International Researchers to Discuss Latest Advances at Biofabrication Conference

October 31, 2013 | UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

What: Biofabrication 2013
When: Sunday, Nov. 3 - Wednesday, Nov. 6
Where: Union Building East (See schedule for more details.), UTEP campus

Biofabrication 2013, a conference that will bring together researchers from around the world to discuss the future of bioprinting and biopatterning, will begin Sunday, Nov. 3 at The University of Texas at El Paso.

"I'm very excited to host the 2013 Biofabrication conference at UTEP," said Thomas Boland, Ph.D., director of biomedical engineering at the University. "This conference will showcase the newest findings in the translation of 3-D printing technology to tissue engineering therapies."

The aim of the meeting is to provide a forum to promote scientific exchange and foster closer networks and collaborative ties between leading international researchers who are interested in advancing biomanufacturing. The scope will be deliberately broad and interdisciplinary, encompassing the latest advances and the most innovative developments in 3-D printing biomaterials.

Topics at the conference will range from liver and cartilage tissue engineering to tissue manufacturing for breast reconstruction. Shuichi Takayama, Ph.D., professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Michigan and Philip LeDuc, Ph.D., professor of mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, will keynote the event.

Biofabrication 2012 was held at the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom. Boland, who has been called the "grandfather of bioprinting," keynoted the conference with a talk on the principles and applications of cell printing.