Advances in the fields of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine require biomaterials that
instruct, rather than simply permit, a desired cellular response. A major challenge to progress in
our field is the complex organization of the tissues in our bodies, which are hierarchical, vary in
space and time, and can differ person-to person. Prof. Harley’s research program is developing
biomaterials that replicate the complex cellular and extracellular microenvironment found in the
tissues and organs of our body. These include porous, hydrogel/granular, and composite
biomaterials for musculoskeletal tissue regeneration, hematopoietic stem cell biomanufacturing,
and as model systems to investigate endometrial pathologies and invasive brain cancer. I will
describe efforts using bioinspired design motifs to create composite biomaterials to regenerate
craniomaxillofacial bones and musculoskeletal insertions. I will also describe (granular) hydrogel
models to study niche regulation of hematopoietic stem cells and patient-derived glioblastoma
specimens. These tools enable study of dynamic processes such as remodeling and multicellular
signaling that inform stem cell quiescence as well as brain cancer invasion and drug resistance.
However, contemporary tissue engineering efforts must also consider patient heterogeneity,
gender/sex, and social factors. Hence, I will also describe efforts to account for sex differences in
tissue engineering models as well as to create hierarchical models of the endometrial tissue
microenvironment to investigate endometriosis. These new paradigms are essential for
accelerating translation of scientific discoveries into innovations that improve our collective quality
of life.

Biography
Brendan Harley is the Robert W. Schaefer Professor in the Dept. of Chemical and Biomolecular
Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as well as Program Leader in the
Cancer Center at Illinois. He received a B.S. in Engineering Sciences from Harvard University, a
Sc.D. in Mechanical Engineering from MIT, and performed postdoctoral studies at the Joint
Program for Transfusion Medicine at Children’s Hospital Boston.
His research group develops tissue engineering technologies for musculoskeletal regeneration,
hematopoietic stem cell biomanufacturing, as well as to investigate endometrial pathologies and
invasive brain cancer. He is a decorated instructor and helps lead multiple interdisciplinary
research programs at Illinois. Dr. Harley co-founded a regenerative medicine company,
Orthomimetics Ltd., to commercialize an osteochondral regeneration technology.
Dr. Harley has received a number of awards and honors including an NSF CAREER award (2013),
the Young Investigator Award (2014) and the Clemson Award for Basic Research (2021) from the
Society for Biomaterials, as well as university research, teaching, and promotion awards (U.
Illinois). He is an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the
American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, and the Biomedical Engineering Society.