WAGONER JOHNSON LAB@ILLINOIS
Amy J. Wagoner Johnson, PhD
Professor, Mechanical Science & Engineering, Grainger College of Engineering
Professor and Head, Biomedical & Translational Sciences, Carle Illinois College of Medicine
Carl R. Woese Institute of Genomic Biology
Professor Wagoner Johnson has a diverse and interdisciplinary research program spanning biomaterials for bone regeneration, soft tissue mechanics related to preterm birth, nanoindentation, and scaffold manufacturing.
WAGONER JOHNSON LAB MEMBERS
Meet the former lab members!
The Wagoner Johnson Lab has a diverse mix of graduate students, post-docs, and undergraduate researchers from with a range of interests including manufacturing, controls, solid mechanics, bioengineering...This makes for a rich intellectual and scientific environment.
MARK A. LEVENSTEIN
Post-Doc
Mechanical Science and Engineering
Carl R. Woese Institute of Genomic Biology
Mark is a mechanical engineer and materials scientist with expertise in crystallization and mineralization processes occurring on surfaces and within confined and porous media. He works on our NSF Convergence Research Project: Engineering Coral Reef Recovery, where he is focused on the design, fabrication, characterization, and field implementation of a range of engineered substrates for enhanced coral larvae settlement.
ZACK BERENT
PhD Candidate
Mechanical Engineering
My project investigates how stem cells become bone cells on protein-covered islands on soft gels. Currently, many researchers will control the geometry with these protein islands to observe small systems (1-10 cells) or will not control geometry to observe large systems (100+ cells). These two systems behave differently, and I am trying to predict, for a given size, will we see the small or large system behavior?
AMIR OSTADI MOGHADDAM
PhD candidate
Mechanical Engineering
Preterm birth can cause life-long health problems and cost the society millions of dollars. My project is on quantifying the mechanical properties of the tissues that play a role in maintaining pregnancy. I try to understand how different interacting factors lead to preterm birth and develop more reliable methods to evaluate the risk of this condition in pregnant women.
SOHAILA ABOUTALEB
PhD Candidate
My interests revolve around biomechanics and biomaterials. I am currently working on the bone scaffolds project where I study the effect of the loading of muscles on the bone scaffold. I am also exploring the effect of the scaffold geometry on the bone growth and the capillary suction of blood into the scaffolds. In addition to material characterization techniques, this work uses fundamental solid and fluid mechanics that are also applied in other fields. Not only am I interested in the science behind the work that I do, but also in the impact that my work will have on people with bone injuries that cannot heal on their own.
ARIELLE PFEIL
BS, 2021
Mechanical Engineering
I work on a project investigating the properties and processing of a calcium phosphate ink used in 3D printing of bone scaffolds. Through several material characterization techniques, the quality of this ink will be improved for an end goal of personalized implementations, replacing the need for bone grafts.
My current interests are in biomechanics with eventual career interests in improving quality of life through medical devices.
HALEY THOLEN
BS, 2021
Engineering Mechanics
The summer of 2018 I had the wonderful opportunity to do an internship abroad in Curaçao. The main objective of my project is to combine existing coral reef restoration efforts in the Caribbean with additive manufacturing techniques. While in Curacao, I prototyped many different microhabitats using a clay extrusion 3D printer to improve settlement and survival rates of the world's most endangered coral species. I am extremely interested in the promising future of 3D printing for solving pressing global issues. From the CAD modeling to the actual use of the printed product, I am thrilled to continue exploring the abilities of 3D printing to create innovations in many different applications.
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/haley-tholen-120b8414b/
VALERIE CHEN
Medical Student
Carle Illinois College of Medicine
Valerie is on the bone scaffolding project, with a focus on imaging. Her interests include bone regeneration, women’s health, and science communication. In her future career she hopes to combine medical technology innovation with patient care.
ELIZA LOVRICH
BS, 2023
Bioengineering
Current Research:
I am working on a project that utilizes biocompatible materials to develop a substrate that can be
used to increase the settlement of coral larvae. After the substrates are manufactured, they will be
characterized using 3D Optical Profilometry, SEM, and Powder XRD.
Interests:
As an avid scuba diver, I have a great appreciation for coral reefs. My ultimate goal is to become
an orthopedic surgeon. To date, I have witnessed over 30 surgeries including a total knee
replacement where an MRI scan of the patient was used to drive an additive manufacturing
process to produce the implant, as well as the patient specific alignment tooling.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eliza-lovrich-65797b194/
NELLIE HAUG
BS, Dec 2021
Mechanical Engineering
Current project: Bone Scaffold Project
Interests:
Currently, I work on the bone scaffold project with several of the other researchers. More specifically, I work alongside Arielle Pfeil on her ink characterization project. Over the course of the last semester, I have been trained on the full ink-making process for use in the lab’s custom 3D bioprinter. Future interests include quantifying the osteointegration of curvilinear scaffold geometry to better understand bone ingrowth in more complex scaffolds, to be mentored by Sohaila Aboutaleb. I have a strong interest in medicine, specifically in vascular and orthopedics specialties.
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nellie-haug-0a36501a3/
RECENT ALUMNI FROM THE
WAGONER JOHNSON LAB
Information current as of Spring 2020
MICHAEL ROGALSKI
BS 2019
Mechanical Engineering
I worked on a project to design, and validate a membrane inflation test. The application is related to preterm birth; I want to understand how the composition and structure of fetal membranes relates to premature membrane rupture, leading to preterm birth. This project has allowed me to further explore my interest in the mechanics of materials, and I hope to apply the knowledge gained from this project in graduate school next year.
LETONG DAI
BS 2021
Civil and Environmental Engineering (now at Cornell)
I worked on the Coral Reef Restoration Project by exploring different combinations of biomaterials and micro-texture for the substrate that will attract the corals larvae, to enhance the coral reef reproduction.
JOHN (JACK) LUND
BS, 2018
Mechanical Engineering with minor in Statistics
MS Student, Stanford University (as of Fall 2018)
I worked on a project investigating the use of materials for coral reef restoration. In graduate school I want to study biomechanics. My career interests include the fields of medical and surgical devices, especially those that help mitigate physical disabilities.
JEFF NIE
BS, 2018
Mechanical Engineering with minors in Bioengineering and Electrical Engineering
MD Student, Southern Illinois University (as of Fall 2018)
I worked on fabricating scaffolds via powder processing followed by 3D printing. I optimized the lab’s powder processing, designed and prototyped an end-effector for a new rapid prototyping machine, and operated the robot to fabricate porous 3D scaffolds for bone regeneration.
LAURENCE RUSTOM, PHD
PhD, 2016
Bioengineering
Intellectual Property Consultant for Medical Devices, Global Prior Art, Inc. (Boston, MA)
Laurence investigated the effects of scaffold macro- and micro-structural features on bone regeneration. She fabricated scaffolds for implantation in pig mandibles and used histology to observe differences in bone growth between different scaffold groups. She developed an image processing algorithm to quantify bone regeneration using micro-CT images of the explanted scaffolds. She also conducted cell migration experiments in vitro at the Institut National Polytechnique in Grenoble, France.
Laurence now works as an IP Consultant in Medical Devices in Boston, where she performs patent searches for patentability or patent litigation cases, as well as IP landscape analyses for companies looking to develop their IP strategy in a select niche market.
MICHAEL POELLMANN, PHD
PhD, 2013
Bioengineering
Senior Scientist, Capio Biosciences and Post-doctoral Associate, University of Wisconsin School of Pharmacy
Capio Biosciences is a company working to develop and commercialize ‘liquid biopsy’ devices that diagnose cancer from a blood draw. He is also a post-doc in Seungpyo Hong's Lab, where he studies polymers and biomimetic materials for cell capture and drug targeting.
For his PhD project, Mike developed several methods to fabricate hydrogels with microscale features to study how elasticity, geometry, and chemistry influence cell behavior. He also worked on projects to characterize the biomechanics of the cervix during pregnancy and of bone cells during differentiation.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/mpoellmann
SAMANTHA POLAK, MD, PHD
PhD, 2012
Bioengineering
Academic Research Scientist, Abiomed (Danvers, MA)
DAVID HOELZLE, PHD
PhD, 2011
Mechanical Science and Engineering
Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering, The Ohio State University
My PhD thesis investigated an additive manufacturing process, micro-Robotic Deposition (uRD), and its utility in fabricating advanced architecture synthetic bone grafts. The objective of this research was to develop methods to integrate different regions with different porous microstructures into a single scaffold. The key contribution of this work is the development of a control algorithm that precisely places different build materials in specified locations, thereby the fabrication of advanced architecture scaffolds is feasible.
SHEENY LAN, PHD
PhD, 2009
Materials Science and Engineering
Pre-Clinical Research Engineer at BTG International/EKOS Corporation (Seattle, WA)
BTG/EKOS is a company that develops and commercializes endovascular devices that utilize ultrasound infusion technologies to treat blood clots in arteries and veins.
For her PhD, Sheeny optimized and evaluated calcium phosphate-based, 3-D tissue engineering scaffolds for bone regeneration and studied the application of endothelial colony forming cells/endothelial progenitor cells for neovascularization of regenerated tissue.
CJ PARK, MD, PHD
PhD, 2008
Materials Science and Engineering
MD, University of Illinois
coming soon
GRADUATE ALUMNI 2003-2010
BRAD HERSCHLER
MS , 2010
Mechanical Science and Engineering
THE INFLUENCE OF MICROPOROSITY ON THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF BULK, SCAFFOLD, AND COMPOSITE SCAFFOLD BIPHASIC CALCIUM PHOSPHATE
JACKIE CORDELL
MS, 2008
Bioengineering
THE INFLUENCE OF MICROPORE SIZE ON THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF BULK HYDROXYAPATITE AND HYDROXYAPATITE SCAFFOLDS
LUCAS MCINTOSH
MS, 2008
Mechanical Science and Engineering
A MODELING STUDY OF HOW BONE GEOMETRY IMPACTS THE EFFECTIVE
ELASTIC PROPERTIES OF HYDROXYAPATITE BONE IMPLANTS
JOE WOODARD
MS, 2006
Mechanical Science and Engineering
AN IN VIVO STUDY OF THE MECHANICAL BEHAVIOR AND OSTEOCONDUCTIVITY OF POROUS HYDROXYAPATITE BONE SCAFFOLDS
AMANDA HILLDORE
MS, 2006
Mechanical Science and Engineering
USE OF THE CURVE INTEGRATION METHODTO QUANTIFY HYDROXYAPATITE SCAFFOLDS AND TISSUE IMAGED WITH MICRO-CT
NILDA JUAN SERRANO
MS, 2003
Materials Science and Engineering
IMAGING THERAPEUTIC PROTEINS IN GELATIN FOR CONTROLLED DRUG RELEASE USING MICROCOMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY