OUR RESEARCH
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The Chen Lab develops biomaterials and bioengineered scaffolds for cardiovascular regeneration. Our work integrates polymer chemistry, metallo-elastomer design, 3D printing, electrowriting, mechanobiology, and in vivo models to understand how material and structural cues guide tissue repair.
Metallo-Elastomer Design & Optimization
Developing and optimizing metallo-elastomers through molecular design, metal-ligand coordination, and crosslinking strategies to tune mechanics, degradation, and bioactivity.
3D Printing & Electrowriting
Resorbable Vascular Grafts
Resorbable Cardiac Patches
Mechanobiology & Host Remodeling
Creating programmable micro/nanofibrous architectures to control cell alignment, mechanics, and tissue organization.
Designing resorbable elastomeric grafts that promote endothelialization, tissue remodeling, and long-term vascular repair.
Developing flexible, bioactive scaffolds to support cardiac tissue repair and electrophysiological integration.
Studying how material chemistry, stiffness, architecture, and degradation regulate cell behavior and tissue regeneration.
RESEARCH FOCUS
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Metallo-Elastomer Design & Optimization
Developing and optimizing metallo-elastomers through molecular design, metal-ligand coordination, and crosslinking strategies to tune mechanics, degradation, and bioactivity.
3D Printing & Electrowriting
Resorbable Vascular Grafts
Resorbable Cardiac Patches
Mechanobiology & Host Remodeling
Creating programmable micro/nanofibrous architectures to control cell alignment, mechanics, and tissue organization.
Designing resorbable elastomeric grafts that promote endothelialization, tissue remodeling, and long-term vascular repair.
Developing flexible, bioactive scaffolds to support cardiac tissue repair and electrophysiological integration.
Studying how material chemistry, stiffness, architecture, and degradation regulate cell behavior and tissue regeneration.
HOW WE WORK
—
Translate
Study cell-material
interactions and tissue-
level responses.
Evaluate
Build scaffolds with
controlled architecture
and structure.
Fabricate
Define material chemistry,
mechanics, degradation,
and biological function.
Design
Test regenerative performatce
in relevant cardiovascular
models.
CORE TECHNOLOGIES & CAPABILITIES
—
Polymer &
Metallo-Elastomer Synthesis
Design and synthesis of
tunable biodegradable
elastomers with metal-ligand
coordination chemistry.
Histology & Imaging
Assessment of vascular and
cardiac tissue regeneration using
histological imaging.
3D Printing
Fabrication of complex
scaffold geometries
with high spatial
precision and control.
Preclinical Models
Evaluation of biomaterial
performance in small and
large animal models of
cardiovascular disease.
Electrowriting /
Electrospinning
Generation of aligned
micro/nanofibrous
architectures for
biomimetic tissue guidance.
scRNA-seq +
Spatial Transcriptomics
Profiling cellular states and
spatial organization in
biomimetic tissue guidance.
Cell & Tissue
Analysis
In vitro assays to evaluate
cellular responses,
mechanobiology, and
tissue remodeling.
Bioreactor & Perfusion Testing
Closed-loop perfusion systems
for vascular graft conditioning
and hemodynamic evaluation.