Heart 2.0 (Beta): Engineering and the Human Heart

Google Tech Talk (more info below) August 2, 2011 Presented by Nina Tandon, Ph.D. ABSTRACT Dr. Nina Tandon, a TED Fellow and researcher in the field of tissue engineering, discusses her work on cardiac tissue engineering. Her approach involves the development of "enabling technologies" (bioreactors) that facilitate the growth of artificial cardiac cells by mimicking the cells' natural environments. Nina begins her talk with an overview of cardiac physiology (emphasizing the electrophysiology of the heart), and uses it as a backdrop to introduce the biomimetic engineering strategies she employs in the lab. Speaker Info: Nina Tandon, Ph.D. Nina is a current TED Fellow, post-doctoral researcher at Columbia University's Lab for Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering, executive MBA student at Columbia University, and adjunct professor of Electrical Engineering at the Cooper Union, teaching a "Bioelectricity" class. A native New-Yorker, she spent her early career in telecom (Avaya Labs), transitioning to biomedical engineering via a Fulbright in Italy (working on an electronic odor detector). She completed her PhD under Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic at MIT and Columbia, researching cardiac tissue engineering. After consulting at McKinsey from 2008-10, she's resumed her research on electrical stimulation for broader tissue engineering applications. In her spare time, she practices yoga, running, metalsmithing, playing with puppies, baking and exploring.