Sangeeta Bhatia is Associate Professor and the Director of the  Laboratory for Multiscale Regenerative Technologies at MIT in Cambridge,MA. Her work focuses on using micro- and nanotechnology tools to repair damaged tissues.

Dr. Bhatia trained at Brown, MIT, and Harvard. After postdoctoral training at the Massachusetts General Hospital, she was a member of the Bioengineering Department at University of California at San Diego for 6 years. In 2005, she returned to Boston to join the MIT faculty. She has been awarded the David and Lucile Packard Fellowship given to 'the nation's most promising young professors in science and engineering,' the MIT TR100 Young Innovators Award, and been named one of San Diego 's '50 People to Watch in 2004.' She was recently recognized by Mass Tech as one of the top 10 "Women to Watch".

Her research portfolio includes funding from NIH, NSF, DARPA, NASA, the Whitaker Foundation, the Packard Foundation, and private industry. She co-authored the first undergraduate textbook on tissue engineering and is a frequent advisor to governmental organizations on cell-based sensing, nanobiotechnology, and tissue engineering. She holds 12 issued or pending patents and has worked in industry at Pfizer, Genetics Institute, ICI Pharmaceuticals, and Organogenesis.

She talked to Lokvani about her research in regenerative medicine, about the MD/PHD program and work life balance.

Congratulations of making it to the list of Mass Techs “top ten Women to Watch" .  What does this honor mean to you?

This honor celebrates women in the technology sector that are impacting Massachusetts. My fellow recipients are a phenomenal group of inspiring women that I feel privileged to join.   I was born and raised here in Massachusetts, so I’m particularly happy to play a role in job creation in the tech sector here. Finally, we need more women engineers, and in order to get there we need more role models. This award helps to shine a light on women in my profession for all the young girls thinking about what they want to be when they grow up.

Your research on creating artificial liver is most interesting. What makes this a big challenge?

The liver is a very complex organ that is essential to life. In particular, it is responsible for detoxifying all the drugs we take into our bodies. Because of this, it is also vulnerable to injury from these drug exposures. This is unfortunately, quite common for new drugs that are being developed and it is very difficult to predict in animals or in petri dishes. People have tried to use human liver cells to predict this liver toxicity for a long time, but liver cells (hepatocytes) die quickly in the lab.

What would you rate as  the single most important breakthrough in your research efforts?

We found a way to stabilize these liver cells for 4-6 weeks so they can be used for drug testing. We borrowed techniques from the world of computer chips called ‘microfabrication’ to help organize liver cells in the laboratory. When we cluster them together and surround them with other cells, they are happier. What is particularly exciting is that we think that they can be exposed repeatedly to low doses of drugs, which is the way we take our medicines.

What are the biggest challenges and opportunities that you see in the area of tissue repair and regeneration?

One of the biggest challenges in ‘regenerative medicine’ is figuring out where to get the cells that will constitute our tissues- should we use stem cells, cells from donor organs, or try and figure out how to make our cells regenerate?  In the liver, this is a particular conundrum since we know the liver normally regenerates, but when it is injured it usually does not and when we use the cells in the lab, they do not grow at all!

MD/PHD seems to be  a program that many Indian Americans aspire towards. As a HST faculty what advice would you give for the aspirants?  What kind of students would be suited for the program?  What kind of resumes make for successful applications?

An MD/PhD is not for everyone- it can be a very long road. But it is wonderful training for working at the interface of medicine and technology.   If you know you want to focus on healthcare delivery, it might be better to focus on the MD whereas if you know you want to focus on a deep scientific problem, it might be better to obtain your PhD. Usually, MD/PhD students are those who are interested in both medicine and science, the so-called ‘physician scientist’ where you would hope to see patients and run a research laboratory.  The physician/scientist dream is that you can make discoveries and turn them into cures, or go from the ‘bench to the bedside.’  The most successful students have strong academic records, exposure to medicine, and research experience. There are also some hybrid programs, like my current division (the harvard-mit division of health sciences and technology) where phd students get exposed to amount a year of medical school as part of their PhD- enough to learn the language and culture of medicine without becoming full-fledged physicians.  

You are very successful faculty at one of the most prestigious universities in the country. You are the CEO of a company and  also a mother of two children. How do you manage to find the right work-life balance?

Well, actually, I’m the Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board at Hepregen. We have a fabulous CEO, Bonnie Fendrock.  She is also a mother of two, incidentally.  I manage to find the balance by getting lots of help! I live 1 mile from my parents home, and the kids are over there twice a week. And we have a terrific babysitter. And I have a full-time assistant at work. And a supportive husband. It takes a village! Also, I try hard to set boundaries. I stay home on Wednesdays and we call it ‘mommy day’, I don’t go into work on the weekends, I limit my travel.

What advice do you have for women seeking a career as a faculty member?

This is really a fantastic profession. I had no idea how fun it would be. And the flexibility is such that I believe it really can be combined with having a family. I would say, pick an environment (department & institution) that has a track record of being good to women and then just enjoy the ride. And make sure to work hard to keep the door open for women coming up behind you.

What are your long term career and personal goals?

I want to develop technologies that impact human health. Seeing my inventions out in the world improving the human condition is my dream.  And, I hope to get there and still ‘have a life’- filled with love and laughter and family and friends and books and travel and…well, you get the idea.  

You are a second generation Indian American. What do you think are the factors that helped make you so successful?

I think Indian values play a large part in my life- the value for education, the drive for excellence, the work ethic, the entrepreneurial spirit- these are the themes of my childhood. Woven together with an extended network of love and support. 

Thanks so much for your time
Thank you

|