Joseph T. Samosky Assistant Professor, Department of Bioengineering. PhD in Medical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology (2002) with clinical education at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Samosky is the director of the Simulation and Medical Technology R&D Center, an interdisciplinary research group whose primary mission is to invent nextgeneration enabling technologies for simulation-based healthcare training and new medical devices. His research focuses on user-centric design and engineering of real-time interactive systems that enhance learning, improve patient care and enhance patient safety. He has a strong interest in simulation-based learning, human-computer interfaces, sensor systems, advanced perceptual display technologies (including augmented reality display), biomimetic materials, 3D fabrication techniques, and robotic systems, including actuators and embedded control systems. He is the co-developer of the Combat Medic Training System (COMETS), an autonomous, tetherless, humanoid robotic trauma patient that supports field training in casualty care. Dr. Samosky is an enthusiastic advocate of experiential learning and project-based, hands-on engineering education and has mentored over 80 bioengineering students in senior design projects. His teaching has included workshops and classes in prototyping, systems engineering, sensors, data acquisition and computer control. He is currently developing a new freshman honors engineering course, “The Art of Hands-On Systems Design and Engineering,” to promote exploring and learning multidisciplinary, prototype-based system design and engineering. Michelle Gabriele Sandrian Assistant Professor, Department of Ophthalmology (Primary), Department of Bioengineering (Secondary). Post-doc (Medical Physics and Bioengineering), Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria (2013), PhD (Bioengineering), University of Pittsburgh (2010). Dr. Sandrian’s In Vivo Optical Imaging Laboratory is focused on the development and clinical translation of novel imaging approaches and contrast agents that can be used to highlight specific structures in the eye and visual system. Shilpa Sant, PhD Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy (Primary), Department of Bioengineering (Secondary), McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine (Faculty Member), PhD (Pharmaceutical Technology, University of Montreal, 2008). The main research interest in the Sant Laboratory is to develop biomimetic three-dimensional (3D) in vitro models that can be applied to study processes involved in tissue regeneration as well as disease pathophysiology. We build biomimetic microenvironment using interdisciplinary approaches in materials science, drug/gene delivery and cellular/molecular biology. Eventually, we envision using these models as biomimetic in vitro 3D tissue surrogates for testing drug safety and efficacy. Andrew J. Schaefer Andrew Schaefer is William Kepler Whiteford Professor of Industrial Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh. He received his PhD in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Georgia Tech in 2000. His research interests include stochastic optimization methodology and its application to health care problems. In particular, he is interested in optimizing decisions arising in the treatment of a variety of diseases, including end-stage liver disease, HIV/AIDS and influenza. Gerald Schatten Professor, Obstetrics, Gynecology, & Reproductive Sciences; Cell Biology; and Bioengineering; Director, Pittsburgh Development Center (PDC). PhD (Cell & Developmental Biology), University of California, Berkeley, 1975. Dr. Schatten explores the biophysics and molecular biology of cell function in gametes, embryos, stem cells, as well as the mechanisms of cell division, the origins of developmental diseases, and the potential of stem cells.
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