Visiting Lecturer Series – Dr. Milica Radisic

Vascularization of Engineered Tissues and Organs-on-a-chip

Lecture Takeaways

The main takeaways are as follows:

• Learn about developing engineered microenvironments that closely resemble the structure and function of human cardiac tissue. This involves using advanced tissue engineering and microfluidic techniques to create models that are physiologically accurate, aiding in more effective drug testing and disease modeling.
• Explores the role of primitive macrophages in supporting the formation of functional vascular networks within engineered cardiac tissues.
• Discuss the new insights into vascularization processes and the potential to significantly advance applications in regenerative medicine, especially in repairing or replacing damaged cardiac tissues.

Biography

Dr. Milica Radisic is a Professor at the University of Toronto, a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Organ-on-a-Chip Engineering, and a Senior Scientist at the General Hospital Research Institute (TGHRI), University Health Network. She is also Director of the NSERC CREATE Training Program in Organ-on-a-Chip Engineering & Entrepreneurship and a co-lead for the Center for Research and Applications in Fluidic Technologies. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada-Academy of Science, Canadian Academy of Engineering, the American Institute for Medical & Biological Engineering, Tissue Engineering & Regenerative Medicine Society as well as Biomedical Engineering Society. She was a recipient of the MIT Technology Review Top 35 Under 35, Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, NSERC E.W.R Steacie Fellowship, YWCA Woman of Distinction Award, Killam Fellowship, ActaBiomaterialia Silver Medal, and Humboldt Research Award to name a few. Her research focuses on organ-on-a-chip engineering and the development of new biomaterials that promote healing and attenuate scarring. She developed new methods to mature iPSC-derived cardiac tissues using electrical stimulation. She is an Executive Editor for ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering, Senior Consulting Editor for the Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology, a reviewing editor for eLife, and a member of the editorial board of another 8 journals. She served on the Board of Directors for the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers, Canadian Biomaterials Society, and McMaster University Alumni Association. She organized Keystone, EMBO, and ECI conferences and numerous sessions at TERMIS and BMES meetings. She served as a Scientific Officer for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and member of review panels for CIHR, NIH, and the Israel Ministry of Education. She is the Chair of Investment Committee for Serbia Innovation Fund. She is a co-founder of two companies TARA Biosystems (acquired by Valo Health), which uses human-engineered heart tissues in drug development and safety testing, and Quthero which advances regenerative hydrogels. Her work has been presented in over 260 publications, garnering over 23,000 citations with an h-index of 74. Her publications appeared in Cell, Nature Materials, Nature Methods, Nature Protocols, Nature Communications, PNAS, etc.

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