Dr Jie Na obtained her bachelor's degree in medicine from Peking Medical University in 1997, and Ph.D. in Cell Biology from the University of Virginia, USA in 2002. She did a postdoc at the Wellcome Trust Gurdon Institute in Cambridge University, United Kingdom, from 2002 to 2005. In 2006, Dr Jie Na was awarded the MRC Stem Cell Career Development Fellowship and started to work on human pluripotent stem cells at the University of Sheffield, UK. In 2010, Dr Jie Na moved to the medical school of Tsinghua University and started her lab.

The research focus of Dr Na’s group includes cell fate regulation of human pluripotent stem cell differentiation to cardiovascular and blood lineage cells, construct organoids to model human cardiovascular development and disease, cell-based therapies to treat ischemia diseases.  Dr Jie Na has published more than 70 papers, including corresponding author papers on Nature, Nature Communications, Advanced Science, Biomaterials, Stem Cell Reports, Stem Cell Research and Therapy, etc.

Topic title: 3D bioprinting facilitated the engineering of organoids for regenerative medicine

Abstract:

Human pluripotent stem cells can differentiate into more than 200 specialized cell types in the body. Constructing organoids with these cells in vitro, which mimic the composition and structure of organs in the body, and simulating development and disease, pose significant challenges and opportunities. In earlier studies, we have established an efficient and rapid system to differentiate human pluripotent stem cells into cardiac, vascular endothelial, smooth muscle cells, and macrophages. Recently, we have applied tissue engineering techniques such as cell co-culture, porous scaffolds, 3D bioprinting, etc., to construct biomimetic microenvironments. This further enhances the efficiency and quantity of cell differentiation and allows the construction of organoids with stronger physiological functions. These organoids are now used for disease research, drug toxicity evaluation, and regenerative medicine.