Inventors of 3D-printed vascular tissue recognized

The Collegiate Inventors Competition has named David Kolesky, a graduate researcher at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, a finalist in its annual awards honoring young inventors. Kolesky was recognized for his 3D bioprinting method that fabricates tissue constructs composed of living cells, structural proteins, and blood vessels.

The blood vessels form a vascular network that sustains tissues in a way that conventional tissue grafts have been unable to achieve.  The 3D-printed tissue constructs can remain alive for more than 45 days thanks to their vasculature, which provides life-sustaining oxygen, nutrient flow and waste transport.

With further development the tissue constructs could be ideal for long-term drug toxicity studies and could potentially help address the shortage of human tissues for transplantation.

The Collegiate Inventors Competition also recognizes the important working relationship between students and their advisors. Kolesky developed the novel bioprinting method under the advisement of Jennifer A. Lewis, the Hansjörg Wyss Professor of Biologically Inspired Engineering at SEAS and Wyss Core Faculty member.

“I’m honored to be a finalist,” said Kolesky. “The competition is a great way to encourage young people to actively try to shape the future through invention.”

Kolesky will present the 3D bioprinting method in November in Washington, D.C., to a panel comprised of judges from the United States Patent and Trademark Office.