Announcements

We had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Danièle Noël, Editorial Board Member of Bioengineering (ISSN: 2306-5354), to discuss the recent research trends in the field and her personal career development. We hope you enjoy the interview.

Dr. Danièle Noël is currently Research Director at Inserm at the Institute for Regenerative Medicine and Biotherapies (IRMB) in Montpellier. She received her Ph.D. in health biology from Bordeaux University in 1992. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Institute of Molecular Genetics in Montpellier in the field of recombinant retrovirology and gene therapy (1992–1999). She then moved to IRMB to work in cell therapy and became a professor in 2011. She is currently leading the group, “Organoids, Mesenchymal stromal cells and Extracellular vesicles for osteoarticular diseases therapies”, which includes 11 staff members. Her main interests are the biology of mesenchymal stromal cells and their application in the treatment of osteoarticular diseases and systemic sclerosis.

Her main focuses are:

• The identification of molecular mechanisms regulating the therapeutic effect of mesenchymal stromal cells and the role of extracellular vesicles (EVs);
• The optimization of cells and EV-based therapeutic approaches for regenerative medicine in rheumatic and autoimmune diseases;
• The optimization of cartilage tissue engineering approaches and joint organoid generation using a combination of molecular factors, scaffolds and 3D bioprinting.

She has authored more than 180 publications (h-index: 64; citations: 16310) and is currently a partner in three European programs.

The following is a short interview with Dr. Danièle Noël:

1. What are your research areas?
Mesenchymal stromal cells; extracellular vesicles; osteo-articular diseases; and therapies.

2. What are the latest developments in your research field?
Extracellular vesicles from mesenchymal stromal cells for the development of new acellular therapies in various therapeutic applications.

3. Can you briefly share your career development story? For example, what cases have influenced you the most?
I have held an academic position at the French National Institute for Health since 2007, where I integrated a laboratory as a senior researcher and, since 2011, I have become a research director leading a research group of more than 12 people.

4. Do you have any valuable suggestions you would like to share with young students and early career researchers?
Keep motivated to develop your own research projects and lead a research group.

5. What do you think of the development of Open Access in publishing?
I think it is a great opportunity to share your research results to a very large community. I totally agree with Open Access for research.

We are thankful for Dr. Noël's time and support of Bioengineering.

We had the pleasure of speaking with Prof. Dr. Reeta Rani Singhania, an Editorial Board Member of Bioengineering (ISSN: 2306-5354), to discuss the recent research trends in the field and her personal career developments. We hope you enjoy the interview.

1. What are your research areas?
My main research expertise is in the areas of microbial and enzyme technology, with the main focus on the development of bioprocesses and bioproducts. I have worked extensively on the production of cellulase and beta-glucosidase for biofuel applications. I have also worked on a major integrated project, with the final aim of producing biohydrogen by utilizing agro-wastes. My current work at NKUST in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, is on the “Bioprocess development for biomass valorization”. In this direction, we have been working on oligosaccharides for prebiotic application and bioethanol production, using locally available abundant biomass. Hydrothermal pretreatment and controlled enzymatic hydrolysis have been explored for this purpose. We have also explored bacterial bioprocesses for nanocellulose production, which has immense applications in various fields and we have explored its potential for heavy metal removal. Overall, in one word, I can summarize my area of research as biorefinery.

2. What are the latest developments in your research field?
Biorefinery is moving quickly, and we have succeeded in developing enzymes for biomass saccharification at high-solid loading with higher efficiencies, which has provided us with several patents and the technology is in the matured stage. Now, I am more focused on understanding biomass deconstruction via hydrothermal pretreatment. Research in this field has resulted in our understanding of how biomass can be deconstructed into each component and the multiple ways of producing cascades of products out of it. Various biomass feedstocks, including lignocellulosic biomass, macroalgae, and microalgae, have been employed to produce various products, including platform chemicals, along with oligosaccharides and bioethanol.

3. Can you briefly share your career development story? For example, what cases have influenced you the most?
I started my career in 2002 as a lecturer at a university (GGV in Bilaspur, India) and shortly switched to research at the CSIR Institute in India, National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, Trivandrum, as a project assistant in the group of Professor Ashok Pandey, the leading biotechnologist in India now, where I studied for my doctoral degree with Dr. Rajeev Sukumaran and thereafter, my real research journey started, as I was granted an opportunity to showcase my independent research capabilities at various institutes and in the industry. I moved to France to work at Institute Pascal at Clermont Ferrand and thereafter moved back to India with a prestigious fellowship (“DBT-Energy Bioscience Overseas Fellowship”) to work at the Center for Advanced Bioenergy Research, DBT Center (Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, R & D, Faridabad, India). I think that in the initial stages of my career, I was influenced by biomass conversion using enzymes, which we were producing ourselves in the laboratory. For me, it was amazing to observe how leaves and twigs were converted into ethanol. I realized that in this way, the carbon footprint can be reduced; moreover, lignocellulosic biomass is the most ubiquitous and abundant raw material available that can benefit mankind; hence, technology can be used in the absence or depletion of petro-refinery products. I can see the potential for translational research and laboratory work to be scaled up to an industrial level to see the light of commercialization.

I dedicated my energy to improving my knowledge to a higher standard, so that I could be a well-equipped professional researcher and a teacher.

4. Do you have any valuable suggestions that you would like to share with young students and early career researchers?
I think the best advice I received from my mentors that I can share with young students is to keep learning and to never stop learning because there is always something new to learn to improve your skills and understanding of concepts. There are no alternatives to sincerity and dedication and these are essential in order to succeed in your field. One must also have patience.

5. What do you think of the development of Open Access in publishing?
The concept of Open Access in publishing has opened a new door for students, researchers, and scientists to have easy access to research in their respective areas of interest and expertise to explore innovative ways to understand and perform their research work. I think it is an interesting way to publish research work that is relevant both now and in the future.

We are thankful for Prof. Dr. Singhania's time and support for Bioengineering.

Dr. Martin Koller was awarded his Ph.D. degree by Graz University of Technology, Austria, for his thesis on polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) production from dairy surplus streams. This work was carried out as part of the EU-FP5 financed project, WHEYPOL (“Dairy industry waste as source for sustainable polymeric material production”), and was supervised by Gerhart Braunegg, one of the most eminent PHA pioneers. As a senior researcher, he worked on biomediated PHA production, encompassing the development of continuous and discontinuous fermentation processes and novel downstream processing techniques for sustainable PHA recovery. His research focused on cost-efficient PHA production from surplus materials using bacteria and haloarchaea and, to a minor extent, on the development of PHA for biomedical use.

Moreover, Dr. Martin Koller coordinated the EU-FP7 project ANIMPOL (“Biotechnological conversion of carbon containing wastes for eco-efficient production of high added value products”), which, in close cooperation between academia and industry, investigated the conversion of the animal processing industry´s waste streams toward structurally diversified PHA and follow-up products. In addition to PHA exploration, he was also active in microalgal research and in the biotechnological production of various marketable compounds from renewables using yeasts, chlorophyte, bacteria, archaea, fungi, and lactobacilli.

He currently holds more than 90 Web of Science listed articles in high-ranked scientific journals (h-index 40), has authored more than 20 chapters in scientific books, edited eight scientific books and seven journal Special Issues on PHA, delivered plenty of invited and plenary lectures at scientific conferences, and continues to support the editorial teams of several distinguished journals.

Now, Dr. Martin Koller is active as a research and project manager for the Institute of Chemistry at the University of Graz as a member of the university´s Research Management and Service unit. He is also a lecturer at the FH Joanneum (University of Applied Sciences, Graz) and an external supervisor for PHA-related projects.

The following is a short interview with Dr. Martin Koller:

1. What are your research areas?
   Microbial biopolyesters.

2. What are the latest developments in your research field?
   Biopolyester production from ethically clear resources (waste materials); novel fermentation regimes; new, robust production strains (Next Generation Industrial Biotechnology).

3. Do you have any valuable suggestions you would like to share with young students and early career researchers?
   Stay curious!

4. What do you think of the development of Open Access in publishing?
   Personally, I am fully committed to Open Access publishing; however, in my opinion, fees are often too high, also for not exceptionally high-ranked journals.

We are thankful for Dr. Martin Koller’s time and his support for Bioengineering.

MDPI has just become the first open access (OA) publisher to reach the milestone of one million articles published. That is one million articles freely available to all, to circulate and build upon! We are proud to share this special moment with the global scientific community.

This landmark has been reached thanks to the immeasurable support of more than 600,000 expert reviewers, 66,000 editorial board members and 6700 hard-working colleagues across MDPI’s global offices.

Within more than 25 years of publishing, our journals received 2.1 million manuscripts and generated 4.6 million peer review reports to get to one million papers published.

Reaching the milestone of one million articles published reinforces our mission to remove any existing barriers and to make scientific research accessible to all. Since its inception, MDPI’s goal has been to create reliable processes to make science open. This is a path towards facilitating the dissemination of novel insights in scientific communities.

Regular feedback from authors and reviewers shows that our service is greatly appreciated and needed. At the same time, the feedback helps us identify areas for further improvement.

As it stands, a significant share of published research findings remain closed access. More than half of the content published with the most well-known legacy publishers stays behind a paywall, and that is not including articles published in hybrid OA journals, or made available months or years after publication.

A new policy announced by the US administration in August 2022 requires that, as of January 2026, all US federally funded research be made freely and immediately available after publication. While the new policy does not mandate articles be published under an open access license, it is aligned with the open access movement in removing all barriers to research. Similarly, some of the most advanced research institutions in the world intend to have all funded research articles published in open access by 2025.

MDPI is proud to be the leading agent of the transition to open access.

"Thanks a Million" to all the contributors!

Prof. Dr. Zheng works as a Professor at the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Oklahoma, Norman, USA. We hope you enjoy the interview.

1. What are your research areas?
   Medical imaging informatics, computer-aided diagnosis of medical images, machine learning and artificial intelligence.

2. What are the latest developments in your research field?
   In the last several years, my medical imaging research laboratory in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, the University of Oklahoma, has been working on several research projects that aim to identify new quantitative imaging (QI) markers and develop novel machine learning (ML)-based prediction models. These research efforts include using the QI features computed from: (1) digital mammograms to predict short-term breast cancer risk and classify between malignant and benign lesions; (2) dynamic-contrast-enhanced breast magnetic resonance images (DCE-MRI) to predict the response of breast cancer patients to neoadjuvant chemotherapy; (3) lung computed tomography (CT) images to predict the risk of cancer recurrence in early stage non-small-cell lung cancer patients after surgery; (4) abdominal CT images to predict the 6-month progression-free survival (PFS) of ovarian cancer patients undergoing clinical trials for testing new chemotherapy drugs; (5) abdominal CT images to predict the metastasis status of gastric cancer patients; and (6) brain CT and/or MR images to predict the prognosis of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage and acute ischemic stroke patients or detect/assess residual brain tumor tissue after surgery. In our studies, we have also applied and tested many new deep-learning-based artificial intelligence (AI) models combined with interactive graphical user interface (GUI) tools to facilitate our research work effort and support physician scientists in conducting translational clinical studies or research projects.

3. Can you briefly share your career development story? For example, what cases have influenced you the most?
   I was originally educated and trained as an Optical Engineer in my undergraduate and graduate studies to develop and apply optimal or laser-based imaging technology and systems in engineering. After I received my Ph.D. from the Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Delaware, I accepted a postdoc training position in the Medical Imaging Research Division, Department of Radiology, University of Pittsburgh. I worked on a research task that aimed to modify optical imaging components in a new investigative computed radiology (CR) system for breast cancer imaging. After completing this task, the director of Medical Imaging Research Division, Dr. David Gur, introduced and encouraged me to enter a completely new research field of developing computer-aided detection (CAD) schemes of mammograms. I accepted this challenge and started to develop a new CAD scheme based on my master’s thesis work on applying optical theodolites to perform topographic measurement. I published my first CAD research paper entitled “Computerized detection of masses in digitized mammograms using single image segmentation and a multi-layer topographic feature analysis” (Academic Radiology 1995; 2:959–966). Since then, I have been working in the CAD research field for more than 28 years and gradually expanded my CAD research from breast cancer detection to much broader topics and different types of cancer (i.e., breast, lung, ovarian, gastro, leukemia) and strokes, including the prediction of disease risk, the classification of lesion types, and improvement in treatment efficacy. Thus, based on my unique career development experience, I always believe in and promote interdisciplinary research to use and apply complementary knowledge and skills from different fields, which can help generate more novel research ideas and approaches.

4. Do you have any valuable suggestions you would like to share with young students and early career researchers?
   I am lucky to have had an outstanding mentor, Dr. David Gur, in my early academic career development. Dr. Gur provided me important guidance and great support that encouraged me to try new research ideas, identify research topics with higher translational impact, propose novel study hypotheses, learn lessons from failures, and improve my skills in writing research papers and proposals. Thus, to develop a successful research career, I always provide advice or suggestions to my students that one should have passion and dedication to the research work, keep trying from the failures, and gradually broaden their research vision by absorbing and fusing the knowledge and skills learned from multidisciplinary fields.

5. What do you think of the development of Open Access in publishing?
   I agree that Open Access publishing provides an excellent platform to effectively promote and exchange new research ideas. It can help disseminate new research methods and results in more broad research communities in multidisciplinary fields.

We are thankful for Dr. Zheng's time and his support for Bioengineering.

We are pleased to announce that the website of the MDPI Sustainability Foundation has been revamped! For the past couple of months, our UX UI team and front-end developers have been working hard to launch the website in time for the opening of the Sustainability Awards nominations.

The website is not the only thing that has had a remodeling. Indeed, the format of the Emerging Sustainability Leader Award (ESLA) has been updated. ESLA is now a competition open to individual researchers or start-ups founded by researchers under the age of 35. Nominee applications will go through 2 rounds of selection until the final 3 are decided. The finalists will then be invited to give pitch presentations during the Award Ceremony to win either first place (10,000 USD) or runner-up (2 x 5000 USD).

The World Sustainability Award, on the other hand, remains the same: a total prize money of 100,000 USD is up for grabs by senior individual researchers or groups of researchers from the international research community.

Nominations for both the World Sustainability Award and the Emerging Sustainability Leader award are now open! Check out our new website for more information on how to nominate.

Scientists at Stanford have recently published an update of the list of the top 2% most widely cited scientists—the World’s Top 2% Scientists.

The time node of the statistical data of this list is from 1960 to 2022, and it is divided into two lists: "Lifetime Scientific Influence Ranking" and "2022 Annual Scientific Influence Ranking". The "Lifetime Scientific Influence Ranking" counts the comprehensive influence performance of scientists during their careers, and the "2022 Annual Influence Ranking" focuses on highlighting the academic influence of scientists in the previous year. This ranking, considered the most prestigious worldwide, is based on the bibliometric information contained in the Scopus database and includes more than 200,000 researchers from the more than 10 million scientists considered to be active worldwide, with 22 scientific fields and 176 subfields taken into account.

We are pleased to share that 59 Editorial Board Members from MDPI’s Bioengineering (ISSN: 2306-5354) were featured in the list of the World’s Top 2% Scientists in 2022.

The latest rankings reflect the significant influence and research excellence of the scientists, who are committed to furthering their knowledge for the benefit of the world.

We would like to congratulate our Editorial Board Members on their excellent achievement and thank them for their immense contribution to the scientific progression and development of Bioengineering.

It is our pleasure to invite you to read the issue cover papers from the Bioengineering (ISSN: 2306-5354) journal published in 2021. The selected papers are listed below:

1. “Electrospun Fiber Scaffolds for Engineering Glial Cell Behavior to Promote Neural Regeneration”
by Devan L. Puhl, Jessica L. Funnell, Derek W. Nelson, Manoj K. Gottipati, and Ryan J. Gilbert
Bioengineering 2021, 8(1), 4; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering8010004
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5354/8/1/4

2. “Navigating the Collagen Jungle: The Biomedical Potential of Fiber Organization in Cancer”
by Jonathan N. Ouellette, Cole R. Drifka, Kelli B. Pointer, Yuming Liu, Tyler J Lieberthal, W John Kao, John S. Kuo, Agnes G. Loeffler and Kevin W. Eliceiri
Bioengineering 2021, 8(2), 17; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering8020017
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5354/8/2/17

3. “Suitable CO₂ Solubility Models for Determination of the CO₂ Removal Performance of Oxygenators”
by Benjamin Lukitsch, Paul Ecker, Martin Elenkov, Christoph Janeczek, Christian Jordan, Claus G. Krenn, Roman Ullrich, Margit Gfoehler and Michael Harasek
Bioengineering 2021, 8(3), 33; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering8030033
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5354/8/3/33

4. “Octreotide-Targeted Lcn2 siRNA PEGylated Liposomes as a Treatment for Metastatic Breast Cancer”
by Vrinda Gote and Dhananjay Pal
Bioengineering 2021, 8(4), 44; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering8040044
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5354/8/4/44

5. “The Use of Microfabrication Techniques for the Design and Manufacture of Artificial Stem Cell Microenvironments for Tissue Regeneration”
by David H. Ramos-Rodrigue, Sheila MacNeil, Frederik Claeyssens and Ilida Ortega Asencio
Bioengineering 2021, 8(5), 50; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering8050050
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5354/8/5/50

6. “Regenerative Strategies in Cleft Palate: An Umbrella Review”
by Inês Francisco, Anabela Baptista Paula, Bárbara Oliveiros, Maria Helena Fernandes, Eunice Carrilho, Carlos Miguel Marto and Francisco Vale
Bioengineering 2021, 8(6), 76; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering8060076
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5354/8/6/76

7. “Electrospun Microfibers Modulate Intracellular Amino Acids in Liver Cells via Integrin β1”
by Tianjiao Huang, John A. Terrell, Jay H. Chung and Chengpeng Chen
Bioengineering 2021, 8(7), 88; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering8070088
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5354/8/7/88

8. “Dual Network Composites of Poly(vinyl alcohol)-Calcium Metaphosphate/Alginate with Osteogenic Ions for Bone Tissue Engineering in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery”
by Lilis Iskandar, Lucy DiSilvio, Jonathan Acheson and Sanjukta Deb
Bioengineering 2021, 8(8), 107; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering8080107
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5354/8/8/107

9. “Improved Repopulation Efficacy of Decellularized Small Diameter Vascular Grafts Utilizing the Cord Blood Platelet Lysate”
by Panagiotis Mallis, Dimitrios P. Sokolis, Michalis Katsimpoulas, Alkiviadis Kostakis, Catherine Stavropoulos-Giokas and Efstathios Michalopoulos
Bioengineering 2021, 8(9), 118; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering8090118
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5354/8/9/118

10. “Operative Workflow from CT to 3D Printing of the Heart: Opportunities and Challenges”
by Michele Bertolini, Marco Rossoni and Giorgio Colombo
Bioengineering 2021, 8(10), 130; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering8100130
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5354/8/10/130

11. “Two-Stage Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) Production from Cheese Whey Using Acetobacter pasteurianus C1 and Bacillus sp. CYR1”
by Young-Cheol Chang, Motakatla Venkateswar Reddy, Kazuma Imura, Rui Onodera, Natsumi Kamada and Yuki Sano
Bioengineering 2021, 8(11), 157; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering8110157
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5354/8/11/157

12. “Mechanisms Driving Microbial Community Composition in Anaerobic Co-Digestion of Waste-Activated Sewage Sludge”
by Jan Torsten Jeske and Claudia Gallert
Bioengineering 2021, 8(12), 197; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering8120197
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5354/8/12/197

It is our pleasure to invite you to read the highly cited papers from Bioengineering (ISSN: 2306-5354), published in 2021. The selected papers are listed below:

1. “Collagen in Wound Healing”
by Shomita S. Mathew-Steiner, Sashwati Roy and Chandan K. Sen
Bioengineering 2021, 8(5), 63; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering8050063
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5354/8/5/63

2. “High-Throughput Screening Platforms in the Discovery of Novel Drugs for Neurodegenerative Diseases”
by Hasan Aldewachi, Radhwan N. Al-Zidan, Matthew T. Conner and Mootaz M. Salman
Bioengineering 2021, 8(2), 30; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering8020030
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5354/8/2/30

3. “Natural Biomaterials and Their Use as Bioinks for Printing Tissues”
by Claire Benwood,Josie Chrenek,Rebecca L. Kirsch, Nadia Z. Masri, Hannah Richards, Kyra Teetzen, and Stephanie M. Willerth
Bioengineering 2021, 8(2), 27; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering8020027
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5354/8/2/27

4. “COVID-19 Biomarkers and Advanced Sensing Technologies for Point-of-Care (POC) Diagnosis”
by Ernst Emmanuel Etienne, Bharath Babu Nunna, Niladri Talukder, Yudong Wang and Eon Soo Lee
Bioengineering 2021, 8(7), 98; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering8070098
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5354/8/7/98

5. “Characterization of Gelatin Hydrogels Cross-Linked with Microbial Transglutaminase as Engineered Skeletal Muscle Substrates”
by Divya Gupta, Jeffrey W. Santoso and Megan L. McCain
Bioengineering 2021, 8(1), 6; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering8010006
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5354/8/1/6

6. “Bioremediation of Agricultural Soils Polluted with Pesticides: A Review”
by Carla Maria Raffa and Fulvia Chiampo
Bioengineering 2021, 8(7), 92; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering8070092
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5354/8/7/92

7. “An Update on Nickel-Titanium Rotary Instruments in Endodontics: Mechanical Characteristics, Testing and Future Perspective—An Overview”
by Alessio Zanza, Maurilio D’Angelo, Rodolfo Reda, Gianluca Gambarini, Luca Testarelli and Dario Di Nardo
Bioengineering 2021, 8(12), 218; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering8120218
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5354/8/12/218

8. “The Role of Collagen-Based Biomaterials in Chronic Wound Healing and Sports Medicine Applications”
by David A. Yeung and Natalie H. Kelly
Bioengineering 2021, 8(1), 8; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering8010008
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5354/8/1/8

9. “Navigating the Collagen Jungle: The Biomedical Potential of Fiber Organization in Cancer”
by Jonathan N. Ouellette, Cole R. Drifka, Kelli B. Pointer, Yuming Liu, Tyler J Lieberthal, W John Kao, John S. Kuo, Agnes G. Loeffler and Kevin W. Eliceiri
Bioengineering 2021, 8(2), 17; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering8020017
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5354/8/2/17

10. “3D Printing of Thermoresponsive Hydrogel Laden with an Antimicrobial Agent towards Wound Healing Applications”
by Martyna Nizioł, Justyna Paleczny, Adam Junka, Amin Shavandi, Anna Dawiec-Liśniewska and Daria Podstawczyk
Bioengineering 2021, 8(6), 79; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering8060079
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5354/8/6/79

Name: Dr. Dong-Wook Han
Email: nanohan@pusan.ac.kr
Article: “Advanced Techniques for Skeletal Muscle Tissue Engineering and Regeneration”

We had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Dong-Wook Han, author of the recently published paper "Advanced Techniques for Skeletal Muscle Tissue Engineering and Regeneration", to discuss the recent research trends in scaffold fabrication for skeletal muscle tissue regeneration using advanced techniques, such as electrospinning and 3D bioprinting.

Dr. Dong-Wook Han works as an Professor at the Department of Optics and Mechatronics Engineering, BK21+ Nano-Integrated Cogno-Mechatronics Engineering, College of Nanoscience & Nanotechnology, Pusan National University. We hope you enjoy the interview!

1. Congratulations on your published paper. Can you give a bit of background about yourself and what your research areas are?
   I obtained my Ph.D. degree in the graduate program of biomedical engineering from Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea in 2004. After undertaking a postdoctoral fellowship at the Institute for Frontier Medical Sciences, Kyoto University, Japan for two and a half years, I joined the faculty of the Department of Optics and Mechatronics Engineering at Pusan National University. Since 2008, I have authored or co-authored over 180 scientific publications, possessed over 20 international and domestic patents, and joined several book chapters. My research interest concerns BT-NT convergence, especially tissue engineering and biomedical imaging with smart nanobiomaterials, development of artificial tissues, organs and medical devices by 3D printing, and assessment of nanomaterials toxicity (nanotoxicity).

2. What made you decide to publish a bioengineering article? Why did you choose Bioengineering?
   As a researcher in the field of biomedical engineering, I have been conducting tissue engineering research for the production of artificial structures that can replace various body parts such as bones, nerves, skin, and skeletal muscle based on diverse biomaterials for the past 20 years. To this end, it is essential to use advanced technologies such as electrospinning or 3D bioprinting to transform multifunctional nanobiomaterials into biocompatible and bioactive specific scaffolds. In recent years, I have been carrying out research with an emphasis on the creation of functional skeletal muscle. While I was thinking of writing a review paper to share and communicate with researchers in related fields about comparisons between other results and future prospects based on some experiences and know-how accumulated so far, I came across the introduction of the Special Issue of Bioengineering by chance, which led me to the decision to submit a paper here because I was convinced that it best suited my thoughts and intentions.

3. What was your experience publishing with Bioengineering?
   In a word, it was one of the best ever. Most journals and publishers operate their own characteristic submission system, but it is felt that the effectiveness of the system, although speed would be of great importance, depends on the accuracy of the review process, transparency, and the quality of review comments. In this respect, my experience publishing with Bioengineering is a so-called strong recommendation.

4. Was it important to you that the journal is open access?
   Whether a journal is open access or not is one of the most important factors when choosing a journal to submit my paper to. As mentioned above, review papers can be a valuable means to share many years of research experience and knowledge in a specific field with interested people as well as all researchers regardless of field, and open access is considered to be a basic prerequisite for this.

5. What do you hope that readers will get from your paper?
   The subject matter of my review paper dealt with advanced techniques such as electrospinning and 3D bioprinting using different types of polymers for skeletal muscle tissue engineering and regeneration. If relevant or interested researchers read my paper, I hope that it will be of some help in understanding the state-of-the-art research trend in various technology for skeletal muscle tissue engineering as well as in setting the direction of research or obtaining necessary ideas for your research.