CBE Seminar: Advances in Cartilage Tissue Engineering: Insights from Our Research

Abstract: Despite decades of effort, the field of regenerative medicine has yet to fully address the ever-increasing need for engineered tissues. In this seminar, we will describe our ongoing efforts in the development of engineered cartilage tissue. Through the utilization of a mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-based system, we have demonstrated that optimizing process conditions can lead to improved chondrogenesis outcomes. However, these still fall short when compared to the quality of native or neonatal cartilage. Our investigations, employing metabolic and transcriptomic analyses, underscore the imperative need to rethink the current in vitro chondrogenesis paradigm, aiming for de novo synthesis of the extracellular matrix (ECM) at levels conducive to the rapid fabrication of engineered cartilage. 

Bio: Harihara Baskaran is a biomedical engineer with a background in chemical engineering. He is a professor and the chair of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Case Western Reserve University. His work encompasses various biomedical applications, such as intravascular lung development, extracorporeal wearable oxygenators, extracorporeal liver devices, microvascular tissue engineering and cartilage tissue engineering.

Host: Quinton Smith