Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering

The Tien Group

A.M., Ph.D., Physics, Harvard University
B.S., Physics, B.S., Mathematics, University of California, Irvine

Phone: (617) 358-3055
Fax: (617) 353-6766
Email: jtien@bu.edu
Office: ERB 717
Office hours: By appointment

Research Interests

Vascularization of biomaterials; quantitative physiology of engineered tissues; biomaterials for microsurgical applications; lymphatics and interstitial transport.

Current Research

Dr. Tien and his group focus on the engineering of functional tissues through control of the cellular microenvironment. Of particular interest is the synthesis of microvascular networks that can serve as in vitro models of microcirculatory diseases or as ex vivo scaffolds for the perfusion of macroscopic tissues. Members of the group apply their understanding of fundamental biology to design structured biomaterials that orient, localize, or alter cellular interactions to elicit desired behavior. This work uses techniques adapted from molecular biology, surface chemistry, materials science, and lithography, and develops new technologies in-house as needed.

Selected Recent Publications

Truslow JG & Tien, J. “Perfusion systems that minimize vascular volume fraction in engineered tissues” Biomicrofluidics. 5: 022201. (2011)

Price, G.M., Wong, K.H.K., Truslow, J.G., Leung, A.D., Acharya, C. & Tien, J. “Effect of mechanical factors on the function of engineered human blood microvessels in microfluidic collagen gels” Biomaterials. 31: 6182-6189. (2010)

Wong, K.H.K., Truslow, J.G. & Tien, J. “The role of cyclic AMP in normalizing the function of engineered human blood microvessels in microfluidic collagen gels” Biomaterials. 31: 4706-4714. (2010)

Truslow, J.G., Price, G.M. & Tien, J. “Computational design of drainage systems for vascularized scaffolds” Biomaterials. 30: 4435-4443. (2009)

Price, G.M., Chu, K.K., Truslow, J.G., Tang-Schomer, M.D., Golden, A.P., Mertz, J. & Tien, J. “Bonding of Macromolecular Hydrogels Using Perturbants” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 130: 6664-6665. (2008)

Price, G.M., Chrobak, K.M. & Tien, J. “Effect of Cyclic AMP on Barrier Function of Human Lymphatic Microvascular Tubes” Microvasc. Res. 76: 46-51. (2008)

Golden, A.P. & Tien, J. “Fabrication of Microfluidic Hydrogels Using Molded Gelatin as a Sacrificial Element” Lab Chip. 17: 720-725. (2007)

Nelson, C.M. & Tien, J. “Microstructured Extracellular Matrices in Tissue Engineering and Development” Curr. Opin. Biotechnol. 17: 518-523. (2006)

Chrobak, K.M., Potter, D.R. & Tien, J. “Formation of Perfused, Functional Microvascular Tubes in vitro” Microvasc. Res. 71: 185-196. (2006)