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As of the new year, the position of Editor-in-Chief of Biomedical Materials will be filled by Jianwu Dai, PhD. It is a role in which I have been serving since 2005, when the process resulting in the founding of the journal was initiated by Fu-Zhai Cui of Tsinghua University, Beijing, People's Republic of China, and In-Seop Lee of Yonsei University in Seoul, Republic of Korea. These ensuing 15 years have seen an ever-growing list of medical problems being addressed using the tools of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, including a continual increase in the number of materials employed for the production of both implantable and injectable scaffolds. Moreover, during this period it has become clear that understanding the biological processes underlying tissue and organ regeneration is essential to direct the implementation of biomedical materials in their roles of scaffolds and delivery vehicles for regulatory molecules and cells. There is no one more experienced to manage the dissemination of literature on this topic than our new Editor-in-Chief.
Jianwu Dai is Professor and Director of the Center for Regenerative Medicine in the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, People's Republic of China (http://sourcedb.genetics.cas.cn/yw/zjrc/db/200907/t20090721_2130961.html). This position provides Professor Dai extensive research resources from which to draw, including outstanding colleagues in many fields with whom to collaborate. Professor Dai received his BSc degree in Cell Biology at Wuhan University and his MSc degree in Biophysics at Beijing Medical University. He then traveled to the United States to receive his PhD, in 1998, from Duke University, completing the thesis, 'The correlation of cell membrane tension with membrane trafficking and cell motility.' This was followed by a postdoctoral fellowship, from 1998–2000, in animal genetics and stem cell biology at Harvard Medical School. His extensive bibliography includes papers dealing with diverse medical problems (including spinal cord injury, myocardial infarct, and vertebral disorders) and an array of biomaterials (including collagen scaffolds prepared from fresh bovine aponeurosis [1, 2]).
In light of Professor Dai's experience in developing novel biomaterial-based treatments for a wide array of medical problems, in both the East and West, it is understandable that we would have many questions for him. This is the sixth in a series of interviews with leaders in the biomedical materials field [3–8].
Myron Spector: Professor Dai, congratulations on being selected as the next Editor-in-Chief of Biomedical Materials. When did you first become interested in the possibilities of employing biomaterials for treatments for medical problems?
Jianwu Dai: Thank you, Myron, for your kind introduction. I started paying attention to biomaterials since I set up my research laboratory in the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2001. My lab focuses on regenerative medicine. To promote tissue regeneration, I feel it is needed to build a microenvironment to simulate a specific stage during tissue or organ development. Thus, a proper scaffold is essential and may play an irreplaceable role in tissue regeneration.
MS: Globally, do you see differences in the pursuits of biomaterials researchers in the East and the West, with respect to the types of problems that are being worked on and the methodology (e.g. in vitro, in vivo, and clinical trial)?
JD: In general, I do not see much difference in biomaterials research methodology in the East and the West. However, the diseases and problems that have been focused on may be different based on demands and clinical needs in different regions We see a large number of researchers in China with chemical engineering backgrounds work on nanomaterials and their diagnostic applications, whereas in the West, a large number of researchers with similar backgrounds may mainly work on implantable prostheses.
MS: In China, are there different roles for laboratories in state-funded independent research institutions such as those in the Chinese Academy of Sciences compared to laboratories in universities?
JD: State-funded independent research laboratories often have more stable funding and are easily organized as a team to tackle major scientific questions. For example, the Strategic Priority Research Program 'Organ regeneration and production' of the Chinese Academy of Sciences unites most of the labs focusing on regenerative medicine within the Chinese Academy of Sciences. They work together to try to solve some of the major and challenging problems in regenerative medicine.
MS: Are the opportunities in China for the creation of start-up companies comparable with the opportunities in the West?
JD: The environment in China has greatly improved for creating start-ups in recent years. The government encourages the translation of basic research, including research on biomedical materials.
MS: Where were you first introduced to the problem of spinal cord injury?
JD: While I was setting up my lab in the Chinese Academy of Sciences, I discussed with many clinicians for possible scientific questions. Several neurosurgeons told me spinal cord injury is the most challenging problem in their field. I also visited some patients with spinal cord injuries and witnessed that they would spend their lives confined in a wheelchair. This was when I started to understand the difficulties of spinal cord injury repair and began planning to work on the issue using a regenerative medicine approach.
MS: What led you to first investigate aponeurosis as a biomaterial?
JD: Spinal cord tissue looks like electric cable with millions of parallel-arranged neurons. In order to correctly induce neuronal regeneration, I feel we need a scaffold with parallel fibers of biomaterials. Although it is easy to produce fibers with synthetic polymers, it is relatively difficult to make fibers of extracellular matrix. I visited butcher shops and found aponeurosis tissue reflects parallel-arranged fibers. We then started to develop parallel-aligned collagen scaffold from bovine aponeurosis tissue. After nearly 15 years of research and development, the prosthetic device for spinal cord repair, named NeuroRegen scaffold, reached the clinic trial phase in 2014. Up to now, over 100 patients with complete spinal cord injury were enrolled and the preliminary results look very promising.
MS: What are the most compelling unmet needs for biomaterials?
JD: There are quite a few unmet needs for biomaterials. I feel the most compelling one is the difficulty to utilize biologically-originated biomaterials, i.e., extracellular matrix, for tissue and organ fabrication through 3D printing. The hypothesis I have is that biomaterials from a tissue could work better to fabricate the same type of tissue.
MS: Professor Dai, thank you very much for sharing with us your thoughts on these issues. All the best in your new position as Editor-in-Chief of Biomedical Materials.