Kara Spiller

Dr. Kara Spiller is an assistant Professor in Drexel's Department of Biomedical Engineering. Kara received her bachelor's and master's degrees in biomedical engineering from Drexel University in 2007. She conducted her doctoral research in the design of semi-degradable hydrogels for the repair of articular cartilage in the Biomaterials and Drug Delivery Laboratory at Drexel and in the Shanghai Key Tissue Engineering Laboratory of Shanghai Jiao Tong University. After completing her PhD in 2010, when she received the award for Most Outstanding Doctoral Graduate: Most Promise to Enhance Drexel's Reputation, she conducted research in the design of scaffolds for bone tissue engineering as a Fulbright Fellow in the Biomaterials, Biodegradables, and Biomimetics (the 3Bs) Research Group at the University of Minho in Guimaraes, Portugal. She is currently conducting research in the design of immunomodularatory biomaterials, particularly for bone tissue engineering. Her research interests include cell-biomaterial interactionns, biomaterial design, and international engineering education.

Here's what she had to say about her fellowships experiences at the time:

Fulbright: As a Fulbright scholar in Portugal, I will conduct research in tissue engineering from October 2010 to May 2011 in the Biomaterials, Biodegradables, and Biomimetics Research Group and the Headquarters of the European Institute of Excellence on Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, under the guidance of Dr. Rui Reis, in the Dept. of Polymer Engineering at the University of Minho. The grant will also support my work in developing international education initiatives in biomedical engineering. I am really excited about this opportunity to work on cutting-edge projects in a world-renown tissue engineering laboratory while forming new collaborations and learning about international education exchanges.

NSF GRFP & NSF IRES: The NSF IRES & DDEP grant funds my trip to Shanghai this fall (3 months) to work in the Shanghai Key Tissue Engineering Laboratory under Yilin Cao and Wei Liu. The title of the project is "Engineering Smart Biomaterials for Cartilage Tissue Engineering: A Drexel University and Shanghai Jiao Tong Training Partnership." This project is the capstone study of my dissertation, the controlled release of growth factors from hydrogels to enhance articular cartilage repair.

In the Biomaterials and Drug Delivery Lab in the Chemical Engineering Department, I am designing a hydrogel to replace damaged cartilage in the knee. The material has appropriate mechanical properties to take over physiological loading, but is bioactive in order to encourage cellular ingrowth, resulting in a hybrid cartilage-biomaterial construct. I have examined how the properties of the material, such as porosity, stiffness, and degradability, affect the behavior of cells.

The NSF-GRFP has not only allowed me to take classes solely for the sake of learning and to attend conferences to cultivate collaborations, but has given me some credibility in the academic community. I'm very grateful to have received this fellowship; it took away a lot of the stress involved in getting a PhD.

Related content:
Kara talks about her amazing experience in Portugal and shares some tips on the Fulbright blog.
Watch or Download Kara's interview on her Fulbright application experience.