Westminster College to Host Biology Seminar

Dr. John Doctor, biology professor at Duquesne University, will speak at a biology seminar Wednesday, Nov. 19, at 7 p.m. in Phillips Lecture Hall of the Hoyt Sciences Resources Center of Westminster College.

His seminar is titled, "Getting Cells from Here to There: Evaluating Biomaterials for Use in Tissue Engineering."

"The goal of tissue engineering is to replace diseased or damaged living tissue with living tissue designed and constructed for the needs of each individual," Doctor said. "Remarkable advances across many areas of science in the last decade have moved tissue engineering from promise to reality. Medical science is moving from transplantation into an era of design and fabrication of tissue and organ replacements."

"Doctor's lab at Duquesne is involved in multidisciplinary studies of bone tissue engineering," said Dr. Ann Throckmorton, chair and associate professor of biology at Westminster College. "In particular, they examine bone cell development and evaluate methods to culture bone cells in three-dimensions for bone tissue engineering."

Doctor earned his undergraduate degree from the College of the Holy Cross, and his Ph.D. from the University of California. He has done postdoctoral study at the University of Wisconsin. He is widely published in professional journals, and has earned numerous awards in recognition of his research.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Throckmorton at (724) 946-7209 or e-mail athrock@westminster.edu.

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