Dr. Laura Hockaday Kang
Medizinische Fakultät der Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität
Von-Esmarch-Straße 56, Gebäude 2352, Raum 130.106Tel.: +49 251 83-59056
Fax: +49 251 83-59060Email: laura.hockadaykang@ukmuenster.de
Medizinische Fakultät der Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität
Von-Esmarch-Straße 56, Gebäude 2352, Raum 130.106Tel.: +49 251 83-59056
Fax: +49 251 83-59060Email: laura.hockadaykang@ukmuenster.de
Vita
2016-Present - Postdoctoral Researcher, Roland Wedlich-Söldner’s Lab; Münster, NRW,Germany, Institute of Cell Dynamics and Imaging. Investigating impact of radicals and reactive oxygen species on cell organization and exploring strategies to prevent damage to different cell types during bio-fabrication.
2015-2016 - Postdoctoral Researcher, Fiorenzo Omenetto’s Lab, Tuft University; Medford, MA, USA, Silk Lab and Ultrafast Non-Linear Optics and Biophotonics Laboratory. Worked on developing silk biosensors for the characterization of 3D microenvironments.
2014-2015 - Postdoctoral Researcher,CatherineKuo’s Lab,Tufts University; Medford, MA, USA. Investigated the effects of peptide-coupling to hydrogels, for the encapsulation, culture, and control of stem cells. Investigated tendon cell response to mechanical loading, growth factors, and toxins.
2008–2014 - PhD and M.Sc. in Biomedical Engineering, Jonathan T. Butcher’s Lab, Cornell University;Ithaca,NY, USA, Cardiovascular Developmental Bioengineering Laboratory. Degree minors in Cell and Developmental Biology, Polymer Science, and Mechanical Systems and Design
Thesis: 3D printed hydrogel micro-environments and bioreactor conditioning to develop native heterogeneity in tissue engineered heart valves. Optimizedanextrusion based 3Dprinting technology platformfor fabrication of high viability cellularized hydrogel scaffolds. Designed andfabricated anin-vitro culture bioreactor tocondition 3D printed hydrogel valves under the hemodynamicand strain conditionsofthe cardiaccycle, and investigated engineered tissue remodeling.
2004–2008 - B.Sc.inBioengineering.UniversityofCaliforniaRiverside,College of Engineering,Riverside, CA.
2003–2008Paid Intern,EnergyRelated Devices, Inc.;Los Alamos,NM, USA.Developed prototypes,proposed andexecuted experiments, recorded and analyzed data,createdfinal drawingsforpatents, wrote manuals, and invented severalactuatorpatterns. Worked on several projects includingmicro-concentratorphoto-voltaicprototypes,catalyticheaters,mosquitorepellant devices,laminateactuators,andahumanmoisturesimulatorfordevicetesting.
2007–2008 Undergraduate Researcher, Dimitrios Morikis’Lab, UCRiverside, CA, USA, Biomolecular Modeling and Design Lab. Worked on a project computationallymodeling theprotein Factor-Hwhichhasasubunit with asingleamino-acid mutation that islinkedtoage-relatedmaculardegeneration. Examined howthe mutation influencedthe protein conformation.Forschung
I am interested in understanding what happens to cells in bio-fabricated hydrogel environments and how cells behave and function in engineered tissue. Presently, I am working on microfluidic devices to study the effects of oxidative stress on cells with the aim of developing better strategies to handle cells during 3D bioprinting.
CiM Pilot Project: PP-2017-05 – Development of a versatile microfluidics platform for quantitative cell imaging and analysis