TERMIS

Maxime Guillemette - Chair TERMIS-SYIS NA
Maxime received his PhD from Laval University in Canada in the field of cardiovascular tissue engineering in 2009. His work was mainly concentrated on mechanically improved vascular constructs using cell orientation in the smooth muscle media, as well as on the creation of a tissue-engineered vascular adventitia with vasa vasorum. Maxime now holds a postdoctoral position in the Langer Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where his experiments focus on the microfabrication of elastomeric polymers for the creation of tissue-engineered cardiac muscle with native-like mechanical properties.

Sayed-Hadi Mirmalek-Sani - Vice Chair TERMIS-SYIS NA
Sayed-Hadi Mirmalek-Sani is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, North Carolina, working on a JDRF-funded project for diabetes research. He completed his thesis studies in 2006 on the characterization of human bone stem cells at the Bone & Joint Research Group, University of Southampton, and stayed for a two-year postdoctoral position determining cell expansion strategies. For four years Sayed-Hadi was the first postgraduate/postdoctoral representative for the UK Tissue and Cell Engineering Society (TCES) and was also the SYIS Meeting and Fundraising Committee chair for TERMIS-EU 2007.

Julie Steen - Immediate Past Chair TERMIS-SYIS NA - Meeting and Fundraising Committee Chair
Julie received her B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from North Carolina State University where she graduated with honors. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Wake Forest University. A member of Dr. Anthony Atala's laboratory, her research interests include the use of decellularized scaffolds for meniscus tissue engineering.

Dhev Raghavan - Secretary TERMIS-SYIS NA
Devanathan Raghavan received his PhD in Bioengineering from Clemson University. His doctoral studies involved the development of a novel patent pending fixation strategy for bioprosthetic heart valves for stabilizing glycosaminoglycans. After completion of his PhD, he has started working in Dr. Anthony Atala's lab as a post doctoral research fellow at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine where he continues to develop tissue engineered heart valves for clinical use. His past positions include Secretary for Society of Biomaterials (SFB) - student section (2007-2009), Secretary for Clemson Bioengineering Society (CBS) (2007-2008), and Graduate student senator with Graduate Student Government - Clemson University (2007-2008).

Masoud Yeganegi - Treasurer TERMIS-SYIS NA
Masoud recently received his M.A.Sc in Biomedical Engineering from University of Toronto's Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering and previously completed his B.A.Sc. in Engineering Science (biomedical option) at UofT. His graduate work at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute concerned the tissue engineering of the intervertebral disc annulus fibrosus. Masoud is active as the Chief Technical Officer and organizing committee member for the Canadian Science Policy Centre, and is also involved with the creation of OpenHive, a recent non-profit initiative at the University of Toronto to develop a comprehensive virtual platform for global development. He has previously been part of the TERMIS-SYIS NA team as the Chair of the Scientific and Professional Development Committee.

Robert Gauvin - Chair of the Scientific and Professional Development Committee
Bob received his PhD from l'Université Laval, performing his doctoral research under the supervision of Drs. Lucie Germain, François Auger and Robert Nerem (Georgia Tech). His work was aiming at the development of new assembly techniques as well as the evaluation and improvement of the biomechanical function of tissue-engineered skin and vascular constructs, using mechanical stimulation and bioreactor technology. He currently holds a postdoctoral position at the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology in Dr. Ali Khademhosseini's Lab. His work is mainly focused on the development of functional engineered tissues using microfabrication technologies.