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Faculty Positions Available at The University of Southern California and Childrens Hospital Los Angeles in CARDIOVASCULAR BIOLOGY - The Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Southern California is seeking candidates to join our growing research group. The laboratories of Cardiothoracic Surgery Research (CTSR) are located in a newly constructed Saban Research Institute. Our activities are well-integrated with the pediatric and adult cardiology and cardiac surgery teams at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles and the University of Southern California. We also have strong collaborative ties with the Gene, Immunology and Stem Cell Therapy, the Developmental Biology Groups at the Institute, and with the Bioengineering programs at USC and California Technology Institute (CalTech).

Our current activities range from heart valve and vascular tissue engineering, to solid organ xenotransplantation and computational modeling. Our goal, as part of the best pediatric hospital on the West Coast, is to serve our challenging, and uniquely deserving pediatric patients with the most effective innovative therapies that emerge from our basic science work.

We are looking for both junior and senior candidates that have a demonstrated reputation for excellence in research, and an interest in addressing challenges in pediatric cardiovascular surgery. Investigators having research interests in cardiovascular tissue engineering, cardiac muscle regeneration and stem cell biology are invited to apply. Candidates should submit a CV and statement of research interests by way of e-mail to: heartvalvelab@yahoo.com. Additional information about the Group can be found on the following web site.

 

 

Children Hospital Los Angeles: The Heart Valve Laboratory has an immediate opening for a postdoctoral fellow in Tissue Engineering. The Laboratory is located at the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. Our broad research ranges from material testing, and mathematic modeling to tissue engineering. We need both full-time and part-time students and fellows with interests in developing tissue-engineered heart valves.

Tissue-engineering is a promising technique for developing bioprosthetic heart valves. Native aortic valve cusps contain three layers: a collagenous fibrosa, a glycosaminoglycan (GAG)-rich spongiosa, and an elastin-rich ventricularis. Our approach is to tissue engineer each layer in vitro and then stack them into a composite cusp. Part of this project is to fabricate a spongiosa-like layer using hyaluronan, and an elastin-rich sheet similar to the ventricularis by growing cells on top of hylan. Hyaluronan based polymers (hylans) can be used as a cellular scaffold to engineer biocompatible and mechanically stable tissues that do not elicit a foreign immunologic response. Elastin fibers are highly elastic and thus have an important role in mechanical recovery of highly extensible tissues. Aortic smooth muscle cells are known to secrete an elastin-rich matrix, and we are attempting to control its synthesis. Once they are fabricated in culture separately, the individual building blocks of the aortic valve cusp, designed and fabricated according to patterns dictated by the microstructure of the native aortic valve, will be stacked together to make the final composite, tissue-engineered aortic valve cusp.

We need assistance with the following projects:

• Fabrication of cross-linked Hyaluronan as tissue-engineered scaffolds
• Development of culture techniques for growing elastin sheets

Additional information about the lab can be obtained from the following web site.

Children Hospital Los Angeles - Saban Research Lab: PhD student or postdoctoral position. The applicant should have some experience in stem cell, tissue engineering, and cell culture research since projects will involve stem cell applications and their capacity for regenerative applications in the field of bioengineering.  If interested please contact  Roger De Filippo at 323-671-7641 or email rdefilippo@chla.usc.edu.

 

 

 

Children Hospital Los Angeles - Saban Research Lab: Graduate student position in my laboratory. The applicant should have some experience in stem cell, tissue engineering, and cell culture research since projects will involve stem cell applications and their capacity for regenerative applications in the field of bioengineering.
If interested please contact Roger De Filippo at 323-671-7641 or email rdefilippo@chla.usc.edu.