Andrés J. García
Professor
Education
- Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, 1996
- M.S.E., University of Pennsylvania, 1992
- B.S., Cornell University, 1991
Research Areas and Descriptors
- Bioengineering; Cellular and tissue engineering, cell adhesion, and biomaterials
Background
Dr. García began at Tech in 1998 as an Assistant Professor. Prior, he was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Microbiology at the School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania.
Research
Dr. García's research centers on cellular and tissue engineering, areas which integrate engineering and biological principles to control cell function in order to restore and/or enhance function in injured or diseased organs. Specifically, his research focuses on fundamental structure-function relationships governing cell-biomaterials interactions for bone and muscle applications. Current projects involve the analysis and manipulation of cell adhesion receptors and their extracellular matrix ligands. For example, a mechanochemical system has been developed to analyze the contributions of receptor binding, clustering, and interactions with other cellular structural proteins to cell adhesion strength.
In another research thrust, bio-inspired surfaces, including micropatterned substrates, are engineered to control cell adhesion in order to direct signaling and cell function. For instance, biomolecular surfaces have been engineered to target specific adhesion receptors to modulate cell signaling and differentiation. These biomolecular strategies are applicable to the development of 3D hybrid scaffolds for enhanced tissue reconstruction,"smart" biomaterials, and cell growth supports. Finally, genetic engineering approaches have been applied to engineer cells that form bone tissue for use in the development of mineralized templates for enhanced bone repair.
Distinctions
- American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering Fellow, 2007
- Woodruff School Faculty Fellow, 2004-2008
- Society of Biomaterials Young Investigator Award, 2004
- Georgia Tech CETL/BP Junior Faculty Teaching Excellence Award, 2002
- National Science Foundation Career Award, 2001
- Ford Foundation Dissertation and Postdoctoral Fellow, 1995 and 1997
- University of Pennsylvania Pollack Award for Excellence in Graduate Bioengineering Research, 1997
- American Society of Mechanical Engineers Bioengineering Ph.D. Competition Second Place, 1996
- National Science Foundation Predoctoral Fellow, 1991
Patent
- Bioactive glass or ceramic substrates having bound cell adhesion molecules. U.S. Patent 6,413,538, with Boettiger, D., and Ducheyne, P., July 2, 2002
Representative Publications
- B. A. Byers, R. E. Guldberg, and A. J. García. 2004. Synergy Between Genetic and Tissue Engineering: Runx2 Overexpression and in vitro Construct Development Enhance in vivo Mineralization. Tissue Engineering 10, 1757-1766.
- B. A Byers and A. J. García. 2004. Exogenous Runx2 Expression Enhances in vitro Osteoblastic Differentiation and Mineralization in Primary Bone Marrow Stromal Cells. Tissue Engineering 10, 1162-1632.
- J. L. Charest, et al. 2004. Hot Embossing for Micro Patterned Cell Substrates. Biomaterials 25, 4767-4775.
- E. J. Vanderploeg, et al. 2004. Oscillatory Tension Differentially Modulates Matrix Metabolism and Cytoskeletal Organization in Chrondrocytes and Fibrochondrocytes. Journal of Biomechanics 27, 1941-1942.
- J. T. Butcher, et al. 2004. Differences in Morphology and Focal Adhesion Development Between Valvular and Endothelial Cells in Static and Fluid Flow Environments. Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology 24, 1429-1434.
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