Principal Investigator

Vipuil Kishore, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering (CCE)

vkishore@fit.edu

Dr. Kishore is the principal investigator of the Functional Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Laboratory at Florida Tech. He received his bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from Madras University, Chennai, India in 2000, and his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Wayne State University in Detroit, MI in 2009. After completing his doctoral degree, Dr. Kishore acquired his postdoctoral training at Purdue University and Case Western Reserve University. Research in his laboratory focuses on developing novel biomaterial processing strategies to generate biomimetic functional scaffolds and investigating the effects of extracellular matrix (ECM) cues on tissue specific cellular response for use in a variety of different tissue engineering applications. He has published over 35 peer-reviewed journal publications, two book chapters, and over 60 conference abstracts.

Graduate Students

Nashaita Patrawalla
Ph.D. Student - Biomedical Engineering

npatrawalla2015@fit.edu

Nashaita Patrawalla acquired her Bachelor's degree in Astrobiology in May 2019 from Florida Tech and went on to pursue her Master's in Biomedical Engineering pursuing her thesis research under Dr. Kishore. Her current research includes comparing different ceramic materials in collagen-based constructs with a focus on bone regeneration applications. She hopes to continue her higher education by pursuing a Ph.D. with a focus on Tissue Engineering and Biomaterials for Space-Based Applications. Nashaita is highly involved on campus, being a Resident Director for Roberts Hall, Treasurer for It's on US and a varsity athlete for the Women's Rowing team. In her "free time", Nashaita enjoys being outdoors, playing music, and enjoying time with friends. Her favorite quote and something she lives by is "It's not about what you get to achieve; It is about who you get to be!"

Vinicius da Silva
Ph.D. Student - Biomedical Engineering

vsilva2023@my.fit.edu

Vinicius Silva is a dental surgeon specialized in different aspects of the field: Implant Dentistry, Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, and a master's professional in Lasers in Dentistry. He founded a biotechnology company in Brazil and received competitive grants to develop cell therapy collagen scaffolds, performing tests under certified ISO 10993 conditions with complete approval. His research experience fits with Kishore Lab's current research with 3D scaffold constructs and photobiomodulation strategies to augment growth and differentiation of stem cells for bone regeneration applications. As an experienced member of the organizing committee for one of the most important dental implant meetings in Brazil, Vinicius volunteers for TEDxFloridaTech Women2023. He also intends to participate in organizing events for the years to come, aiming to construct the future technology and a better world.

Jamielyn Jarvis
M.S. Student - Chemical Engineering

jjarvis2019@my.fit.edu

Jamie is pursuing both her Bachelor's and accelerated Master's degree in Chemical Engineering at the Florida Institute of Technology. She is very involved on campus, serving as President of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) and American Chemical Society (ACS) student chapters. Jamie has performed prior undergraduate research in organic catalysis under Dr. Takenaka's guidance at Florida Tech and carbon capture at the University of South Carolina. She aims to research tissue engineering concerning space-based applications under Dr. Kishore.

Undergraduate Students

Karly Liebendorfer
B.S. Student - Biomedical Engineering

kliebendorfe2020@my.fit.edu

Karly is currently pursuing her undergraduate degree in Biomedical Engineering with a minor in Nanoscience/Nanotechnology. She has previously done research for the National Cancer Institute, where she worked on cell characterization techniques for pancreatic cancer vaccines. Karly is presently a player on Florida Tech's Women Lacrosse team and is treasurer for the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). She is also a member of the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), Phi Eta Sigma, and Alpha Eta Mu Beta.

Alumni

1. Gengbo Liu, MS in Biomedical Engineering (Spring 2015). Thesis Title: Saos-2 Cell Mediated Mineralization on Collagen Gels: Effect of Densification and Bioglass Incorporation. Current Position: AI Scientist, Genentech, San Francisco, CA

2. Ranjani Iyer, MS in Biomedical Engineering (Summer 2015). Thesis Title: Electrochemically Compacted Collagen Matrices for Corneal Repair. Current Position: Staff Systems Engineer, BD-RCI, Galway, Ireland

3. Meet Pastakia, BS in Biomedical Engineering (Spring 2016). Project Title: Assessment of Mechanical Properties of Bioglass Incorporated Electrochemically Aligned Collagen Fibers. Current Position: Senior Engineer, BD Biosciences, San Jose, CA

4. Sheetal Tiwari, MS in Biomedical Engineering (Summer 2016). Project Title: Elecrochemically Aligned Collagen Fibers Crosslinked with Chemical and Natural Agents. Current Position: Product Development Engineer II, Siemens, New York

5. Amina Iqbal, BS in Chemical Engineering (Spring 2017). Project Title: MSC Morphology and Proliferation on Bioglass Incorporated Electrochemically Aligned Collagen Fibers. Current Position: Graduate Student, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL

6. Christopher Bridgeman, MS in Biomedical Engineering (Summer 2017). Thesis Title: Effect of Tannic Acid on Mechanical Properties of Collagen Scaffolds and Melanoma Cell Proliferation. Current Position: Senior Scientist I, Novartis, Boston, MS

7. Athela Frandsen, MS in Biomedical Engineering (Fall 2017). Project Title: Electrocompacted Collagen Matrices for Corneal Repair. Current Position: Aerospace Technologist, NASA, FL

8. Madhura Nijsure, MS in Chemical Engineering (Fall 2017). Thesis Title: Effect of Bioglass Incorporation into Electrochemically Aligned Collagen Threads on Mechanical Properties and Cell-Mediated Mineralization. Current Position: Graduate Student, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Pennsylvania

9. Kori Watkins, MS in Biomedical Engineering (Summer 2018).  Thesis Title: Photochemical Crosslinking of Methacrylated Collagen Hydrogels: Effect of I2959 vs. VA086 on Mechanics and Cellular Response. Current Position: Optometric Resident, Salt Lake City VA and Moran Eye Center

10. Thuy-Uyen Nguyen, PhD in Chemical Engineering (Summer 2019). Dissertation Title: Electrochemical Fabrication of Elastin Containing Bi-layered Scaffold for Vascular Tissue Engineering Applications. Current Position: Scientist III, Matica Biotechnology, TX

11. Thais Sousa, MS in Biomedical Engineering (Fall 2020). Thesis Title: 3D Printed Microporous Collagen Constructs Using the Freeze-FRESH Methodology. Current Position: Production Engineer, Advanced Biomatrix, CA

12. Nilabh Kajave, PhD in Chemical Engineering (Fall 2021). Dissertation Title: 3D Printed Bioglass Incorporated Collagen Matrices for Musculoskeletal Tissue Engineering. Current Position: Product Development Lead Scientist, Humabiologics, AZ

13. Sarah Ali, BS in Biomedical Engineering (Spring 2022). Project Title: Species-Based Differences in Mechanical Properties, Cytocompatibility and Printability of Methacrylated Collagen Hydrogels. Current Position: Graduate Student, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Tech

14. Maria Albaqami, PhD in Biomedical Engineering (Fall 2022). Dissertation Title:  Investigating the Role of Cryptochrome Activity in Arabidopsis Plant and Blue light exposure in Saos-2 Cell-Mediated Mineralization.

15. Bayan Saleh, MS in Biomedical Engineering (Spring 2023). Thesis Title: Xeno-Free Biomimetic ECM Model for Investigation of Matrix Properties on Astrocyte Cell Response. Current Position: QA Engineer at ReactDx, Melbourne, FL

16. Kathryn Bock, MS in Biomedical Engineering (Summer 2023). Thesis Title: Investigating the effects of collagen alignment and tricalcium phosphate incorporation on osteoblast cell response​. Current Position: Project Engineer for Jacobs/ERC at Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX

17. Karly Liebendorfer, MS in Biomedical Engineering (Summer 2024). Thesis Title: Innovative 4D Printing of Biomimeic Collagen-TCP Scaffolds for Bone Regeneration. Current Position: Graduate Student, Bioengineering, Georgia Tech.

18. Nashaita Patrawalla, PhD in Biomedical Engineering (Fall 2024). Dissertation Title: Advancing Biofabrication Methodologies to Develop Biomimetic Tissue Scaffolds for Musculoskeletal Applications.