Sang Jin Lee, PhD

Professor, Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine

Sang Jin Lee, Ph.D. is currently a tenured Associate Professor at Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM), Wake Forest School of Medicine. Dr. Lee received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea in 2003 and took a postdoctoral fellowship in the Laboratories for Tissue Engineering and Cellular Therapeutics at Harvard Medical School and Children’s Hospital Boston and the WFIRM where he is currently a faculty member. He is also cross-appointed to the Virginia Tech-WFU Biomedical Engineering and Science. Dr. Lee has authored more than 140 scientific publications and reviews, has edited 2 textbooks, and has written 34 chapters in several books. Dr. Lee has extensive knowledge and experience in biomaterials science, especially, biodegradable polymers and tunable hydrogels, with specific training and expertise in key research areas for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. His research team has developed various biomaterial systems that improve cellular interactions by providing appropriate environmental cues. These biomaterial systems consist of drug/protein delivery systems, nano/micro-scaled topographical features, and hybrid materials that can actively participate in functional tissue regeneration. Recently, his team is utilizing automated 3D bioprinting technology to manufacture complex, multi-cellular living tissue constructs that mimic the structure of native tissues. This can be accomplished by optimizing the formulation of biomaterials to serve as bioinks for 3D bioprinting, and by providing the biological microenvironment needed for the successful delivery of cells and biomaterials to discrete locations within the 3D structure.