Bioengineering innovations in osteoarthritis treatment

Silviya P Zustiak, PhD, Saint Louis University, USA

Dr. Zustiak has a diverse academic background with a bachelor’s degree in bioelectrical engineering, a doctoral degree in biochemical engineering and a postdoctoral training in biophysics. She is currently a Professor and Associate Chair in Biomedical Engineering at Saint Louis University, St Louis, MO, where she also co-directs two large institutes: the Institute for Drug and Biotherapeutic Innovation and the Institute for Translational Neuroscience. Dr. Zustiak has editorial roles in several journals, including the Nature portfolio’s Scientific Reports and npj Biomedical Innovations and is an active member of several professional societies, including the Society for Biomaterials and the Biomedical Engineering Society. Dr. Zustiak has received multiple professional awards, including the NIH Fellows Award for Research Excellence during her postdoctoral fellowship and Outstanding Parks Graduate Faculty Award, Scholarly Works Award, and Woman of the Year Award at Saint Louis University. Dr. Zustiak’s research is focused on developing hydrogel biomaterials as cell scaffolds, drug screening platforms and drug delivery devices and is highly multidisciplinary. Her work has been funded by various government agencies including the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, private foundations, and industry and has resulted in over 70 peer-reviewed publications, over 250 conference presentations, 4 awarded patents and multiple patent applications.

Blanka Sharma, PhD, University of Florida, USA

Dr. Sharma is an Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Florida. Her research investigates fundamental biomaterial-cell interactions to develop targeted drug and cell delivery systems for applications ranging from tissue repair to cancer therapy. Dr. Blanka Sharma received her undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Waterloo (Waterloo, Ontario, Canada), her Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD) in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, and her postdoctoral training at the Cleveland Clinic (Cleveland, OH). Dr. Sharma served as Director of Research for Cartilix Inc., a start-up company based on her doctoral research, where she worked towards clinical translation of a hydrogel technology for cartilage repair in the knee. Dr. Sharma has received numerous recognitions for her teaching, mentorship, and research including the American Society for Engineering Education “20 Under 40” Outstanding Junior Faculty in the U.S., the National Science Foundation CAREER award, and the Pramod P. Khargonekar Junior Faculty Award for Excellence from the UF College of Engineering.