Yadong Wang is the McAdam Family Foundation Professor of Cardiac Assist Technology at Cornell University. He obtained his Ph.D. degree in Chemistry at Stanford University in 1999, and performed his postdoctoral studies in biomaterials at MIT. He joined the Biomedical Engineering Department at Cornell in 2017 after nine years with The University of Pittsburgh where he served as the William Kepler Whiteford Professor of Bioengineering.

His research focuses on creating biomaterials that present controlled chemical, physical, and mechanical signals to cells, tissues and organs. The ultimate goal is to control how the human body interacts with these materials. He is especially interested in applications of biomaterials in the cardiovascular, nervous and musculoskeletal systems. His team enjoys collaborating with other scientists and clinicians who share the same passion in translational research. Current projects include vascular grafts, controlled release of proteins and microfabrication of biomaterials.

Research Interests: Improving biomaterial fabrication to facilitate translation into the clinic.

Projects: Currently working on ways to improve traditional electrospinning methodologies to increase control during the process and hopefully improve the biological performance of the resulting fibrous materials.

Hobbies: I like to hike, cook, read as many books as possible, and play with my dog (Griffey) and my cats (Sushi and Kaladin).

Research Interests: Biomaterials design and cardiovascular tissue engineering

Projects: I’m developing a new type of biocompatible and biodegradable elastomers based on metal-ligand chelation and applying them in cardiovascular tissue engineering. The metal-ligand chelation offers a unique advantage unseen in conventional elastomer design because one ligand binds multiple metal ions yielding bonds of different properties (mechanical properties, degradation profiles, etc.). Vascular grafts prepared from these elastomers will be implanted into small and larger animal models to evaluate their potentials in cardiovascular regenerative medicine.

Hobbies: Skiing, swimming, fishing, hiking, reading, karaoke, drawing

Fun Facts: I had been living in Chengdu for 24 years but I cannot eat too spicy food or play Mahjong.

Research Interests: Biodegradable polymers and Immunotherapy

Projects: Synthesis of degradable metal-chelating polymers to be applied for tissue engineering

Hobbies: Cycling and hiking

Research Interests: Tissue regeneration, Drug Delivery, and Biomaterials

Projects: TBD

Hobbies: Photography, traveling, hiking, and cooking

Fun Facts: During undergrad I did a study abroad (semester at sea) around the world and lived on a cruise ship.

Research Interests: Tissue regeneration and naturally inspired therapies, specifically from extracellular matrix

Projects: I am developing and manufacturing an ECM-based therapy derived from regenerative species for cardiac repair and regeneration.

Hobbies: Swimming and playing water polo, cooking, and watching football.

Fun Facts: As an undergraduate I swam varsity for Carnegie Mellon and swam and played water polo at Imperial College London. I also served as a volunteer assistant coach at Carnegie Mellon.

Research Interests: Biomaterials, tissue engineering, and microfluidic applications

Projects: Aiming to develop PEAD/heparin coacervate loaded liposome as drug carrier for VEGF-C delivery after myocardial infarction.

Hobbies: Basketball, snowboarding, cooking, travel

Research Interests: Tissue engineering and biomaterial fabrication

Projects: Vascular Graft Development and Polymer Synthesis

Hobbies: Hiking, kayaking, fishing, cooking, and 3D printing

Research Interests: Tissue regeneration

Projects: TBD

Hobbies: I enjoy reading and have been learning to cook.

Research Interests: Designing polymers for various biomedical applications

Projects: Development of polyhydroxyalkanoates for skin graft applications

Hobbies: Hiking, kayaking, and cooking

Research Interests: Coacervate, immunotherapy, drug delivery, inflammatory disease, T cells, and polymers

Projects: Psoriasis Microneedle Treatment and Islet Cell Transplantation

Hobbies: Running, 3D printing, reading, music, and biking

Research Interests: Drug Delivery, Imaging, Biomaterials, & Tissue regeneration

Projects: Loading Hemoglobin in an Erythrocyte membrane-enclosed coacervate to transport oxygen

Hobbies: Dance, Sing, Yoga & Gym

Research Interests: Cool synthetic macromolecules

Projects: Development of novel UV Crosslinkable Resin

Hobbies: Outdoor stuff, training at the fire station.

Fun Facts: Started off as a garage chemist when I was little, I firmly believe that cooking in a kitchen is the same as doing chemistry in a fume hood. This probably explains why I sometimes drink from a beaker (at home), why I never shy away from culinary challenges like making risotto from scratch, and how I managed to make two trays of cream puffs in under two hours.

Research Interests: Biomaterials and silica nanoparticles synthesis applied to cancer treatment

Projects: My PhD is about mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) synthesis and new methods on chemotherapeutic drugs encapsulation with the goal of avoiding side effects and improving effectivity in cancer treatment. I am doing my PhD in Madrid, Spain, but currently I am doing a research stay here with Yadong’s group.

Hobbies: I love hiking, reading, writing, and spending time with my fur baby (my cat)

Fun Facts: I am from Valencia, a coast city in Spain (it’s always sunny), so here I’m always frozen (and I’ve only been here in summer time…)

Research Interests: Biomaterials, biomedical informatics, and systems biology

Projects: I am working on a project for the setup, automation, and control of a near field electrospinning fabrication platform for functional biomaterials.

Hobbies: Inkscape, chess, and music

Research Interests: Cellular engineering, biomaterials, regenerative medicine

Projects: Using regenerative goldfish extracellular matrices to treat spinal cord injury

Hobbies: Table tennis, ultimate frisbee, reading

Research Interests: Biomaterials, drug delivery

Projects: Fabrication of microneedles that deliver drugs to treat Psoriasis

Hobbies: Rock climbing, skiing, drawing, listening to music

Fun Facts: I have a dog named Charlie

Research Interests: Tissue regeneration and neurobiology

Projects: Investigating the regenerative ability of goldfish extracellular matrices for spinal injury applications

Hobbies: Fencing, running, knitting

Fun Facts: I have a cat named Schrödinger

Research Interests: Drug delivery, regenerative medicine, immunology

Projects: Developing a liposome filled with heparin based coacervate for protein delivery

Hobbies: Taekwondo, watching movies, rock climbing 

Research Interests: Cancer, Tissue Engineering

Projects: Developing Biodegradable Polymers for Vascular Bypasses

Hobbies: Running, Skiing, Eating Sushi

Research Interests: Tissue manipulation, drug delivery, orthopedics, and microbiology

Projects: I am currently working on a project that involves controlling the size of coacervates

Hobbies: Hiking, lifting weights, backcountry skiing, and trying new activities with friends

Research Interests: Biomaterials, tissue regeneration

Projects: Fabricating tubular scaffolds with highly interconnected pores

Hobbies: LONG walks, marker drawing, looking at rabbit photos

Research Interests: Drug Delivery and Coacervate

Projects: Development of tunable release microneedles

Hobbies: Astronomy, Fishing, and F1

Fun Facts: I have a pet bunny and snake

Research Interests: To support the research projects of our group. Maintain a safe research environment and train new researchers about our laboratory and on proper usage of equipment.

Projects:

Hobbies: Walking, hiking, swimming, gardening, cross-country skiing, hanging around with the kids and animals.