Details
Speaker: Dr. O. Berk USTA
Associate Professor of Surgery & Bioengineering
Center for Engineering in Medicine & Surgery (CEMS)
Harvard Medical School – Massachusetts General Hospital – Shriners Hospitals for Children, Boston
Talk title: “Supercooled Storage – Applications to Red Blood Cells”
Abstract:
Red blood cells (RBCs) make up over 90% of the cellular content in human blood and play a crucial role in oxygen transport, which is essential for life. As the original form of cell therapy, RBC transfusions have become one of the most valuable and widely used treatments in modern medicine. Each year, more than 100 million units of blood are donated globally, with over 30,000 units transfused daily in the United States alone. At the heart of this extensive operation is the cold storage of RBC units, which can last up to 42 days. This storage capability is vital for managing inventory and ensuring the practical distribution of RBCs in blood banks worldwide. While many practitioners view this established method as the definitive solution for RBC storage and transfusion, recent research indicates potential risks associated with using cold-stored RBCs beyond 28 days of storage. This research also reveals significant gaps in the quality assessment of RBC products. In this talk, I will discuss a recent advancement from my lab aimed at extending the storage time and quality of RBCs through a novel method, i.e., “supercooled preservation.” Additionally, I will highlight opportunities for improving the quality assessment of these vital components.
Bio:
Dr. Berk Usta, is a chemical engineer by training with an undergraduate degree from the Bogazici University (Istanbul, Turkey) and a PhD, focused on computational complex fluid dynamics, from the University of Florida (Gainesville, FL). He then conducted postdoctoral and visiting scientific research appointments at the University of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, PA) and Oxford University (Oxford, UK) on computational modeling of multi-phase, polymeric and soft deformable systems. In 2009, he made a career transition into biomedical engineering, during which he conducted research on liver tissue engineering and biopreservation at the Center for Engineering in Medicine and Surgery at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Harvard Medical School (HMS). He joined the faculty in the Department of Surgery at MGH and HMS as an instructor in 2013. He currently serves as an Associate Professor of Surgery, where he conducts research under the umbrella of “Bioengineered Solutions and Dissemination Technologies for Health and Disease,” focusing on biopreservation of cells and tissues, device and tissue engineering for health and disease, biomaterials, and biomarkers.