SIF102 CAd-Bio: Center for Advanced Biomanufacturing

Project Manager: George Christ and Shayne Peirce-Cottler, School of Engineering and Applied Science

The purpose of this project is to build the infrastructure to develop and implement novel and more effective tissue engineering/regenerative medicine technologies.

BoV Approved: December 2016

Project Dates: 1/25/2017 – 1/24/2022

Total Funding: $3,000,000

Executive Summary

Despite enormous potential and significant federal investments, tissue engineering/regenerative medicine (TE/RM) technologies  have  not  delivered  expected  benefits  for  patients,  especially  in  battlefield  injuries  to  soldiers  and  civilian  trauma.  In response,  the  federal government has created massive new translational and collaborative funding initiatives to address critical technological roadblocks, namely, development of innovative regenerative materials and advanced  biomanufacturing.  This interdisciplinary,  Cross  Grounds  initiative  in  this  area,  CAd-Bio: Center for Advanced Biomanufacturing,  leveraged this SIF award to position  UVA  to  take advantage of  this extraordinary  funding  environment,  and  will  continue to leverage  existing  technical  expertise  at  UVA  in areas including advanced  manufacturing,  biomaterials  synthesis,  biomechanics, mechanobiology,  multiscale  modeling,  imaging,  orthopedic  clinical  translation,  and  rehabilitation.  The timely  funding  of  this proposal was  essential  to elevate  UVA  to  a  world  leadership  role  in  the  development  and  implementation  of  novel  and  more effective TE/RM approaches.

Current Status: Completed

Achievements

The mission of the UVA Center for Advanced Biomanufacturing (“CAD-Bio”) is to establish UVA as a world leader in translational research for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine (TERM) technologies and to build and support a diverse community of members from academia, industry, government, and the nonprofit sectors. Our vision is a world where cell, tissue and organ damage due to age, disease, traumatic injuries and congenital defects can be repaired quickly, effectively, and cost-efficiently through emerging technologies enabled by CAD-Bio and made available to our community and beyond.

The membership of CAD-Bio includes over twenty basic science, engineering, and clinically-focused laboratories in the UVA School of Engineering and Applied Science, the UVA School of Medicine, and the UVA College of Arts and Sciences. Participating laboratories focus on basic science discovery, engineering design, translational research, and clinical implementation of novel therapeutic approaches. Areas of expertise within the Center include novel biomaterials design for regenerative medicine, 3D printing, 3D bioprinting, bioreactor design and fabrication, imaging-guided and 3D-printing-guided surgical planning, and predictive computational modeling, among others. CAD-Bio is home to a state-of-the-art clean-room laboratory facility with equipment to support nano-lithography (including microsphysiological systems), nanomaterials fabrication, bioreactor validation, 3D-bioprinting, tissue biofabrication, electrospining, peptide synthesis, rheometry, functional and mechanical testing of tissues, live microscopy of cells and tissues, and cell culture facilities. Center investigators address a range of different diseases and physical impairments, from cancer to congenital anomalies, as well as age- and disease-related and trauma-induced musculoskeletal defects.

CAD-Bio is at the center of a regional Biomanufacturing hub, and has formed partnerships with companies in the regenerative medicine industry, and further, has organized and hosted five annual symposia for Mid-Atlantic researchers and industry leaders in advanced biomanufacturing. More than 20 interdisciplinary research projects that make use of the Center’s equipment have received seed funding from CAD-Bio since the launch of the Center in 2017, and workforce development efforts have supported the training of dozens of undergraduate students (e.g., via summer research experiences), medical students, graduate students, and post-doctoral researchers. Because of its close proximity to both the UVA School of Engineering and Applied Science and the UVA School of Medicine, CAD-Bio is a hub where investigators and trainees can frequently interact to identify and develop strategies for addressing unmet clinical needs that will benefit from novel advanced biomanufacturing approaches.