UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
DEPARTMENT OF BIOENGINEERING
ALLAN S. HOFFMAN LECTURE
PRESENTS:

Prof. Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic, PhD

“Translational Studies of Engineered Human Tissues”

Thursday, October 8, 2026
4:00pm – 5:00pm

Foege South Auditorium & Zoom Webinar
Reception to follow | Foege North (Bioengineering) Lobby 

All tissues and organs in the human body originate from populations of stem and progenitor cells that grow, differentiate, and organize into functional structures in response to dynamic spatial and temporal cues from their microenvironment. These regulatory signals orchestrate cellular behaviors and interactions, giving rise to organs with remarkably diverse architectures and highly specialized functions essential to human health and survival. 

Tissue engineering emerged more than three decades ago at the convergence of cell biology, medicine, and engineering, drawing on principles of human physiology to design biologically inspired environments that guide cell fate, tissue formation, and function. This lecture will explore the translational potential of tissue engineering through a series of studies spanning two complementary areas: regenerative medicine aimed at repairing or replacing tissues at the clinical scale, and disease modeling using microscale organs-on-chip that recapitulate organ-level and systemic functions. Particular emphasis will be placed on the opportunities and challenges involved in translating these technologies toward meaningful applications in human health. 

Professor Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic is a Columbia University Professor, the institution’s highest academic distinction, and the first engineer ever appointed to this prestigious rank. The focus of her lab is on engineering functional human tissues for regenerative medicine and patient-specific “organs-on-a-chip” for studies of human patho/physiology. She is a highly cited investigator (top 1%), has mentored over 250 trainees, and launched five biotech companies. Among her many awards are the Pierre Galletti Award of the AIMBE, Lifetime Achievement award of TERMIS, Pritzker award and Shu Chien award of the BMES, Jensen Tissue Engineering award and, most recently, the Forbes “50 over 50” for innovation and L’Oréal–UNESCO International Award for Women in Science (laureate for North America). She was elected to the Academia Europaea, , National Academy of Engineering, National Academy of Medicine, National Academy of Inventors, Royal Society of Canada Academy of Science and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.