PhD, Bioengineering, 
Bachelor of Science in Engineering, Biomedical & Electrical Engineering
Priya R. Baraniak
Research
Since the adult myocardium lacks the inherent ability to repair itself following ischemic injury, exogenous cell sources for the repair of infarcted myocardium have been investigated, and it has been demonstrated that transplanted cells may impart functional benefits via the secretion of growth factors and extracellular matrix (ECM) molecules. Such mitigation of tissue repair by cell-derived molecules represents a significant paradigm shift in the therapeutic application of stem and progenitor cells and provides a novel approach to myocardial repair. My research aims are to (1) examine the effects of three-dimensional cell culture systems on adult progenitor cell differentiation, growth factor synthesis, and ECM production, and (2) to determine the effects of progenitor cell-derived factors on ischemic cells and tissues in vitro and in vivo. These studies should yield new insights into the cues presented to injured myocardium by exogenously administered progenitor cells and lead to the development of novel, ECM-derived biomaterials for cardiac repair and regeneration.
Awards
American Heart Association Post-doctoral Fellowship (2009-present)
NIH Trainee, Cellular Approaches to Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Training Grant, NIBIB (2003-2008)
McGowan Institute Graduate Student Travel Award (2005, 2003)
For full list, please see CV
Publications
Baraniak PR and McDevitt TC. Stem Cell Paracrine Actions and Tissue Regeneration. Regenerative Medicine, In press, 2009.
Rauscher FM, Goldschmidt-Clermont PJ, Davis BJ, Wang T, Gregg D, Ramaswami
P, Pippen AM, Annex BH, Dog C, Taylor DA. Aging, Progenitor Cell Exhaustion, and Atherosclerosis. Circulation, 108:457-463; 2003.
Book Chapters
Baraniak PR and McDevitt TC. Regenerating Function In Vivo with Myocytes Derived from Embryonic Stem Cells (Book Chapter). Regenerating the Heart:
Stem Cells and the Cardiovascular System. In press, 2009.
Ramaswami P, Wagner WR. Cardiovascular Tissue Engineering. An Introduction to Biomaterials (Book Chapter). SA Guelcher and JO Hollinger, Eds. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL; 2005.
Selective Presentations
Baraniak PR and McDevitt TC. 3D Culture of Stem and Progenitor Cells. Georgia Tech/Emory Center for the Engineering of Living Tissues Industry Partners Symposium, Atlanta, GA, Oct 2009.
Wagner WR, Guan J, Hong Y, Fujimoto K, Stankus J, Vorp DA, Ramaswami P, Soletti L, Nieponice A, and Ma Z. Biodegradable Thermoplastic Elastomer Synthesis and Processing for Desired Biofunctionality in Cardiovascular Applications. Materials Research Society Spring Meeting, San Francisco, CA, March 2008.
Ramaswami P, Katakam, A, Friz J, Cress D, Guan J, and Wagner WR. Gene Regulation through Controlled Release from a Biodegradable Poly(ester urethane)urea. TERMIS Regenerate Meeting, Toronto, Canada, June 2007.
Ramaswami P, Friz J, Cress D, Guan J, and Wagner WR. Gene Regulation by Controlled Release from a Biodegradable Poly(ester urethane)urea. TERMIS Regenerate World Congress Meeting, Pittsburgh, PA (April 2006).
Ramaswami P, Guan JJ, and Wagner WR. A Biodegradable Elastomer to Direct Stem Cell Differentiation. Annual Hilton Head Meeting: Engineered Tissues, Hilton Head, SC, March 2005.
Biography
Priya R. Baraniak graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) from Duke University in 2001 after double majoring in Electrical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering. While at Duke, Priya conducted research in the lab of Dr. Doris A. Taylor on the use of skeletal myoblasts and stem cells for cardiac repair and regeneration. Priya received her Ph.D. in Bioengineering from the University of Pittsburgh in 2008. She completed her dissertation research in the laboratory of Dr. William R. Wagner working on developing a controlled release biodegradable elastomer for applications in cardiovascular regenerative medicine. In 2008, Priya joined Dr. Todd McDevitt’s lab in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University as a post-doctoral fellow. Her post-doctoral research is focused on isolating stem cell extracellular matrices for use as scaffolds in tissue repair and regeneration.