SEMINAR

DEPARTMENT OF BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING

Novel Bioresorbable Metallic Biomaterials for Regeneration

Donghui (Don) Zhu, Ph.D., Stony Brook University 

Abstract

Innovations in metallic biomaterials have attracted remarkable attention for their potentials as orthopedic implants, cardiovascular interventional devices, and tissue engineering scaffolds, due to their high strength and toughness compared with polymers and ceramics. Traditional metallic biomaterials with high corrosion resistance, such as titanium alloys, stainless steels, and cobalt-chromium are generally permanent implants, and may cause chronic deleterious effects. Thus, a second operation may be necessary to extract the implant, resulting in additional injury and expense. Biodegradable metals (Mg, Zn, Fe) are an alternative approach to the traditional paradigm of corrosion resistant metals.  They can corrode gradually while maintain mechanical integrity during the critical tissue healing phase, and fully dissolve upon fulfilling their mission.  Lately, our research focuses on the emerging Zn-based biomaterials as innovative bioresorbable medical implants and devices, typically for stent, wound closure, and orthopedic applications.  

Biography

Donghui (Don) Zhu is the SUNY Empire Innovation Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Institute for Engineering-Driven Medicine at Stony Brook University-SUNY in New York, USA. Dr. Zhu earned his Bachelor degree at East China University of Technology and Science, and Doctorate in Bioengineering at University of Missouri-Columbia.  His Ph.D. work focused on neuro-engineering for treatment of neurological and neurovascular disorders such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.  Following his Ph.D., Dr. Zhu was trained at University of Rochester medical center on regenerative medicine for vascular applications.  He then became an Assistant Professor in 2010 where his research focused on novel biodegradable metallic materials for tissue engineering and regeneration.  Dr. Zhu moved to Texas in 2016 as an Associate Professor to continue his research in innovative biomaterials and regenerative medicine. In fall 2019, he was recruited to Stony Brook, and currently he has a broad  research interest in biomaterials, cardiovascular diseases, musculoskeletal disorders, as well as neuroscience and engineering. He has secured over $6 million total federal research funding in the past several years, co-authored more than 70 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters.  Dr. Zhu also serves as editor or on editorial boards of several scientific journals and numerous grant review panels including NIH, NSF, FDA, and NASA.