Research in the area of Biomaterials includes drug delivery, therapeutics, diagnostics, tissue engineering, as well as classical biomedical implants. The field of biomaterials can be broadly defined as the design, synthesis, and study of natural or synthetic materials, to either detect and image disease (diagnostics) or to repair, restore or replace lost function (therapeutics). While such materials have been around since the beginning of medicine, continuous improvements over the past decades have been in the understanding of how the body interacts with implanted materials led to the progression of this field from the use of anything which was surgically available to use of materials which were deemed biocompatible.
Recent advances have been in exploring materials which are not passive and walled off by the body but actively participate in the body's efforts to repair itself. Such biomimetic and bioactive materials are designed to more accurately interact with the body's natural structures and functions from macro to micro to nano and molecular levels.
Specific materials-related research in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Case Western Reserve University focuses on:
Drug Delivery: Developing a better understanding of therapeutic delivery to create clinically relevant delivery profiles, in situ reloading, and targeted delivery. Applications include cancer, cardiovascular disease, infectious disease, inflammation, and ophthalmological diseases.
Tissue Engineering: Combining stem cell and biomolecule delivery approaches to create tissues in vitro and promote their integration and repair in vivo. Applications include cardiovascular, orthopedic and neural tissues.
Nanomedicine: Creation of nano and micro platforms which are capable of delivering therapeutic payloads and respond to delivery stimulus. Applications include imaging agents, vaccines, immunotherapies, and other targeted payloads
Biomedical Implants: Using structure/function relationships and bio-inspired approaches to develop new categories of biomaterials which better sense and/or mimic their biological environment and are capable of changing to meet the clinical need.
 |
High resolution imaging of endogenous gene expression; definition of "molecular signatures" for imaging and treatment of cancer and other diseases; generating and utilizing genomic data to define informative targets; strategies for applying non-invasive imaging to drug development; and novel molecular imaging probes and paradigms |
 |
To develop an understanding for how the neuroinflammatory response facilitates acute and long-term neural device performance.
|
 |
Biomaterials; instrumentation; nanoscale structure-function analysis of orthopaedic biomaterials; and scanning probe microscopy and spectroscopy of skeletal tissues
|
 |
Efstathios (Stathis) Karathanasis, Ph.D. Cancer nanotechnology; Immunotherapy; Pediatric nanomedicine; Molecular imaging
|
 |
Drug delivery and molecular imaging; novel targeted imaging agents for molecular imaging; novel MRI contrast agents; image-guided therapy and drug delivery; polymeric drug delivery systems; multi-functional delivery systems for nucleic acids |
 |
Targeted drug delivery; targeted molecular imaging; image-guided therapy; platelet substitutes; novel polymeric biomaterials for tissue engineering scaffolds
|
 |
The Senyo Laboratory seeks to elucidate factors that regulate basal tissue injury response and early development to devise effective strategies for therapeutic regeneration, particularly in the heart. We approach this goal at several levels by integrating information derived from cross-disciplinary techniques of molecular biology, biophysics, polymer chemistry and biomimicry. |
 |
Development of minimally invasive neural interfaces for lower risk, lower cost, and higher impact applications in bioelectronic medicine and neural prostheses; other areas of interest include neuroanatomy and physiology, biomaterials, drug delivery, and inflammation.
|
 |
Affinity-based delivery of small molecule drugs and biomolecules for applications in device infection, HIV, orthopedics, cardiovascular, ophthalmology and cancer; directed differentiation of stem cells for tissue engineering applications, such as endothelial cells, cardiomyocytes, motor neurons and T-cells |
 |
Nanotechnology for Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment; Imaging and Manipulation of Tumor Microenvironment; Cancer Immunotherapy; Adoptive T cell Immunotherapy |
|
Akkus, Ozan |
Case Western Reserve University phone: (216) 368-4175 |
|
Baskaran, Harihara |
Case School of Engineering phone: (216) 368-1029 |
|
Caplan, Arnold |
Case Western Reserve University phone: (216) 368-3562 |
|
Derwin, Kathleen |
Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine phone: (216) 445-5982 |
|
Exner, Agata A. |
University Hospitals phone: (216) 844-3544 |
|
Graham, Linda M. |
Cleveland Clinic Foundation phone: (216) 445-3298 |
|
Gurkan, Umut |
Case Western Reserve University Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering phone: (216) 368-6447 |
|
Kottke-Marchant, Kandice |
Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine phone: (216) 444-2484 |
|
Landis, William J. |
University Of Akron phone: (330) 972-8483 |
|
Muschler, George F. |
Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine phone: (216) 444-5338 |
|
Rimnac, Clare |
Case School of Engineering phone: (216) 368-6442 |
|
Rowan, Stuart J. |
Case School of Engineering phone: (216) 368-4242 |
|
Zborowski, Maciej |
Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine phone: (216) 445-9330 |
|
Ziats, Nicholas P. |
University Hospitals phone: (216) 368-5176 |
