Date/Time
Date(s) - 11/04/2013
4:00 pm

Kyriacos A. Athanasiou, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor and Chair, Department of Biomedical Engineering, UC Davis

Abstract:

This presentation will cover two different areas: Articular cartilage healing and technology translation.  Articular cartilage is arguably the tissue most pivotal for motion and overall function.  This soft, white tissue that covers the ends of our long bones cannot heal by itself often progressing to osteoarthritis following injury.  The demanding biomechanical milieu of a joint, plus cartilage’s relative lack of cells and blood supply, renders this tissue almost unique in its inability to repair adequately.  This presentation will describe our group’s efforts toward helping joint cartilages, such as hyaline tissue, knee meniscus, and the TMJ disc, repair themselves via tissue engineering approaches.   Central to our efforts is the understanding the biomechanical relationships at multiple dimensional levels.  Also shown will be some of our latest results using various stem cell sources that indicate that cartilage regeneration is inexorably becoming a tractable problem.  The second part of the presentation will be allocated on efforts to commercialize outcomes of our academe-based research. Specific examples and results will be presented to illustrate a specific pathway of commercializing research outcomes.

Short Bio:

Kyriacos A. Athanasiou is a Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Orthopaedic Surgery, the Child Family Professor of Engineering, and the Chair of Biomedical Engineering at the University of California Davis.  He obtained his PhD in Bioengineering (Mechanical Engineering) from Columbia University in 2009.  He has published 280 peer-reviewed papers, five authored books, 12 edited books or journal special issues, and 30 patents.  He has also served as president of the Biomedical Engineering Society.  Additionally, he is the Editor-in-Chief of the Annals of Biomedical Engineering, the flagship journal of BMES.  His list of awards includes the Nemitsas Prize 2012, Distinguished Service Award from BMES, the Wall Street Journal’s 2008 Innovation Award, the Thomas A. Edison Patent Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Hershel Rich Outstanding Invention Award, the Marshal Urist Award for Excellence in Tissue Regeneration Research from the Orthopaedic Research Society, and the Van Mow Medal from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.  He is a Fellow of BMES, AAAS, AIMBE, and ASME.  In addition to his academic interests, he has been involved with effecting the translation of devices and instruments into clinical use and commercialization.