Guven Lab. on Therapeutic Bioengineering

OVERVIEW

Advances in stem cell biology and genetics with bioengineering science continuously lead breakthroughs and innovations in biotechnology. We harmonize fundamental sciences such as chemistry, biology, and physics with principles of engineering to generate innovative and effective therapeutic approaches, tissue mimicries and medical microdevices for medicine and pharmaceutical sciences. Our group focuses on bioengineering of novel native-like 3D cellular microenvironments, organ-on-a-chip platforms, and cell therapy approaches and integrates them for human health.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Tissue and cellular microenvironment engineering: An understanding of how stem cells respond to physical and chemical stimulations from their extracellular environment is essential for utilizing the therapeutic potential of stem cells. We focus on developing novel biomaterials to construct cellular niches that can provide control over the stem cell differentiation and functionalization. We build tissues for regenerative medicine and pharmaceutical applications by designing and defining the cell-material and cell-cell interactions. Utilizing the bioengineering principles we develop bioreactor systems, tissue fabrication and assembly techniques for bottom-up and top-down tissue engineering.

Bio-mimicry organ-on-a-chip platform technologies for biomedical research: Organs-on-chips technologies provide a great platform for the investigation of fundamental mechanisms of organ physiology and disease. Such tools enable control over the physical and chemical factors of an in vitro organ models. Our group focuses on designing and engineering BioMEMS for basic research on cell physiology, in vitro disease models (e.g., neurodegenerative diseases, rare diseases, and cancer), diagnostics and pharmaceutical research.

Personalized and cellular therapies: Cell-based therapies provide unique and personalized approaches in current clinical treatments. Autologous and allogenic adult mesenchymal stem cells from bone marrow, adipose tissue, Wharton jelly and dental pulp, as well as limbal stem cells, and specialized cells (e.g., chondrocytes, hepatocytes) have been demonstrated to be effective in clinics. We develop novel therapeutic methods from bench to bedside by utilizing of cell-based therapies and intraoperative approaches in clinics.

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS

Biological organizations are highly hierarchical in architecture from the molecular to the macroscopic level. Such complexity in tissues is formed by building units that regulate and provide the system function. To mimic and bioengineer functional tissues, we need biomanufacturing tools that can generate and manipulate multi-scale building blocks. Bottom-up tissue engineering approaches focus on creating tissues by assembling heterogeneous building units such as biomacromolecules, cells, and cell-loaded microscale hydrogels in a multiscale manner. In our recent works, we demonstrated different cell and tissue assembly approaches utilizing acoustic, magnetic, micro robotic and bioprinting technologies to generate model platforms and tissues. Bioengineering approaches are essential for current therapeutic and diagnostic applications in medicine. Together with advances in genetics and cell biology, bioengineering tools provide key elements for novel and innovative medical technologies for human health.

Engineering platforms and systems for biofabrication of 3D tissues and microenvironments.

 

 

Representative bioengineered tissue constructs A. Engineering of large osteogenic grafts with rapid engraftment capacity using mesenchymal and endothelial progenitors from human adipose tissue (Guven et al. 2011), B. In vitro endothelial capillaries from stromal vascular fraction (Guven et al. 2011), C. Enhanced engraftment and functionality of bio-engineeredautologous dermo-epidermal skin grafts pre-vascularized with adipose-derived cells (Klar et al. 2014), D. Direct neural differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells in 3D microenvironments, E. Biotunable acoustic node assembly of hepatic organoids (Chen et al. 2015), F. Guided and magnetic self-assembly of tunable magnetoceptive cardiac microtissues (Tasoglu et al. 2014).

Group Members

Guven Lab. on Therapeutic Bioengineering

Research Group Leader

Sinan GÜVEN
sinan.guven@ibg.edu.tr
+90 232 299 41 00 (5131)
+9 0 232 299 41 63

Canan Aslı YILDIRIM Research Group Member  asli.yildirim@ibg.edu.tr


Ali Can KOÇ PhD Student  alican.koc@ibg.edu.tr


Özge SÜER PhD Student  ozge.suer@ibg.edu.tr


Burak KAHVECİ PhD Student  burak.kahveci@ibg.edu.tr


Tuğba TOPBAŞ Researcher  tugba.topbas@ibg.edu.tr


Hülya ERBOĞA PhD Student  hulya.erboga@ibg.edu.tr


Ezgi ERDOĞAN MSc Student  ezgi.erdogan@ibg.edu.tr


Ali Eren EVRANOS MSc Student  alieren.evranos@ibg.edu.tr


Sultan Hilal SOLAK Undergraduate Student  hilal.solak@ibg.edu.tr


Mustafa TİTİZ PhD Student  mustafa.titiz@ibg.edu.tr


İlayda KOÇHAN MSc Student  ilayda.kochan@ibg.edu.tr


Aleyna DEMİR MSc Student  aleyna.demir@ibg.edu.tr


Semih Numan GÖÇMEZ MSc Student  semih.gocmez@ibg.edu.tr


Gaye Su YİĞİT MSc Student  gaye.yigit@std.ibg.edu.tr


Beyza AKTAŞ MSc Student  beyza.aktas@std.ibg.edu.tr


Former Members

Tuğba TOPBAŞ Research Technician  tugba.topbas@ibg.edu.tr


Emine KAHRAMAN MSc Student  emine.kahraman@msfr.ibg.edu.tr


Münire EKMEKÇİGİL Post-Doc Researcher  munire.ekmekcigil@ibg.edu.tr


Elifsu POLATLI PhD Student  elifsu.polatli@ibg.edu.tr


Gizem AKTUĞ PhD Student  gizem.aktug@msfr.ibg.edu.tr


Melis ASAL MSc Student  melis.asal@msfr.ibg.edu.tr


Olcay AKBULUD Post-Doc Researcher  olcay.akbulud@msfr.ibg.edu.tr


Ali Kemal BAŞ MSc Student  kemal.bas@msfr.ibg.edu.tr


İbrahim Halilullah ERBAY Visiting Student  ibrahimhalilullah.erbay@msfr.ibg.edu.tr


Hanife GÖKKAN Undergraduate Student  hanife.gokkan@ibg.edu.tr

0 (232) 299 _ _

İrem DUMAN MSc Student  irem.duman@ibg.edu.tr


Alperen YILMAZ Undergraduate Student  alperen.yilmaz@msfr.ibg.edu.tr


Gamze KOÇAK PhD Student  gamze.kocak@ibg.edu.tr


Vedat SARI MSc Student  vedat.sari@ibg.edu.tr


Sude UYULGAN MSc Student  sude.uyulgan@ibg.edu.tr


Merve TÜREMEN PhD Student  merve.turemen@ibg.edu.tr


Eylem HIRLI Undergraduate Student  eylem.hirli@msfr.ibg.edu.tr


Merve Beril DOĞDAŞ BAŞCILAR MSc Student  merve.dogdas@msfr.ibg.edu.tr


Yusuf Çağlar ODABAŞI Undergraduate Student  yusuf.odabasi@msfr.ibg.edu.tr


Asude SEZER Undergraduate Student  asude.sezer@ibg.edu.tr


Sude ŞARU Undergraduate Student  sude.saru@ibg.edu.tr


Gamze KOÇAK PhD Student  gamze.kocak@ibg.edu.tr


Clara SCHIMMER MSc Student  clara.schimmer@ibg.edu.tr


Gülşah SUNAL MSc Student  gulsah.sunal@ibg.edu.tr


Halime GESEN Undergraduate Student  halime.gesen@ibg.edu.tr


Ali Eren EVRANOS Researcher  alieren.evranos@ibg.edu.tr


Ezgi ERDOĞAN MSc Student  ezgi.erdogan@ibg.edu.tr


Buse SEZER MSc Student  None


Ali Eren EVRANOS MSc Student  alieren.evranos@ibg.edu.tr


Gaye Su YİĞİT MSc Student  gaye.yigit@std.ibg.edu.tr


Sevgi KÜTÜK Undergraduate Student  None


Mustafa Batuhan YEL Visiting Student  None


Selected Publications

Zhu Y, Serpooshan V, Wu S, Demirci U, Chen P, Güven S. Tissue Engineering of 3D Organotypic Microtissues by Acoustic Assembly. Methods Mol Biol. 2017 September : 1-12. doi:10.1007/7651_2017_68. Download

Calibasi Kocal G, Güven S, Foygel K, Goldman A, Chen P, Sengupta S, Paulmurugan R, Baskin Y, Demirci U. Dynamic Microenvironment Induces Phenotypic Plasticity of Esophageal Cancer Cells Under Flow. Scientific reports. 2016 December ; 6 : 38221. doi:10.1038/srep38221. Download

Bouyer C, Chen P, Güven S, Demirtaş TT, Nieland TJ, Padilla F, Demirci U. A Bio-Acoustic Levitational (BAL) Assembly Method for Engineering of Multilayered, 3D Brain-Like Constructs, Using Human Embryonic Stem Cell Derived Neuro-Progenitors. Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.). 2016 January ; 28 (1) : 161-7. doi:10.1002/adma.201503916. Download

Arslan-Yildiz A, El Assal R, Chen P, Guven S, Inci F, Demirci U. Towards artificial tissue models: past, present, and future of 3D bioprinting. Biofabrication. 2016 March ; 8 (1) : 014103. doi:10.1088/1758-5090/8/1/014103. Download

Saxer F, Scherberich A, Todorov A, Studer P, Miot S, Schreiner S, Güven S, Tchang LA, Haug M, Heberer M, Schaefer DJ, Rikli D, Martin I, Jakob M. Implantation of Stromal Vascular Fraction Progenitors at Bone Fracture Sites: From a Rat Model to a First-in-Man Study. Stem cells (Dayton, Ohio). 2016 December ; 34 (12) : 2956-2966. doi:10.1002/stem.2478. Download

Namkoong B, Güven S, Ramesan S, Liaudanskaya V, Abzhanov A, Demirci U. Recapitulating cranial osteogenesis with neural crest cells in 3-D microenvironments. Acta biomaterialia. 2016 February ; 31 : 301-311. doi:10.1016/j.actbio.2015.12.004. Download

Durmus NG, Tekin HC, Guven S, Sridhar K, Arslan Yildiz A, Calibasi G, Ghiran I, Davis RW, Steinmetz LM, Demirci U. Magnetic levitation of single cells. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2015 July ; 112 (28) : E3661-8. doi:10.1073/pnas.1509250112. Download

Guven S, Chen P, Inci F, Tasoglu S, Erkmen B, Demirci U. Multiscale assembly for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Trends in biotechnology. 2015 May ; 33 (5) : 269-279. doi:10.1016/j.tibtech.2015.02.003. Download

Luo Z, Guven S, Gozen I, Chen P, Tasoglu S, Anchan RM, Bai B, Demirci U. Deformation of a single mouse oocyte in a constricted microfluidic channel. Microfluidics and nanofluidics. 2015 October ; 19 (4) : 883-890. doi:10.1007/s10404-015-1614-0. Download

Tasoglu S, Yu CH, Liaudanskaya V, Guven S, Migliaresi C, Demirci U. Magnetic Levitational Assembly for Living Material Fabrication. Advanced healthcare materials. 2015 July ; 4 (10) : 1469-76, 1422. doi:10.1002/adhm.201500092. Download

Chen P, Güven S, Usta OB, Yarmush ML, Demirci U. Biotunable acoustic node assembly of organoids. Advanced healthcare materials. 2015 September ; 4 (13) : 1937-43. doi:10.1002/adhm.201500279. Download

Kaempfen A, Todorov A, Güven S, Largo RD, Jaquiéry C, Scherberich A, Martin I, Schaefer DJ. Engraftment of Prevascularized, Tissue Engineered Constructs in a Novel Rabbit Segmental Bone Defect Model. International journal of molecular sciences. 2015 June ; 16 (6) : 12616-30. doi:10.3390/ijms160612616. Download

Guven S, Lindsey JS, Poudel I, Chinthala S, Nickerson MD, Gerami-Naini B, Gurkan UA, Anchan RM, Demirci U. Functional maintenance of differentiated embryoid bodies in microfluidic systems: a platform for personalized medicine. Stem cells translational medicine. 2015 March ; 4 (3) : 261-8. doi:10.5966/sctm.2014-0119. Download

Tasoglu S, Diller E, Guven S, Sitti M, Demirci U. Untethered micro-robotic coding of three-dimensional material composition. Nature communications. 2014 January ; 5 : 3124. doi:10.1038/ncomms4124. Download

Tasoglu S, Yu CH, Gungordu HI, Guven S, Vural T, Demirci U. Guided and magnetic self-assembly of tunable magnetoceptive gels. Nature communications. 2014 September ; 5 : 4702. doi:10.1038/ncomms5702. Download

Chen P, Luo Z, Güven S, Tasoglu S, Ganesan AV, Weng A, Demirci U. Microscale assembly directed by liquid-based template. Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.). 2014 September ; 26 (34) : 5936-41. doi:10.1002/adma.201402079. Download

Klar AS, Güven S, Biedermann T, Luginbühl J, Böttcher-Haberzeth S, Meuli-Simmen C, Meuli M, Martin I, Scherberich A, Reichmann E. Tissue-engineered dermo-epidermal skin grafts prevascularized with adipose-derived cells. Biomaterials. 2014 June ; 35 (19) : 5065-78. doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2014.02.049. Download

Tasoglu S, Kavaz D, Gurkan UA, Guven S, Chen P, Zheng R, Demirci U. Paramagnetic levitational assembly of hydrogels. Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.). 2013 February ; 25 (8) : 1137-43, 1081. doi:10.1002/adma.201200285. Download

Helmrich U, Di Maggio N, Güven S, Groppa E, Melly L, Largo RD, Heberer M, Martin I, Scherberich A, Banfi A. Osteogenic graft vascularization and bone resorption by VEGF-expressing human mesenchymal progenitors. Biomaterials. 2013 July ; 34 (21) : 5025-35. doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2013.03.040. Download

Güven S, Karagianni M, Schwalbe M, Schreiner S, Farhadi J, Bula S, Bieback K, Martin I, Scherberich A. Validation of an automated procedure to isolate human adipose tissue-derived cells by using the Sepax® technology. Tissue engineering. Part C, Methods. 2012 August ; 18 (8) : 575-82. doi:10.1089/ten.TEC.2011.0617. Download

Mehrkens A, Saxer F, Güven S, Hoffmann W, Müller AM, Jakob M, Weber FE, Martin I, Scherberich A. Intraoperative engineering of osteogenic grafts combining freshly harvested, human adipose-derived cells and physiological doses of bone morphogenetic protein-2. European cells & materials. 2012 September ; 24 : 308-19. Download

Güven S, Mehrkens A, Saxer F, Schaefer DJ, Martinetti R, Martin I, Scherberich A. Engineering of large osteogenic grafts with rapid engraftment capacity using mesenchymal and endothelial progenitors from human adipose tissue. Biomaterials. 2011 September ; 32 (25) : 5801-9. doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2011.04.064. Download

Papadimitropoulos A, Scherberich A, Güven S, Theilgaard N, Crooijmans HJ, Santini F, Scheffler K, Zallone A, Martin I. A 3D in vitro bone organ model using human progenitor cells. European cells & materials. 2011 May ; 21 : 445-58; discussion 458. Download

Müller AM, Mehrkens A, Schäfer DJ, Jaquiery C, Güven S, Lehmicke M, Martinetti R, Farhadi I, Jakob M, Scherberich A, Martin I. Towards an intraoperative engineering of osteogenic and vasculogenic grafts from the stromal vascular fraction of human adipose tissue. European cells & materials. 2010 March ; 19 : 127-35. Download

Total : 24

Open Positions

PhD and MSc Positions in Therapeutic Bioengineering Group

Izmir Biomedicine and Genome Center Therapeutic Bioengineering Group is seeking for PhD and MSc student candidates to work on funded TUBITAK 1003 projects.
Our group harmonizes fundamental sciences such as chemistry, biology, and physics with principles of engineering to generate innovative and effective therapeutic approaches, tissue mimicries and medical microdevices for medicine and pharmaceutical sciences. The focus of the group is to bioengineer novel native-like 3D cellular microenvironments, organ-on-a-chip platforms, and cell therapy approaches and to translate them into clinics.


Candidates should hold background or prior research experience in related fields such as biomedical engineering, tissue engineering, biomaterials, BioMEMS, microfluidics, stem cells and plant cell culture. Students graduated from departments of engineering (bioengineering, biomedical, mechanical, electrical, chemical) or basic sciences (molecular biology and genetics, biology, chemistry, physics) are welcomed to apply.

 
Applicants with strong academic record, English skills, self-motivation and dedication to a career in science/discovery are encouraged to contact Assoc. Prof. Sinan Güven (sinan.guven@ibg.edu.tr), http://ibg.edu.tr/research-programs/groups/guven-lab/.

Awards

  • Incentive Award by TUSEB (Health Institutes of Turkey), 2018
  • Above-Threshold Award by TUBITAK, 2018
  • Young Scientist (BAGEP) Award by Science Academy, 2017
  • Above-Threshold Award by TUBITAK, 2017
  • Young Investigator (GEBİP) Awards by Turkish Academy of Sciences (TÜBA), 2016
  • 2232 Yurda Dönüş Araştırmacı Dolaşım Programı by TUBITAK, 2015
  • Young Investigator by Orthopaedic Research Society, 2015

Academic Memberships

  • TÜBA-Turkish Academy Of Science, 2016
  • The Science Academy, Turkey, 2017

Contact

Guven Lab. on Therapeutic Bioengineering

Research Group Leader

Sinan GÜVEN
sinan.guven@ibg.edu.tr
+90 232 299 41 00 (5131)
+9 0 232 299 41 63