Dr. Farshid Guilak is the Mildred B. Simon Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at Washington University, Director of Research for the St. Louis Shriners Hospitals for Children, and co-director of the Washington University Center of Regenerative Medicine.  His laboratory combines biology and bioengineering to develop new stem cell pharmacologic therapies and treatments for arthritis. A former ORS president and long-term Editor in Chief of the Journal of Biomechanics, he has received numerous awards and is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, Medicine, and Inventors. He has secured nearly $100 million in grants and founded several companies, including Cytex Therapeutics.

He will be presenting two lectures while on campus and you are encouraged to attend:

8:00am | Benedum 102 | Breakfast will be served at 8am

Re-Engineering Life: Nature, Nurture, and your (Micro)Environment

A career in research is highly challenging – there is a constant need to develop new ideas, get them funded, and effectively lead teams. While many factors influence our successes and failures in research, I would argue one of the greatest influences is the research environment in which you surround yourself. Your environment – at every level – help drive creativity, productivity, and relationships.  Importantly, it can help you re-engineer yourself when needed.  The greatest lesson learned after decades of a research career is to surround yourself with good people.

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4:00pm | Benedum 157 | Reception to Follow in Benedum Lobby

Reprogramming stem cells with synthetic gene circuits: It’s about time!

Arthritis represents a painful and debilitating family of joint diseases that is characterized by progressive degeneration of the articular cartilage and other joint tissues; however, there are currently few disease-modifying treatments available.  Our lab is using CRISPR-Cas9 genome engineering of pluripotent stem cells to develop tissue replacements that possess the capability for biologic drug delivery with tunable, inducible, or feedback-controlled, autonomous biological responses. Using this approach, we have recently developed synthetic “mechanogenetic” gene circuits that express therapeutic transgenes in response to defined mechanical signals, or synthetic “chronogenetic” gene circuits that delivery drugs on a prescribed timed basis. Such “smart” cells and living implants can provide controlled drug delivery and immunomodulatory responses for a wide variety of conditions.