ANDRÉS GARCIA
BIOGRAPHY
Andrés J. García is the Executive Director of the Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience and Regents’ Professor at Woodruff School in the Georgia Institute of Technology. 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.
Dr. García’s research program integrates innovative engineering, materials science, and cell biology concepts and technologies to create cell-instructive biomaterials for regenerative medicine and generate new knowledge in mechanobiology. He has authored numerous research papers and has been awarded many prizes for his contributions to his field.
TOPIC: ‘BIOENGINEERED SYNTHETIC HYDROGELS FOR REGENERATIVE MEDICINE’
Hydrogels, highly hydrated cross-linked polymer networks, have emerged as powerful synthetic analogs of extracellular matrices for basic cell studies as well as promising biomaterials for regenerative medicine applications.
A critical advantage of these synthetic matrices over natural networks is that bioactive functionalities, such as cell adhesive sequences and growth factors, can be incorporated in precise densities while the substrate mechanical properties are independently controlled. We have engineered poly(ethylene glycol) [PEG]-maleimide hydrogels for local delivery of therapeutic proteins and cells in several regenerative medicine applications.
For example, synthetic hydrogels with optimal biochemical and biophysical properties have been engineered to direct human stem cell-derived intestinal organoid growth and differentiation, and these biomaterials serve as injectable delivery vehicles that promote organoid engraftment and repair of intestinal wounds. In another application, hydrogels presenting immunomodulatory proteins induce immune acceptance of allogeneic pancreatic islets and reverse hyperglycemia in models of type 1 diabetes.
Finally, injectable hydrogels delivering anti-microbial proteins eradicate bone-associated bacterial infections and support bone repair. These studies establish these biofunctional hydrogels as promising platforms for basic science studies and biomaterial carriers for cell delivery, engraftment and enhanced tissue repair.