McKay Orthopaedic Research Laboratory > Mauck Lab > Lara C. Ionescu

Lara C. Ionescu

Graduate Student in Bioengineering
University of Pennsylvania

HOMETOWN
San Francisco, CA

EDUCATION
Ph.D. Bioengineering, 2011, University of Pennsylvania
MSE Bioengineering, 2008, University of Pennsylvannia

BSE Chemical Engineering, 2006, Princeton University

Certificate in Materials Science Engineering, 2006, Princeton Unviersity

Certificate in Modern Dance and Choreography, 2006, Princeton University

AREAS OF SPECIAL INTERESTS
Lara joined Professor Mauck's lab as a masters student in January 2008. She is now continuing on for her PhD, focusing her research on tissue engineering of the knee meniscus. She has explored the changing properties of fetal, neonatal and adult sheep meniscus in order to understand how mechanical and biological factors, such as vascularity, influence meniscus function. Also, she is using electrospinning as a way to create scaffolds for tissue engineering of fiber-reinforced tissues such as meniscus, with a specific focus on incorporating drug-eluting microspheres for localized delivery into the scaffold. She is developing expertise in encapsulation of various molecules into micron-sized biodegradable polymeric microspheres. Lara also has conducted studies in the response of fetal and adult cell lines to various growth factors in order to better understand how cells respond to their environment for tissue engineering applications. In her spare time, she enjoys doing yoga, cooking Romanian food, and taking her puppy to the dog park.

AWARDS

1. "Fabrication of Drug Delivering Biodegradable Microsphere/Nanofiber Networks" First Place, Poster Competition. Orthopedic Research Day, University of Pennsylvania.
2. "A Composite Microsphere/Nanofiber Controlled Release System for Fibrous Tissue Engineering" Second Place, Masters Level, Poster Competition. American Society of Mechanical Engineers Summer Bioengineering Conference, Lake Tahoe, CA, 2009.

PUBLICATIONS

1. L.C. Ionescu, G.C. Lee, G.H. Garcia, T.L. Zachry, R.P Shah, B.J. Sennett, R.L. Mauck. “Maturation State Dependent Alterations in Meniscus Integration: Implications for Scaffold Design and Tissue Engineering” Tissue Eng Part A. 2011 Jan;17(1-2):193-204.
2. L.C. Ionescu, G.C. Lee, B.J. Sennett, J.A. Burdick, R.L. Mauck. "An Anisotropic Nanofiber/Microsphere Composite with Controlled Release of Biomolecules for Fibrous Tissue Engineering" Biomaterials, 2010, 31(14):4113-20.
3. B.M Baker*, L.C. Ionescu*, W.J Li*, R.L Mauck. "New Directions in Nanofibrous Scaffolds for Soft Tissue Engineering and Regeneration" Expert Review of Medical Devices, 2009, 6(5):515-32. (*co-first authors)
4. J. Ulerich, L.C. Ionescu, J. Chen, W. O. Soboyejo, C. B. Arnold, "Modifications of Ti-6Al-4V Surfaces by Direct-Write Laser Machining of Linear Grooves," in Photon Processing in Microelectronics and Photonics VI, ed. C. B. Arnold et al., International Society for Optical Engineering (SPIE), 645819 (2007).

PATENTS

1. R.L. Mauck, L.C. Ionescu, J.A. Burdick, B.M. Baker. 2010. Microsphere/Nanofiber Composites For Delivery Of Drugs, Growth Factors, And Other Agents. Patent WO 2010/096254 A1, filed January 29, 2009, and issued August 26, 2010.

ABSTRACTS

1. L.C. Ionescu, B.J. Sennett, R.L Mauck. “Enhancing Meniscus Repair with Exogenous Growth Factors and Electrospun Nanofibrous Scaffolds” Orthopedic Research Society Annual Conference, Long Beach, CA, 2011, Podium.
2. L.C. Ionescu, G.H. Garcia, T.L. Zachry, G.C. Lee, B.J. Sennett, R.L. Mauck. "In Vitro Meniscus Integration Potential is Inversely Correlated with Tissue Maturation State". American Society of Mechanical Engineering, Bioengineering Division, Annual Conference 2010, Podium.
3. L.C. Ionescu, G.C. Lee, B.J. Sennett, J.A. Burdick, R.L. Mauck. "Combinatorial Drug Delivery from an Aligned Nanofiber/Microsphere Composite for Fibrous Tissue Engineering" Orthopedic Research Society Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA, 2010.
4. L.C. Ionescu, G.H. Garcia, I.E. Erickson, J.L Guevara, R.P Shah, B.J. Sennett, R.L. Mauck. "In Vitro Meniscus Integration is Age Dependent". Orthopedic Research Society Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA, 2010.
5. L. Ionescu, A.O. Gee, A.H. Huang, B. Sennett, K. Liechty, R.L. Mauck. "Regenerative Potential of Fetal Meniscus Fibrochondrocytes" The Orthopedic Research Society Annual Conference, 1208, Vol. 34, Las Vegas, NV, 2009.
6. L. Ionescu, B.M. Baker, J.A. Burdick, R.L. Mauck. "Fabrication of Drug Delivering Biodegradable Microsphere/Nanofiber Networks" The Orthopedic Research Society Annual Conference, 1336, Vol.34, Las Vegas, NV, 2009.
7. L. Ionescu, B.M. Baker, J.A. Burdick, R.L. Mauck. "A Composite Microsphere/Nanofiber Controlled Release System for Fibrous Tissue Engineering". American Society of Mechanical Engineers Summer Bioengineering Conference, Lake Tahoe, CA, 2009.
8. R.L Mauck, B.M. Baker, L.C. Ionescu, N.L. Nerurkar, J.A. Burdick. "Multi-functional and dynamic fibrous scaffolds for tissue engineering and controlled release." Materials Research Society Conference, Boston, MA, 2009.