Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Engineering - Tissue Engineering/Regenerative Medicine

Tissue engineering is an emerging interdisciplinary field which applies the principles of biology and engineering to the development of viable substitutes which restore, maintain, or improve the function of human tissues. This form of therapy differs from standard drug therapy in that the engineered tissue becomes integrated within the patient, affording a potentially permanent and specific cure of the disease state. A large number of Americans suffer organ and tissue loss every year from accidents, birth defects, hereditary disorders, conditions and diseases. Improved understanding of biological processes holds promise for the development of new classes of biomaterials, polymers diagnostic and analytical reagents.Tissue engineering integrates discoveries from biochemistry, cell and molecular biology, genetics, material science and biomedical engineering to produce innovative three dimensional composites having structurefunction properties that can be used to either replace or correct damaged, missing or poorly functioning components in living systems. In addition, this emerging technology can be used to introduce better functioning components. The material components themselves may be processed from naturally occurring materials, processed from synthetic materials or a combination of these. Cellular and other biologic components may be added.