Press Coverage

October 5, 2026

Open-Source $51 Syringe Extruder Turns Any 3D Printer Into a Biofabrication Tool

The Allstruder, an open-source syringe extruder developed by the Shiwarski Tissue Engineering Lab, was recently featured by Scienmag for its potential to make 3D biofabrication more accessible and affordable. Built for approximately $51, the Allstruder can transform a wide range of commercially available 3D printers into versatile extrusion-based biofabrication platforms. Its modular, open-source design supports...

Read More

Grants Awarded

July 27, 2026

Shiwarski Lab Receives 2026 Additional Ventures Single Ventricle Research Fund Award

The Shiwarski Tissue Engineering Lab is honored to receive a 2026 Single Ventricle Research Fund (SVRF) Award from Additional Ventures. Our project, “Advancing Fontan Patient Longevity Through Mechanistic Insights into Liver Dysfunction and Thrombosis Using 3D Bioprinted Model Systems,” was selected as one of fifteen teams in this year’s cohort and joins an outstanding group...

Read More

Press Coverage

July 1, 2026

Mentoring Future Scientists – UP SoM

Pitt Department of Medicine Features VESSELS/CampBioE Program The University of Pittsburgh Department of Medicine’s newsletter, Code Blue and Gold, recently spotlighted the VESSELS (Vascular Educational Summer Session for Emerging Laboratory Scientists) program, run in partnership with the Department of Bioengineering’s CampBioE 2.0 initiative. The feature highlights how high school students in grades 9–12 are introduced...

Read More

Grants Awarded

June 27, 2026

Shiwarski Lab Awarded Two HCWP Pilot Grants to Advance Bleeding and Clotting Disorder Research

The Shiwarski Tissue Engineering Lab has secured two pilot grants from the Hemophilia Center of Western Pennsylvania (HCWP) through the P3HVB Pilot Grant program. Both awards take effect June 1, 2026, and together expand the lab’s research into hemostasis and inherited bleeding and clotting disorders. The first award provides $50,000 for the project “Development of...

Read More

Press Coverage

April 19, 2026

An Open Source Breakthrough in Hemodynamics

Pitt Swanson School of Engineering Virtual Newsroom  ·  February 2, 2026 Coverage of HemoLens, the Shiwarski Lab’s open-source 3D-printed pressure myography system developed for under $750. HemoLens enables physiological characterization of native and bioprinted blood vessels, lowering barriers to vascular research and hemodynamics studies worldwide. Article Link: https://news.engineering.pitt.edu/an-open-source-breakthrough-in-hemodynamics/  

Read More

Press Coverage

April 19, 2026

Inspiring Tomorrow’s Engineers

Pitt Swanson School of Engineering Virtual Newsroom  ·  September 17, 2025 Feature on CampBioE 2.0, Dr. Shiwarski’s expanded K-12 bioengineering outreach program at Homewood’s Community Engagement Center. The 2025 program added hands-on 3D bioprinting modules, introducing students from grades 2–12 to tissue engineering and biomedical research concepts. Article Link: https://news.engineering.pitt.edu/inspiring-tomorrows-engineers/

Read More

Press Coverage

April 19, 2026

FRESH Bioprinting Brings Vascularized Tissue One Step Closer

Carnegie Mellon College of Engineering  ·  April 23, 2025 CMU highlighted advances in FRESH 3D bioprinting enabling fully collagen-based microphysiologic systems with sub-100-micron vascular channels. The work overcomes longstanding limitations of synthetic materials in organ-on-chip platforms, allowing cells to function in a native biological environment. Article Link: https://www.cmu.edu/bme/News_Events/story_archive/2025/bioprinting-tissue.html

Read More

Press Coverage

April 19, 2026

CHIPS Off The Old Block

Pitt Swanson School of Engineering Virtual Newsroom  ·  April 25, 2025 Coverage of the Shiwarski Lab’s CHIPS (Collagen High-resolution Internally Perfusable Scaffolds) platform — a 3D bioprinted collagen-based microfluidic system for engineering fully biologic, perfusable tissue constructs published in Science Advances. Article Link: https://news.engineering.pitt.edu/chips-off-the-old-block/

Read More

Scientific

April 19, 2026

Drop in the Cellular Bucket

PittMed Magazine  ·  By Andrew Doerfler  ·  November 1, 2023 PittMed Magazine featured Drs. Daniel and Cary Boyd-Shiwarski and collaborators discussing biomolecular condensates — liquid-like protein droplets that may underlie cell dysfunction in diseases including ALS and kidney disorders. The article explores how this emerging field is rewriting our understanding of cell biology. Article Link:...

Read More

Press Coverage

April 19, 2026

A Path for Clinical Translation of 3D-bioprinted Human Tissues

Carnegie Mellon University News Release  ·  By Sara Vaccar  ·  October 10, 2022 Coverage of a perspectives piece by CMU’s Regenerative Biomaterials and Therapeutics Group examining the core technical and regulatory challenges facing 3D bioprinting, and identifying the essential milestones required to translate bioprinted tissues to clinical use. Article Link: https://engineering.cmu.edu/news-events/news/2022/10/18-3d-bioprinted-tissues.html  

Read More

Press Coverage

April 19, 2026

Protein Droplets Help Cells Respond to Osmotic Stress

Chemical & Engineering News  ·  By Laurel Oldach  ·  November 9, 2022 Chemical & Engineering News covered the discovery that WNK1 protein droplets — liquid-like biomolecular condensates — help cells detect and respond to osmotic stress, with Dr. Shiwarski as a key contributor to this interdisciplinary Pitt/CMU research. Article Link: https://cen.acs.org/biological-chemistry/biochemistry/Protein-droplets-help-cells-respond-osmotic-stress/100/web/2022/11

Read More

Press Coverage

April 19, 2026

Crowded Rooms: How Pitt and Carnegie Mellon Researchers Solved a Decades-Old Mystery

UPMC Press Release  ·  By Julia O’Brien, Ph.D., R.N.  ·  October 31, 2022 Pitt and CMU researchers, including Dr. Shiwarski and collaborators from the Subramanya lab, discovered how cells sense molecular crowding and regulate volume through WNK1 protein condensates — resolving a longstanding question in cell biology with implications for kidney disease and osmotic stress...

Read More

Press Coverage

April 19, 2026

The Force to Shape an Organ

Carnegie Mellon University News Release  ·  By Daniel Carroll  ·  December 11, 2020 Dr. Shiwarski, then a postdoctoral fellow in the Feinberg lab, co-developed a novel biosensor that reveals the mechanobiological forces shaping organ development. The sensor enables measurement of previously uncharacterized forces relevant to conditions such as hypertension and organ morphogenesis. Article Link: https://engineering.cmu.edu/news-events/news/2020/12/11-shape-an-organ.html

Read More

Scientific

April 19, 2026

Carnegie Researchers Develop FRESH New Method of 3D Bioprinting Fully-Sized Human Heart Models

3D Printing Industry  ·  By Shivani Chaudhari  ·  November 25, 2020 Industry coverage of the CMU FRESH bioprinting breakthrough, highlighting the development of fully-sized human heart models and the broader implications for the 3D bioprinting field and future organ fabrication. Article Link: https://3dprintingindustry.com/news/carnegie-researchers-develop-fresh-new-method-of-3d-bioprinting-fully-sized-human-heart-models-179829/

Read More

Press Coverage

April 19, 2026

3D Bioprinted Heart Provides New Tool for Surgeons

Carnegie Mellon University News Release  ·  By Daniel Carroll  ·  November 11, 2020 The Feinberg lab created the first full-sized 3D bioprinted human heart model using FRESH bioprinting and MRI data. The model realistically mimics the elasticity of cardiac tissue and sutures, providing surgeons and clinicians with a powerful new tool for surgical planning and...

Read More

Press Coverage

April 19, 2026

3D Printing the Human Heart

Carnegie Mellon University News Release  ·  By Emily Durham  ·  August 8, 2019 CMU researchers published a landmark paper in Science detailing the FRESH 3D bioprinting technique, enabling the printing of collagen tissue scaffolds at organ scale for the first time. This work demonstrated the ability to bioprint a full-sized adult human heart model with...

Read More

Press Coverage

April 19, 2026

Self-rolling Sensors Take Heart Cell Readings in 3D

Carnegie Mellon University News Release  ·  By Emily Durham  ·  August 23, 2019 Coverage of research from the Cohen-Karni lab at CMU, in which Dr. Shiwarski contributed to development of self-rolling biosensor arrays capable of taking electrical recordings from heart cells in three dimensions, advancing cardiac electrophysiology tools. Article Link: https://engineering.cmu.edu/news-events/news/2019/08/23-cohen-karni-science-advances.html

Read More