Helen Lu is the director of the Biomaterials and Interface Tissue Engineering Laboratory. Her research focuses on tissue interfaces, particularly how to reestablish the body’s natural synchrony between tissues, a hallmark of the musculoskeletal system and the nexus of human mobility. The body of fundamental knowledge Lu has uncovered regarding interfaces and interface scaffold design has provided blueprints for building organs-on-a-chip as well as total limb regeneration. Her group is also active in the design of composite biomaterials for orthopaedic and dental applications, with a particular interest in the mechanism of cell-matrix interactions and its application to multi-functional scaffold design.
The inventor and co-inventor of more than 30 patents and patent applications in biomaterials, her research has led to the formation of several start-ups for medical devices and sustainable textiles. Her many accolades include the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) and the Wallace Coulter Foundation Career Award. She is an elected Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), a Fellow of Biomaterials Science and Engineering (FBSE) and more recently, a member of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI).
- Projects in Biomedical Engineering
- Tissue Engineering I
- Biomedical Engineering I
- Biomaterials and Scaffold Design
- “Polymeric fiber-based models of connective tissue repair and healing”
- “Engineering complex orthopaedic tissues via strategic biomimicry”
- “Development of Controlled Matrix Heterogeneity on a Triphasic Scaffold for Orthopedic Interface Tissue Engineering”
- “Novel nanofiber based scaffold for rotator cuff repair and augmentation”