Course Syllabus

Engineering Sciences E-132: Tissue Engineering for Clinical Applications

Fall 2016

Mondays 5:10 pm – 7:10 pm

Instructor: Sujata K. Bhatia; Associate, Harvard Kennedy School of Government; Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Professor of Biomedical Engineering, University of Delaware

Audience: Undergraduate Students, Graduate Students, Non-credit Students

Prerequisites: Background in biology and chemistry is necessary

Office Hours: The instructor is available by appointment to provide help and inspiration!

Students will additionally be provided with recent literature each week.

Description:

Tissue engineering is increasingly being recognized as a beneficial means for lessening the global disease burden. For example, novel methods for pancreatic islet regeneration can address diabetes; autologous cells for heart muscle regeneration can address coronary artery disease; and nerve regeneration technologies can be utilized to treat stroke. This course will describe strategies of tissue engineering, and will focus on the diseases that tissue engineering can address. Each lecture will identify a specific disease process (coronary artery disease, stroke, diabetes, etc.) and describe tissue engineered scaffolds that can alleviate the disease. Students will learn the underlying pathology of the disease; understand the latest advances in tissue engineering for treating the disease; and discuss prospective research areas for novel biomaterials to modify the disease process. In addition, students will gain an appreciation for clinical trials of tissue engineered scaffolds, as well as commercialization of tissue engineering.

Learning Goals:

• Students will learn principles of tissue engineering.
• Students will learn the major components of tissue engineered scaffolds, including polymeric constructs and cellular populations.
• Students will understand design considerations for tissue engineering.
• Students will appreciate regulatory and commercial considerations for tissue engineering.
• Students will appreciate ethical considerations for tissue engineering.
• Students will understand mechanisms by which tissue engineered scaffolds can modify disease processes.
• Students will appreciate the application of tissue engineering to worldwide diseases.
• By the end of the course, students will generate visionary concepts for utilizing tissue engineering to address global diseases.

Each class session will also include class discussions. All quizzes and exams will be open book, open notes.

Lecture Schedule:

August 29:             Overview of Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering

September 12:            Coronary Artery Stents as a Prototypical Biomaterial

September 19:            Cardiac Tissue Engineering

September 26:            Clinical Trials

October 3:                   QUIZ 1

October 10:                 NO CLASS  Columbus Day Holiday

October 17:                 Neural Imaging

October 24:                 Neural Tissue Engineering

October 31:                 Biomaterials for Wound Healing

November 7:               QUIZ 2

November 14:             Micellar Biomaterials

November 21:             Liposomes and Nanoparticles

November 28:             Biocompatibility Testing of Biomaterials

December 5:               Biomaterials for Global Health

December 12:             Practical Perspective: Intellectual Property

December 19:             FINAL EXAM

Course Policies and Expectations

• Students are expected to attend and actively participate in every class session, including asking and answering questions and contributing to class discussions.
• Any material submitted to meet course requirements is expected to be a student’s own work.

Grading Procedures:

Class Participation: 25%

Quizzes (two total): 50%

Final Exam: 25%