• Bioengineered Model of the Bone Marrow to Study and Combat Cancer

    Leach Lab

Research in the Leach laboratory is primarily in the broad area of cellular and tissue engineering. Within our research program, we seek to engineer functional replacement and temporary bridge tissues while also developing model systems to study physiological and pathophysiological tissue formation. We initially develop many of our projects with an eye toward bone tissue engineering, and these findings are subsequently applied to other areas of tissue repair including cartilage, cardiovascular, and neural tissue engineering.

All projects in the lab are linked by the hypothesis that combinatorial approaches to tissue formation are superior to individual stimulation. More specifically, successful tissue engineering approaches will be realized upon the proper spatial and temporal presentation of cells, signaling molecules, biomaterials, and mechanical stimulation.

Leach Lab Members

Tomas Gonzalez-Fernandez

Postdoctoral Fellow

Charlotte Vorwald

Graduate Student 

Jackie Woods 

Graduate Student

 

Marissa Gionet-Gonzales

Graduate Student 

Takeyah Campbell

Graduate Student 

Laney Casella

Graduate Student 

Bobby Gresham

Graduate Student 

Jeremy Lowen

Graduate Student 

Vicky Thai

Graduate Student 

Katie Griffin

Graduate Student 

Max Li

Undergraduate Student

Shreeya Joshee

Undergraduate Student

Alejandro Tenorio

Undergraduate Student

Daphne Diloretto 

Undergraduate Student

Serena Cinque

Undergraduate Student

 

Alefia Kothambawala, B.S.   

Jenna Harvestine, Ph.D. 

Ben Hung, Ph.D.

Andrew Keown, B.S.

Jonathan Chen, B.S.

Osamu Yasui, B.S.

Jessica Yeung

Steve Ho, Ph.D.

Debika Mitra, Ph.D.

Kaitlin Murphy, Ph.D.

Chris Zikry, B.S.

Dejie Zhou, B.S.

Michael Nguyen-Truong, B.S.

Allison Hoch, Ph.D.

Nina Vollmer, Ph.D.

Caroline Vissers, B.S.

Beko Binder, Ph.D.

John Sagun, B.S.

Ganesh Ingavle, Ph.D.

Miles Wilkinson, M.S.

Sophia Fang, M.D. M.S.

Marissa Hughbanks, B.S.

Nandor Laszik, B.S.

Vaishali Mittal, B.S.

Martin Decaris, Ph.D.

Archana Bhat, Ph.D.

Hillary Davis, Ph.D.

Jiawei He, Ph.D.

Elizabeth Wahl, M.S.

Diana Morales- Hernandez, Ph.D.

Dave Working, M.S.

Ann Leu, M.S.

Whitney Cheung, M.S.

Phil Schaecher

Dana Yakoobinsky

Azad Mojadedi

Erin Case

Jenna Israel

Jennifer Young

Rameshwar Rao

Chris Horner

  • Member, Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES)
  • Member, Society for Biomaterials (SFB)
  • Member, Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS)
  • Member, Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS)

Motivation

Our laboratory is interested in determining the proper mixture of stimulatory signals to induce the formation and regeneration of various tissues. We utilize our expertise in biomaterials, drug and gene delivery, and mammalian cell culture to develop model systems for the investigation of tissue regeneration. We have ongoing projects in the engineering of numerous tissues, including bone, blood vessels, cornea, and wound healing.  

Projects

  • Biomaterials-based strategies to induce angiogenesis
  • Controlling the oxygen microenvironment to manipulate cellular behavior
  • Cell-cell interactions to promote tissue formation
  • Development of biomimetic materials for use in bone tissue engineering
  • Development of novel systems for sustained gene delivery
  • Validation of tissue regeneration using noninvasive in vivo imaging modalities

State of Minds: Air Quality, Stem Cells, Peace Corps, Neanderthal Genome (See one of our collaborations starting at 18:51) http://www.uctv.tv/search-details.aspx?showID=20692

Leach Lab Healing Bones You Tube Video    

  • Program co-chair, BMES 2020 Annual Meeting
  • Fellow, Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), Class of 2018
  • Member, University of Oklahoma Gallogly College of Engineering Board of Visitors, 2018-present
  • College of Fellows, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), 2017
  • Standing member, Biomaterials and Biointerfaces (BMBI) Study Section, NIH, 2016-2020
  • Fellowship Award for Excellence in Mentoring, UC Davis Office of Graduate Studies, 2015
  • University of Oklahoma College of Engineering Samuel Wilson Lectureship, 2015
  • UC Davis College of Engineering Outstanding Faculty Teaching Award, 2014
  • Page Morton Hunter Distinguished Lecturer, Clemson University, 2012
  • UC Davis Mid-Career Leadership Program Participant, 2011
  • NIH Loan Repayment Program Award, 2010
  • The Hartwell Foundation Individual Biomedical Research Award, 2008
  • NIH National Research Service Award Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2004

Recent Publications can be viewed on the NCBI website.

Search of all papers from the Leach lab

2021

Gonzalez-Fernandez T, Tenorio AJ, Saiz AM, Leach JK. Engineered Cell-Secreted Extracellular Matrix Modulates Cell Spheroid Mechanosensing and Amplifies their Response to Inductive Cues for the Formation of Mineralized Tissues. Advanced Healthcare Materials. 2021 December 30. doi.org/10.1002/adhm.202102337

Gionet-Gonzales M, Casella A, Diloretto D, Ginnell C, Griffin KH, Bigot A, Leach JK. Sulfated Alginate Hydrogels Prolong the Therapeutic Potential of MSC Spheroids by Sequestering the Secretome. Advanced Healthcare Materials. 2021 September 05. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/adhm.202101048

2020

Gresham RCH, Bahney CS, Leach JK. Growth factor delivery using extracellular matrix-mimicking substrates for musculoskeletal tissue engineering and repair. Bioactive Materials. 2020 December 16. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bioactmat.2020.12.012

Whitehead J, Griffin KH, Gionet-Gonzales M, Vorwald CE, Cinque SE, Leach JK. Hydrogel mechanics are a key driver of bone formation by mesenchymal stromal cell spheroids. Biomaterials. 2020 December 14. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2020.120607

Thai VL, Griffin KH, Thorpe SW, Randall RL, Leach JK. Tissue engineered platforms for studying primary and metastatic neoplasm behavior in bone. Journal of Biomechanics. 2020 December 11. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiomech.2020.110189

Gonzalez-Fernandez T, Tenorio AJ, Campbell K, Silva E, Leach JK. Alginate-Based Bioinks for 3D Bioprinting and Fabrication of Anatomically Accurate Bone Grafts. Tissue Engineering Part A. 2020 November 20. doi: 10.1089/ten.TEA.2020.0305

Casella A, Panitch A, Leach JK. Endogenous electric signaling as a blueprint for conductive materials in tissue engineering. Bioelectricity. 2020 Oct 15. doi: 10.1089/bioe.2020.0027

Gonzalez-Fernandez T, Tenorio AJ, Leach JK. Three-dimensional printed stamps for the fabrication of patterned microwells and high-throughput production of homogeneous cell spheroids. 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing. 2020 May 06. doi: 10.1089/3dp.2019.0129 

Hung BP, Gonzalez-Fernandez T, Lin JB, Campbell T, Lee YB, Panitch A, Alsberg E, Leach JK. Multi-peptide presentation and hydrogel mechanics jointly enhance therapeutic duo-potential of entrapped stromal cells. Biomaterials. 2020 Mar 13. doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2020.119973.

Vorwald CE, Gonzalez-Fernandez T, Joshee S, Sikorski P, Leach JK. Tunable fibrin-alginate interpenetrating network hydrogels to support cell spreading and network formation. Acta Biomater. 2020 Mar 10. doi: 10.1016/j.actbio.2020.03.014.

Lowen JM, Leach JK. Functionally graded biomaterials for use as model systems and replacement tissues. Adv. Funct. Mater. 2020 Mar 04. doi: 10.1002/adfm.201909089.

Harvestine JN, Gonzalez-Fernandez T, Sebastian A, Hum NR, Genetos DC, Loots, GG, Leach JK. Osteogenic preconditioning in perfusion bioreactors improves vascularization and bone formation by human bone marrow aspirates. Science Advances. 2020 Feb 12. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aay2387.

Vorwald CE, Joshee S, Leach JK. Spatial localization of endothelial cells in heterotypic spheroids influences Notch signaling. J Mol Med. 2020 Jan 23. doi: 0.1007/s00109-020-01883-1.

2019

Whitehead J, Kothambawala A, Leach JK. Morphogen delivery by osteoconductive nanoparticles instructs stromal cell spheroid phenotype. Adv. Biosys. 2019 Oct 01. doi: 10.1002/adbi.201900141.

Whitehead J, Zhang J, Harvestine JN, Kothambawala A, Liu GY, Leach JK. Tunneling nanotubes mediate the expression of senescence markers in mesenchymal stem/stromal cell spheroids. Stem Cells. 2019 Jul 12. doi: 10.1002/stem.3056.

Gonzalez-Fernandez T, Sikorski P, Leach JK. Bio-instructive materials for musculoskeletal regeneration. Acta Biomater. 2019 Jul 11. pii: S1742-7061(19)30494-5. doi: 10.1016/j.actbio.2019.07.014.

Saiz AM Jr, Gionet-Gonzales MA, Lee MA, Leach JK. Conditioning of myoblast secretome using mesenchymal stem/stromal cell spheroids improves bone repair. Bone. 2019 Aug;125:151-159. doi: 10.1016/j.bone.2019.05.018. Epub 2019 May 16.

Harvestine JN, Saiz AM, Leach JK. Cell-secreted extracellular matrix influences cellular composition sequestered from unprocessed bone marrow aspirate for osteogenic grafts. Biomater Sci. 2019 Apr 23;7(5):2091-2101. doi: 10.1039/c8bm01478g.

Ingavle GC, Gionet-Gonzales M, Vorwald CE, Bohannon LK, Clark K, Galuppo LD, Leach JK. Injectable mineralized microsphere-loaded composite hydrogels for bone repair in a sheep bone defect model. Biomaterials. 2019 Mar;197:119-128. doi: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2019.01.005. Epub 2019 Jan 10.

2018

Hung BP, Harvestine JN, Saiz AM, Gonzalez-Fernandez T, Sahar DE, Weiss ML, Leach JK. Defining hydrogel properties to instruct lineage-and cell-specific mesenchymal differentiation. Biomaterials. Oct 2018; 189:1-10. doi: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2018.10.024. Epub 2018 Oct 22.

Zhang J, Whitehead J, Liu Y, Yang Q, Leach JK, Liu GY. Direct observation of tunneling nanotubes within human mesenchymal stem cell spheroids. J Phys Chem B. 2018 Oct 23. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.8b07305.

Harvestine JN, Orbay H, Chen JY, Sahar DE, Leach JK. Cell-secreted extracellular matrix, independent of cell source, promotes the osteogenic differentiation of human stromal vascular fraction. J. Mater. Chem. B. 2018,6, 4104-4115. doi: 10.1039/C7TB02787G.

Vorwald CE, Murphy KC, Leach JK. Restoring vasculogenic potential of endothelial cells from diabetic patients through spheroid formation.Cell Mol Bioeng. 2018 Aug;11(4):267-278. doi: 10.1007/s12195-018-0531-1. Epub 2018 May 23.

Mitra D, Yasui OW, Harvestine JN, Link JM, Hu JC, Athanasiou KA, Leach JK. Exogenous lysyl oxidase-like 2 and perfusion culture induce collagen crosslink formation in osteogenic grafts. Biotechnol J. 2018 Jul 27:e1700763. doi: 10.1002/biot.201700763.

Ho SS, Hung BP, Heyrani N, Lee MA, Leach JK. Hypoxic Preconditioning of mesenchymal stem cells with subsequent spheroid formation accelerates repair of segmental bone defects. Stem Cells. 2018 Sep;36(9):1393-1403. doi: 10.1002/stem.2853. Epub 2018 Jul 3.

Vorwald CE, Ho SS, Whitehead J, Leach JK. High-throughput formation of mesenchymal stem cell spheroids and entrapment in alginate hydrogels. Methods Mol Biol. 2018;1758:139-149. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4939-7741-3_11.

Sherlock BE, Harvestine JN, Mitra D, Haudenschild A, Hu J, Athanasiou KA, Leach JK, Marcu L. Nondestructive assessment of collagen hydrogel cross-linking using time-resolved autofluorescence imaging.J Biomed Opt. 2018 Mar;23(3):1-9. doi: 10.1117/1.JBO.23.3.036004.

Gionet-Gonzales M and Leach JK. Engineering principles for guiding spheroid function in the regeneration of bone, cartilage, and skin. Biomed Mater. 2018 Mar 21;13(3):034109. doi: 10.1088/1748-605X/aab0b3.

2017

Ho SS, Keown AT, Addison B, Leach JK. Cell migration and bone formation from mesenchymal stem cell spheroids in alginate hydrogels are regulated by adhesive ligand density. Biomacromolecules. 2017 Dec 11;18(12):4331-4340. doi: 10.1021/acs.biomac.7b01366. Epub 2017 Nov 30.

Murphy KC, Whitehead J, Zhou D, Ho SS, Leach JK. Engineering fibrin hydrogels to promote the wound healing potential of mesenchymal stem cell spheroids. Acta Biomater. 2017 Dec;64:176-186. doi: 10.1016/j.actbio.2017.10.007. Epub 2017 Oct 5.

Mitra D, Fatakdawala H, Nguyen-Truong M, Creecy A, Nyman J, Marcu L, Leach JK. Detection of pentosidine cross-links in cell-secreted decellularized matrices using time resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. ACS Biomater Sci Eng. 2017 Sep 11;3(9):1944-1954. doi: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.6b00029. Epub 2016 May 31.

Mitra D, Whitehead J, Yasui OW, Leach JK. Bioreactor culture duration of engineered constructs influences bone formation by mesenchymal stem cells. Biomaterials. 2017 Nov;146:29-39. doi: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2017.08.044. Epub 2017 Sep 6.

Leach JK and Whitehead J. Materials-directed differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells for tissue engineering and regeneration. ACS Biomater. Sci. Eng. 2017 Mar 14, Article ASAP, doi: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.6b00741.

Murphy KC, Whitehead J, Falahee PC, Zhou D, Simon SI, Leach JK. Multifactorial experimental design to optimize the anti-inflammatory and proangiogenic potential of mesenchymal stem cell spheroids. Stem Cells. 2017 Jun;35(6):1493-1504. doi: 10.1002/stem.2606. Epub 2017 Mar 27.

Murphy KC, Hung BP, Browne-Bourne S, Zhou D, Yeung J, Genetos DC, Leach JK. Measurement of oxygen tension within mesenchymal stem cell spheroids. Journal of the Royal Society Interface. 2017 Feb;14(127). pii: 20160851. doi: 10.1098/rsif.2016.0851.

2016

Harvestine JN, Vollmer NL, Ho SS, Zikry CA, Lee MA, Leach JK. Extracellular matrix-coated composite scaffolds promote mesenchymal stem cell persistence and osteogenesis. Biomacromolecules. 2016 Nov 14;17(11):3524-3531.

Ho SS, Vollmer NL, Refaat MI, Jeon O, Alsberg E, Lee MA, Leach JK. Bone morphogenetic protein-2 promotes human mesenchymal stem cell survival and resultant bone formation when entrapped in photocrosslinked alginate hydrogels. Adv Healthc Mater. 2016 Sep 1.

Murphy KC, Hoch AI, Harvestine JN, Zhou D, Leach JK. Mesenchymal stem cell spheroids retain osteogenic phenotype through α2β1 signaling. Stem Cells Transl Med. 2016 Jun 30. pii: sctm.2015-0412.

Ho SS, Murphy KC, Binder BY, Vissers CB, Leach JK. Increased survival and function of mesenchymal stem cell spheroids entrapped in instructive alginate hydrogels. Stem Cells Transl Med. 2016 Jun;5(6):773-81.

Hoch AI, Mittal V, Mitra D, Vollmer N, Zikry CA, Leach JK. Cell-secreted matrices perpetuate the bone-forming phenotype of differentiated mesenchymal stem cells. Biomaterials. 2016 Jan 9;74:178-187.

2015

Vissers CAB, Harvestine JN, Leach JK. Pore size regulates mesenchymal stem cell response to Bioglass-loaded composite scaffolds. J. Mater. Chem. B. 2015 Sept 29.

Murphy KC, Stilhano RS, Mitra D, Zhou D, Batarni S, Silva EA, Leach JK. Hydrogel biophysical properties instruct coculture-mediated osteogenic potential. FASEB J. 2015 Oct 6. pii: fj.15-279984.

Binder B, Williams P, Silva E, Leach JK. Lysophosphatidic acid and sphingosine-1-phosphate: a concise review of biological function and applications for tissue engineering. Tissue Eng Part B Rev. 2015 Jun 2.

2014

Murphy KC, Hughbanks ML, Binder BY, Vissers CB, Leach JK. Engineered fibrin gels for parallel stimulation of mesenchymal stem cell proangiogenic and osteogenic potential. Ann Biomed Eng. 2015 Aug;43(8):2010-21.

Binder BY, Leach JK, Marcu L. Fluorescence tools for use in tissue engineering. in Fluorescent Lifetime Spectroscopy of Imaging in Tissue Biomedical Diagnostics. Marcu L, French PMW, and Elson DW, editors. 2014, CRC Press.

Binder BY, Sagun JE, Leach JK. Reduced serum and hypoxic culture conditions enhance the osteogenic potential of human mesenchymal stem cells. Stem Cell Rev. 2015 Jun;11(3):387-93.

Murphy KC, Fang SY, Leach JK. Human mesenchymal stem cell spheroids in fibrin hydrogels exhibit improved cell survival and potential for bone healing. Cell Tissue Res. 2014 Jul;357(1):91-9.

Hoch AI, Leach JK. Concise Review: Optimizing expansion of none marrow mesenchymal stem/stromal cells for clinical applications. Stem Cells Transl Med. 2014 May;3(5):643-52.

Textor JA, Murphy KC, Leach JK, Tablin F. Ultrastructure and growth factor content of equine platelet-rich fibrin gels. Am J Vet Res. 2014 Apr;75(4):392-401.

Soicher MA, Christiansen BA, Stover SM, Leach JK, Yellowley CE, Griffiths LG, Fyhrie DP. Remineralized bone matrix as a scaffold for bone tissue engineering. J Biomed Mater Res A. 2014 Dec;102(12):4480-90.

Man AJ, Leach JK, Bannerman P. Redirection of neurite outgrowth by coupling chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans to polymer membranes. Ann Biomed Eng. 2014 Jun;42(6):1271-81.

Jose S, Hughbanks ML, Binder BY, Ingavle GC, Leach JK. Enhanced trophic factor secretion by mesenchymal stem/stromal cells with glycine-histidine-lysine (GHK)-modified alginate hydrogels. Acta Biomater. 2014 May;10(5):1955-64.

2013

p>Binder BY, Sondergaard CS, Nolta JA, Leach JK. Lysophosphatidic Acid enhances stromal cell-directed angiogenesis. PLoS One. 2013 Dec 2;8(12):e82134.

 

Binder BY, Genetos DC, Leach JK. Lysophosphatidic acid protects human mesenchymal stromal cells from differentiation-dependent vulnerability to apoptosis. Tissue Eng Part A. 2014 Apr;20(7-8):1156-64.

Bhat A, Hoch AI, Decaris ML, Leach JK. Alginate hydrogels containing cell-interactive beads for bone formation. FASEB J. 2013 Dec;27(12):4844-52.

Ingavle G, Leach JK. Advancements in electrospinning of polymeric nanofibrous scaffolds for tissue engineering. Tissue Eng Part B Rev. 2014 Aug;20(4):277-93.

Davis HE, Binder BY, Schaecher P, Yakoobinsky DD, Bhat A, Leach JK. Enhancing osteoconductivity of fibrin gels with apatite-coated polymer microspheres. Tissue Engineering Part A. 2013; 19:1773–1782.

2012

Murphy KC, Leach JK. A reproducible, high throughput method for fabricating fibrin gels. BMC Res Notes. 2012 August;5:423.

Decaris M, Binder BY, Soicher M, Bhat A, Leach JK. Cell-derived matrix coatings for polymeric scaffolds. Tissue Engineering Part A. 2012 Oct;18(19-20):2148-57.

Morales-Hernandez DG, Genetos DC, Murphy KC, Leach JK. Ceramic identity contributes to mechanical properties and osteoblast behavior on macroporous composite scaffolds. J. Funct. Biomater. 2012 May;3(2), 382-397.

He J, Decaris M, Leach JK. Bioceramic-mediated trophic factor secretion by mesenchymal stem cells enhances in vitro endothelial cell persistence and in vivo angiogenesis. Tissue Engineering Part A. 2012 Jul;18(13-14):1520-8.

Hoch AI, Binder BY, Genetos DC, Leach JK. Differentiation-dependent secretion of proangiogenic factors by mesenchymal stem cells. PLoS One. 2012 April;7(4):e35579.

Decaris ML, Mojadedi A, Bhat A, Leach JK. Transferable cell-secreted extracellular matrices enhance osteogenic differentiation. Acta Biomaterialia. 2012 Feb;8(2):744-52.

2011

Bhat A, Boyadjiev SA, Senders CW, Leach JK. Differential growth factor adsorption to calvarial osteoblast-secreted extracellular matrices instructs osteoblastic behavior. PLoS One. 2011;6(10):e25990.

Man A, Davis HE, Ito A, Leach JK, Bannerman P. Neurite outgrowth in fibrin gels is regulated by substrate stiffness. Tissue Eng Part A. 2011 Dec;17(23-24):2931-42.

Davis HE, Case EM, Miller SL, Genetos DC, Leach JK. Osteogenic response to BMP-2 of hMSCs grown on apatite-coated scaffolds. Biotechnol Bioeng. 2011 Nov;108(11):2727-35.

Fite BZ, Decaris M, Sun Y, Sun Y, Lam A, Ho CKL, Leach JK, Marcu L. Noninvasive multimodal evaluation of bioengineered cartilage constructs combining time-resolved fluorescence and ultrasound imaging. Tissue Eng Part C Methods. 2011 Apr;17(4):495-504.

Decaris ML, Leach JK. Design of experiments approach to engineer cell-secreted matrices for directing osteogenic differentiation. Ann Biomed Eng. 2011 Apr;39(4):1174-85.

Davis HE, Miller SL, Case EM, Leach JK. Supplementation of fibrin gels with sodium chloride enhances physical properties and ensuing osteogenic response. Acta Biomater. 2011 Feb;7(2):691-9.

Davis HE, Leach JK. Designing bioactive delivery systems for tissue regeneration. Ann Biomed Eng. 2011 Jan;39(1):1-13.

2010

Cheung WK, Working DM, Galuppo LD, Leach JK. Osteogenic comparison of expanded and uncultured adipose stromal cells. Cytotherapy. 2010 Jul; 12(4):554-62.

He J, Genetos DC, Yellowley CE, Leach JK. Oxygen tension differentially influences osteogenic differentiation of human adipose stem cells in 2D and 3D cultures. J Cell Biochem. 2010 May;110(1):87-96.

Rao RR, He J, Leach JK. Biomineralized composite substrates increase gene expression with nonviral delivery. J Biomed Mater Res Part A. 2010 Aug;94(2):344-54.

Genetos DC, Cheung WK, Decaris ML, Leach JK. Oxygen tension modulates neurite outgrowth in PC12 cells through a mechanism involving HIF and VEGF. J Mol Neurosci. 2010 Mar;40(3):360-6.

He J, Genetos DC, Leach JK. Osteogenesis and trophic factor secretion are influenced by the composition of hydroxyapatite/ poly(lactide-co-glycolide) composite scaffolds. Tissue Eng Part A. 2010 Jan;16(1):127-37.

2009

Decaris ML, Lee CI, Yoder MC, Tarantal AF, Leach JK. Influence of the oxygen microenvironment on the proangiogenic potential of human endothelial colony forming cells. Angiogenesis 2009;12(4):303-11.

Leu A, Steiger SM, Dayton PA, Ferrara KW, Leach JK. Angiogenic response to bioactive glass promotes bone healing in an irradiated calvarial defect. Tissue Eng 2009;15(4): 877-885.

Davis HE, Rao RR, He, J, Leach JK. Biomimetic scaffolds fabricated from apatite-coated microspheres. J Biomed Mater Res Part A; 2009 Sep 15;90(4):1021-31.

2008

Leu A, Leach JK. Proangiogenic potential of a collagen/bioactive glass substrate. Pharm Res 2008;25(5):1222-1229.

Leach JK and Mooney DJ. Synthetic extracellular matrices (editorial). Pharm Res 2008;25(5):1209-1211.

Davis HE and Leach JK. Hybrid and composite biomaterials in tissue engineering. Topics in Multifunctional Biomaterials and Devices e-book, Vol. 1, N. Ashammakhi, Ed, 2008.

Leach JK. Keeping an eye on the prize: The need for noninvasive imaging in tissue engineering. Tissue Engineering Research, Nova Science Publishers, Hauppauge, NY, G. Greco, Ed, 2008, pp. 1-6.

Rocha FG, Sundback CA, Krebs NJ, Leach JK, Mooney DJ, Ashley SW, Vacanti JP, Whang EE. The effect of sustained delivery of vascular endothelial growth factor on angiogenesis in tissue-engineered intestine. Biomaterials 2008;29(19):2884-90.

2007

Riddle KW, Kong HJ, Leach JK, Fischbach C, Cheung C, Anseth KS, Mooney DJ. Modifying the proliferative state of target cells to control DNA expression and identifying cell types transfected in vivo. Mol Ther 2007:15(2):361-368.

2006

Leach JK. Multifunctional cell-instructive materials for tissue regeneration. Regen Med 2006;1(4):447-455.

Leach JK, Kaigler D, Wang Z, Krebsbach PH, Mooney DJ. Coating of VEGF-releasing scaffolds with bioactive glass for angiogenesis and bone regeneration. Biomaterials 2006:27:3249-3255.

Sedrakyan S, Zhou ZY, Perin L, Leach K, Mooney D, Kim TH. Tissue engineering of a small hand phalanx with a porously casted polylactic acid-polyglycolic acid copolymer. Tissue Eng 2006;12(9):2675-83.

2021

Aug. 24, 2021 - Congratulations to Laney Casella for receiving the Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Scholarship!

July 21, 2021 - Congratulations to Marissa Gionet-Gonzales for successfully defending her Ph.D. thesis dissertation!

June 15, 2021 - Congratulations to Laney Casella on being accepted to the Leaders for the Future program!

May 06, 2021 - Congratulations to Bobby Gresham for advancing to Ph.D. candidacy!

May 05, 2021 - Congratulations to Brandon and Tomas for being awarded a Summer VIRC fellowship! The Veterinary Institute for Regenerative Cures awarded a summer fellowship to Brandon Zabaneh and Dr. Tomas Gonzalez-Fernandez for their project entitled, "Engineering a 3D printable gelatin-methacrylate bioink to couple innervation and vascularization for tissue repair". Congratulations!

May 04, 2021 - Congratulations to Laney Casella for being awarded an SWE scholarship! Laney was awarded the 2021 Golden West Region Legacy scholarship through the Society of Women Engineers!

March 18, 2021- Welcome Shierly Fok Lau to the Leach lab!

March 02, 2021 - Welcome Sabrina Mierswa to the Leach lab!

Jan. 28, 2021 - Congratulations to Marissa Gionet-Gonzales for receiving the UC Davis College of Engineering Excellence in Graduate Student Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Award!

Jan. 04, 2021 - Welcome Nick Johnson to the Leach lab!

2020

Dec. 21, 2020 - Congratulations to Takeyah Campbell for passing her master’s exam!

Dec. 07, 2020 - Congratulations to Vicky Thai for advancing to Ph.D. candidacy!

Nov. 13, 2020 - Congratulations to Katie Griffin for advancing to Ph.D. candidacy!

Aug. 28, 2020 - Congratulations to Laney Casella for advancing to Ph.D. candidacy!

Aug. 24, 2020 - Congratulations to Jeremy Lowen for advancing to Ph.D. candidacy!

Aug. 13, 2020- Congratulations to Charlotte Vorwald for successfully defending her Ph.D. thesis dissertation!

March 12, 2020 - Congratulations to Tomas for being chosen to attend the Nobel Laureate meeting! The University of California’s Office of the President and the Office of the Chief Investment Officer announced the inaugural class of the UC President’s Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings Fellows, an extraordinary group of 20 young scientists, scholars, and economists selected from nine UC campuses.

Feb. 26, 2020 - Congratulations to Leach lab alum Dr. Augie Saiz for receiving a grant from AO Trauma North America! With this grant, he can perform a spinopelvic biomechanical study. Augie's paper published in Bone has also been selected as a California Orthopaedic Association award-winning paper.

2019

Dec. 10, 2019 - Congratulations to Jackie Woods for successfully defending her Ph.D. thesis dissertation!

Oct. 22, 2019 - Congratulations to Marissa Gionet-Gonzales for being awarded one of the Richard and Joy Dorf Graduate Fellowships!

Sep. 24, 2019 - Congratulations to Jackie Woods (née Whitehead) for winning the 2019 BME Outstanding Graduate Student Award!

June 10, 2019 - Congratulations to Marissa Gionet-Gonzales for advancing to Ph.D. candidacy!

May 16, 2019 - Congratulations to Charlotte Vorwald on being accepted to the Professors for the Future program!

April 27, 2019 - Congratulations to Jackie Whitehead for winning the People’s Choice for Best Oral Presentation award!

April 27, 2019 - Marissa Gionet-Gonzales and Jackie Whitehead gave oral presentations, and Charlotte Vorwald gave a poster presentation on their research at the 8th Annual BMEGG Research Symposium.

April 27, 2019 - Shreeya Joshee presented a poster on her work at the UC Davis 30th Annual Undergraduate Research Conference.

April 27, 2019 - Alex Tenorio presented a poster on his work at the UC Davis 30th Annual Undergraduate Research Conference.

April 11, 2019 - Congratulations to Jackie Whitehead on being awarded a Schwall Dissertation Year Fellowship!

April 09, 2019 - Congratulations to Jeremy Lowen for being awarded the NSF GRFP Honorable Mention!

April 06, 2019 - Marissa Gionet-Gonzales and Tomas Gonzalez-Fernandez gave podium presentations at the 2019 Society for Biomaterials Conference!

March 31, 2019 - Welcome Jeremy Lowen and Vicky Thai to the Leach Lab!

2018

Dec. 01, 2018 - Congratulations to Jenna Harvestine for successfully defending her Ph.D. thesis dissertation!

Nov. 14, 2018 - Congratulations to Tomas Gonzalez-Fernandez for being awarded a Postdoctoral Fellowship from the American Heart Association!

Nov. 01, 2018 - Welcome Bobby Gresham to the Leach Lab!

Oct. 20, 2018 - Kaitlin Murphy Fogg (lab alumna), Jackie Whitehead, and Charlotte Vorwald presented oral presentations at the 2018 BMES Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia

Oct. 20, 2018 - Congratulations to Kent for being named a BMES Fellow!

Sep. 07, 2018 - Kent and Tomas presented at the 5th TERMIS World Congress in Kyoto, Japan.

July 26, 2018 - Congratulations to Osamu Yasui for being selected as a Goldwater Scholarship recipient!

June 27, 2018 - Congratulations to Marissa Gionet-Gonzales for being awarded an NIH Diversity Supplement!

May 24, 2018 - Congratulations to Jackie Whitehead for being awarded an ARCS fellowship!

May 04, 2018 - Jenna Harvestine, Marissa Gionet-Gonzales, Charlotte Vorwald, and Jackie Whitehead gave poster presentations on their research at the 7th Annual BMEGG Research Day

May 03, 2018 - Congratulations to Jackie Whitehead for advancing to Ph.D. candidacy!

March 20, 2018 - Welcome Takeyah Campbell and Laney Casella to the Leach Lab!

Feb. 12, 2018 - Welcome Tomas Gonzalez-Fernandez to the Leach Lab!

2019

Dec. 14, 2017 - Congratulations to Charlotte Vorwald for advancing to Ph.D. candidacy!

Oct. 13, 2017 - Ben Hung, Jenna Harvestine, Charlotte Vorwald, and Jackie Whitehead presented oral presentations at the 2017 BMES Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona

Sep. 21, 2017 - Congratulations to Steve Ho for successfully defending his Ph.D. thesis dissertation!

Aug.31, 2017 - Congratulations to Jenna Harvestine for being selected as a UC Davis Business Development Fellow!

June 14, 2017 - Congratulations to Debika Mitra for successfully defending her Ph.D. thesis dissertation!

June 01, 2017 - Congratulations to Charlotte Vorwald for being awarded a T32 Fellowship in Basic and Translational Cardiovascular Science, funded by the NIH

May 19, 2017 - Congratulations to Jenna Harvestine for winning Best Oral Presentation!

May 19, 2017 - Steve Ho, Debika Mitra, and Jenna Harvestine gave oral presentations, and Charlotte Vorwald and Jackie Whitehead gave poster presentations on their research at the 6th Annual BMEGG Research Day

May 02, 2017 - Jonathan Chen presented a poster on his work with composite scaffolds at the UC Davis 28th Annual Undergraduate Research Conference

April 10, 2017 - Congratulations to Osamu Yasui for being selected as a Beckman Scholar for 2017-2018!

April 03, 2017 - Welcome Marissa Gionet-Gonzales to the Leach Lab!

March 22, 2017 - Leach Lab awarded a new R01 to study dual peptide presentation from bioengineered carriers to potentiate tissue repair

2016

Dec. 05, 2016 - Congratulations to Jenna Harvestine for advancing to Ph.D. candidacy!

July 27, 2016 - Welcome Ben Hung to the Leach Lab!

June 09, 2016 - Congratulations to Kaitlin Murphy for successfully defending her Ph.D. thesis dissertation!

June 07, 2016 - Congratulations to Kaitlin Murphy for winning the 2016 BMEGG Outstanding Graduate Student Award!

May 19, 2016 - Congratulations to Debika Mitra for winning the award for Best Poster!

May 19, 2016 - Kaitlin Murphy, Steve Ho, Debika Mitra, and Jenna Harvestine presented their research at the 5th Annual BMEGG Research Day

May 04, 2016 - Congratulations to Debika Mitra and Kent Leach for winning the 2015-2016 Mentoring at Critical Transitions (MCT) fellowship award!

Jan. 01, 2016 - Welcome Jackie Whitehead to the Leach Lab!

2015

Nov. 01, 2015 - Congratulations to Steve Ho for advancing to Ph.D. candidacy.

Oct. 01, 2015 - Welcome Charlotte Vorwald to the Leach Lab!

July 20, 2015 - Leach Lab awarded a new R01 to study the role of biomaterials to instruct the function of entrapped cell spheroids!

July 10, 2015 - Congratulations to Steve Ho for being awarded a T32 Fellowship under the Animal Models of Infectious Diseases Training Program, funded by the National Institutes of Health!

July 01, 2015 - Kent Leach is promoted to Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Orthopaedic Surgery

June 01, 2015 - Congratulations to Allison Hoch for successfully defending her Ph.D. thesis dissertation!

April 01, 2015 - Congratulations to Jenna Harvestine for being awarded the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship!

March 01, 2015 - Welcome Jenna Harvestine to the Leach Lab!

Feb 01, 2015 - News10 KXTV-ABC interviewed Kent Leach in Sacramento about how the new grant will benefit California patients.

Jan. 02, 2015 - Leach lab (in collaboration with Marcu and Athanasiou labs) was awarded a Tools and Technology Award from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine to develop nondestructive methods to measure the maturation of engineered bone and cartilage!

2014

Dec. 20, 2014 - Congratulations to Kaitlin Murphy for winning an American Heart Association (AHA) Fellowship!

Dec. 14, 2014 - Debika Mitra presented an oral presentation at the 2014 TERMIS-AM Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.

Nov. 01, 2014 - Congratulations to Beko Binder for successfully defending his Ph.D. thesis dissertation!

Oct. 23, 2014 - Congratulations to Debika Mitra for winning the 2014 BMES Reviewer's Choice Poster Award! Kaitlin Murphy and Beko Binder presented oral presentations, and Caroline Vissers also presented a poster at the 2014 BMES Annual Meeting in San Antonio, TX.

Sep. 01, 2014 - Congratulations to Debika Mitra for advancing to Ph.D. candidacy!

Sep. 01, 2014 - Congratulations to Debika Mitra for winning a California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) Fellowship!

Aug. 01, 2014 - Caroline Vissers presented her research at IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Conference in Chicago, IL, and the Beckman Symposium in Irvine, CA.

July 01, 2014 - Allison Hoch began her six-month co-op at Genentech in Early Stage Cell Culture

June 01, 2014 - Caroline Vissers was awarded the Departmental Citation Award for True Distinction in the Major!

June 01, 2014 - Kent Leach won the 2014 Outstanding Faculty Teaching Award!

May 20, 2014 - Kaitlin Murphy, Debika Mitra, and Allison Hoch presented their research at the 3rd Annual BMEGG Research Day

May 01, 2014 - Caroline Vissers was awarded the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research!

May 01, 2014 - Congratulations to Beko Binder for winning the 2014 BMEGG Outstanding Graduate Student award!

April 01, 2014 - Allison Hoch presented an oral presentation, and Debika Mitra presented a poster at the Annual UC Davis Interdisciplinary Graduate and Professional Symposium (IGPS) in Davis, CA.

April 01, 2014 - Allison Hoch presented an oral presentation, and Debika Mitra presented a poster at the 23rd Annual UC Davis Biotechnology Retreat in Napa, CA.

April 01, 2014 - Congratulations to Beko Binder for winning a Floyd and Mary Schwall Dissertation Year Fellowship for 2014-2015!

March 01, 2014 - Congratulations to Allison Hoch for winning an Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) scholarship for 2014-2015!

March 01, 2014 - Congratulations to Allison Hoch for winning the UC Davis Biotechnology fellowship for 2014-2015!

March 01, 2014 - Allison Hoch and Beko Binder presented rapid-fire presentations and posters at the 4th International Conference on Stem Cell Engineering (ICSCE) in Coronado, CA

Feb. 01, 2014 - The Leach lab welcomes a new post-doctoral researcher, Nina Vollmer, Ph.D.!  Nina received her Ph.D. in Materials Science, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado

2013

Dec. 01, 2013 - Congratulations to Miles Wilkinson for receiving his MS!

Nov. 01, 2013 - Congratulations to Kaitlin Murphy for advancing to Ph.D. candidacy!

Sep. 27, 2013 - Beko Binder presented an oral presentation, and Allison Hoch presented a poster at BMES in Seattle, WA.

June 01, 2013 - Hillary Davis, MD, Ph.D., received the Loren D. Carlson Student Research Award from the UC Davis School of Medicine!

June 01, 2013 - Vaishali Mittal was recognized for her efforts with the 2013 Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Award for the Department of Biomedical Engineering!

May 01, 2013 - Allie has been awarded a UC Davis Biotechnology Training Program fellowship and an Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Scholarship!

May 01, 2013 - Samir Batarni has been selected to participate in the Biology Scholars Advanced Research Program (BSHARP) for 2013 and 2014!

May 01, 2013 - Caroline Vissers has been selected as a Beckman Scholar for 2013-2014!

May 01, 2013 - Sophia Fang presented her research at the Mayo Clinic through the CTSC Training Program

May 01, 2013 - Ganesh Ingavle has been named a Marie Curie Research Fellow to conduct research at the University of Brighton, starting in Fall 2013!

2012

May 20, 2012 - Congratulations to Beko Binder for winning Honorable Mention in Best Oral Presentation and Allison Hoch for winning the Best Poster Presentation at the 1st annual UC Davis Biomedical Engineering Graduate Group Research Conference!

May 01, 2012 - Congratulations to Allison Hoch for advancing to Ph.D. candidacy!

April 01, 2012 - Congratulations to Steve Ho for winning a 2012 Whitaker International Fellowship! Steve will be going to Zurich, Switzerland, at ETHZ (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich) next summer to work in the Skeletal Tissue Engineering Group at the Institute of Biomechanics under Professor Ralph Müller and Dr. Sandra Hofmann.

2011

Dec. 01, 2011 - Congratulations to Martin Decaris for successfully defending his Ph.D. thesis dissertation!

Oct. 13, 2011 - Archana Bhat, Allison Hoch, Martin Decaris, and Kent Leach present at BMES 2011. A poster titled "Extracellular Matrix-coated Microbeads Deployed in Alginate Hydrogels for Bone Formation" was presented.

Sep. 20, 2011 - Congratulations to Kent Leach for being appointed Chair of the Biomedical Engineering Graduate Group for the next three years!

Sep. 01, 2011 - Congratulations to Beko Binder for earning a California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) Fellowship!

Aug. 01, 2011 - Congratulations to Diana Morales-Hernández for completing her Masters!

April 01, 2011 - Congratulations to Allison Hoch for earning a Whitaker International Fellowship! Allison will perform research at the University Hospital Basel, Switzerland, with Dr. Ivan Martin for one year.

March 01, 2011 - Congratulations to Hillary Davis for successfully defending her dissertation! Hillary has one degree down during her Physician Scientist Training Program training. Way to go, Dr. Davis!

Feb. 01, 2011- Kent Leach is interviewed for a UC Davis PBS Spotlight video: Making stem cells stick to business, and the Leach lab gets some airtime!

Jan. 01, 2011 - Congratulations to Hillary Davis for authoring the #1 most downloaded article in the Annals of Biomedical Engineering for the last 30 days!

2010

Oct. 01, 2010 - Congratulations to Jiawei He for successfully defending his dissertation! Jiawei is the first Ph.D. student to graduate from the Leach lab!

June 17, 2010 - Kent received a CDMRP Hypothesis Development Award from the U.S. Army!

June 01, 2010 - Congratulations to Chris Horner for winning the 2010 Department of Biomedical Engineering Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Award!