When Tawni Lloyd, a recently graduated bioengineering major, bought herself a 3D printer last summer, she had no idea it would lead to building a bioreactor for her senior project. Having already taught herself to operate the printer, Lloyd was able to jump straight into design work come fall quarter.
Lloyd’s bioreactor can be used to both preserve and grow skeletal muscle tissue. While the university’s bioengineering lab already houses a bioreactor, Lloyd’s design is specifically created to combine perfusion of media through the tissue and mechanical stimulation to facilitate the tissue engineering process. She developed an interest in skeletal muscle tissue when she learned the impact engineered skeletal muscle tissue can have in medicine. Lloyd explained that skeletal muscle tissues are often needed for car accident victims and people who suffer from torn muscles and tendons.
According to Lloyd, the design and construction process for the bioreactor was immensely time consuming. Endless prototyping, testing, and brainstorming went into building a system capable of mimicking conditions in the human body in a sterile environment. “Bioreactors serve as the middle-man for preserving tissues between when they have been made and when they are used,” Lloyd explained. “By stretching the tissues and forcing blood through them, we are able to conduct a variety of tests on the skeletal muscle as if it were in a living organism.”
Lloyd is extremely happy with the success of her bioreactor but is excited about the prospect of incorporating more sophisticated features with the help of a team in the future. Lloyd learned through her project how important it is to collaborate with engineers in other specialties such as electrical engineering. Lloyd envisions a perfected version of her bioreactor being very functional and easy to use in the laboratory. Eventually, her goal is to facilitate and grow other kinds of tissue such as tendons and ligaments.
In part due to her excellent completion of the project, Lloyd was selected as the Engineer of the Year by the WWU School of Engineering. She presented her work at The Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS) in Seattle and at the WWU Awards Celebration.
With work on her bioreactor complete, at least for the time being, Lloyd has turned her sights to her upcoming year as a student missionary where she will serve as a math teacher in Pohnpei, Micronesia. Lloyd will also use the year to consider her next steps professionally. “I began college on the pre-medicine track but now I really want to go into bioengineering and eventually earn a Ph.D.,” said Lloyd. “I’ve considered studying tissue engineering or perhaps bioremediation, which involves recycling and decontamination.”
As an engineering student, Lloyd has had a very busy past four years, but she doesn’t regret seizing so many opportunities. Whether she was in the tissue engineering lab or in the midst of a discussion in a literature class, Lloyd has been grateful to connect with so many people who encourage each other academically, personally, and spiritually.
Join Lloyd for a tour of the WWU bioengineering labs where she gained insight into tissue engineering by visiting @wallawallaengineering on Instagram.
Posted Oct. 23, 2024
