Tissue Repair and Regeneration Lab
Multi-disciplinary approaches to advance tissue regeneration
About Us
The Tissue Repair and Regeneration Lab at the School of Biomedical Engineering at IIT (BHU) Varanasi is focused on understanding the mechanisms of tissue repair and regeneration in homeostasis and diseases. We use multi-disciplinary approaches to identify markers of repair, develop and test treatment strategies. We are focused on regeneration in chronic fatty liver diseases and in skin ulcers with attention to cell proliferation and differentiation and the microbiome. We build organoids and organ-on-a-chip to study these phenomena and to test drugs.
Mission and Vision
Vision
The Tissue Repair and Regeneration Lab at IIT (BHU) Varanasi is dedicated to understanding the complex processes of tissue repair and regeneration and translating this knowledge into novel therapeutic strategies for human diseases. Our vision is to become a leading center for research and innovation in tissue repair and regenerative medicine.
Mission
Educate young minds, foster their scientific pursuits and shape them into well rounded scientists, engineers and technologists with unflawed skills and ethics
Core Values
Respect, fairness, kindness, humility and integrity
Key Research Areas
Development Of Organotypic Models For Mechanistic Insights Into Liver Regeneration
Development of substrates for revival of commensal microbiome for facilitated chronic wound healing
Identification of NASH-specific gene expression signatures to predict NAFLD progression to hepatocellular carcinoma
Meet the team
Group Leader
Dr. Gowri Manohari Balachander
Assistant Professor
School of Biomedical Engineering
IIT (BHU) Varanasi
CV
PhD Scholars
Mesevilhou Sakhrie
My work focuses on developing innovative approaches to enhance tissue regeneration and accelerate wound recovery, with a particular emphasis on biomaterials, skin microbiome and biofilms.
Khushi Karnawat
I am trying to develop organotypic in vitro models for mechanistic insights into liver regeneration during normal and chronic liver disease conditions and uncover factors that impede liver regeneration fatty liver diseases
Master's Scholars
Anusha Patodia
My interests lie in computational biology and data science, and I am passionate about applying interdisciplinary approaches to understanding chronic diseases. My research delves into the intricate molecular mechanisms underlying liver pathologies, emphasizing the discovery of gene expression signatures and biomarkers to elucidate the progression from nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) through advanced computational frameworks.
Junior Research Fellow
Sayak Banerjee
My current work focuses on the development of 3D cell lines derived from primary tissues to facilitate liver regeneration. By replicating native tissue architecture and microenvironments, I aim to deepen our understanding of cellular dynamics and contribute to the advancements in regenerative medicine. My role allows me to apply and expand the skills I developed during my time at DRDO-INMAS, where I spent a year focusing on in vitro and in vivo models for therapeutic research
Publications
  1. Jahankir, M. J. B., Ramesh, H., Chakaravarthi, T., Agarwal, A., Goyal, A., & Balachander, G. M. (2025). Strip electrodes: a novel, effective and minimally invasive therapeutic option for correcting DNS via electromechanical reshaping. Journal of materials chemistry. B, 13(2), 668–682. https://doi.org/10.1039/d4tb01306a
  1. Karnawat, K., Parthasarathy, R., Sakhrie, M., Karthik, H., Krishna, K. V., & Balachander, G. M. (2024). Building in vitro models for mechanistic understanding of liver regeneration in chronic liver diseases. Journal of Materials Chemistry. B, 12(32), 7669–7691. https://doi.org/10.1039/d4tb00738g
  1. Balachander, G. M.*,#, Nilawar, S.*,(*equal contribution) Meka, S. R. K., Ghosh, L. D., & Chatterjee, K.# (#equal correspondence) (2024). Unravelling microRNA regulation and miRNA-mRNA regulatory networks in osteogenesis driven by 3D nanotopographical cues. Biomaterials Science, 12(4), 978–989. https://doi.org/10.1039/d3bm01597a
  1. Septiana, W. L., Ayudyasari, W., Gunardi, H., Pawitan, J. A., Balachander, G. M., Yu, H., & Antarianto, R. D. (2023). Liver organoids cocultured on decellularized native liver scaffolds as a bridging therapy improves survival from liver failure in rabbits. In Vitro Cellular & Developmental Biology. Animal, 59(10), 747–763. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11626-023-00817-8
  1. Zhao, Z., Chen, X., Dowbaj, A. M., Sljukic, A., Bratlie, K., Lin, L., Fong, E. L. S., Balachander, G. M., Chen, Z., Soragni, A., Huch, M., Zeng, Y. A., Wang, Q., & Yu, H. (2022). Organoids. Nature Reviews Methods Primers, 2, 94. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43586-022-00174-y
  1. Balachander, G. M.*, Kotcherlakota, R.*, (*equal contribution) Nayak, B., Kedaria, D., Rangarajan, A., & Chatterjee, K. (2021). 3D Tumor Models for Breast Cancer: Whither We Are and What We Need. ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering, 7(8), 3470–3486. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsbiomaterials.1c00230
  1. Gupta, K., Ng, I. C., Balachander, G. M., Nguyen, B. P., Tucker-Kellogg, L., Low, B. C., & Yu, H. (2020). Bile canaliculi contract autonomously by releasing calcium into hepatocytes via mechanosensitive calcium channel. Biomaterials, 259, 120283. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2020.120283
  1. Huang, X., Lee, F., Teng, Y., Lingam, C. B., Chen, Z., Sun, M., Song, Z., Balachander, G. M., Leo, H. L., Guo, Q., Shah, I., & Yu, H. (2019). Sequential drug delivery for liver diseases. Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews, 149-150, 72–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addr.2019.11.001
  1. Balamurugan, R., Pugazhendhi, S., Balachander, G. M., Dharmalingam, T., Mortimer, E. K., Gopalsamy, G. L., Woodman, R. J., Meng, R., Alpers, D. H., Manary, M., Binder, H. J., Brown, I. L., Young, G. P., & Ramakrishna, B. S. (2019). Effect of Native and Acetylated Dietary Resistant Starches on Intestinal Fermentative Capacity of Normal and Stunted Children in Southern India. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(20), 3922. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16203922
  1. De, T., Goyal, S., Balachander, G. M., Chatterjee, K., Kumar, P., Babu K, G., & Rangarajan, A. (2019). A Novel Ex Vivo System Using 3D Polymer Scaffold to Culture Circulating Tumor Cells from Breast Cancer Patients Exhibits Dynamic E-M Phenotypes. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 8(9), 1473. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm8091473
  1. Balachander, G. M.*, Nayak, B.*, (*equal contribution) Manjunath, S., Rangarajan, A., & Chatterjee, K. (2019). Tissue mimetic 3D scaffold for breast tumor-derived organoid culture toward personalized chemotherapy. Colloids and Surfaces. B, Biointerfaces, 180, 334–343. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colsurfb.2019.04.056
  1. Balachander, G. M., Talukdar, P. M., Debnath, M., Rangarajan, A., & Chatterjee, K. (2018). Inflammatory Role of Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts in Invasive Breast Tumors Revealed Using a Fibrous Polymer Scaffold. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 10(40), 33814–33826. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.8b07609
  1. Balachander, G. M., Rajashekar, B., M Sarashetti, P., Rangarajan, A., & Chatterjee, K. (2018). MiRNomics Reveals Breast Cancer Cells Cultured on 3D Scaffolds Better Mimic Tumors in Vivo than Conventional 2D Culture. ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering, 4(1), 116–127. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsbiomaterials.7b00694
  1. Balachander, G. M., Balaji, S. A., Rangarajan, A., & Chatterjee, K. (2015). Enhanced Metastatic Potential in a 3D Tissue Scaffold toward a Comprehensive in Vitro Model for Breast Cancer Metastasis. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 7(50), 27810–27822. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.5b09064 Correction doi: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.1c14650
BOOK CHAPTERS
1. Yu H, Chong SK, Hassanbhai AM, Teng Y, Balachander GM, Muthukumaran P, et al. Principles of bioreactor design for tissue engineering. Princ. Tissue Eng., Elsevier; 2020, p. 179–203. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-818422-6.00012-5.
Industry Collaboration
We actively collaborate with Caldor Health Technologies https://caldorhealthtech.com/ to develop MedTech devices
Gallery
Contact
Tissue Repair and Regeneration Lab
School of Biomedical Engineering IIT (BHU) Varanasi
Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India 221005
Email: [email protected]​
Phone: +91-5427165134
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