Episode 11: Talking to Dr. Danielle Pretorius about Fabricating cardiac tissue patches

Dr. Danielle Pretorius has earned her PhD in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Together with Dr. Jay Zhang, she is helping to fabricate cardiac tissue patches that is made from human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cells. The initial structures were made with fibrin but due to the dynamic nature of the cells, the extracellular matrix of these cells could be remodeled. Danielle and her group's fabrications process has allowed them to achieve previously unseen tissue thickness with minimal necrosis, the ability to match viscoelasticity properties to those seen in native left ventricular tissue as well as phenomenal conduction velocities throughout the structures.   You can find out more about Dr. Pretorius and her work in this link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dani%C3%ABlle-pretorius-b93280b5/   Thank you for listening!   Please feel free to contact us at the email below: [email protected]