Devendra K Agrawal Author & Editor

Dr. Chandra P. Sharma is former Senior Scientist G and Head, Biomedical Technology Wing, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST), Trivandrum and has been Head, Biosurface Technology Division, SCTIMST, Trivandrum from January 1980 to February 2014. He has also been Associate Head, Biomedical Technology Wing, and Associate Dean, PhD Affairs, SCTIMST Trivandrum. Presently he is Adjunct Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Manipal University. His basic activities relate understanding of blood/tissue – material interactions at the interface. In case of chitosan, an encouraging wound healing material, his group demonstrated during 1990s that its hemostatic potential is independent of classical coagulation cascade and appears to be an interaction between the cell membrane of erythrocytes and chitosan. His research interests include: biomaterials and artificial organs and nano-systems for oral delivery of insulin. Dr. Devendra K. Agrawal moved to Canada and earned PhD (Medical Sciences) in 1984 from McMaster University, Canada followed by a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. In 1985, he was recruited as an Asst Professor at Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, Nebraska where he rose to the rank of Full Professor in 1997. Dr. Agrawal also earned MBA in 2004 and MS in 2005 from Creighton University. In 2009, Dr. Agrawal founded the Center for Clinical & Translational Research at Creighton University, which later developed into an independent Department. Dr. Agrawal was the Founding Chairman of this Department. Dr. Agrawal also served as the Senior Associate Dean of Clinical & Translational Sciences at Creighton. In July 2019, he moved to California as Senior Vice President for Research and Professor of Translational Research at the Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, CA. Dr. Finosh Thankam is an assistant professor and researcher in Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, in the Department of Translational Research, at the Western University of Health Sciences, in Pomona, CA. His undergraduate studies were in Biochemistry, before completing his post-graduate degree in Medical Biochemistry from Mahatma Gandhi University, in India. As a research fellow he was exposed to the new world of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine and published many original articles on various aspects of cardiac tissue engineering. His current research interests include investigating the pathogenesis of various musculoskeletal disorders, and cardiovascular diseases, and applying the knowledge and principles of tissue engineering to develop artificial tissue constructs to improve the care for the sufferers.