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INFORMATION FOR

    Laura Niklason, PhD, MD

    Professor Adjunct
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    Additional Titles

    Division Chief

    Vice Chair, Research

    Contact Info

    laura.niklason@yale.edu

    Anesthesiology

    PO Box 208089, 10 Amistad Street, Room 301D

    New Haven, CT 06520-8089

    United States

    About

    Titles

    Professor Adjunct

    Division Chief; Vice Chair, Research

    Biography

    Dr. Niklason is the Nicholas M. Greene Professor at Yale University in Anesthesia and Biomedical Engineering, where she has been on faculty since 2006. Dr. Niklason’s research focuses primarily on regenerative strategies for cardiovascular and lung tissues. Niklason’s engineered blood vessels are currently in clinical trials, and are the first life-sustaining engineered tissue to be studied in any Phase III trial. Niklason’s lab was also one of the first to describe the engineering of whole lung tissue that could exchange gas in vivo, and this work was cited in 2010 as one of the top 50 most important inventions of the year by Time Magazine. She was inducted into the National Academy of Inventors in 2014, and was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2015.

    Niklason received her PhD in Biophysics from the University of Chicago, and her MD from the University of Michigan. She completed her residency training in anesthesia and intensive care unit medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and completed post-doctoral scientific training at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

    Appointments

    Other Departments & Organizations

    Education & Training

    Fellow
    Mass General Hospital (1996)
    Resident
    Mass General Hospital (1995)
    Intern
    University of Michigan (1992)
    MD
    University of Michigan/Ann Arbor (1991)
    PhD
    University of Chicago (1988)

    Board Certifications

    • Critical Care Medicine Anesthesiology

      Certification Organization
      AB of Anesthesiology
      Original Certification Date
      1999

    • Anesthesiology

      Certification Organization
      AB of Anesthesiology
      Original Certification Date
      1998

    Research

    Overview

    Currently, Dr. Niklason's research program has several areas of focus. With regard to engineered arteries. Niklason is engaged in preclinical studies in large animals to validate the method for generating engineered tissues that are available "off the shelf". Large animal studies on vascular grafts are centered on immune/inflammatory response minimization to these off-the-shelf tissues, and on the long-term function of the grafts in the arterial circulation. In addition, Niklason is developing tissue engineering approaches to generating vascularized cardiac muscle, as well as vascularized lung tissue. In addition, Niklason has active research interests in vascular remodeling that is associated with various disease states, including atherosclerosis and arterial vaso spasm.
    • Tissue engineered arteries, utilizing decellularization approaches
    • Regeneration of whole, functional lung tissue
    • Engineering of thoracic conduits, including trachea and esophagus
    • Investigation of the molecular basis of cellular aging in various tissues
    • Investigation of causes of intimal hyperplasia in vein grafts

    Medical Research Interests

    Anesthesiology; Biomedical Engineering; Biophysics; Blood Vessels; Lung; Physics; Tissue Engineering
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      Niklason Lab

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    Research at a Glance

    Yale Co-Authors

    Frequent collaborators of Laura Niklason's published research.

    Publications

    2024

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    Academic Achievements & Community Involvement

    • activity

      Stem Cell Research

      Research

    Get In Touch

    Contacts

    Email
    Mailing Address

    Anesthesiology

    PO Box 208089, 10 Amistad Street, Room 301D

    New Haven, CT 06520-8089

    United States