The department of Biomedical Engineering is happy to announce that Dr. Galit Katarivas Levy, from the Department of Engineering in the University of Cambridge, will be joining our department's academic staff starting this coming year (2020-2021).
Dr. Katarivas Levy's future lab will focus on the developments of advanced biomaterials and therapeutic approaches for healthcare applications which can be divided into three unique themes:
- Fabricating functional hip replacement prosthesis with porous architecture using 3D metal printing in order to improve the implant integration with the bone and tissue, and to reduce the prevalence of aseptic loosening and stress shielding.
- Magnetically drug release scaffolds for glioblastoma (brain cancer). This new innovative magnetic scaffold will provide a physically controlled drug delivery method using an external magnetic field, and it could be design and control according to the personalized drug treatment strategy for each patient.
- Develop 4D-bioprinted vascularized bone tissue constructs based on new biocompatible bioinks composed of hydrogel and cells to simulate the hierarchical intricacies of the bone native tissues.
Galit's lab will strengthen the department's research in the fields of biomaterials, biomechanics, materials science and tissue engineering.
In recent years Galit's research focuses on active orthopaedic biomedical devices as a Blavatnik Postdoctoral Fellow in Dr. Athina Markaki's lab at the University of Cambridge, Engineering Department. Her work was also supported by the Reuben foundation Post-Doctoral Award and Post-Doctoral Fellowship from BGU. Galit's study provides the in vitro proof of using magneto-mechanical actuation treatment to stimulate bone in-growth around an implanted device. Additionally, she developed a novel hydrogel from albumin and fibrin (derived from blood), that has a beneficial effect on bone and vessels formation in 3D constructs. Recently, her new innovative project on the drug-releasing magnetic wafer for eradication of postsurgical residual glioblastoma was founded by the Issacs Newton Trust Grant.
Galit's previous studies were at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, where she completed an undergraduate and graduate degrees in Materials Engineering under the mentorship of Prof. Eli Aghion. She investigated several innovative lines of research related to the development of new biodegradable implants based on magnesium and zinc alloys for bone fixation and healing. Her work contributed to the basic scientific understanding of the degradation kinetics and cytotoxicity of those metals.
If you are interested in hearing more about the planned work and research opportunities in Galit's lab, please contact her at galitlevy3@gmail.com
