2018 ANNUAL REVIEW
IN THIS ISSUE
From the Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Faculty News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 New Faculty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Student Spotlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Alumni Spotlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Participating Faculty . . . . . . . . . . . 8
“Cardiac cells are natural oscillators, ... they beat spontaneously and, when coupled, they can synchronize to a locked, steady frequency.” Zorlutuna Expands Research on Cardiac Cells Pinar Zorlutuna, associate professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering, directs the Tissue Engineering Laboratory where she explores biomimetic environments in order to understand and control cell behavior in conjunction with researchers in the College of Engineering, the Center for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine, and the Mike and Josie Harper Cancer Research Institute. The co-owner of two patents related to biomaterials and tissue engineering, she has received a number
of awards, including a 2017 National Science Foundation Early Career Development Award (NSF CAREER) for her project titled “Tissue-engineering an Aging Heart: The Effect of Aged Cell Microenvironment in Myocardial Infarction” and the 2016 Rising Star Award from the Biomedical Engineering Society. Most recently, she has been leading a study of cardiac cells as an avenue to create a more nearly optimal computer network for solving complex problems. “Cardiac cells are natural oscillators,” says Zorlutuna. “They beat spontaneously and, when coupled, they
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can synchronize to a locked, steady frequency. What we want to find out is if we create a network using these bio-oscillators, will their natural spatiotemporal dynamics be able to solve complex problems optimally, in less time and using less energy than siliconbased digital computing hardware?” Zorlutuna is also studying tumor growth and metastasis of cancer cells in stiffer breast tissue and how cancer cells interact with connective tissue to affect surrounding cells. More information on her work in bioengineering can be found at tissueeng.nd.edu.