REGENERATIVE ENGINEERING TRAINING PROGRAM

Ansen Tan's research focuses on developing a non-invasive wearable bioelectronic device for detecting early signs of infection in acute and chronic skin wounds. Wound healing is a delicate process that involves hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation and tissue remodeling. Non-healing chronic wounds, such as diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are often impaired at the tissue remodeling stage, and susceptible to bacterial infections. The goal of his work is to develop a system to detect and identify bacterial infections before visual symptoms arise.

Ansen earned his Bachelors of Science in Engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, with a major in Biomedical Engineering and a minor in Computer Science. There, he worked with Dr. Ariella Shikanov's lab, preparing different formulations of hydrogels for encapsulation and xenografting and characterizing composition changes of extracellular matrix in tissues with respect to age. Ansen is currently enrolled in the Biomedical Engineering Ph.D. program at Northwestern University, advised by Dr. Guillermo Ameer. His work in the RE-Training program is undertaken by the mentor team of Dr. John Rogers, Dr. Arthur Prindle and Dr. Dinora Ingberman.

 

Bianca Navarro is interested in vascular regeneration, specifically creating bioresorbable stents to treat peripheral arterial disease (PAD). PAD is strongly associated with major cardiovascular events, and some patients experience claudication, or pain in the impacted region during movement. Current treatments  encounter problems such as in-stent restenosis, stent fracture and potential interference for aortic access devices. Her proposed research centers on developing bioresorbable vascular scaffolds (BVS) using additive manufacturing. Her research focus aims to design, fabricate and characterize a self-expanding stent suitable for the high mechanical stress areas of the superficial femaoral and popliteal arteries.

Bianca earned her Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Nevada. There, she was advised by Dr. Jeremy Cho and utilized wet chemistry methods to create chemical solutions used to make hydrogels. She also served as an Engineering Student Ambassador and Peer Guide. She is currently enrolled in the Biomedical Engineering Ph.D. program at Northwestern University, co-advised by Dr. Cheng Sun and Dr. Guillermo Ameer. Her work in the RE-Training program is undertaken by the mentor team of Dr. Cheng Sun, Dr. Mark Eskandari, and Dr. Karen Ho.