Ali Khademhosseini is currently the CEO and Founding Director at the Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation. Previously, he was a Professor of Bioengineering, Chemical Engineering, and Radiology at the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA). Prior to UCLA, he was a Professor at Harvard Medical School and faculty at Harvard-MIT’s Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Ali Khademhosseini has significantly advanced the field of bioengineering through his innovative work in micro and nano-engineered biomaterials. He has developed cutting-edge technologies for tissue engineering, including 3D bioprinting and hydrogel-based systems, which have paved the way for creating functional tissue constructs and organ-on-chip models. These contributions have not only enhanced our understanding of tissue regeneration and disease modeling but have also facilitated the development of personalized medicine and more effective therapeutic strategies. Dr. Khademhosseini is a fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, Biomedical Engineering Society, Royal Society of Chemistry, Biomaterials Science and Engineering, Materials Research Society, and American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is also the recipient of the Mustafa Prize and is a member of the International Academy of Medical and Biological Engineering, the Royal Society of Canada, the Canadian Academy of Engineering, and the National Academy of Inventors. Dr. Khademhosseini is an author on >800 peer-reviewed journal articles and >50 patents/patent applications. He has been cited >148,700 times and has an H-index of 198. He is passionate about translating the findings of his research into products for patient use. He co-founded Obsidio Medical, which developed an innovative shear-thinning hydrogel embolic material that has received FDA clearance and is currently used in thousands of patients (commercialized by Boston Scientific). He also founded Omeat, a cultivated meat company that is minimizing the environmental footprint of industrial animal farming. He received his Ph.D. in bioengineering from MIT (2005) and MASc (2001) and BASc (1999) degrees from the University of Toronto, both in chemical engineering.

It is well established that microenvironmental cues influence cell fate but the molecular mechanisms that drive this phenomenon remain elusive and the ability to precisely control a cell’s local environment remains difficult. The Slater Lab focuses on the development and implementation of new fabrication methodologies to create biomimetic patterned surfaces and 3D multicellular constructs that allow for precise control over the presentation of both biophysical and biochemical cues that can be tuned to elicit desired cellular traits. The lab is applying these highly structured biomaterials to a number of topics including the recapitulation of desired cellular phenotypes, reduction of cellular heterogeneity in culture, lineage-specific stem cell differentiation, and development of high-throughput drug screening models.

EDUCATION

Ph.D. Biomedical Engineering. Doctoral Portfolio Degree in Nanotechnology. University of Texas at Austin.
B.S. Mechanical Engineering. University of North Carolina at Charlotte.