Tissue Engineering Career Conversations – Details, episodes & analysis

In our latest episode, we feature Dr. Brooke Coley, a bioengineer and social justice scholar. Currently, she is an Assistant Professor at the Polytechnic School of the Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering at Arizona State University (ASU). She is the founding Executive Director of the Center for Research Advancing Racial Equity, Justice, and Sociotechnical Innovation Centered in Engineering (RARE JUSTICE). Dr. Coley earned her Ph.D. in Bioengineering with a concentration in Biomechanics from the University of Pittsburgh. She also completed her Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering at the University of Maryland Baltimore County as a Meyerhoff Scholar. Prior to joining the Polytechnic School, she completed her postdoctoral training at ASU in engineering education. Dr. Coley’s research lies at the intersection of racial equity, mental health and qualitative research methods encompassing critical theory, participation action research, and arts-based research methods. In this episode, we gain insight into Dr. Coley’s career trajectory and how she has dealt with adversity and used her experiences to become an agent of change and advocate for inclusion in all levels of her work. Join us as we learn more about Dr. Coley’s unique academic journey and how she hopes to push the bounds of traditionally heteronormative engineering environments through transdisciplinary approaches. 

In our latest episode, we feature Dr. Elisa Cimetta, an Associate Professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering at the University of Padua and Principal Investigator of the BIAMET laboratory (Biomedical Applications of Multiscale Engineering Technologies). Dr. Cimetta obtained her Ph.D. from the University of Padua and conducted postdoctoral research at Columbia University, where she co-founded EpiBone, a Columbia University spinoff devoted to producing engineered bone and osteochondral patient-specific tissues. Her journey to academia was marked by innovative research and collaborations, leading her to her current position as a Visiting Research Scientist at Prof. Vunjak-Novakovic’s laboratory. In this episode, we explore Dr. Cimetta’s trajectory, exploring her pivotal moments, research interests, and the challenges and rewards of launching a new research group. Join us as we uncover Dr. Cimetta’s insights on navigating academia and forging a successful career path in engineering and biomedical research. 

Our eighth episode features Dr. Milica Radisic, Professor at the University of Toronto, Canada. She is internationally renowned for shaping a new field of organ-on-a-chip engineering and developing new biomaterials that promote healing and attenuate scarring. She obtained her Bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering from McMaster University, and her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from MIT. In this episode we discuss with Dr. Radisic about her journey from being a graduate student at MIT to becoming an independent researcher, and the responsibilities that are involved in such a role. We hear about her experience as a mentor, her views about work life balance, and how the pandemic changed research. 

Our seventh episode features Dr. Carlo Rizzuto, Managing Director at Versant Ventures. He joined the firm as a Principal in 2012 and has been promoted to Managing Director in 2022, where he is still involved in building and investing in a number of Versant’s portfolio companies. Prior to Versant Ventures, Dr. Rizzuto was at Novartis where he led global product development teams advancing innovative new medicine, and was an Associate Principal at McKinsey & Co. advising U.S. and European clients in the pharmaceutical, payor, and provider sectors. Dr. Rizzuto holds a Ph.D. in virology from Harvard University.

In this episode we discuss with Dr. Rizzuto his career journey, highlighting the several skills and tools he honed along the way. We learn which skills are essential to be a good investor and founder, how to manage an intensive schedule with long days, and how outstanding technology can be transferred from an academic bench to a biotechnology startup.

Versant Ventures is a venture capital company focused on biotech startups. This firm has a broad, diverse portfolio with successful stories of investment in biotech startups in the US, Canada, and Europe, in gene therapy, gene editing, cell therapy, and precision oncology.

Our sixth episode features Dr. Tejal Desai, currently Deborah Cowan Endowed Professor and former chair of the Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco, and the incoming Dean of Engineering at Brown University. She received her B.S. from Brown University in biomedical engineering in 1994 and was awarded a Ph.D. in bioengineering jointly from UCSF and UC Berkeley in 1998. Dr. Desai’s research spans multiple disciplines including materials engineering, cell biology, tissue engineering, and pharmacological delivery systems to develop new therapeutic interventions for disease. She seeks to design new platforms, enabled by advancements in micro and nanotechnology, to overcome existing challenges in therapeutic delivery. She is a past President of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering and is a fellow of AIMBE, IAMBE, CRS, and BMES. In 2015, she was elected to the National Academy of Medicine and in 2019 to the National Academy of Inventors. Dr. Desai is also a vocal advocate for STEM education and outreach to women and underrepresented minority students. In this episode, we hear from Dr. Desai about the importance of bridging scientific communities for the benefit of both the people and scientific research, as well as balancing service commitments and leadership roles in an academic career.

This episode’s conversation is with Dr. Brian Aguado an Assistant Professor at UCSD. Dr. Aguado discusses his journey to his current position highlighting the influence of key mentors and his background which have shaped him not only as a researcher but also as an educator and advocate for an inclusive STEM community. Throughout the conversation we learn about what it takes to make it through the faculty job market, build a new lab, and develop healthy personal care routines all the while coping with a global pandemic ensues. 

Our fourth episode features Dr. Jennifer Munson, an Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Virginia Tech, the Virginia Tech-Wake Forest School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences, and an affiliate member of the Wake Forest Comprehensive Cancer Institute. She received her Ph.D. from Georgia institute of Technology in 2011 and completed her postdoctoral training at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL). During her training, she was supported by the NSF GRFP, a Fulbright Fellowship, and a Whitaker Scholarship. Her laboratory studies the role of fluid flow in tissue homeostasis and disease with a specific focus on cancer and neurological disorders. She uses tissue engineered cell culture models, in vivo imaging methodology, and computational modeling to explore the nature and impact of interstitial fluid flow on cells and tissues. In 2016, Dr. Munson was awarded the Rita Schaffer Young Investigator Award from the Biomedical Engineering Society, and in 2017, she was awarded the Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering Young Innovator Award. In this episode, we learn from Dr. Munson about the importance of exploring new and exciting opportunities in your early academic career, as well as balancing life and work as an early career faculty starting up a new research group.

This episode features Dr. Nina Tandon, CEO and co-founder of EpiBone, the world’s first company growing living human bones for skeletal reconstruction. Dr. Tandon has a Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering from the Cooper Union, a Master’s in Bioelectrical Engineering from MIT, and a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Columbia University. She also received an MBA from Columbia University, which she pursued in parallel to her research as a postdoctoral fellow at Columbia University.  Our conversation follows Dr. Tandon’s career from engineering human tissues in the lab to founding a company and how a business degree helped bridge the gap between the two. As our conversation continues, we learn from Dr. Tandon about the nature of working in a start-up company, different job opportunities within the company, and the challenges and thrills she experiences as a CEO.

Recommended reading material written by Dr. Tandon:

·       Super Cells: Building with Biology, a book that explores the new frontier of biotech. 

·       To MBA or not to MBA: is that the question?, an article that discusses the need to pursue an MBA in order to become a CEO.

Our second episode features Dr. Šeila Selimović, Program Manager at the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) within the US Department of Health and Human Services. After her PhD training in condensed matter physics at Brandeis University and a postdoctoral fellowship in tissue engineering at Harvard Medical School / Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Dr. Selimović joined the Department of State as a AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow. Our conversation follows Dr. Selimović's career path from graduate school to leading a number of funding agency programs at the National Institutes of Health and now at BARDA, helping bridge the gap between unique federal areas of interest, interdisciplinary research, and supporting future bioengineering endeavors. As the conversation continues, we learn from Dr. Selimović about the importance of branching outside of your intended career trajectory to explore new and exciting opportunities that may come along the way.

The podcast’s inaugural episode features Dr. Caitlin Czajka, Senior Editor at Science Translational Medicine. The conversation follows her career’s trajectory ending in a not-so-expected career as an editor at a scientific journal. From childhood inspirations and STEM-related summer camps to graduate school and a pandemic, Dr. Czajka describes her journey to the field of scientific communications. Along the way, she provides some cautionary tales and advice for someone navigating the transition from bench work to overseeing high impact manuscripts at the forefront of medicine.