One of the great challenges in regenerating biological tissues is recreating the complex multi-scale hierarchy that generates function.  Controlling tissue generation at the molecular, cellular, and tissue length scales requires the development of synthesis and analysis tools at these scales.  For the problem of cartilage tissue engineering, this includes localization of peptides to control binding of growth factors and to regulate surface mechanics, development of microfluidic systems to control solute distribution throughout tissues, and incorporation of medical imaging data to enable anatomically accurate reproduction of tissue shape.  All of these techniques are developed in the context of the use of biocompatible materials that enable delivery of cells during micro- and macro-materials processing techniques.

Dr. Bonassar received his bachelor’s degree from the Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering from the Johns Hopkins University .  He received both his masters and doctoral degree from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT. He completed postdoctoral training in Orthopaedics at Massachusetts General Hospital , after which he joined the faculty of the Center for Tissue Engineering at University of Massachusetts Medical School.  Since 2003 he has been on the faculty at Cornell University , in the Departments of Biomedical Engineering and the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.  His research focuses on guided regeneration of musculoskeletal tissues through the application of mechanics, chemistry, and materials technology.