Andres J. Garcia
Affiliated Society: Society for Biomaterials
Country of Residence: USA
Current Position: Executive Director, Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, Regents’ Professor, Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
Biography:
Andrés J. García is the Executive Director of the Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience and Regents’ Professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Dr. García’s research program integrates innovative engineering, materials science, and cell biology concepts and technologies to create cell-instructive biomaterials for regenerative medicine and generate new knowledge in mechanobiology. This cross-disciplinary effort has resulted in new biomaterial platforms that elicit targeted cellular responses and tissue repair in various biomedical applications, innovative technologies to study and exploit cell adhesive interactions, and new mechanistic insights into the interplay of mechanics and cell biology. In addition, his research has generated intellectual property and licensing agreements with start-up and multi-national companies. He has received several distinctions, including the NSF CAREER Award, Arthritis Investigator Award, Young Investigator Award from the Society for Biomaterials, Georgia Tech’s Outstanding Interdisciplinary Activities Award, the Clemson Award for Basic Science from the Society for Biomaterials, and the International Award from the European Society for Biomaterials. He has been recognized as a top Latino educator by the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers. He is an elected Fellow of Biomaterials Science and Engineering (by the International Union of Societies of Biomaterials Science and Engineering), Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. He served as President for the Society for Biomaterials in 2018-2019.
Areas of research interest:
Dr. García’s research program centers on integrating innovative engineering, materials science, and cell biology concepts and technologies to generate (i) novel insights into the regulation of adhesive forces and mechanotransduction, and (ii) biofunctional materials (hydrogels, coatings, and nanoparticles) to control protein/cell delivery and tissue repair. This cross-disciplinary effort has resulted in new biomaterial platforms that elicit targeted cellular responses and tissue repair in various biomedical applications (bone repair, therapeutic vascularization, pancreatic islet delivery, and inflammation and infection), innovative technologies to study and exploit cell adhesive interactions, and new mechanistic insights into the interplay of mechanics and cell biology.
Research keywords: