Liisa Tiina Kuhn

Professor

Department of Biomedical Engineering

UConn Health

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Education

Ph.D., U of California, Santa Barbara, 1992

Research Focus

• Synthesis and preclinical testing of bone grafts for the elderly that feature anti-aging compounds
• Customized 3D printed soft tissue mimics for restoring a symmetric appearance

Awards

• Elected Fellow of the International Union of Societies for Biomaterials Science and Engineering, 2020
• Women of Innovation Award, Academic Innovation and Leadership Category, Connecticut Technology Council
• Patrick Laing Award for Outstanding and Meritorious Service, American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM)

Publications

Endogenous FGF-2 levels impact FGF-2/BMP-2 growth factor delivery dosing in aged murine calvarial bone defects. Kuhn, Liisa T; Peng, Tao; Gronowicz, Gloria; Hurley, Marja M Journal of biomedical materials research. Part A 2021 Jun;

Self-assembled biomimetic Nano-Matrix for stem cell anchorage. Zhou, Libo; Yau, Anne; Yu, Hongchuan; Kuhn, Liisa; Guo, Wei; Chen, Yupeng Journal of biomedical materials research. Part A 2020 Apr;108(4):984-991

Cell Type Influences Local Delivery of Biomolecules from a Bioinspired Apatite Drug Delivery System. Alhamdi, Jumana; Jacobs, Emily; Gronowicz, Gloria; Benkirane-Jessel, Nadia; Hurley, Marja; Kuhn, Liisa Materials (Basel, Switzerland) 2018 Sep;11(9):

Controlled M1-to-M2 transition of aged macrophages by calcium phosphate coatings. Alhamdi, Jumana R; Peng, Tao; Al-Naggar, Iman M; Hawley, Kelly L; Spiller, Kara L; Kuhn, Liisa T Biomaterials 2018 Jul;

Calvarial bone regeneration is enhanced by sequential delivery of FGF-2 and BMP-2 from layer-by-layer coatings with a biomimetic calcium phosphate barrier layer. Gronowicz, Gloria; Jacobs, Emily; Peng, Tao; Zhu, Li; Hurley, Marja; Kuhn, Liisa T Tissue engineering. Part A 2017 Sep;231490-1501

Implant-guided supracrestal alveolar bone growth using scaffolds, BMP-2, and novel scaffold-retaining device. Wen, Bo; Shafer, David; Schleier, Peter; Pendrys, David; Kuhn, Liisa; Freilich, Martin Clinical oral implants research 2017 Mar;281411-1420

Biomimetic Calcium Phosphate/Polyelectrolyte Multilayer Coatings for Sequential Delivery of Multiple Biological Factors. Jacobs, E; Gronowicz, G; Hurley, M; Kuhn, L T Journal of biomedical materials research. Part A 2016 Dec;1051500-1509

Layer-by-layer nanoparticle platform for cancer active targeting. Suh, Min Sung; Shen, Jie; Kuhn, Liisa T; Burgess, Diane J International journal of pharmaceutics 2016 Dec;517(1-2):58-66

Human biofield therapy does not affect tumor size but modulates immune responses in a mouse model for breast cancer. Gronowicz, Gloria; Secor, Eric R; Flynn, John R; Kuhn, Liisa T Journal of integrative medicine 2016 Sep;14(5):389-99

Age-Related Changes in FGF-2, Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptors and β-Catenin Expression in Human Mesenchyme-Derived Progenitor Cells. Hurley, Marja M; Gronowicz, Gloria; Zhu, Li; Kuhn, Liisa T; Rodner, Craig; Xiao, Liping Journal of cellular biochemistry 2015 Sep;117721-9

Comparison of bone morphogenetic protein-2 delivery systems to induce supracrestal bone guided by titanium implants in the rabbit mandible. Wen, Bo; Kuhn, Liisa; Charles, Lyndon; Pendrys, David; Shafer, David; Freilich, Martin Clinical oral implants research 2015 Jul;27676-85

Effects of low dose FGF-2 and BMP-2 on healing of calvarial defects in old mice. Charles, Lyndon F; Woodman, Jessica L; Ueno, Daisuke; Gronowicz, Gloria; Hurley, Marja M; Kuhn, Liisa T Experimental gerontology 2015 Apr;6462-9

Optimizing BMP-2-induced bone repair with FGF-2. Gronowicz, Gloria; Hurley, Marja M; Kuhn, Liisa T The Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons 2014 Oct;22(10):677-9

A Site-Specific Integrated Col2.3GFP Reporter Identifies Osteoblasts Within Mineralized Tissue Formed In Vivo by Human Embryonic Stem Cells. Xin, Xiaonan; Jiang, Xi; Wang, Liping; Stover, Mary Louise; Zhan, Shuning; Huang, Jianping; Goldberg, A Jon; Liu, Yongxing; Kuhn, Liisa; Reichenberger, Ernst J; Rowe, David W; Lichtler, Alexander C Stem cells translational medicine 2014 Aug;3(10):1125-37

Lithium-end-capped polylactide thin films influence osteoblast progenitor cell differentiation and mineralization. Gomillion, Cheryl T; Lakhman, Rubinder Kaur; Kasi, Rajeswari M; Weiss, R A; Kuhn, Liisa T; Goldberg, A Jon Journal of biomedical materials research. Part A 2014 Apr;103(2):500-10

Fibroblast growth factor-2 isoform (low molecular weight/18 kDa) overexpression in preosteoblast cells promotes bone regeneration in critical size calvarial defects in male mice. Xiao, Liping; Ueno, Daisuke; Catros, Sylvain; Homer-Bouthiette, Collin; Charles, Lyndon; Kuhn, Liisa; Hurley, Marja M Endocrinology 2014 Jan;155(3):965-74