Serpooshan

for tissue manufacturing & analysis

Lab

About Us

The Serpooshan Team uses a multidisciplinary approach to design and develop micro/nano-scale tissue engineering technologies with the ultimate goal of generating functional tissues and organs. Current projects in my lab include:

1) Bioengineering iPSC-based, functional cardiovascular tissue models, via 3D bioprinting technologies, as in vitro platforms to study human heart development and diseases;

2) Design and manufacturing novel patient-specific cardiac patch systems to regenerate damaged myocardium following ischemic heart injury;

3) 3D bioprinting of functional in vitro models of cortical organoids to study human brain development; and

4) Engineering highly tunable bioprinted models to study pediatric tumor growth, aggression, and response to therapies.

news

Serpooshan Lab NEWS

research

OUR LINES OF RESEARCH

Modeling human heart development & congenital heart disease

Using state-of-the-art 3D bioprinting, perfusion bioreactor, and induced pluripotent stem cell technologies to engineer in vitro models of human heart development and diseases. Studying various cellular and environmental factors underlying congenital heart defects and their therapies.

Advanced cardiac patch devices to regenerate damaged heart tissue

Using a variety of bioengineering approaches, together with human induced pluripotent stem cell technologies and paracrine signalling, to create novel biomaterial-based cardiac patch devices. These patient-specific scaffolds are capable of regenerating the damaged heart tissue following acute injuries such as heart attack.

Smart Nanobiomaterials

Synthesis, characterization, and application of various nano/micro-scale biomaterials for diverse biomedical applications in vitro and in vivo. Examples include: magnetic nanoparticles for antibacterial and imaging applications, conductive nanorods to enhance cardiac tissue function, and nanostructured scaffolds.

our team

Meet The Team

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Vahid Serpooshan, PhD

Principal Investigator

Vahid Serpooshan did his BSc and MSc in Materials Science and Engineering at Sharif University (Tehran, Iran, 1998-2003) and his PhD in biomaterials and tissue engineering at McGill University (Montreal, Canada, 2007-2011). His PhD thesis research focused on the design and optimization of scaffolding biomaterials for bone tissue engineering applications. Following his PhD, Dr. Serpooshan worked for 7 years at Stanford University School of Medicine as Postdoctoral Fellow (Pediatric Cardiology) and Instructor (Stanford Cardiovascular Institute). At Stanford, Dr. Serpooshan's training and research were mainly centered on developing a new generation of engineered cardiac patch device to repair damaged heart tissue following myocardial infarction (heart attack). The engineered patch was successfully tested in mouse and pig models and is now in preparation for clinical trials. He also worked on enabling technologies for human-machine hybrid cardiac tissue, using 3D bioprinting to assemble complex arrays of interfaces between synthetic and biological materials. In 2018, Dr. Vahid Serpooshan joined Emory University and Georgia Institute of Tech as Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Pediatrics, where his multidisciplinary team is now working on a variety of 3D bioprinting-based tissue engineering and disease modeling projects.

Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering

and Pediatrics

Georgia Institute of Technology

Emory University School of Medicine

404.712.9717

Holly Bauser-Heaton is an interventional pediatric cardiologist and physician scientist at Sibley Heart Center at Children’s Healthcare of Altanta. She completed her MD, PhD in 2009 at Indiana University. Dr. Bauser-Heaton focused on signaling mechanisms of nitric oxide in hypoxic conditions and continues to investigate the role of NO in endothelial function. As a clinician, she completed her training at Stanford University and joined faculty of Sibley Heart Center in 2016. Pulmonary artery disease and its management is the focus for Dr. Heaton both in the clinical arena and the lab. She is interested in developing new procedures via transcatheter (in the cardiac catheterization laboratory) technique for individuals with pulmonary artery disease. Additionally, she has interest in utilizing 3D bioprinting to create pulmonary artery constructs that have the ability to keep up with a patient’s somatic growth. She is very excited to join forces with the Serpooshan lab.

Holly Bauser-Heaton, MD PhD

Assistant Professor

Pediatric Cardiologist

Sibley Heart Center, Pediatric Cardiology

Emory University School of Medicine

Sarah Rezapour, MD

Sarah Rezapour earned her MD degree from Tehran University of Medical Sciences (Tehran, Iran) in 2015. Following the completion of her degree, she embarked on a three-year practice in the field of medicine, gaining invaluable experience in patient care and medical practice. With a passion for delving deeper into the unmet needs in clinical settings, Dr. Rezapour transitioned to the research arena, joining the Tehran Research Institute of Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases. Her project was directed toward unraveling the complex pathways involved in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) progression and developing novel approaches for diagnosis and treatment. Sarah joined the Serpooshan lab in May 2023 as a postdoctoral research fellow. In her current role, she mainly focuses on Fontan-associated liver disease (FALD). Her project centers on biofabrication and in vitro culture strategies for constructing a vascular 3D model of the healthy human liver (hepatic sinusoid) vs. FALD tissue models.

Postdoctoral Fellow

Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Pediatrics

Emory University School of Medicine

Georgia Institute of Technology

Mehdi Salar Amoli received his BSc from Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnique, Iran), studying biomaterials and tissue engineering, and performing research on osteochondral tissue engineering. Next, he moved to London, where he continued studies in the field of biomaterials and tissue engineering at Imperial College London (ICL), conducting research at Dr. Molly Stevens group on nanoneedle based gene delivery techniques. Following his training at ICL, Mehdi moved to Belgium, where he received his PhD from KU Leuven. His doctoral research focused on development of bioinks for 3D bioprinting strategies aimed at regeneration of the dentoalveolar tissues. During his PhD, he focused on development of a range of stimuli-responsive biomaterials for bioprinting, sustained release delivery systems for incorporation of drugs and growth factors, as well as physical, mechanical and biological characterization of tissue engineered constructs. In 2023, Mehdi joined Serpooshan lab, where his main research focus is to develop in vitro disease models using bioprinting.

Mehdi Salar Amoli, PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow

Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Pediatrics

Emory University School of Medicine

Georgia Institute of Technology

Jemma Hwang, BS, BA

Lead Research Specialist

Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Pediatrics

Emory University School of Medicine

Georgia Institute of Technology

Jemma Hwang received her BS in Bioengineering and BA in German Studies (2019) from the University of Georgia where they began their research endeavors in epigenetics to identify mutants in N. crassa that are defective in facultative heterochromatin. In 2017, they obtained an internship at the Perfusion Systems Lab of Merck KGaA in Darmstadt, Germany to improve existing downstream processes of protein production in industry settings. In the Summer of 2018, they participated in the Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) with the Sackler Institute at New York University, studying the electrophysiology and molecular biology of ATP-sensitive potassium channels. After completing their Bachelor’s, they accepted a position at the Duke Human Vaccine Institute to contribute to the ongoing development of vaccines against HIV-1. In December 2022, Jemma joined the Serpooshan-Bauser-Heaton Labs as the Lead Research Specialist. They are using their management experience to support active projects within the lab, while also leading the synthesis of gelatin methacrylate (GelMA).

Graduate Students

Boeun Hwang

PhD Student

Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering

Emory University and

Georgia Institute of Technology

Maher Saadeh

PhD Student

Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering

Emory University and

Georgia Institute of Technology

Manasvi Parab

MS Student

Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering

Emory University and

Georgia Institute of Technology

Linqi Jin

PhD Student

Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering

Emory University and

Georgia Institute of Technology

Mostafa Meselhe

MD PhD Student

Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering

Emory University and

Georgia Institute of Technology

Melissa Cadena

PhD Student

Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering

Emory University and

Georgia Institute of Technology

Vani Sridhar

PhD Student

Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering

Emory University and

Georgia Institute of Technology

Adithya Pillai

MS Student

Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering

Emory University and

Georgia Institute of Technology

Undergraduate Students

Ashay Bongirwar

Undergraduate Researcher

Georgia Institute of Technology

Wyatt DeBord

Undergraduate Researcher

Georgia Institute of Technology

Ishita Raghuvanshi

Undergraduate Researcher

Georgia Institute of Technology

Emmah Howard

Undergraduate Researcher

Georgia Institute of Technology

Divya Sivakumar

Undergraduate Researcher

Georgia Institute of Technology

original-3FE16E2F-2AE8-422E-9946-865C7296B96F_edited.jpg

Sarah Fineman

Undergraduate Researcher

Georgia Institute of Technology

Amritaa Basu

Undergraduate Researcher

Georgia Institute of Technology

Roshni Nandwani

Undergraduate Researcher

Emory University

Pranitha Kaza

Undergraduate Researcher

Georgia Institute of Technology

Sophia Norton

Undergraduate Researcher

Georgia Institute of Technology

Margaret wade

Undergraduate Researcher

Georgia Institute of Technology

Lab Alumni

Martin L. Tomov, PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow

Now: Assoc Director, Innovation Core

@ Emory School of Medicine

Liqun Ning, PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow

Now: Assistant Professor

@ Cleveland State University

Carmen J. Gil, PhD

PhD Student

Now: Postdoctoral Fellow

@ Emory School of Medicine

Yamini Singh, MSc

Res Specialist

Now: BME PhD Student

@ Arizona State U

Lama Rita El Shammas

BME MS Student

Now: Assoc. Clinical Specialist

@ Abbott

Yuxiao Wu

Undergraduate Student @ Emory

Now: PhD Student

@ ...

Vani Sridhar

BME MS Student

Now: BME PhD Student

@ Emory & Georgia Tech

Zahra Alghoul

BME MS Student

Lauren Korsnick

Undergraduate Researcher

Now: Mech Eng PhD Student

@ Stanford University

Zinah Ghazi

Research Specialist

Now: Keller Williams Realty

Stefano Zanella

Andrea Theus

Mostafa Abdalla

BME MS Student

Now: Medtronic

Research Specialist

Now: Assoc Engineer at BD

Research Specialist

Now: USPTO

Katherine Pham Do

Research Specialist

Now: Medical School

Rosemary Tran

Undergraduate Researcher

Emory University

Anjum Alam

Undergraduate Researcher

Georgia Institute of Technology

Jayce Schwartz

Undergraduate Researcher

Georgia Institute of Technology

Caroline Harpole

Undergraduate Researcher

Georgia Institute of Technology

Faiza Syed

Undergraduate Researcher

Georgia Institute of Technology

Alex Cetnar

Linqi Jin

Gabriella Kabboul

Joy E. Nish

BME MS Student

Now: R&D Eng II @ Medtronic

BME MS Program

Now: BME PhD Student @ Serpooshan Lab

Undergraduate Researcher

Now: PhD Student @ Levit Lab

Undergraduate Researcher

Georgia Institute of Technology

Riya Mehta

Davis White

Corinna Shimalla

Victor Putaturo

Undergraduate Researcher

Emory University

Undergraduate Researcher

Georgia Institute of Technology

Undergraduate Researcher

Georgia Institute of Technology

Undergraduate Researcher

Georgia Institute of Technology

Federico Prokopczuk

Hannah Komanapalli

SURE Program 2018

California State University, Northridge

SURE Program 2018

Purdue University

Huyun Chen

Kevin M. McCoy

Undergraduate Researcher

Georgia Institute of Technology

Undergraduate Researcher

Georgia Institute of Technology

Rommi Kashlan

Rebecca R. Xu

High School Intern

Now @: BME Undergrad at Georgia Tech

Undergraduate Researcher

Georgia Institute of Technology

Bryanna J. Lima

Undergraduate Researcher

Georgia Institute of Technology

Rithvik Sarasani

Undergraduate Researcher

Georgia Institute of Technology

Alpravinta Alagesan

Agastya Vaidya

Allison Wombwell

Undergraduate Researcher

Georgia Institute of Technology

Undergraduate Researcher

Emory University

Undergraduate Researcher

Georgia Institute of Technology

publications

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

L. Ning, J. Shim, M.L. Tomov, R. Liu, R. Mehta, A. Mingee, B. Hwang, L. Jin, A. Mantalaris, C. Xu, M. Mahmoudi, K.C. Goldsmith, V. Serpooshan. A 3D bioprinted in vitro model of neuroblastoma recapitulates dynamic tumor-endothelial cell interactions contributing to solid tumor aggressive behavior. Advanced Science, 9 (23), 2200244, 2022.
J.W. Buikema, …, V. Serpooshan, S. Jovinge, B.K. Fleischmann, P.A. Doevendans, J. van der Velden, K.C. Garcia, J.C. Wu, J. PG Sluijter, and S.M. Wu. Wnt activation and reduced cell-cell contact synergistically induce massive expansion of functional human iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes. Cell Stem Cell, 27, 50-63, 2020.
M. Mahmoudi, M. Yu, V. Serpooshan, J.C. Wu, R. Langer, R.T. Lee, J.M. Karp, and O.C. Farokhzad. Multiscale technologies for treatment of ischemic cardiomyopathy. Nature Nanotechnology, 12, 845-55, 2017.
K. Wei+, V. Serpooshan+ (Co-First Author), …, M.D. Schneider, M.J.B. van den Hoff, M.J. Butte, P.C. Yang, K. Walsh, B. Zhou, D. Bernstein, M. Mercola, and P. Ruiz-Lozano. Epicardial FSTL1 reconstitution regenerates the adult mammalian heart. Nature, 525, 479-85, 2015.

S. Chen, M.L. Tomov, L. Ning, C.J. Gil, B. Hwang, H.D. Bauser‐Heaton, H. Chen, and V. Serpooshan. Extrusion‐based 3D bioprinting of adhesive tissue engineering scaffolds using hybrid functionalized hydrogel bioinks. Advanced Biology, 7 (7), 2300124, 2023.
S. Neelakantan, M. Kumar, E.A. Mendiola, H. Phelan, V. Serpooshan, S. Sadayappan, R. Avazmohammadi. Multiscale characterization of left ventricle active behavior in the mouse. Acta Biomaterialia, 162, 240-253, 2023.
M.J. Hajipour, R. Safavi‐Sohi, S. Sharifi, N. Mahmoud, A.A. Ashkarran, E. Voke, V. Serpooshan, M. Ramezankhani, A.S. Milani, M.P. Landry, and M. Mahmoudi. An overview of nanoparticle protein corona literature. Small, 19 (36), 2301838, 2023.
L. Ning and V. Serpooshan. Giant salamander-derived hydrogel granules with superior bioadhesive properties. Matter, 5 (9), 2581-2584, 2022.
A.S. Theus, L. Ning, G. Kabboul, B. Hwang, M.L. Tomov, C.N. LaRock, H.D. Bauser-Heaton, M. Mahmoudi, V. Serpooshan. 3D bioprinting of nanoparticle-laden hydrogel scaffolds with enhanced antibacterial and imaging properties. iScience, 25 (9), 104947, 2022.
L. Ning, M.L. Tomov, S. Zanella, B. Zambrano, R. Avazmohammadi, M. Mahmoudi, H.D. Bauser-Heaton, and V. Serpooshan. Magnetic nanoparticle-mediated targeting of endothelium to address restenosis in a bioprinted in vitro model of pulmonary arteries. Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, 42, A550, 2022.
S. Sharifi, A. Ata Saei, H. Gharibi, N.N. Mahmoud, S. Harkins, N. Dararatana, E.M. Lisabeth, V. Serpooshan, Á. Végvári, A. Moore, M. Mahmoudi. Mass spectrometry, structural analysis, and anti-inflammatory properties of photo-cross-linked human albumin hydrogels. ACS Applied Bio Materials, 5 (6), 2643-2663, 2022.
J.Q. Ho, M.R. Sepand, B. Bigdelou, T. Shekarian, R. Esfandyarpour, P. Chauhan, V. Serpooshan, L.K. Beura, G. Hutter, S. Zanganeh. The immune response to COVID‐19: Does sex matter? Immunology, 166 (4), 429-443, 2022.
C.J. Gil, L. Li, B. Hwang, M. Cadena, A.S. Theus, T.A. Finamore, H. Bauser-Heaton, M. Mahmoudi, R.K. Roeder, V. Serpooshan. Tissue engineered drug delivery vehicles: Methods to monitor and regulate the release behavior. Journal of Controlled Release, 349, 143-155, 2022.
L. Li, C.J. Gil, T.A. Finamore, C.J. Evans, M.L. Tomov, L. Ning, A.S. Theus, G. Kabboul, V. Serpooshan, R.K. Roeder. Methacrylate-modified gold nanoparticles enable noninvasive monitoring of photocrosslinked hydrogel scaffolds. Advanced NanoBiomed Research, 2 (7), 2200022, 2022.
M.L. Tomov, L. Perez, L. Ning, H. Chen, ..., J. Zhang, R. Avazmohammadi, A. Mantalaris, B.D. Lindsey, D. Frakes, L.P. Dasi, V. Serpooshan, and H. Bauser-Heaton. A 3D Bioprinted In Vitro Model of Pulmonary Artery Atresia to Evaluate Endothelial Cell Response to Microenvironment. Advanced Healthcare Materials, 10 (20), 2100968, 2021.
M. Mahmoudi, V. Serpooshan, P.C. Yang, and M. Heydarpour. The effect of cell sex on magnetic nanoparticle uptake of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes. Circulation Research, 129, AP392-AP392, 2021.
C.J. Gil, C. Evans, L. Li, M. Vargas, G. Kabboul, T. Fulton, R. Veneziano, N. Willet, H. Bauser-Heaton, R.K. Roeder, and V. Serpooshan. A precision medicine approach for non-invasive, longitudinal, and quantitative monitoring of cardiac tissue-engineered scaffolds. Circulation Research, 129, AMP207-AMP207, 2021.
M. Mahmoudi, P.C. Yang, , P. Abadi, and M. Heydarpour. The effect of cell sex on cardiogenic differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells and their maturation processes. Circulation Research, 129, A109-A109, 2021.
S. Chen, M.L. Tomov, L. Ning, C.J. Gil, B. Hwang, H. Bauser-Heaton, and V. Serpooshan. Three-dimensional bioprinting of adhesive cardiac patch systems. Circulation Research, 129, AP403-AP403, 2021.
M. Zhao, Y. Nakada, Y. Wei, W. Bian, Y. Chu, A.V. Borovjagin, M. Xie, W. Zhu, T. Nguyen, Y. Zhou, V. Serpooshan, G.P. Walcott, and J. Zhang. Cyclin D2 Overexpression Enhances the Efficacy of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes for Myocardial Repair in a Swine Model of Myocardial Infarction. Circulation, 144 (3), 210-228, 2021.
M.J. Hajipour, H. Aghaverdi, V. Serpooshan, H. Vali, S. Sheibani, and M. Mahmoudi. Sex as an important factor in nanomedicine. Nature Communications, 12, 2984-3010, 2021.
L. Ning, N. Zhu, A. Smith, A. Rajaram, H. Hou, S. Srinivasan, F. Mohabatpour, L. He, A. Mclnnes, V. Serpooshan, P. Papagerakis, and X. Chen. Noninvasive Three-Dimensional In Situ and In Vivo Characterization of Bioprinted Hydrogel Scaffolds Using the X-ray Propagation-Based Imaging Technique. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 13, 25611, 2021.
O. Chirikian, W.R. Goodyer, E. Dzilic, V. Serpooshan, J.W. Buikema, W. McKeithan, H. Wu, G. Li, S. Lee, M. Merk, F. Galdos, A. Beck, A. JS Ribeiro, S. Paige, M. Mercola, J.C. Wu, B.L. Pruitt, and S.M. Wu. CRISPR/Cas9-based targeting of fluorescent reporters to human iPSCs to isolate atrial and ventricular-specific cardiomyocytes. Scientific Reports, 11, 1, 2021.
M. Shokouhimehr, A.S. Theus, A. Kamalakar, L. Ning, C. Cao, M.L. Tomov, J.M. Kaiser, S. Goudy, N.J. Willett, H.W. Jang, C.N. LaRock, P. Hanna, A. Lechtig, M. Yousef, J. Da Silva Martins, A. Nazarian, M.B. Harris, M. Mahmoudi, V. Serpooshan. 3D Bioprinted Bacteriostatic Hyperelastic Bone Scaffold for Damage-Specific Bone Regeneration. Polymers, 13, 1099, 2021 (Editor's Choice).