John P. Fisher PhD

Dr. John P. Fisher is the Fischell Family Distinguished Professor and Department Chair in the Fischell Department of Bioengineering at the University of Maryland. Dr. Fisher is also the Director of the newly established NIH Center for Engineering Complex Tissue (CECT) that aims to create a broad community focusing on 3D printing and bioprinting for regenerative medicine applications. Dr. Fisher completed a B.S. in biomedical and chemical engineering at The Johns Hopkins University (1995), M.S. in chemical engineering at the University of Cincinnati (1998), Ph.D. in bioengineering at Rice University (2003), and postdoctoral fellowship in cartilage biology and engineering at the University of California Davis (2003). As the Director of the Tissue Engineering and Biomaterials Laboratory, Dr. Fisher’s group investigates biomaterials, stem cells, bioprinting, and bioreactors for the regeneration of lost tissues, particularly bone, cartilage, and cardiovascular tissues. Initially, the laboratory developed a novel class of biodegradable polymers, based upon an acetal monomer, that result in non-acidic degradation products upon hydrolysis. The laboratory utilized these, and other polymer systems (both natural and synthetic) to create biomimetic environments for cell culture and, critically, demonstrated the relationship between cell microenvironment and endogenous protein signal expression. Subsequent efforts focused on the development of a novel perfusion bioreactor for dynamic cell culture. Most recently, Dr. Fisher’s laboratory has developed strategies for the 3D printing of a variety of tissue engineering biomaterials and scaffolds.