TERMIS

Sayed-Hadi Mirmalek-Sani - 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.

Maxime Guillemette - Previous 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.

Patrick Spicer - Meeting and Fundraising Committee Chair
Patrick received his B.S. in Bioengineering from Rice University. He is currently a student in the Medical Scientist Training Program of Baylor College of Medicine and a graduate student in the Department of Bioengineering at Rice University in the laboratory of Antonios Mikos. His research interests include the treatment of composite craniofacial injuries with osseous space maintenance and bone flap generation.

Chris Bashur - Secretary TERMIS-SYIS NA
Chris received his PhD from Virginia Tech in 2009, where he developed novel scaffolds for ligament tissue engineering applications and determined how adult stem cell respond to biomaterial topography and other aspects of the microenvironment. He is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the Cleveland Clinic in Dr. Anand Ramamurthi's laboratory. His project involves developing methods to improve elastic fiber generation and organization within a tissue engineered small-diameter vascular graft.

Rebecca Dahlin - Treasurer TERMIS-SYIS NA
Rebecca received her bachelor's degree in Biomedical Engineering in 2009 from Texas A&M University. She is currently a graduate student in the Department of Bioengineering at Rice University in the laboratory of Antonios Mikos. Her research focuses on the creation of polymer/extracellular matrix composite constructs for the repair of osteochondral defects.

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.