The Bioengineering Laboratory for Nanomedicine and Tissue Engineering

Principal Investigator

Lijie Grace Zhang, Ph.D.

ASME fellow and AIMBE fellow

Professor and Associate Dean for Research
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (Primary)
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Department of Biomedical Engineering
Department of Medicine
The George Washington University

Email: lgzhang@gwu.edu

RESEARCH INTERESTS

3D/4D Bioprinting Human Heart
3D/4D Bioprinting Human Brain
3D/4D Printing for Human Enhancement
3D/4D Printing for Bio-robotics
3D Cancer Metastasis Model
Stem Cell Engineering

EDUCATION

Ph.D. Biomedical Engineering, Brown University, 2009
M.S. Applied Chemistry, Tianjin University China, 2004
B.S. Chemical Engineering, Tianjin University China, 2001

POSTDOCTORAL TRAINING

Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, 2010
Rice University, Department of Bioengineering, 2009

HONORS AND AWARDS

Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), 2023
International Society for Biofabrication (ISBF) Board of Directors, 2022-2025
ASEE Engineering Research Council Board of Directors, 2022-2025
Associate Editor of International Journal of Smart and Nano Materials, 2022-
GW Technology Commercialization Office (TCO) Innovation Competition Prize, 2022
GW Academic Leadership Academy (GWALA) Fellow, 2022
Editor-in-Chief of Biomedical Engineering Advances, 2020-
Society of Engineering Science (SES) Young Investigator Medal, 2020
Associate Editor of Journal of Nanobiotechnology, 2019-
American Heart Association Transformative Project Award, 2019
Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), 2019
GWU Hegarty Award for Faculty Innovation, 2018
GWU OVPR Early Career Researcher Award, 2018
Standing Member of NIH Biomaterials and Biointerfaces Study Section (BMBI), 2017-2021
Editor of Materials Science and Engineering C: Materials for Biological Applications, 2017-2023
Finalist of NIH Director’s Transformative Research Award, 2017
ASME Sia Nemat-Nasser Early Career Award, 2016
Associate Editor-in-Chief of International Journal of Nanomedicine, 2016-
SEAS Outstanding Young Researcher Award, 2015
Young Innovator in Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering, 2015
GWU SEAS Faculty Recognition Award, 2014
Junior Faculty Travel Award for MRS 2014 Fall meeting (Boston), 2014
Finalist of NIH Director’s Transformative Research Award, 2014
NIH Director’s New Innovator Award, 2014
Ad Hoc Reviewer for NIH Bioengineering, Technology, and Surgical Sciences Study Section (BTSS), 2014
CTSI-CN Research Award for Mentored Collaborative Pilot Studies that Promote Integration of Clinical and Research Efforts at GW/MFA, 2013
Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award, 2011
Young Investigator Award from ASBMR Forum on Aging and Skeletal Health, 2011
John Haddad Young Investigator Award from American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR), 2011
Pilot Project Award in the Clinical and Translational Science Institute at Children's National (CTSI-CN), 2011
Early Career Award from International Journal of Nanomedicine, 2010
Winner of the 2010-2011 Interdisciplinary Research Fund Competition of GW Institute for Biomedical Engineering, 2010
Who's Who in America, 2010
Joukowsky Family Foundation Outstanding Dissertation Award, 2009.
Sigma Xi Award for Excellent Research and High Potential for Further Contributions to Science, 2009
STAR Award of Society for Biomaterials Annual Meeting (San Antonio), 2009
STAR Award of Society for Biomaterials Annual Meeting (Chicago), 2007
Edward Mason Fellowship at Brown University, 2005-2006

PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES

American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE)
American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
American Heart Association (AHA)
American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS)
American Chemical Society (ACS)
American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE)
American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR)
American Society for Nanomedicine (ASNM)
Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES)
International Society for Biofabrication (ISBF)
International Society for Heart Research (ISHR)
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers-Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (IEEE-EMBS)
Materials Research Society (MRS)
Sigma Xi (The Scientific Research Society)
Society For Biomaterials (SFB)
Society of Engineering Science (SES)
Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society Americas (TERMIS-AM)

TEACHING

Fall 2024：
- MAE 6238 Biomaterials
- MAE 4168 Introduction of Biomaterials
Spring 2024: MAE 6204 Tissue Engineering
Future courses:
- Advanced Biomanufacturing
- 3D Printing in Medicine
- Nanomedicine
- Stem Cell Engineering

CONFERENCE AND SYMPOSIUM ORGANIZING

Co-Chair of 2024 Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Meeting to be held in Baltimore, MD, October 23-26, 2024.
Session Chair of Track 2.3: Biomaterials, Tissues Engineering, and Regenerative Medicine at the 11th WACBE World Congress on Bioengineeringvances in Hong Kong, August 4-7, 2024.
Session Chair of Session 4 "Mechanical Engineering and Automation" at the 12th Asia Conference on Mechanical and Materials Engineering in Kyoto, Japan, June 14-17, 2024.
Local Chair of IEEE Brain Discovery and Neurotechnology Workshop held at the George Washington University on Nov 9-10, 2023.
Session Co-Chair of Building and Maintaining Larger Scale Multi-Organizational Research Teams at the ASEE’s Research Leadership Institute (RLI) Annual conference, March 6-8, 2023
Session Chair of Earmarks, Appropriations, and Authorizations: Different Approaches to Federal Funding Budget at the ASEE’s Research Leadership Institute (RLI) Annual conference, March 6-8, 2023
Session Chair of Diversity in Engineering Research and Education at the 8th GW Diversity Summit, Washington DC, March 1-3, 2023.
Track Co-Chair of the Tissue Engineering Track at BMES 2022 in San Antonio, October 12-15, 2022.
Symposium Chair of Emerging Tools in Tissue and Cellular Engineering, 2022 Summer Biomechanics, Bioengineering, and Biotransport Conference (SB3C2022), June 20-23, 2022.
Symposium Chair of Bioprinting and Biomanufacturing, 2021 Summer Biomechanics, Bioengineering, and Biotransport Conference (SB3C2021), June 14-18, 2021.
Mini-Symposium Co-Chair of 3D/4D Printing And Advanced Manufacturing Of Materials And Structures, Society of Engineering Science (SES) 57th Virtual Technical Meeting on September 30, 2020.
Symposium co-chair of Porous Polymers, 2020 ACS Fall 2020 Virtual Meeting & Expo on August 17-20, 2020.
Symposium Chair of 3D Bioprinting in Engineering Tissues and Organs at TERMIS-Americas Annual Conference, Orlando, FL, December 2-5, 2019.
Session Chair of Track 10-23 Nanoengineered, Nano Modified, Hierarchical, Multi-Scale Materials and Structures I, ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition, Salt Lake City, UT, November 11-14, 2019.
Session Chair of Track 10-23 Nanoengineered, Nano Modified, Hierarchical, Multi-Scale Materials and Structures II, ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition, Salt Lake City, UT, November 11-14, 2019.
Symposium Chair of 9.1 3D/4D Printed Functional Materials and Structures, the 56th Annual Technical Meeting of the Society of Engineering Science, Washington University at St. Louis, October 13-15, 2019.
Track Leader for Track 6.2 4D Printing Materials at the 7th International Conference on Smart Materials and Nanotechnology in Engineering (SMN2019), Harbin, China, September 20-24, 2019.
Symposium Chair of 3D/4D Printing for Tissue Engineering, International Conference on Biomechanics and Medical Engineering (ICBME2019)-Yuan-Cheng Fung 100th Birthday Celebration, San Diego, CA, September 20-23, 2019.
Conference Chair of the 5th International Conference on Advances in Functional Materials, Washington, DC, July 22-24, 2019.
Organizer of B2: Advanced Additive Manufacturing Technologies for Bio-Applications; Materials, Processes, and Systems, Toronto, Canada, GFMAT-2/BIO-4, July 21-26, 2019.
Topic Organizer of Materials and 3D Printing for Biology and Medicine, ASME IMECE, Pittsburg, PA, November 9-14, 2018.
Symposium chair of Organ On a Chip, 2018 BMES Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA, October 17-20, 2018.
Symposium Chair of SM05: Biomaterials for Tissue Interface Regeneration, MRS Spring Meeting, Phoenix, AZ, April 2-6, 2018.
Session Chair of Materials and 3D Printing for Biology and Medicine, ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition, Tampa, FL, November 3-9, 2017.
Symposium Chair of IX-C: 3D Bioprinting and Advanced Bioinks, the 54th Annual Technical Meeting of the Society of Engineering Science, Boston, MA, July 25-28, 2017.
Symposium Chair of Multifunctional Biomaterial Design for Regenerative Tissue Engineering, Society For Biomaterials Annual Meeting, Minneapolis, MN, April 5-8, 2017.
Symposium Chair of C-12: 3D printing implantable constructs for biomedical applications, the 53rd Annual Technical Meeting of the Society of Engineering Science, College Park, Maryland, October 2-5, 2016.
Session Chair of Creating Structured Microenvironments for Regulating Stem Cell Differentiation, American Association Anatomists (AAA) Annual Meeting at Experimental Biology (EB), San Diego CA, April 2-5, 2016.
Session Chair of Clinical Applications of Bioengineering II, ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition, November 13-19, Houston, TX, 2015.
Session Chair of General Biomedical and Biotechnology Applications I, ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition, Houston, TX, November 13-19, 2015.
Session Chair of General Biomedical and Biotechnology Applications II, ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition, Houston, TX, November 13-19, 2015.
Topic Organizer of General Biomedical and Biotechnology Applications ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition, Houston, TX, November 13-19, 2015
Symposium Chair of TS-13: Nanobiomaterials and 3D Nano/microfabrication Techniques for Biomedical Application, IEEE-NANOMED conference, Honolulu, Hawaii, November 15-18, 2015
Symposium Chair of Skin and Wound Healing and Inflammation, 2014 TERMIS-AM Annual Conference and Exposition, Washington, DC, December 14-16, 2014.
Symposium Chair of Clinic Application of Bioengineering: Diagnostic and Therapeutic Methods, ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition, November 14-20, Montreal, Canada, 2014.
Symposium Chair of Clinic Application of Bioengineering: Biomechanics, ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition, November 14-20, Montreal, Canada, 2014.
Topic Co-Organizer of PhD Student Paper Competition, ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition, November 14-20, Montreal, Canada, 2014.
Symposium Chair of Nano to Micro Technologies—Diagnostics session, 2014 BMES Annual Meeting, San Antonio, TX, October 22-25, 2014.
Poster Session Chair of Tissue Engineering—Scaffolds and Surfaces for Tissue Engineering session, 2014 BMES Annual Meeting, San Antonio, TX, October 22-25, 2014.
Poster Session Chair of Mechanobiology, Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, Musculoskeletal Pain session, 2014 BMES Annual Meeting, San Antonio, TX, October 22-25, 2014.
Symposium Chair of Nanomaterials for Biomedical Applications, the 51^st Society of Engineering Science (SES) Annual Technical Meeting, West Lafayette, IN, Oct 1-3, 2014.
Symposium Chair of Vibration and Acoustics in Biomedical Applications, 2013 ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, San Diego, CA, Nov 15-21, 2013.
Symposium Chair of Musculoskeletal Tissue Engineering, 2013 BMES Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA, September 25-28, 2013.
Symposium Chair of Musculoskeletal and Orthopedic Tissue Engineering, 2012 BMES Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA, October 24-27, 2012.
Symposium Chair of Host Response to Biomaterials, 2011 BMES Annual Meeting, Hartford, October 12-15, 2011.
Symposium Chair and symposium proceeding volume editor, Symposium 21: Nanomaterials for Biomedical Applications, the XIX International Materials Research Congress, Cancun, Mexico, August 15-20, 2010.