Zohreh Izadifar

Developed clinically relevant Organ-on-a-Chip in vitro models of human Cervix to recapitulate and understand the physiology and pathophysiology of cervical mucosa and its interaction with microbiome in women's reproductive health and disease. Developed a sensor-integrated Organ-on-a-Chip system for continuous and analytical sensing of multiple metabolic functions of tissues on-chip.

Established a protocol for differentiation of engineered human pluripotent stem cells with elite immuno-cloaked and tumorogenic-safe privileges into endothelial cells for engineering of multicellular vascularized tissues such as pancreatic tissue substitutes for treating Type 1 diabetes.

Selected trainee for the international training workshop on translation and commercialization of regenerative medicine hosted by the University of Toronto, CCRM, the Rotman School of Management and Stem Cell Network. The program trains high-performing fellows from around the world to advance their understanding of how to translate and commercialize innovative regenerative medicine discoveries.

Project (1) Developed novel biofabrication processes based on 3D bioprinting technique to make designed, cell-laden, hybrid tissue constructs with mechanical, structural, and biological functionalities for cartilage and osteochondral tissue engineering applications. Project (2) Developed novel non-invasive monitoring methods, based on Synchrotron computed tomography refraction-based X-ray imaging, for long term, 3D, qualitative and quantitative tracking and assessment of engineered tissue constructs in situ once implanted in the body and during repair process.

Modeled actual evapotranspiration phenomena using data driven modeling techniques; artificial neural network (ANN), genetic programming (GP), and multilinear regression models, and studied temporal variations and correlation between meteorological signals and evapotranspiration using multiresolution wavelet analysis.

Awarded fellowship to selected graduate students to gain teaching experience during their graduate research program.

Selected fellow for CIHR-THRUST program. CIHR Training Grant in Health Research Using Synchrotron Techniques (CIHR-THRUST) is a cross-disciplinary training and mentoring program in the development and use of synchrotron techniques to address key questions in Canadian health research.

Thesis title: "Development of Hybrid-Construct Bioprinting and Synchrotron-based Non-invasive Assessment techniques for Cartilage Tissue Engineering”

Thesis title: “Modeling and Analysis of Actual Evapotranspiration using Data Driven and Wavelet Techniques”