Tissue Engineering: Current Status and Challenges

Dr. Chandra P. Sharma is Adjunct Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Manipal University, and Hon. Emeritus Professor, College of Biomedical Engineering & Applied Sciences, Purbanchal University, Kathmandu, Nepal. Dr. Sharma is a Solid-State Physicist from IIT Delhi and received his training in Biomaterials area in the University of Utah with Prof. D.J. Lyman as a graduate student and in the University of Liverpool, England with Prof. D.F. Williams as a Post-Doctoral Research Associate. Dr. Sharma has been awarded FBSE (Fellow Biomaterials Science & Engineering) by The International Union of Societies for Biomaterials Science & Engineering (IUS-BSE) in 2008 and FBAO (Fellow Biomaterials and Artificial Organs) by Society for Biomaterials & Artificial Organs (India) (SBAOI) in 2011 and shares Whitaker and National Science Foundation Award – International Society for Artificial Organs (ISAO) USA, invited member ACS (2015-2018).

Dr. Thomas Chandy is a biomaterial expert with unique combination of medical device and technical knowledge. He has strong academic credentials in human physiology and bio-compatible materials with test methods and model development. Dr. Chandy has published over 80 scientific papers in international Journals and 3 patents in the medical device and drug delivery area. Reviewer to 7+ international journals of repute in Drug delivery and Biomedical Research. Twenty-Five years of experience as a project lead in medical device and technology development. Strong experience with broad range of medical products including polymeric and tissue-based implantable, site specific drug delivery, medical diagnostics and combination devices. Product/process development skills with demonstrated success from concept through commercialization involving selection of materials, characterization, biological evaluation of materials, bench, feasibility tests and pre-clinical (animal) testing.

Dr. Vinoy Thomas is an Associate Professor and Graduate Program Director in the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He also holds secondary appointments at the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Department of Physics and Department of Environmental Science & Health. Dr. Thomas is also an Associate Scientist at the Center for Nanoscale Materials and Biointegration (CNMB) and Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences (CCTS). After his PhD in Biomaterials & Technology, he completed postdoctoral training at Friedrich-Schiller University (FSU), Jena, Germany, and at the National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, USA. His research focuses on biomaterials processing-property relationships, nanomaterials for tissue engineering and drug delivery. He has published over 120 scientific research and review articles (h- index: 36), co-edited two books (Tissue Engineering, Elsevier 2022 and Artificial Intelligence in Tissue and Organ Regeneration, Elsevier 2023). He serves as Associate Editor of Heliyon (Engineering). Dr. Thomas received Fellow Awards such as FBAO -from Society for Biomaterials and Artificial Organs India, FAAS- from Alabama Academy of Sciences, and IAAM Scientist Medal from International Association of Advanced Materials, Sweden. Dr. Thomas is currently serving as the President of Alabama Academy of Science (AAS), Chairman of SBAOI- North American Chapter, and Secretary of Biomaterials Committee of The Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society (TMS).

Dr. Finosh Thankam is an assistant professor and researcher in Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, in the Department of Translational Research, at the Western University of Health Sciences, in Pomona, CA. His undergraduate studies were in Biochemistry, before completing his post-graduate degree in Medical Biochemistry from Mahatma Gandhi University, in India. As a research fellow he was exposed to the new world of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine and published many original articles on various aspects of cardiac tissue engineering. His current research interests include investigating the pathogenesis of various musculoskeletal disorders, and cardiovascular diseases, and applying the knowledge and principles of tissue engineering to develop artificial tissue constructs to improve the care for the sufferers.