G.; Cartieri, F.;* Rajendran, N.; Edington, H.E.; “In Vivo Anti-Tumor Effect of a Novel Drug Delivery System for Breast Conservation,” Regenerate World Congress, Pittsburgh, PA on April 25, 2006.

(6) Brayfield, C.A.;* Rubin, J.P.; Marra, K.G.; Baun, M.; Gerlach, J.  “3D Adipogenic Differentiation of Adipose-Derived Stem Cells in a Four-Compartment Hollow Fiber-Based Bioreactor,” Regenerate World Congress, Pittsburgh, PA on April 25, 2006 (poster).

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Lauren  Kokai and Christina Lee were selected for poster awards at the 2006 Engineering Graduate Student Organization Awards Luncheon.  (1) 2nd Place,  Lee, W.C.;* Maul, T.M.; Vorp, D.A.; Rubin, J.P.; Marra, K.G. “Effects of Uniaxial Cyclic Strain on Adipose-derived Stem Cell Morphology, Proliferation, and Differentiation,” University of Pittsburgh Engineering Graduate Student Organization Research Day, Pittsburgh, PA on March 16th.  (2)  3rd Place, Kokai, L.E.;* Soletti, L.; Vorp, D.; Rubin, J.P.; Marra, K.G. “A Novel Fabrication Method and Seeding System for Poly(caprolactone) Nerve Guides with Adipose-derived Stem Cells,” University of Pittsburgh Engineering Graduate Student Organization Research Day, Pittsburgh, PA on March 16th.  Both perform their research in Dr. Kacey Marra's lab.  BioE PhD candidates Tim Maul (adviser: Dr. David Vorp) and Lorenzo Soletti (adviser: Dr. David Vorp) also participated in this research.

BioE Graduate student, Gulshan Sharma's abstract, (Sharma GB, Robertson DD, Rodosky MW, McMahon PJ, Glenoid Structural Analysis: Relevance To Arthroplasty) has been selected for Poster Session Presentation in the upcoming Orthopaedic Research Society’s (ORS) Annual Conference in Chicago from 18^th-21^st March 2006.  Gulshan is conducting this work in Dr. Douglas Robertson's lab.

BioE graduate student, Ellen Brennan was selected as one of only two oral presentation award winners at the Society for Physical Regulation in Biology and Medicine conference.  The title of the award Ellen received is the Yasuda Award, and the title of Ellen’s presentation was, “Antibacterial Activity within Degradation Products of Extracellular Matrix Scaffolds.”  Ellen is conducting this research in Dr. Stephen Badylak’s lab.

Dr. David Vorp is an invited keynote speaker at the New York Academy of Sciences Symposium this April entitled, “The Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm: Genetics, Pathophysiology, and Molecular Biology Tenth Anniversary Symposium.”  The title of Dr. Vorp’s presentation is, “Finite-element analysis and bioengineering approaches to fine-tune prediction of rupture risk, independent of size alone.”  Dr. Vorp is recognized as the leading authority regarding the biomechanics of AAA rupture.

BioE graduate student, David Merryman’s 1^st author paper in the just published volume of the Journal of Biomechanics.  Merryman WD, Huang H-Y S, Schoen FJ and Sacks MS.  The effects of cellular contraction on aortic valve leaflet flexural stiffness.  Journal of Biomechanics 39 (2006) 88-96.  David is conducting this work in Professor Michael Sacks’ lab.

Drs. Steven Abramowitch’s and Savio Woo’s lead article in the current issue of the Journal of Biomechanics:  Woo S. L.-Y., Abramowitch S.D., Kilger R. and Liang R.  Biomechanics of knee ligaments: injury, healing and repair.  Journal of Biomechanics 39 (2006) 1-20.

Dr. Michael Sacks has been invited to present, "Heart Valve Tissue Engineering," in December 2005 at the National University of Singapore & International Congress on Biomedical Engineering Pre-Conference Workshop on Regenerative Medicine and Tissue Engineering, in Singapore.

BioE Graduate students, Dorian Arnold (who is working in Dr. James Antaki’s lab) and Carl Johnson (who is working in Dr. William Wagner’s lab) presented their pediatric VAD research at this week’s national American Heart Association meeting in Dallas.  Dorian’s presentation is entitled, “"Pediatric Cardiovascular Simulation for Assessment of the PediaFlow Ventricular Assist Device," authored by: DK Arnold, S Vandenberghe, Y-C Yu, HS Borovetz and JF Antaki.  Carl’s presentation is entitled, “Biocompatibility Assessment of the PediaFlow Ventricular Assist Device,” authored by C Johnson, T Snyder and W Wagner.

Dr. George Stetten's abstract entitled, "Fingertip Vibratory Transducer for Detecting Optical Edges using Regenerative Feedback," has been accepted for presentation @Haptic Interfaces for Virtual Environment and Teleoperator Systems, IEEE Virtual Reality 2006, Arlington VA, 25-26 March 2006.  The authors of the abstract are: Kimberly Zawrotny, Apryle Craig, Roberta Klatzky, George Stetten.  Kim Zawrotny is a current BioE undergraduate student and Apryle Craig is one of our recent baccalaureates.

George Engelmayr was a Finalist in the PhD Student Paper Competition - Poster Presentation, Cells and Tissue Engineering Category, @2005 Summer Bioengineering Conference; Vail, Colorado.  George is completing his PhD in Professor Michael Sacks' lab, has been exceptionally productive during his years with us as far as these very competitive awards, peer-reviewed publications, and national fellowships. 

The University of Pittsburgh’s Bioengoneering Department was very active at the 51st ANNUAL MEETING OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR ARTIFICAL INTERNAL ORGANS (ASAIO) in Washington, D.C.  Listed are 20 presentations made by BioE faculty, BioE graduate students, and BioE undergraduate students. 

(1) "Development Of A 2D Microfluidic Oxygenation Device" -- A Vollmer, T Snyder, M Kamaneva, B Monzyk, E Burckle, K Dasse, P Martin, H Borovetz, W Wagner, R Gilbert, T Thorsen (Trevor Snyder is completing his PhD in Dr. William Wagner's lab); 

(2) "CFD Analysis Of Blade Tip Clearances On Hemodynamic Performance And Blood Damage In A Miniature Pediatric Blood Pump" -- J Antaki,  J Wu, T Snyder, W Wagner, H Borovetz, B Paden, C Diao;  (

3) "Microscopic Flow Visualization Of Red Blood Cell Trajectory In The Blade Tip And Back Clearance Of A Mini Blood Pump" --  J Antaki, C Diao, J Wu, H Borovetz, W Wagner, T Snyder;

(4) "Evaluation Of The Levitronix® Centrimag® VAS For Pediatric Use" -- P Wearden, R Kormos, S Badylak, M Kameneva, T Snyder, W Wagner, H S Borovetz, J Marks, J Richardson, K Dasse;

(5) "Elimination Of Reversal Flow In Back Clearance Gaps Of A Miniature Pediatric Centrifugal blood Pump By CFD" -- J Wu, J Antaki, T Snyder, W Wagner, H Borovetz, B Paden, C Diao;

(6) "Blood-Soluble Drag-Reducing Polymers As A Potential Treatment Of Hemodynamic Impairment In Diabetic Rats" --P Marascalco, J N Marhefka, S Shaulis, C Johnson, M Kameneva (Phil Marascalco and Joie Marhefka are BioE PhD candidates in Dr. Marina Kameneva's lab);

(7) "Poly(N-Vinylformamide) As A Drag-Reducing Polymer For Biomedical Applications" -- J. Marhefka, P Marascalco, T Chapman, M Kameneva;

(8) "In Vitro Evaluation Of Pulsatile Use Of The New Medos Deltastream Pump" -- S Vandenberghe, P Segers, J Antaki, R Shihab, P Verdonck;

(9) "Clinical Decision Support System For Optimal VAD Weaning" -- L Santelices, M Druzdzel, R Schaub, B Uber, R Kormos, J Antaki (Linda Santelices is completing her BioE MS in Dr. Antaki's lab);

(10) "Advances In Quantitative Biomedical Models" -- James Antaki;

(11) "Initial In Vitro Performance Results For The 4" And 3" PCAS Pediatric Assist Device" -- G Pantalos, C Ionan, S Koenig, J Speakman, C Lucci, M Gartner;

(12) "A Biohybrid Lung Prototype With Endothelialized Microporous Hollow Fibers In A Rotating Module" -- A Polk, D McKeel, W Federspiel, W Wagner (Alexa Polk is a BioE PhD candidate in Dr. William Wagner's lab);

(13) "Development Of Microfabricated Biohybrid Artificial Lungs" -- K Burgess (Henchir), Q Yang, W Wagner, W Federspiel (Kristie Henchir is a BioE PhD candidate in Dr. Federspiel's lab);

(14) "Molecular Biocompatibility Issues" -- William Wagner;

(15) "The Potential Use Of Rotational Fiber Bundles In Respiratory Assist Catheters" -- N Hagglund, B Frankowski, B Hattler, W Federspiel;

(16) "The Effect Of Bundle Porosity On The Performance Of A Pumping Paracorporeal Assist Lung Using A Rotating Fiber Bundle" -- R Svitek, B Frankowski, W Federspiel;

(17) "Can Random Ballon Pulsation Enhance Gas Exchange In A Pulsating Respiratory Support Catheter?" -- H Eash, S Budilarto, B Hattler, W Federspiel;

(18) "Static Mixing Device For Bound Solute Dialysis With Standard Dialysis Equipment" -- R Miller, S Safta, A Hallab, J Patzer II (Stefan Safta is a BioE PhD candidate in Dr. Jack Patzer's lab);

(19) "Albumin-Bound Toxin Removal By Bound Solute Dialysis With Slow Continuous Ultrafiltration" -- S Safta, R Miller, J Patzer II;

(20) "Flow Visualization Study Of A Pulsating Respiratory Assist Catheter" -- S Budilarto, H Eash, B Hattler, W Federspiel.

The following presentations made by Dr. Michael Sacks and his BioE Ph.D. candidates George Engelmayr and David Merryman at the International Heart Valve Meeting, (1) “Advances in Tissue Engineering and Biology of Heart Valves,” Florence, Italy, September 15-18, 2004; (2) M.S. Sacks, “A structural model for the native pulmonary valve” (invited lecture); (3) G.C. Engelmayr, John E. Mayer, and M.S. Sacks, “Scaffolds to guide cell and collagen fiver orientation in engineered heart valve tissues”; (4) W. David Merryman, H.Y. Huang, F.J. Schoen, and M.S. Sacks, “The effects of cellular contraction on aortic vlave leaflet stiffness”; (5) W. David Merryman, B. Mettler, J.S. Grashow, J.E. Mayer, and M.S. Sacks, “A novel tissue engineered heart valve bioreactor – from cell culture to implantation”. Also listed on the final citation is Mr. Jonathan Grashow, who is also a BioE graduate student in Dr. Sacks' lab.

Presentations to be made by MSRC faculty and students at the upcoming BMES annual meeting in Philadelphia.  

"The Medial Collateral Ligament of the Rabbit and Goat Display Difference Viscoelastic Behaviors" -- Poster Presentation by Steven D. Abramowitch,  Daniel K. Moon, Yoshiyuki Takakura, Savio L-Y. Woo 

"Refreezing Has Little Effect on the Biomechanical Properties of the Medial Collateral Ligament" -- Poster Presentation by Daniel K. Moon, Steven D. Abramowitch, Yoshiyuki Takakura, Mary T. Gabriel, Savio L-Y. Woo 

"Subject-specific Kinematics Modeling of Recruitment Patterns of Human ACL Bundle Fibers" -- Platform Presentation by Xinguo Ning, Robert Kilger, Maribeth Thomas, Daniel K. Moon, Richard E. Debski, Savio L-Y. Woo 

"Correcting Knee Kinematics for Errors Resulting from Two Types of Skin Movement" -- Poster Presentation by Jesse A. Fisk, Savio L-Y. Woo 

"Decreasing Type V Collagen Production in Rabbit MCL Fibroblasts by Antisense Oligonucleotides" -- Poster Presentation by Fengyan Jia, Yoshiyuki Takakura, Rui Liang, Savio L-Y. Woo

"The Expression Level of TGF-beta in Healing MCL Fibroblasts Depends on the Healing Stage After Injury" Li Zou, Wei-Hsiu Hsu, Steven D. Abramowitch, Savio L-Y. Woo 

"Location of the Center of Rotation of the Glenohumeral Joint" -- Poster Presentation by Alexis C. Wickwire, Jens H. Stehle, Richard E. Debski

"Joint Kinematics are Significantly Affected by the Location of Tracking Device Sensors" -- Poster Presentation by Susan M. Moore, Mary T. Gabriel, Maribeth Thomas, Jennifer Zeminski, Richard E. Debski, Savio L-Y. Woo

Sam  Hund's abstract entitled, "Hemodynamic Optimization of a Ventricular Cannula: Evaluation of Objective,"   Sam is conducting this work in Dr. James Antaki's lab.

Mitra Lavasani's presentation entitled, "Nerve growth factor enhances the engraftment efficiency of muscle-derived stem cells" has been accepted for PLATFORM presentation in the Cellular Engineering track.  Mitra is working in Dr. Johnny Huard's lab. 

Joie Marhefka's presentation entitled, "Studies on the Mechanism of the Intravascular Effect of Drag-Reducing Polymers," has been accepted for POSTER presentation.  Joie is working in Professor Marina Kameneva's lab.

Phil Marascalco's presentation entitled, "Study of the effects of blood soluble drag-reducing polymers (DRPs) on blood coagulation parameters," has been accepted for POSTER presentation.  Phil is also conducting his research in Professor Marina Kameneva's lab.

Rui Zhao's presentation entitled, "Red Blood Cell Response to Supra-physiologic Shear Stress in Micro-Channels,"  Rui is performing this work in Dr. James Antaki's lab.

Professor Savio Woo has been invited to be a plenary lecturer at the 26^th Annual International Conference of the IEEE’s Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS) to be held in San Francisco, CA in September 2004.  Other speakers include Paul C. Lauterbur, PhD (a Nobel Laureate), Doug A. Lauffenburger, PhD of MIT, and Shankar Subramanium, PhD of UCSD.  Dr. Woo will present a lecture entitled The Contribution of Biomechanics to Clinical Practice in Orthopaedics.

Dr. Michael Sacks delivered a series of lectures at the recent meetings of the International Union for Theoretical and Applied Mechanics and the European Society for Biomechanics.  A list of talks presented: 

Invited Lecture: "A structural constitutive model for the native pulmonary valve," International Union for Theoretical and Applied Mechanics Symposium on Soft Tissue Mechanics, Graz, Austria, June 27, 2004.

 M.S. Sacks and J.E. Mayer, Jr., "Current progress in heart valve tissue engineering and biomechanics," Presented at 2004 European Society for Biomechanics, s'Hertogenbosch, Netherlands, July 6, 2004.  Proceedeings published on CDROM.

 Z. He, J. Ritchie, M.S. Sacks, and A.P. Yoganathan, "Dynamic in-vitro strain history of the native posterior mitral valve leaflet," Presented at 2004 European Society for Biomechanics, s'Hertogenbosch, Netherlands, July 7, 2004.  Proceedeings published on CDROM.

 M.S. Sacks, J. Grashow, and A.P. Yoganathan, "Viscoelastic behavior of valvular tissues under biaxial stretch," Presented at 2004 European Society for Biomechanics, s'Hertogenbosch, Netherlands, July 7, 2004.  Proceedeings published on CDROM.

BioE Ph.D. candidate Priya Ramaswami received 2^nd place for her presentation at the Pathology Departmental Retreat that took place at Seven Springs, Champion, PA from June 11-13.  Priya’s award was in the student presentation category for her talk entitled: “Differentiation Factor Delivery from a Biodegradable Elastomer.”  Priya is conducting this work in Dr. William Wagner's lab.

Poster presentations made by Dr. Kacey Marra at the Plastic Surgery Research Council meeting in Ann Arbor,  MI, June 9-12, 2004.  This is Plastic Surgery's national research meeting.   Co-authors in #3 are Dr. James Wang and Ms. Lauren Kokai, a Pitt BioE undergraduate student who is joining our Graduate Program in the fall and continuing her work in Dr. Marra's lab.

Song, A.; Bennett, J.M.; Marra, K.G.; Rubin, J.P. "Lipoma-Derived Preadipocytes Exhibit an Enhanced Capacity for Adipocytic Differentiation."

Santiago, L.Y.; Marra, K.G. "Novel Biomimetic Material for Neuronal Tissue Engineering Applications."

Bennett, J.M.; Wang, J.H.-C.; Martin, M.; Kokai, L.E.; Rubinstein, R.E.; Marra, K.G. "Vanadate-Loaded Polymer Microspheres for Wound Healing Applications."

Bennett, J.M.; Clavijo, J.A.; Doctor, J.S.; Marra, K.G.; Rubin, J.P. "Differentiation of Human Adipose-Derived Stem Cells on Collagenous Microbeads: A Model for Injectable Tissue-Engineered Scaffolds."

Clavijo, J.A.; Bennett, J.M.; Santiago, L.Y.; Breitinger, J.; Nguyen, V.T.; Rubinstein, R.E.; Lee, W.P.A.; Marra, K.G. "Tissue-Engineered Nerve Conduit: Comparison with Autogenous Nerve Graft and Neurotubes."

Clavijo, J.A.; Bennett, J.M.; Nguyen, V.T.; Dudas, J.R.; Rubin, J.P.; Marra, K.G. "Modified Fluoropolymer Pore Size Increases Adherence and the Proliferation of Preadipocytes."

The BioE Department was very prominent at the recent REGENERATE meeting in Seattle.
REGENERATE
June 9-12, 2004: Seattle, WA

PAPERS/SESSION CHAIRS
"ECM Scaffold Degradation Products as Chemoattractants for Primary Endothelial Cells"; Stephen F. Badylak, and Mervin C. Yoder.

"A Novel Guide for Neuronal Tissue Engineering Applications"; Santiago, Lizzie, Y., Marra, Kacey, G.
"A New Method of Measuring the Flexural Rigidity of Normal and Tissue Engineered Rabbit Vocal Folds"; Ali Mirnajafi, Michael S. Sacks, Jeremy Raymer, Joseph E. Dohar, Patricia A Hebda.
"Thermoplastic Elastomer Design and Processing for Scaffold Applications"; Wagner, William.
"Gene therapy and tissue engineering based on muscle-derived stem cells: Promising applications for tissue regeneration"; Huard, Johnny.

"Growth and Development Laboratory Matrix Metalloproteinase Therapy Improves Healing of Injured Skeletal Muscle"; Bedair, Hany, Li, Yong, Huard, Johnny.

"Effects of blood-soluble drag-reducing polymers on macro- and micro-hemodynamics; potential applications in regenerative medicine"; Kameneva, M.V.

"Extracorporeal Liver Support -Technologies for the Biological Component"; Gerlach, J.C.
Session Chair: Liver Support; Gerlach, J.
Invited lecture "Strategies for the biologic component of liver support"; Gerlach, J.

POSTER PRESENTATIONS
"Targeted Delivery of Microspheres to Vascular Tissue" Deglau, Timothy E., Villanueva, Flordeliza S., Wagner, William R.
"Self-Assembly of Bioactive Nanotubes" Lee, Sang Beom, Koepsel, Richard R., and Russell, Alan J.
"Tissue Engineering Show and Educational Partnership: The Scholarship of Integration for Public Outreach" Pollock, John A., Farkas, Daniel L., Russell, Alan J.
"A Method for the Isolation of Canine Endothelial Progenitor Cells from Peripheral Blood" Reing, Janet, Irvine, Renae, Badylak, Stephen
"Gradient Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering Applications" Thangappan, Ravikumar, Wargo, Sara, L., Russell, Alan, J.
"DOPA-containing curable prepolymer as a potential wound healing matrix" Jianying Zhang, Alan H. Wells, David L. Steed, Eric J. Beckman

BioE had a very prominent position at the 50th annual meeting of the American Society for Artificial Internal Organs (ASAIO).  Listed are the presentations by our faculty and students.  Dr. James Antaki organized and chaired the session, "Principles: Engineering Of Artificial Organs."  At this session Dr. Antaki presented the talk, "Future Opportunities For Innovation Of Artificial Organs," and Dr. Marina Kameneva presented a talk, "On Survival Of Blood Cells In Artificial Organs."  Dr. William Wagner co-chaired the session, "Bridging Of Materials With Cells, Tissues And Organelles."   Dr. Jack Patzer presented, "Static Mixer To Improve Bound Solute Dialysis (BSD) Performance With Standard Dialysis Equipment."  Dr. William Federspiel presented, "Evaluation of Local Gas Exchange in an Artificial Lung Catheter."

Trevor Snyder, who is a PhD candidate in Dr. William Wagner's lab, presented his work last month at the 7th World Biomaterials Congress in Sydney, Australia.  The title of Trevor's presentation was, "In vivo Biocompatibility Evaulation of Surface Modifications to Rotary Ventricular Assist Devices."

BioE MS graduate Eric Chen (a former student in Professor Sanjeev Shroff's lab who is now employed by the FDA (CDRH)) presented March 17, 2004 at the panel meeting on behalf of the 1st artificial heart to be approved by the FDA.  Mr. Chen also answered questions from the FDA advisory panel.

The following paper has been accepted for podium presentation by BioE MD/PhD candidate, Wilson Chang, at the 2004 IEEE International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging, in Arlington, VA.  W. Chang, N. Amesur, M. Horowitz, G. Stetten, “Refining the sonic flashlight for interventional procedures.”   Mr. Chang is conducting his Ph.D. research in Dr. George Stetten's lab.

Several of our BioE graduate students who are working @MSRC will be making podium presentations at the 2003 International Mechanical Engineering Congress at the Marriott Wardman Park & Omni Shoreham Hotels in Washington D.C. from November 15 - 21, 2003. Dr. Michael Sacks is the bioengineering technical program representative for the conference.  The BioE student presentations are listed below:

Daniel Moon, Mary T. Gabriel, Steven D. Abramowitch and Savio L-Y. Woo: The Effects of Refreezing on the Tensile Properties of the Medial Collateral Ligament-Bone Complex: A Rabbit Model.

Shon P. Darcy, Robert Kilger, Savio L-Y Woo, Richard E. Debski:
Estimation of ACL Forces Utilizing a Novel Non-Invasive Methodology that reproduces knee kinematics between sets of knees.

Steven D. Abramowitch, Theodore Clineff, Richard E. Debski, Savio L-Y. Woo: An Experimental and Analytical Evaluation of the Nonlinear Viscoelastic Properties of the Healing Medial Collateral Ligament in a Goat Model.

Jesse A. Fisk, Melissa L. Rollins, Andrew H. Van Scyoc, Savio L-Y. Woo:
The Effect of Random Skin Motion on Knee Kinematics Calculated with Surface Markers:  A Comparison of Three Marker Sets.

Trevor Snyder, a PhD candidate in Dr. William Wagner's lab, performed at the 500th Artificial Heart Program supported Intra-aortic Balloon Pump/VAD transport with STAT MedEvac. The STAT MedEvac Program is coordinated by  Don Severyn (completing his PhD in Dr. David Vorp's lab). The Artificial Heart Program, which many BioE students such as Trevor Snyder has been providing round-the-clock, on call coverage for this service for the past 9 years, average ~50 transports a year.

There were several slide presentations delivered by BioE faculty and students (graduate and undergraduate):

Introduction of MMP Expression in Porcine Carotid Arteries by Longitudinal Cyclic Stretching: Implications for Vascular Pathology. (D.W. Hamilton, M. S. El Kurdi, L. Du, E. Pekarcik, R. Toth, D. A. Vorp)

Drag-Reducing Polymers in Blood Circulation. (Keynote Speech) (Marina V. Kameneva

Effect of Drag Reducing Polymers on Micro Scale Flow Behavior of Red Blood Cells. (ZJ Wu, R Zhao, T. Bachman, A Fu, P Marascalco, JF Antaki, MV Kameneva)

Study of the Interaction of Drag-Reducing Polymers (DRP) and Red Blood Cells (RBC). (JN Marhefka, PJ Marascalco, DK Arnold, MV Kameneva)

High Molecular Weight Polyethylene Glycol Effect on Filterability of Normal and Pathological Red Blood Cells (RBCs). (PJ Marascalco, JN Marhefka, N Narayana, TM Cotroneo, MV Kameneva)

Influence of Morphometric Measurement Technique on Mathematical Descriptions of Middle Ear Gas Exchange. (SC Kanick, SN Ghadiali, JD Swarts, WJ Doyle, WJ Federspiel)

Microfabrication of Biohybrid Artificial Alveolar Capillary Modules. (KA Henchir, WR Wagner, WJ Federspiel)

Enhanced Gas Exchanged in an Emergency Respiratory Support Lung. (RG Svitek, BJ Frankowski, WJ Federspiel)

Implementation of a Biaxial Constitutive Model in A Finite Element Model of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Tissue (J. P. Vandegeest, E. S. Di Martino, W. Sun, M. S. Sacks, D. A. Vorp)

Blood Cell Tracking Velocimetry for Studying Flow-Induced Blood Damage Dynamics. (ZJ Wu, R Zhao, MV Kameneva, JF Antaki)

Leukocyte Activation Following Bovine VAD Implantation. (Trevor Snyder, Kenneth Litwak, Shin'Ichiro Kihara, William Wagner)

Red Blood Cell Survival in Assisted Circulation. (Marina V. Kameneva)