(6kz) Multi-Modal Biofabrication Approaches for Biomaterials Development and Tissue Engineering

Research Interests: Tools and Methodologies in Bioengineering

Three dimensional bioprinting and biofabrication techniques have enormous potential for advancing regenerative medicine, with the ultimate goal of producing personalized artificial organs and tissues on demand, and more immediate goals of providing physiologically relevant models of healthy and diseased tissues. However, current methods and materials do not yet address significant limitations in speed, feature resolution, construct size and biofunctionality necessary to realize clinical relevance of engineered tissues.

My research addresses three main questions:

1. How can the development of multi-modal biofabrication techniques address limitations of existing methods?
2. How can these new biofabrication techniques enable creation of functional biomaterials?
3. How can these techniques and materials support tissue engineering applications?

The first aspect centers around development of platform technologies, integrating established biofabrication modalities (e.g. extrusion-based bioprinting, stereolithography, electrospinning) to create hybrid techniques, and investigating applications of novel techniques, such as acoustic patterning, in biofabrication.

The second explores the interplay of biomaterials development and biofabrication. Multi-modal methodologies will be used to create microstructured biomaterials, particularly hydrogels, with emergent material properties. These will include both single-component and composite systems. I anticipate that hybrid biofabrication techniques can be used to confer additional functionality to the materials via introduction of multi-scale complexity to the internal architecture of the materials.

The third forms the basis of a collaborative program to explore translational routes for these new materials and methods, and to answer questions relevant to tissue engineering. Clinical and industrial partnerships will be emphasized. Initial directions I will investigate include:

• Vascularization of engineered tissues
• Cellular mechanotransduction
• Cell-material interactions

I enjoy exploring the application of engineering paradigms to develop new tools and utilizing existing tools and methodologies in novel ways. I find it rewarding to establish new techniques, rather than rely solely on commercially available equipment, which can be prohibitively expensive for early career researchers, and restrictive and inflexible to research needs. Researchers in my group will be encouraged to “hack” equipment and to develop their own instrumentation.

I am also interested in exploring robust scale-up of tissue engineering processes, and intend to be involved with development of standards and regulatory pathways as these methods reach maturity.

My research group will be a safe, positive, and inclusive working environment and I welcome diverse backgrounds. While providing opportunities to work on existing projects, I will encourage students to pursue independent lines of inquiry. I also support undergraduate participation in research and will encourage students to actively contribute to the body of knowledge through “Data in Brief”-type publications.

Research Experience:

I earned my PhD in Engineering in 2017 as part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) – Cambridge Scholars Program, in which I conducted research at two of the leading research institutions in the world, the NIH (Bethesda, Maryland, USA), and the University of Cambridge. With these experiences, I have maximized my ability to work in an international collaborative environment and have started building an extensive professional network. From the beginning of my research experience as an undergraduate earning my BSc in Chemical Engineering from the University of Kentucky (2011), I have sought opportunities to apply engineering principles to biological problems. I am dedicated to pursuing an academic career in engineering of biological systems— primarily tissue engineering—the natural intersection of these fields.

My PhD research incorporated both biology and materials engineering; in my current postdoctoral research position at the University of Bristol, I have expanded to elements of acoustic and electrical engineering, and rapid prototyping and device fabrication, leading to the invention of a new, in-air acoustic particle manipulation and patterning technique. As a result, I am proficient in working across disciplines, and capable of managing multiple projects simultaneously.

Postdoctoral Research:

• A Novel Biofabrication Approach Using Ultrasound-Guided Particle Manipulation

Advisor: Mike Fraser, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK

• Acoustically-Triggered Hydrogel Cross-Linking for 3D Bioprinting

Pump-priming grant in collaboration with Avinash Patil, University of Bristol

PhD Dissertation:

Hydrogel Substrate Effects on Protein Kinase A and Osteogenesis

Completed as part of the National Institutes of Health – University of Cambridge Scholars Program.

Advisors: Constantine A. Stratakis, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA; Michelle L. Oyen, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.

Teaching Interests:

Undergraduate Courses:

Foundational Chemical and Materials Engineering Courses (e.g. Principles of Chemical Processes, Thermodynamics, Fluid Mechanics, Introduction to Materials Science, Polymers)

Undergraduate and Graduate Courses:

Biomaterials, Biofabrication, Tissue Engineering, Engineering Approaches in Regenerative Medicine

I approach engineering education by emphasizing the translational nature of the material. Engineering is a practical subject – a large quantity of the material can be described in the form of authentic problems. It is vital that students be able to relate the subject matter to some practical use or application. Not only does this maintain interest, but also initiates the valuable process of applying knowledge learned in the classroom to issues one might later see in the workplace.

Outside of the classroom, I intend to organize “skill share”-type events for students and researchers, in order to support expansion of individual practical skills while fostering a collaborative and collegial environment. This will also a teaching opportunity for PhD students and postdoctoral researchers and a chance to develop their transferable skills.

Teaching Experience and Pedagogy:

University of Cambridge Engineering Department, 2013-2014

Supervisions (small group teaching):

• Undergraduate (second year) engineering materials science
• Undergraduate (second year) engineering biomaterials

Demonstrations (lab practicals):

• Undergraduate (second year) engineering materials science
• Undergraduate (third year) engineering biomaterials

University of Kentucky College of Engineering, 2009-2011

Peer Tutoring:

• Undergraduate introductory physics, calculus, chemistry
• Undergraduate introductory chemical engineering courses
• Associate Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy via 2013-2014 Teaching Associate Programme, University of Cambridge
• Participant in “Scientists Teaching Science” workshop, May 2013, Bethesda, MD, USA
• Participant in “College Teaching for the 21^st Century” workshop, June-July 2013, Bethesda MD, USA

Selected Funding Proposals and Awards:

• December 2018, University of Bristol Faculty of Engineering Pump-Priming Fund (£5000)
• August 2011- March 2016, National Institutes of Health-Oxford/Cambridge Graduate Partnership Program (fully-funded PhD program, covering University course and laboratory fees, travel, and stipend, approximate value of £200,000)
• 2011 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (Declined offer)
• 2010 Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship Recipient (full tuition award)

Publications:

1. Shapiro JM and Oyen ML. Engineering Approaches for Understanding Osteogenesis: Hydrogels as Synthetic Bone Microenvironments. Hormone and Metabolic Research, 48(11) (2016), 726-736. DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-100469
   • Invited Review
2. Liu S, Shapiro JM, Saloustros E, Stratakis CA. Bone abnormalities in mice with protein kinase A (PKA) defects reveal a role of cyclic AMP signaling in bone stromal cell-dependent tumor development. Hormone and Metabolic Research, 48(11) (2016), 714-725. DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-117111
3. Bush BG, Shapiro JM, DelRio FW, Cook RF and Oyen ML. Mechanical measurements of heterogeneity and length scale effects in PEG-based hydrogels. Soft Matter, 11(36) (2015), 7191-7200. DOI: 10.1039/C5SM01210D
4. Shapiro JM and Oyen ML. Viscoelastic analysis of single-component and composite PEG and alginate hydrogels. Acta Mechanica Sinica, 30(1) (2014), 7-14. DOI: 10.1007/s10409-014-0025-x
5. Shapiro JM and Oyen ML. Hydrogel Composite Materials for Tissue Engineering Scaffolds, JOM 65 (2013), 505-516. DOI: 10.1007/s11837-013-0575-6
6. Meenach SA, Shapiro JM, Hilt JZ and Anderson KW. Characterization of PEG–iron oxide hydrogel nanocomposites for dual hyperthermia and paclitaxel delivery, Journal of Biomaterials Science, Polymer Edition, 24(9) (2012), 1112-1126. DOI: 10.1080/09205063.2012.741321

In Review:

1. Khoo W, Chung SM, Lim SC, Low CY, Shapiro JM and Koh CT. Fracture Behavior of Multilayer Fibrous Scaffolds Featuring Microstructural Gradients. In review for Materials & Design.

In Preparation:

1. Shapiro JM, Drinkwater BW and Fraser M. Sonolithography: An in-air ultrasonic patterning technique. Intended for submission to Nature Communications.
2. Shapiro JM, Gregson F, Reid JA, Drinkwater BW, Fraser M. Experimental determination of particle size threshold for node/anti-node localisation in acoustic pressure field. Intended for submission to Lab on a Chip.
3. Shapiro JM, Liu J, Drinkwater BW, Fraser M. Microscale, size based, in-air particle separation via sonolithography. Intended for submission to

Outreach, Engagement and Service:

• February 2019 – Present: Postdoctoral Research Associate Representative for the University of Bristol School of Computer Science, Electrical and Electronics Engineering and Engineering Mathematics
• December 2018 – Present: Health and Safety Manager of Bristol Interaction Group workshop
• November – December 2018: University of Bristol Academic Staff Development “Cultivating Leadership” course
• Operated a research fair stand for the 2018 European Researcher’s Night (Bristol FUTURES) to present aspects of my research to schoolchildren and adult members of the community
• Interviewed in 2014 for the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development newsletter to discuss my experience with interdisciplinary research https://science.nichd.nih.gov/confluence/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=8…
• 2014 SET for Britain Finalist – Selected to present a poster of my PhD research to Members of UK Parliament
• Published an “In Person” editorial on Science Careers website, entitled Can I Get a Ph.D. in Collaboration? (2013). http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_magazine/previous_issues/ar… 1300196
• 2013 and 2015 National Institutes of Health Graduate Student Retreat Committee
• Poster judge for 2013 and 2015 National Institutes of Health Post-Baccalaureate Poster Day, Bethesda, MD, USA