The 2017 Chappel Memorial Lecture will be presented by Dr. Rocky Tuan, who will discuss Engineering and Regeneration: Stem Cells, Biomatrix and Biomimetic Scaffolds.
The lecture takes place Thursday, April 6, 2017 from 3:30-4:30 p.m. in Room 1714 LLC, immediately followed by a reception in the OVC Lifetime Learning Centre, 1707C from 4:30-5:00 p.m.
Dr. Rocky S. Tuan is the Director of the Cellular and Molecular Engineering Lab, located in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, within the School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh.
He is also a Professor and the Executive Vice Chairman for Orthopaedic Research, and serves as the Arthur J. Rooney, Sr. Chair Professor in Sports Medicine, within the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. He also holds a secondary appointment as a Professor within the Department of Bioengineering.
Dr. Tuan is currently Co-Director of the Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine, a U.S. Department of Defense funded, national, multi-institutional consortium focused on developing translational regenerative therapies for battlefield injuries. Two recent appointments include, Associate Director of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, and Founding Director of the Center for Military Medicine, both at the University of Pittsburgh. At the University of Pittsburgh, he was appointed Distinguished Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery in 2014, and received the Chancellor’s Distinguished Research Award in 2015. In 2016, Dr. Tuan received the Carnegie Science Award in Life Sciences and the Clemson Award from the Society for Biomaterials.
Dr. Tuan directs a multidisciplinary research program, which focuses on orthopaedic research as a study of the biological activities that are important for the development, growth, function, and health of musculoskeletal tissues, and the translation of this knowledge to develop technologies that will regenerate and/or restore function to diseased and damaged skeletal tissues, particularly related to trauma and injuries. Ongoing research projects are directed towards multiple aspects of skeletal and related biology, including skeletal development, stem cells, growth factor signaling, bone-biomaterial interaction, extracellular matrix and cell-matrix interaction, nanotechnology, biomaterials, 3D printing, tissue-on-a-chip, mechanobiology, microgravity effects, regenerative medicine, and tissue engineering, utilizing an integrated experimental approach combining contemporary technologies of biochemistry, cell and molecular biology, embryology and development, cellular imaging, and engineering.
The Chappel Memorial Lecture was established in 1988 by Dr. Clifford Chappel, OVC 1950, in memory of his father, Herbert James Chappel. Since that time, internationally renowned researchers have been invited to the University of Guelph to summarize their current work and discuss the development and progression of their program over the years. The lecture and informal meetings are meant to act as a source of inspiration for those engaged in, or considering, graduate studies in biomedical research.
