Leslie Sierad

As the Founder and President of Aptus Bioreactors, one of my primary goals is to advance the fields of Biomedical and Tissue Engineering so clinical applications can one day be made. I hold a PhD degree in Bioengineering from Clemson University and have been involved with bioreactor development since my graduate work in the lab. Aptus Bioreactors’ historic role in that advancement is to provide sophisticated cardiovascular bioreactor systems to researchers all around the world. To date, we have leased or sold 26 cardiovascular bioreactor systems to 8 different research groups on 3 continents. Currently we are preparing for a significant shift in focus from providing bioreactor equipment to performing the research necessary to bring a tissue-engineered heart valve to the market. I have extensive experience designing and developing bioreactor systems for decellularizing, seeding, and testing heart valves, blood vessels, and other tissues for regenerative medicine applications, as highlighted by the company activities and the numerous patent issued and pending in the field. I have experience servicing multiple types of projects from many principal investigators, which has required coordination between multiple service provider and customer groups in broad geographical and technical areas. These collaborations have been forged between groups on the same campus as well as between universities in multiple nations. Over many years participating in the leadership of various professional and philanthropic groups, I have also had many opportunities to mentor, train, and advance those under my supervision. My technical background in the field of bioreactors and my experience in leading a diverse team has directly fueled my ability and desire to serve in this capacity in cooperation with the other members of this team-based book project.