TISSUE ENGINEERING LAB

Bethany Lefeber
Email: blefebe@clemson.edu

Education
B.S. Biomedical Engineering, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Bethany is a Ph.D. student in the CTERM laboratory. The goal of Bethany’s research will be to develop a tissue engineered vascular graft that is resistant to the effects of diabetes. This will include observing traits of vascular cells in diabetic culture, seeding human vascular cells onto scaffolds, mechanically conditioning the cells with the use of a bioreactor, and studying the effects of these tissue engineered vascular grafts implanted into a diabetic animal model. Ultimately, Bethany aims to successfully create a vascular graft that, when implanted into a diabetic model, will show improved renewal of tissue without any impairment to the vessel integrity and structure. Bethany completed her Bachelors of Science in biomedical engineering at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. Outside of research, Bethany enjoys swimming and music.

Collin Owens
Email: crowens@clemson.edu

Education
B.S. Bioengineering, Clemson

I am a Ph.D. student working on mitral valve tissue engineering (MVTE) with an emphasis on hypertensive environments. I will be utilizing a bioreactor, designed by former lab members, and optimizing it for the mitral valve to study the chemical and anatomical changes that are happening to the mitral valve in a hypertensive environment. For my undergraduate career, I received my Bachelor of Science in Bioengineering here at Clemson University. I worked doing undergraduate research in Dr. Simionescu’s lab working with a former graduate student on mitral valve research. Along with this, I work at the Clemson University Fire and EMS department as a student firefighter/EMT and serve as the student liaison. During my free time, I enjoy being outdoors, golfing and spending time with friends and family.

Laura Herndon
Email: lherndo@g.clemson.edu

Education
B.S. Bioengineering, Clemson

I am a Master's student working on a model for vascular cell interactions under diabetic conditions. This includes culturing vascular fibroblasts and endothelial cells and observing how they react under diabetic conditions and with an antioxidant, rutin. I graduated from Clemson with my BS in bioengineering in May 2019 and also participated in research in the CTERM laboratory while I was an undergraduate.

Chip Herbert
Email: hdherbe@g.clemson.edu

Education
B.S. Bioengineering, Clemson

My name is Chip Herbert and I am currently working on a PhD in Aggie Simionescu’s lab. The focus of my research is on Cardiac Tissue Engineering with a focus in cardiac patch design for therapies of myocardial infarction and cardiomyopathy. I am currently working on the bioprinting of cardiac constructs and bioreactor design for stimulation and modulations of these tissues. I received my bachelors in Bioengineering from Clemson University in 2014 and after a few years away decided to return to pursue a Master’s degree in 2018. I quickly fell in love with research and decided to switch routes to PhD in May of 2019. When not in the lab, I can be found on Lake Hartwell coaching the Clemson Club Rowing team or on the golf course.