Tissue Engineering/Biomaterials/Biomechanics

Chantal E. Ayres

*B South Mulberry Street

Richmond, Virginia 23220

(t) 804-***-****

(e) *******@*****.***

EDUCATION

Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia

August 2005 – May 2009

Ph.D Biomedical Engineering; Major Area: Tissue Engineering

Dissertation: Structural and functional considerations in the design of collagen-based electrospun scaffolds

Advisors: David G. Simpson & Gary L. Bowlin

Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia

January 2003 – December 2004

M.S. Biomedical Engineering; Major Area: Tissue Engineering

Thesis: Regulation of cell migration in electrospun scaffolds through relative fiber size

Advisor: Gary L. Bowlin

Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia

August 1998 – May 2002

B.S. Electrical Engineering; Concentration: Digital Filtering

DISSERTATION RESEARCH

•Developed electrospinning protocol for a variety of natural and synthetic materials

•Pioneered a technique to analyze scaffold alignment using the fast Fourier transform

•Investigated the molecular structure (specifically integrin binding sites) of collagen and denatured collagen-based electrospun scaffolds

•Studied dermal fibroblast adhesion and proliferation on collagen coated electrospun synthetic scaffolds using the Licor Odyssey system

•Investigated the bulk material properties and local micro-scale architecture of electrospun scaffolds

•Examined electrospun scaffolds using a variety of microscopes, including: scanning electron, transmission electron, confocal and atomic force

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia

August 2006 – May 2009

Dept. of Biomedical Engineering, Graduate Research Assistant

•Worked with fellow doctoral and masters students in conducting experiments in tissue engineering

•Oversaw the day-to-day operations of the lab students working under David Simpson

•Authored six manuscripts, including four first-author manuscripts, for publication in peer-reviewed journals

Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia

August 2005 – May 2009

Dept. of Biomedical Engineering, Graduate Teaching Assistant

•Mentored and tutored undergraduate engineering students in Biomechanics and Computational Methods courses

•Worked independently and jointly with other teaching assistants to evaluate mathematical and computational student assignments

•Managed and directed interactive MATLAB and LabVIEW class sessions with students

Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia

January 2005 – August 2005

Dept. of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Lab Technician

•Organized and ordered supplies for a multifunctional tissue engineering laboratory

•Assisted in the design and completion of a variety of experiments

Creative Engineering Concepts, Inc., Fairfax, Virginia

May 2002 – January 2003

Engineer

•Designed and linked graphical user interfaces for an automatic image processing pattern recognition project

•Tested, diagnosed and repaired digital signal processing boards

Creative Engineering Concepts, Inc., Fairfax, Virginia

Summer 2000 & 2001

Undergraduate Intern

•Tested, diagnosed and repaired digital signal processing boards

AWARDS & ACTIVITIES

Most cited author, Acta Biomaterialia 2005 - 2008

Scientific advisor to 2nd place winner of Virginia Junior Academy of Science 2008

Juror, Virginia Commonwealth University Honor Council 2005

Member, The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 2000 - 2004

PUBLICATIONS

Journal Articles

Telemeco, TA, Ayres, CE, Bowlin, GL, Wnek, GE, Boland, ED, Cohen, N, Baumgarten, CM, Matthews, J, Simpson, DG. Regulation of cellular infiltration into tissue engineering scaffolds composed of submicron diameter fibrils produced by electrospinning. Acta Biomater. 2005 Jul. 1(4):377-85.

Ayres, CE, Bowlin, GL, Henderson, SC, Taylor, L, Shultz, J, Alexander, J, Telemeco, TA, Simpson, DG. Modulation of anisotropy in electrospun tissue engineering scaffolds: analysis of fiber alignment by the fast Fourier transform. Biomaterials. 2006 Nov. 27(32): 5524-34.

Ayres, CE, Bowlin, GL, Pizinger, R, Taylor, LT, Keen, CA, Simpson, DG. Incremental changes in anisotropy induce incremental changes in the material properties of electrospun scaffolds. Acta Biomater. 2007 Sep. 3(5):651-61.

Ayres, CE, Jha, BS, Meredith, H, Bowman, JR, Bowlin, GL, Henderson, SC, Simpson, DG. Measuring fiber alignment in electrospun scaffolds: a user’s guide to the 2D fast fourier transform approach. J. of Biomater. Sci. Polym. Ed. 2008. 19(5):603-21.

Newton, D, Mahajan, R, Ayres, CE, Bowman, JR, Bowlin, GL, Simpson, DG. Regulation of material properties in electrospun scaffolds: role of cross-linking and fiber tertiary structure. Acta Biomater. 2009 Jan. 5(1):518-29.

Review Articles

Ayres, CE, Jha, BS, Sell, SA, Bowlin, GL, Simpson, DG. Nanotechnology in the design of tissue engineering scaffolds: innovations in structure and function. Wiley Interdiscipl. Rev. Nanomed. Nanobiotechnol. 2009 (Submitted).

Invention Disclosures

Simpson, DG, Bowman, JR, Newton, D, Ayres, CE, Bowlin, GL, Mahajan, R. Electrospinning applications in Western, Northern, and Southern blotting explosive potential. VCU Invention Disclosure SIM-08-030. May 2008.

Simpson, DG, Bowlin, GL, Wnek, G, Ayres, CE. Alcohol based fixation of electrospun collagen and gelatin. VCU Invention Disclosure VCU-04-39. Aug 2004.

Theses

Ayres, CE. Regulation of cell migration in electrospun scaffolds through relative fiber size. M.S. Thesis. Biomedical Engineering, Virginia Commonwealth University. Dec 2004 (Thesis advisor: Dr. Gary L. Bowlin).

POSTERS & ABSTRACTS

Chantal Ayres, Gary Bowlin, Gary Wnek, David Simpson. Electrospun Collagen in Dermal Regeneration. 2004 BMES Meeting.

Chantal Ayres, Shekhar Jha, Scott Henderson, Rusty Bowman, Gary Bowlin, David Simpson. Modulation of Material Properties through Incremental Changes in the Analysis of Electrospun Scaffolds: Analysis of Fiber Diameter by the 2D FFT Approach. 2007 Hilton Head Workshop.

Chantal Ayres, Gary Bowlin, Scott Henderson, David Simpson. Modulation of Anisotropy in Electrospun Tissue Engineering Scaffolds: Analysis of Fiber Alignment and Material Properties. 2006 BMES Meeting.

Chantal Ayres, Gary Bowlin, David Simpson. Microvascular Endothelial Cell Migration in Tissue Engineering. 2005 Hilton Head Workshop.

Rusty Bowman, Chantal Ayres, Gary Bowlin, David Simpson. Electrospun Collagen in Dermal Regeneration. 2004 Hilton Head Workshop.

PRESENTATIONS & INVITED SEMINARS

Chantal Ayres. Design of Collagen-Based Tissue Engineering Scaffolds: Characterization of Structure and Function. Spring 2009. VCU Biomedical Engineering 690 Seminar Speaker.

Chantal Ayres. Electrospun Tissue Engineering Scaffolds: Analysis of Fiber Alignment by the Fast Fourier Transform. Fall 2005. VCU Biomedical Engineering 690 Seminar Speaker.

Chantal Ayres. Regulation of Cell Migration in Electrospun Scaffolds through Relative Fiber Size. Fall 2004. VCU Biomedical Engineering 690 Seminar Speaker.

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