Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering - Rehabilitation and Regenerative Engineering

Syracuse University

This research area focuses on: the regeneration of tissues, limbs, and organs development of assistive technologies for rehabilitative treatment and the application of systems engineering approaches to the patient experience from surgery through follow-up rehabilitation. The goal is to enable the development, testing, and implementation of sustainable healthcare alternatives to combat infection, tissue/organ damage, and disability/aging.Regenerative engineering combines stem cell technology with advances in our engineering ability to create specific mechanical and biochemical microenvironments with the aim of inducing desired cell and tissue behavior. Researchers in this area seek to determine and replicate the material cues from microenvironments to spur cell differentiation and cellular growth, ultimately leading to the formation or healing of complex tissues. At LCS, we currently focus our efforts on the discovery and utilization of adaptive materials and scaffolds for engineering musculoskeletal tissue and nerve regeneration. In the near future, we envision broadening these efforts through new faculty hires and by synergistic collaborations with clinical researchers, especially to expand the capability to routinely perform experiments using in vivo animal models to test the potential of our laboratory findings in repairing/healing musculoskeletal tissue/organ damage and nerve injuries.

The College of Engineering and Computer Science