(6cn) Engineering Therapeutics for Vascular Disease

Engineering Therapeutics for Vascular Disease

Donny Hanjaya-Putra, Ph.D
Vascular Surgery, Harvard Medical School
Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Boston MA

The circulatory system embodies an exquisite feat of chemical engineering, where blood flow, mass transfer, and reaction kinetic are integrated with vascular and inflammatory responses. Injury to the vasculature of the circulatory system can cause a wide range of life-threatening disease, such as, stroke, hypertension, and diabetes. My research focuses on using engineering principles and stem cell biology to develop novel tools and therapeutics to detect and treat complications associated with vascular disease. My background as a chemical engineer, along with my training in stem cell biology and vascular surgery lab, uniquely position myself to contribute substantial progress in the field. During my doctoral work with Dr. Sharon Gerecht at the Johns Hopkins University, I investigated the mechanism of stem cell assembly into functional vascular networks. We developed a synthetic matrix, which properties can be tuned to provide temporal and spatial control for vascular morphogenesis that are useful for therapeutic angiogenesis and tissue regeneration. My postdoctoral training with Dr. Elliot L. Chaikof at Harvard Medical School has further broadened my research horizon in the area of inflammation and thrombosis associated with vascular injury and stem cell transplantation. I led collaborations with engineers and surgical residents to evaluate anti-inflammatory and anti-thrombotic therapeutics in a clinically relevant model of deep vein thrombosis and islet transplantation. Together, my doctoral and postdoctoral work are able to be applied to diverse areas in regenerative medicine, diabetes, stem cell and vascular biology.

Education
B.S., 2007, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Notre Dame.
Ph.D., 2012, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University.

Awards and Honors
2007, B.S. Magna Cum Laude, University of Notre Dame.
2011, U.S. New Investigator Travel Award, International Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH).
2012, Siebel Scholar, Class of 2012, Siebel Scholar Foundation.
2014, JDRF Postdoctoral Fellowship, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Selected Publications

1. Hanjaya-Putra, D., Bose, V., Shen, Y.-I., Yee, J., Khetan, S., Fox-Talbot, K., Steenbergen, C., Burdick, J.A., and Gerecht, S. (2011). Controlled activation of morphogenesis to generate a functional human microvasculature in a synthetic matrix. Blood.

2. Hanjaya-Putra, D., Wong, K.T., Hirotsu, K., Khetan, S., Burdick, J.A., and Gerecht, S. (2012). Spatial control of cell-mediated degradation to regulate vasculogenesis and angiogenesis in hyaluronan hydrogels. Biomaterials.

3. Hanjaya-Putra, D., Shen, Y.-I., Wilson, A., Fox-Talbot, K., Khetan, S., Burdick, J.A., Steenbergen, C., and Gerecht, S. (2013). Integration and Regression of Implanted Engineered Human Vascular Networks During Deep Wound Healing. Stem Cells Translational Medicine.

4. Kusuma, S., Shen, Y.-I., Hanjaya-Putra, D., Mali, P., Cheng, L., and Gerecht, S. (2013). Self-organized vascular networks from human pluripotent stem cells in a synthetic matrix. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

5. Krishnamurthy, V.R., Sardar, M.Y.R., Ying, Y., Song, X., Haller, C., Dai, E., Wang, X.,
   Hanjaya-Putra, D., Sun, L., Morikis, V., Simon, S.I., Woods, R.J., Cummings, R.D., Chaikof, E.L., (2015). Glycopeptide analogues of PSGL-1 inhibit P-selectinin vitro and in vivo. Nature Communications.