The research in our laboratory, directed by Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic, is focused on tissue engineering approaches to improving human health. We develop innovative technologies for engineering functional human tissues and organs – including bone, heart, lung and vasculature – by an integrated use of stem cells, biomaterial scaffolds, and bioreactors. Our long-term goals are to develop personalized treatments for regenerative medicine, tissue models for stem cell research, and “organs-on-a-chip” platforms for studying diseases and testing drug safety and efficacy.
Our laboratory is located in the Columbia University Medical Center, on the 12th floor of the Vanderbilt Clinic, and has the state of the art resources for stem cell and tissue engineering research. Our laboratory is a home to the Tissue Engineering Resource Center (TERC) founded to foster tissue engineering for medical impact. We are actively collaborating with numerous investigators at Columbia University, nationwide and around the world.