Sang Jin Lee, United States

Dr. Sang Jin Lee currently holds a tenured position as a Professor at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM), Wake Forest University School of Medicine. He earned his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea, in 2003. He went on to pursue a postdoctoral fellowship at the Laboratories for Tissue Engineering and Cellular Therapeutics at Harvard Medical School and Children’s Hospital Boston and the WFIRM, where he currently serves as a faculty member. In addition, he holds a cross-appointment to the Virginia Tech-WFU Biomedical Engineering and Science.

Dr. Lee has authored over 155 scientific publications and reviews, edited two textbooks, and written 37 chapters in several books. His research focuses on biomaterials science, specifically in the field of biodegradable polymers and tunable hydrogels, with a deep understanding of key research areas for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. He and his team have successfully developed various biomaterial systems, including drug/protein delivery systems, nano/micro-scaled topographical features, and hybrid materials that have significantly improved cellular interactions by providing appropriate environmental cues.

His current research primarily focuses on developing a cutting-edge 3D bioprinting strategy capable of manufacturing complex, multi-cellular living tissue constructs. To establish a clinically relevant bioprinting workflow, his team has developed multiple biomaterial formulations as bioinks, which provide the tissue-specific biological microenvironment required for the successful delivery of cells to discrete locations within the 3D tissue architectures. These concerted efforts proved pivotal in securing the NASA Vascular Tissue Challenge win for the WFIRM team. By employing the 3D bioprinting strategy developed in his lab, the teams engineered thick, vascularized tissue constructs with tissue functions, ultimately securing 1st and 2nd prizes in the competition. Excitingly, the next step involves sending the engineered tissue samples into space to test potential mitigation strategies needed for long-term deep-space missions.

Since 2004, Dr. Lee has had the privilege of mentoring a total of 176 trainees from diverse career levels, including 19 graduate students, 33 postdoctoral fellows, 8 research trainees, 36 visiting scholars, 8 laboratory technicians, 13 undergraduate students, 30 summer internship undergraduate students, 2 high school internship students, and 27 international graduate students. As a mentor, he remains committed to continually improving his mentoring skills, leveraging various approaches to train and guide aspiring scientists, enabling them to pursue successful careers in science.