Please join us for the Health Sciences Research Institute’s inaugural Distinguished Lecture on Monday, October 6, 2025 at 5:30pm (with reception to follow) at UC Merced's Merced on Main location (1635 M. Street, Merced).
Admission is free of charge, and all are invited.
Professor David Kaplan of Tufts University will present research in the field of tissue engineering and how these new directions in research help to shape our future from a human and environmental health perspective.
The field of tissue engineering provides new ways to grow tissues in a laboratory setting to address many current human and environmental health challenges of today. For example, forming human brain and intestinal tissues permits new insights into human brain diseases and into gut health. Similarly, forming animal muscle and fat tissues provides new ways to think about human health and nutrition.
Dr. David Kaplan is the Stern Family Endowed Professor of Engineering at Tufts University, a Distinguished University Professor, a Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, and the Director of the Tufts University Center for Cellular Agriculture (TUCCA). His research focus is on biopolymer engineering, tissue engineering, regenerative medicine and cellular agriculture. He has published over 1,000 peer reviewed papers, he is editor-in-chief of ACS Biomaterials Science and Engineering and he serves on many editorial boards and programs for journals and universities. He has received awards for his research and teaching and is an elected Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, the National Academy of Inventors, and the National Academy of Engineering.
