3D-Bioprinting: Technologies, Research Trends, Competitive Landscape, and Application Areas

Laura Ann Hockaday, Postdoctoral Scholar, Silk Lab and Ultrafast Non-Linear Optics and Biophotonics Lab, Tufts University

Dr. Laura Hockaday is currently working at Tufts University under the mentorship of Fiorenzo Omenetto, investigating the use of silk biosensors in 3D engineered tissue environments. She recently earned her PhD in Biomedical Engineering at Cornell University, focusing on 3D printing technologies to develop native heterogeneity in tissue engineered heart valves, under the mentorship of Jonathan Butcher. Before Cornell, Laura worked in Los Alamos at a research and development company, Energy Related Devices Inc., that uses nature inspired engineering solutions to address technological problems. She also attended University of California Riverside and earned a BS in Bioengineering in 2008. Due to recent advances in biomaterials and biology she believes that the field of tissue engineering is on the cusp of breakthroughs that could be enabled by 3D printing. Her current goals are to develop and contribute to the cells-material knowledge base and technologies which will lead to clinical application of tissue engineering.