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Persoonlijk profiel

Quote

'The ‘smartest’ biomaterials are the natural tissues in our bodies. If only we could unlock their secrets and bioengineer smart biomimetic biomaterials that help our tissues to heal, responding to their cues.'

Research profile

Keita Ito chairs the research group Orthopaedic Biomechanics, where engineering and biology are combined to expand our understanding of the biomechanical function of musculoskeletal tissues as well as their adaptive developmental and physiological nature. This knowledge is then applied to explore and develop regenerative treatment strategies. Currently the research focuses on four musculoskeletal tissues: bone; articular cartilage; intervertebral disc; and tendons/ligaments.

He personally leads the research effort on the topic of the intervertebral discs. Degenerative disc disease is one of the most prevalent causes of back/neck pain that often leads to disability for individuals of working age. The goal of the research is to understand the basic mechanisms of disc degeneration and to develop long-term functional treatments for this condition.

The strategy focuses on: exploring deficient nutrition, loss of high tissue tonicity and mechanical loading as mechanotransduction mechanisms of cellular stimulated degeneration; how these degenerative changes may cause failure of disc function; and then using this understanding to explore tissue engineering approaches towards disc regeneration. The approach is to combine numerical simulations with tissue explant ex vivo experiments in bioreactors where the physical environment can be controlled.

Academic background

Keita Ito studied Mechanical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA) where he received his MSc degree in 1987. In 1994 he obtained his ScD in Medical Engineering and Medical Physics from MIT. The next year he graduated as MD from Harvard Medical School (Boston, MA, USA). From 1995-1996 he was a post-doctoral Research Fellow at the AO Research Institute (Davos, Switzerland), to become group head of the Cartilage Biomechanics Group from 1996-2003 and Vice Director and leader of the Mechanobiology Program from 2003-2007. From 1997-1998 he was a Research Fellow at the department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Inselspital University Hospital Bern (Switzerland). In 2002 and 2003 he was Visiting Scientist at the department of Biomedical Engineering of Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e, The Netherlands), where he was appointed Professor of Mechano-biology and Musculoskeletal Tissue Differentiation in 2004. In 2007 he became Full Professor of Orthopaedic Biomechanics at TU/e. In 2013 Ito was appointed as Professor of Mechanobiology in Orthopaedic Regenerative Medicine at the University Medical Center Utrecht (The Netherlands), in collaboration with TU/e.

Affiliated with

  • Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, TU/e
  • Regenerative Medicine Across Borders
  • Materials Driven Regeneration, NWO Gravitation Program

 Partners in (semi-)industry

  • DSM Biomedical BV, Geleen, NL
  • AO Foundation, Davos, CH
  • Fujifilm, Tilburg, NL

Expertise gerelateerd aan duurzame ontwikkelingsdoelstellingen van de VN

In 2015 stemden de VN-lidstaten in met 17 wereldwijde duurzame ontwikkelingsdoelstellingen (Sustainable Development Goals, SDG's) om armoede te beëindigen, de planeet te beschermen en voor iedereen welvaart te garanderen. Het werk van deze persoon draagt bij aan de volgende duurzame ontwikkelingsdoelstelling(en):

  • SDG 3 – Goede gezondheid en welzijn

Vingerafdruk

Verdiep u in de onderzoeksgebieden waarop Keita Ito actief is. Deze onderwerplabels komen uit het werk van deze persoon. Samen vormen ze een unieke vingerafdruk.
  • 1 Soortgelijke profielen

Netwerk

Recente externe samenwerking op landen-/regioniveau. Duik in de details door op de stippen te klikken of
  • Jury Award Best Scientific Paper

    van Vijven, Marc (Ontvanger), van Groningen, Bart (Ontvanger), Kimenai, Joyce N. (Ontvanger), van der Steen, Marieke C. (Ontvanger), van Doeselaar, Marina (Ontvanger), Janssen, Rob P.A. (Ontvanger), Ito, Keita (Ontvanger) & Foolen, Jasper (Ontvanger), 18 mrt. 2021

    Prijs: AndersWerk, activiteit of publicatie gerelateerde prijzen (lifetime, best paper, poster etc.)Wetenschappelijk