Bioprinting Lab at Rockford Campus is Advancing Regenerative Medicine and Disability Research
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The new state-of-the-art 3D bioprinting lab at the University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford is one of few sites in the nation to leverage the power of 3D bioprinting for research. Headed by Dr. Mohammad Fazle Alam, and funded by the Blazer Foundation in Rockford, the laboratory uses bioprinting technology to create complex tissue structures with a focus on regenerative tissue engineering.
Dr. Alam is currently working with Dr. Mathew Thoppil, the Cedric W. Blazer professor of biomedical sciences, and Dr. Xue-Jun Li, PhD, the Michael A. Werckle professor of biomedical sciences, both co-directors of the Regenerative Medicine and Disability Laboratory at the Rockford campus. Human tissue bioprinted by Dr. Alam is used by Dr. Thoppil in his studies of hip implant tribocorrosion. Similarly, Dr. Li uses bioprinted brain tissue for her research into neurodegenerative diseases such as hereditary spastic paraplegia or Parkinson’s disease.
Other projects underway in the 3D bioprinting lab include the development of an engineered bio-ink or smart biomaterial, creation of an on-chip model of cardiac hypertrophy disease, and study of the advancement of prostate and lung cancer.