Agneta Simionescu
Dr. Agneta Simionescu received her PhD degree in Biochemistry/Cell Biology for the study of matrix remodeling in cardiac diseases. Agneta has research interests in translational tissue engineering, angiogenesis, remodeling, and mechanotransduction. She was the first to show that matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are involved in degeneration of implanted cardiovascular biomaterials and that matrix-derived degradation products (matrikines) induce pathologic osteogenic activation of cardiovascular cells. She has also shown that stabilization of biomaterials and scaffolds with mild and reversible cross-linking agents might counteract these effects. In recent years, she has developed a passion for investigating the effects of diabetes on cardiovascular tissue engineering, including diabetes-related alterations of biomaterials and scaffolds, stem cell differentiation, matrix remodeling, and microvascular network formation in vitro and in vivo models of diabetes.