Education

B.S, Biomedical Engineering, 2017, Columbia University
 

Resume

Awards

• Salutatorian of Biomedical Engineering Class of 2017
• Tau Beta Pi

Areas of Research Interest

Osteochondral and cartilage tissue engineering, Translational Research, Treatment of Osteoarthritis, Cartilage-to-Cartilage Integration

Background

Will was born in San Jose, CA, grew up in Potomac, MD, attended high school in Exeter, NH, and now resides in New York, NY. As a first-year in Columbia University’s School of Engineering and Applied Science, he joined the Cellular Engineering Laboratory in 2013, eager to quickly gain hands-on experience in biomedical engineering research.

Working with mentor Adam B. Nover, Will engaged in multiple projects on strategies to grow and preserve tissue-engineered cartilage during the academic year. Under the guidance of Dr. Andrea R Tan, he has also lead studies on improving collagen content in engineered cartilage and utilizing high intensity focused ultrasound to improve cartilage-to-cartilage integration. He received funding from the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship, the Work Exemption Program, and the Columbia Engineering Internship Fund to work full-time in the lab during the summers.

Since graduating as Salutatorian of the Biomedical Engineering Class of 2017, Will plans to continue his research with CEL for another year with plans to pursue medicine in the future. 

Selected Publications

1. Tan AR, Yu WT, Payen T, Han Y, Hamzavi B, Ateshian GA, Konofagou EE, Hung CT, High Intensity Focused Ultrasound Enhances Cartilage-to-Cartilage Integration. Trans ORS 2017, Poster No.1423.
2. Yu WT, Tan AR,Cook JL, Ateshian GA, Hung CT: Culture with Trimethylamine N-oxide after transient Chondroitinase ABC-Treatment as a Strategy for Functional Tissue Engineering of Cartilage Derived from Adult Chondrocytes, 2016 Annual Meeting of the BMES, Minneapolis, MN, October 5-8.
3. Nover AB, Jones BK, Yu WT, Donovan DS, Podolnick JD, Cook JL, Ateshian GA, Hung CT: A Puzzle Piece Strategy for Fabrication of Large Tissue Engineered Cartilage Constructs. 2016 Annual Meeting of the Orthopaedic Research Society, poster 1373, Orlando, FL, March 5-8.
4. Nover AM, Jones BK, Yu WT, Donovan DS, Podolnick JD, Cook JL, Ateshian GA, Hung CT: A puzzle assembly strategy for fabrication of large engineered cartilage constructs. J Biomech, 49(5):668-677, 2016.
5. Nover AB, Lee SL, Yu WT, Stefani RM, Ateshian GA, Stoker AM, Cook JL, Hung CT: Long-term storage and preservation of tissue engineered articular cartilage. 2015 Annual Meeting of the Orthopaedic Research Society, poster 1250, Las Vegas, NV, March 27-31.
6. Nover AB, Lee SL, Georgescu MS, Howard DR, Saunders RA, Yu WT, Klein RW, Napolitano AP, Ateshian GA, Hung CT: Porous titanium bases for osteochondral tissue engineering. Acta Biomaterialia, 27:286-9, 2015.
7. Nover AB, Lee SL, Rogers LA, Yu WT, Lima EG, Stoker AM, Cook JL, Ateshian GA, Hung CT: Strategy for preservation of tissue engineered articular cartilage for long-term storage (14-6). 7th World Congress of Biomechanics, July 5-12, 2014.