I graduated with a Ph.D. degree from the Biological Systems Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London in March 2010. Since graduation, I have been working as a post-doctoral researcher at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Stem Cell Institute.
During my PhD pursuit, I worked on skeletal and cardiac tissue engineering using embryonic stem cells (ESCs). With an aim to transfer laboratory-based practices to the clinic, I optimized 3D ESC culture conditions with a hydrogel encapsulation technique, and developed a perfused bioreactor suited for 3D tissue culture with a continuous supply of all necessary nutrients under a computer-controlled system.
In my post-doctoral period, as a leader of the stem cell engineering subgroup in Dr. Khademhosseini’s lab at Harvard Medical School, I was involved in many projects related to the regulation of ESC differentiation via controlling stem cell microenvironments. In particular, a hydrogel microwell array was developed as an ESC culture platform, enabling control over embryoid body (EB) size, and this platform demonstrated a differential lineage commitment towards cardiogenic or vasculogenic lineage depending on the size of EBs. I studied the underlying biology of size-mediated differential development of EB differentiation by investigating a series of developmental events such as epiblast, primitive streak, and mesendoderm formations. From my studies, a developmental mechanism of differentiation in the EBs of different sizes was proposed in a research article.

As I have plunged myself into the field of tissue engineering with an engineering background, my approaches to controlling cellular behaviors have mostly resided in the modulation of physical cues in cell culture to mimic in vivo microenvironments for respective research purposes. My research goal lies in controlling lineage specific differentiation of stem cells, which will aid in vitro generation of functional transplantable tissues. Further, my approaches of stem cell-based tissue engineering are supported by investigating and understanding fundamental mechanisms of stem cell/developmental biology, thus being capable of extending to a wide range of projects.

 “Reward for Intellectual Property (IP)”, PhD studentship from MedCell Bioscience Ltd, Cambridge, UK, 2006 – 2009
 “KSEAUK Conference Travel Award 2008”, Sponsorship for Korean students in the UK to attend conferences in the abroad countries from The Korean Scientists and Engineers Association in the UK (KSEAUK), May 2008
 “The Graduate Studies Abroad Program by the Korea Research Foundation (KRF)”, Scholarship award of financial support for PhD students from South Korea Government, 2005 – 2007
 “Student’s Poster Award” for the achievement of young investigators in Tissue Engineering and Biomaterials, the 13th Annual meeting of the Korean Society for Biomaterials, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Seoul, Korea, August 2004
 “Exemption of Full Tuition Fee” Scholarship award for BEng students graded in top 3% from Department of Mechanical Engineering, Hongik University, Seoul, Korea, 1999 – 2002

1. Jae Min Cha, Julia M. Polak, Athanasios Mantalaris “Enhanced Cardiomyogenic Tissue Formation from Embryonic Stem Cells with Conditioned Medium Treatment in the Optimized Spontaneous Differentiation Period using 3D-Integrated Bioprocess” Tissue Engineering (in submission)
2. Jae Min Cha, David C.L. Yeo, Julia M. Polak, Athanasios Mantalaris “A Novel Design of Perfused Rotating Wall Vessel Bioreactor System: Three-dimensional Expansion of Embryonic Stem Cells” Biotechnology and Bioengineering (in submission)
3. Jae Min Cha, Andrew K.L. Chan, Raimundo Ho, Jun Lee, Jerry Y.Y. Heng, Sergei G. Kazarian, Manolis Heliotis, Eleftherios Tsiridis, Mi-hyang Nam, Dong-Ku Kang, Soo-Ik Chang, Athanasios Mantalaris “Production of Functional Three-dimensional Mineralized Cellular Constructs from Embryonic Stem Cells in a Novel Perfusion Bioreactor” Biomaterials (in submission)
4. Pinar Zorlutuna, Nasim Annabi, Gulden Camci-Unal, Mehdi Nikkah, Jae Min Cha, Jason Nichol, Amir Manbachi, Hojae Bae, Shaochen Chen, Ali Khademhosseini “Microfabricated Biomaterials for Engineering 3D Tissues” Advanced Materials (in press)
5. Hojae Bae, Hunghao Chu, Jae Min Cha, Amir F. Ahari, Shilpa Sant, Aditya Kashyap, Chung Hoon Kwon, Behnam Zamanian, Jason W. Nichol, Yadong Wang, Ali Khademhosseini “Micro- and Nano-scale Lithographic Techniques of Polymeric Biomaterials for Tissue Engineering and Drug Discovery Applications” Journal of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (in press)
6. Su Ryon Shin*, Jae Min Cha*, Ho Jae Bae*, Ji Young Mun, Ying-Chieh Chen, Yun-Ho Jang, Halil Tekin, Hyeongho Shin, Che Huhston and Ali Khademhosseini “3D Hybrid Microgels of Functionalized Carbon Nanotubes as Suitable Scaffold Materials for Encapsulated Cell” ACS Nano (published online)
* these authors contributed equally
7. Faramarz Edalat, Hojae Bae, Sam Manoucheri, Jae Min Cha, Ali Khademhosseini “Engineering Approaches Towards Deconstructing and Controlling the Stem Cell Niche” Annals of Biomedical Engineering (published online)
8. Sang Bok Kim*, Hojae Bae*, Jae Min Cha, Sang Jun Moon, Mehmet R. Dokmeci, Donald M. Cropek, Ali Khademhosseini “A Cell-based Biosensor for Real-time Detection of Cardiotoxicity using Lensfree Imaging” Lab on a Chip 11:1801-7, 2011
* these authors contributed equally
9. Joseph Pagkalos*, Jae Min Cha*, Yunyi Kang, Manolis Heliotis, Eleftherios Tsiridis, Athanasios Mantalaris “Simvastatin induces osteogenic differentiation of murine embryonic stem cells” The Journal of Bone and Mineral Research 25(11):2470-8, 2010
* these authors contributed equally
10. Juan Zhang, Min Wang, Jae Min Cha, Athanasios Mantalaris “The Incorporation of 70s Bioactive Glass to the Osteogenic Differentiation of Murine Embryonic Stem Cells in 3D-bioreactors” Journal of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine 3(1):63-71, 2009
11. Mark R Placzek, I-Ming Chung, Hugo M. Macedo, Siti Ismail, Teresa Mortera Blanco, Mayasari Lim, Jae Min Cha, Iliana Fauzi, Yunyi Kang, David C. L. Yeo, Chi Yip Joan Ma, Julia M. Polak, Athanasios Mantalaris “Stem Cell Bioprocessing: Fundamentals and Principles” Journal of the Royal Society Interface 6(32):209-32, 2009
12. Wesley Randle, Jae Min Cha, Yu-Shik Hwang, Andrew Chan, Sergei Kazarian, Julia M. Polak, Athanasios Mantalaris “Integrated 3D-expansion and Osteogenic Differentiation of Murine Embryonic Stem Cells” Tissue Engineering 13(12):2957-70, 2007
13. Jungyul Park, Il Chaek Kim, Jae Min Cha, Sukho Park, Junghoon Lee, Byungkyu Kim “Mechanotransduction of Cardiomyocytes Interacting with a Thin Membrane Transducer” Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering 17:1162–67, 2007
14. Si-Nae Park, Han Jeong Jang, Yu Suk Choi, Jae Min Cha, Seo Yeon Son, Seung Hun Han, Hyun Chul Goo, Jung Hyun Kim, Woo Jung Lee and Hwal Suh “Preparation and Characterization of Biodegradable Anti-adhesive Membrane for Peritoneal Wound Healing” Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Medicine 18(3):475-82, 2007
15. Jae Min Cha, Si-Nae Park, Sung Hoon Noh, Hwal Suh “Time-dependent Modulation of Alignment and Differentiation of Smooth Muscle Cells Seeded on a Porous Substrate Undergoing Cyclic Mechanical Strain” Artificial Organs 30(4):250-258, 2006
16. Jae Min Cha, Si-Nae Park, Guen-Oh Park, Jeong Koo Kim, Hwal Suh “Construction of Functional Soft Tissues from Pre-modulated Smooth Muscle Cells Using a Bioreactor System” Artificial Organs 30(9):704-7, 2006
17. Deok-Ho Kim, Pilnam Kim, Inseon Song, Jae Min Cha, Sang Ho Lee, Byungkyu Kim, Kahp Y Suh “Guided Three-Dimensional Growth of Functional Cardiomyocytes on Ployehtylene Glycol Nanostructures” Langmuir 22:5419-26, 2006
18. Jungyul Park, Jaewook Ryu, Seung Kyu Choi, Eunseok Seo, Jae Min Cha, Seokchang Ryu, Jinseok Kim, Byungkyu Kim, Sang Ho Lee “Real-Time Measurement of the Contractile Forces of Self-Organized Cardiomyocytes on Hybrid Biopolymer Microcantilevers” Analytical Chemistry 77:6571-80, 2005

PUBLICATIONS IN PREPARATION
1. Jae Min Cha, Hojae Bae, Nasser Sadr, Sam Manoucheri, Keekyoung Kim, Sang Bok Kim, Yu-shik Hwang, Ali Khademhosseini “Differential Extraembryonic Tissue Development in the Size-controlled Embryoid Bodies” Nature Cell Biology (in preparation)
2. Jae Min Cha*, Christian Bariani*, I-Ming Chung, Siti Ismile, Iliana Fauzi, David C.L. Yeo, Idtisak Paopo, Teresa Mortera Blanco, Maria Rende, Hugo M. Macedo, Supacharn Tangviriyasirikul, Athanasios Mantalaris “Bioprocessing applications to Embryonic Stem Cells: in vitro Generation of Bone, Cartilage and Heart Cells” Expert Opinion on Biological Therapy (in preparation)
* these authors contributed equally