Karen Christman

Karen Christman
Christman in 2019
Born	Karen Leigh Christman
Alma mater	Northwestern University University of California, San Francisco
Scientific career
Institutions	University of California, San Diego University of California, Los Angeles
Thesis	In situ engineered myocardial tissue  (2003)
Academic advisors	Heather Maynard
Website	christman.eng.ucsd.edu

Karen Leigh Christman is an American bioengineer who is the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and the Pierre Galletti Endowed Chair for Bioengineering Innovation at University of California, San Diego. ^{[1] [2]} Her research considers regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. She was elected a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors in 2023.

Early life and education

Christman studied biomedical engineering at Northwestern University. She moved to California in 2000, where she earned her graduate degrees.^{[ citation needed ]} Christman was a doctoral researcher at the University of California, San Francisco (USCF), where she developed in situ approaches for myocardial tissue engineering. ^[3] She has said that she started working in biengineering to find a way to help patients. ^[4]

Research and career

Christman in 2019

After her PhD, she moved to the University of California, Los Angeles for postdoctoral research, working with Heather Maynard on polymer chemistry to develop new strategies for site-specific patterning of proteins. ^[5] In 2007, Christman joined the Department of Bioengineering at UC San Diego. She develops materials for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Her research considers naturally-occurring and synthetically derived hydrogels to repair and regenerate tissue. ^[4] She looks to use these hydrogels for non-invasive therapeutic interventions. ^[4] In particular, Christman has studied myocardial infarction, which is a leading cause of death worldwide and from which many people do not recover full function. ^[4]

In 2017, Christman was one of the most highly funded researchers at UC San Diego, receiving a large grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine to study peripheral artery disease. ^[6] She is the founder of Ventrix, Inc, ^{[7] [8]} which looks to create a new class of biotherapeutics that help the extracellular matrix guide the body to generate healthy tissue. ^[9]

Christman serves as editor-in-chief of NPG Regenerative Medicine. ^[10]

Awards and honors

• NIH Director's New Innovator and Transformative Research Awards ^[11]
• Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Society Young Investigator Award ^[12]
• Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Society Senior Scientist Award ^[12]
• Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering ^[13]
• Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors ^[14]

Selected publications

Her publications ^{[1] [2]} include:

• Karen L Christman; Andrew J Vardanian; Qizhi Fang; Richard E Sievers; Hubert H Fok; Randall J Lee (1 August 2004). "Injectable fibrin scaffold improves cell transplant survival, reduces infarct expansion, and induces neovasculature formation in ischemic myocardium". Journal of the American College of Cardiology . 44 (3): 654–660. doi:10.1016/J.JACC.2004.04.040. ISSN   0735-1097. PMID   15358036. Wikidata   Q45206400.
• Jennifer M Singelyn; Jessica A DeQuach; Sonya B Seif-Naraghi; Robert B Littlefield; Pamela J Schup-Magoffin; Karen L Christman (15 July 2009). "Naturally derived myocardial matrix as an injectable scaffold for cardiac tissue engineering". Biomaterials . 30 (29): 5409–5416. doi:10.1016/J.BIOMATERIALS.2009.06.045. ISSN   0142-9612. PMC   2728782 . PMID   19608268. Wikidata   Q41969553.
• Karen L Christman; Hubert H Fok; Richard E Sievers; Qizhi Fang; Randall J Lee (1 March 2004). "Fibrin glue alone and skeletal myoblasts in a fibrin scaffold preserve cardiac function after myocardial infarction". Tissue Engineering. 10 (3–4): 403–409. doi:10.1089/107632704323061762. ISSN   1076-3279. PMID   15165457. Wikidata   Q46599109.

References

1. Karen Christman publications from Europe PubMed Central
2. Karen Christman publications indexed by Google Scholar
3. Christman, Karen Leigh (2003). In situ engineered myocardial tissue (PhD thesis). University of California. OCLC   1023595123. ProQuest   305296067.
4. Talesnik, Dana (2022-03-18). "Bioengineer Develops Ways to Repair, Regenerate Tissue". NIH Record. Retrieved 2023-02-20.
5. Christman, Karen L.; Enriquez-Rios, Vanessa D.; Maynard, Heather D. (2006-10-17). "Nanopatterning proteins and peptides" . Soft Matter. 2 (11): 928–939. Bibcode:2006SMat....2..928C. doi:10.1039/B611000B. ISSN   1744-6848. PMID   32680180. S2CID   95739992.
6. "Karen Christman is one of the Lead Grant Recipients at UC San Diego for the 2017 Fiscal Year. | Shu Chien - Gene Lay Department of Bioengineering". bioengineering.ucsd.edu. Retrieved 2023-02-20.
7. "Two PhD Grads Leverage Years of Research and Startup Experience to Together Launch Ventrix Heart and Tackle Heart Failure | UCOP". www.ucop.edu. Retrieved 2023-02-20.
8. "About Us". Ventrix. Retrieved 2023-02-20.
9. "Ventrix". Ventrix. Retrieved 2023-02-20.
10. "About the Editors | npj Regenerative Medicine". www.nature.com. Retrieved 2023-02-20.
11. "NIH Director's New Innovator Award Program - 2008 Award Recipients". commonfund.nih.gov. 2018-09-18. Retrieved 2023-02-20.
12. "BME7900 Seminar Series - Karen Christman, PhD | Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering". www.bme.cornell.edu. Retrieved 2023-02-20.
13. "Karen Leigh Christman, Ph.D. COF-1930 - AIMBE" . Retrieved 2023-02-20.
14. Rittenhouse, Rebekah (2023-02-14). "NAI Welcomes 95 New Emerging Innovators". NAI. Retrieved 2023-02-20.