Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine PhD Qualifying Exam
Given by Dr. Matthew Fisher
Instructions and Study Guide
Exam Details
• Date and Time: Date 5/25/23, 9:00am
• Location: 3 hour in person exam (due in writing or email to mbfisher@ncsu.edu
by 12pm on 5/25/23)
• Format: This exam focuses on the application of a basic understanding of tissue
engineering and regenerative medicine, and the science and engineering
principles, which underpin these topic areas. You will be expected to answer
qualitative (essay) questions that require critical thinking on the topics listed
below.
• The references and resources provided contain all topics that will be tested.
Materials
• You have access to all electronic versions of all documents listed via the NC
State library and Pubmed. If you are unable to access the documents, please
email the instructor.
• A book is listed as a resource. Specific chapters of interest relevant to the exam
are called out, but information in other chapters may be useful depending on the
particulars of your answers to the questions.
• No other materials are required; other resources (non–AI) can be used. Cite your
sources.
• You may either submit the assignment via pen and paper or electronically.
Potential Topics
General topics and concepts may include:
• Basic principles of tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, and functional
tissue engineering, in particular:
o Cell types, scaffold types, biofactors, and bioreactors
• Design criteria for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine
• Specifics of study design related to tissue engineering and regenerative medicine
• How concepts in tissue engineering can be applied to meet functional demands
of normal tissues and design new replacement tissues.
References/Resources
Book
• Atala, Lanza, Mikos, and Nerem, Principles of Regenerative Medicine, Third
Edition, Elsevier, 2019. (Available electronically via NCSU Libraries:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/book/9780128098806/principles–of–regenerative–
medicine). Covers basic principles in tissue engineering and regenerative
medicine.
• Specific chapters of interest: Ch. 15, 59, 61
• Chapters for additional background: 17, 26, 33, 35
Journal Articles
1. Guilak F, Butler DL, Goldstein SA, Baaijens FP. Biomechanics and mechanobiology
in functional tissue engineering. J Biomech. 2014;47(9):1933–40. doi:
10.1016/j.jbiomech.2014.04.019. PubMed PMID: 24818797; PubMed Central
PMCID: PMCPMC4051419.
2. Duan Y, Liu Z, O’Neill JO, Wan LQ, Freytes DO, Vunjak–Novakovic G. Hybrid Gel
Composed of Native Heart Matrix and Collagen Induces Cardiac Differentiation of
Human Embryonic Stem Cells without Supplemental Growth Factors. J Cardiovasc
Trans Res. 2011; 4: 605–15. doi: 10.1007/s12265–011–9304–0. PubMed PMID:
21744185
3. Wong E, Nejad SP, D’Costa KA, Siqueira NM, Lecce M, Santerre JP, Simmons CA.
Design of a Mechanobioreactor to Apply Anisotropic, Biaxial Strain to Large Thin
Biomaterials for Tissue Engineered Heart Valve Applications. Annals of Biomedical
Engineering. 2022;50(9):1073–89. doi: 10.1007/s10439–022–02984–3. PubMed
PMID: 35622208