User:Vector636/Dr. Muhammad Rizwan

Dr. Muhammad Rizwan (Urdu: محمد رضوان) is a Research Associate in the at UUniversity of Toronto Institute of Biomedical Engineering (IBE) in Molly Shoichet lab. Previously, Rizwan was a Postdoctoral Fellow at University of Waterloo Department of Chemical Engineering. Rizwan is the first Pakistani to receive prestigious Singapore International Graduate Award fellowship for doctoral studies. Rizwan is best known for his contributions in developing soft biomaterials for corneal tissue engineering and studied the role of micro and nano topography on functional characteristics of corneal cells in his doctoral research.

Education and Training
Dr. Rizwan obtained B.Sc. in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering from University of the Punjab (Pakistan) in 2009. Rizwan went on to pursue MS in Bio-nano engineering from Hanyang University (South Korea) on scholarship awarded by Higher Education Commission (Pakistan) (HEC) and graduated in 2012. Subsequently, Rizwan received fellowship from Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) Singapore to conduct doctoral studies. Rizwan graduated from the National University of Singapore (NUS) with a PhD in Biomedical Engineering. He developed micro and nano patterned hydrogels for corneal endothelial tissue engineering and disease modelling in collaboration with scientists from A*STAR and surgeons from Singapore National Eye Centre. In 2017, RIzwan joined University of Waterloo as postdoctoral fellow to work on the development of synthetic vascular grafts and stem cells. Dr. Rizwan has taught in Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology, Bahauddin Zakariya University, and University of Toronto.

Research
Rizwan mainly focuses on studying cell-biomaterial interaction and control of such interactions using micro and nano-technologies, matrix biomaterial design and surface chemistry with a goal to apply this knowledge to tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. During PhD, Rizwan elucidated the role of nanotopographies on improving the functional markers and proliferation of donor-derived primary human corneal endothelial cell. Rizwan also pioneered the recreation of Fuchs Endothelial dystrophy (FED) disease environment in a dish (disease-in-a-dish) using micro-fabrication technology, which enabled the cell therapy study in simulated environment. Disease-in-a-dish platform can potentially predict the outcome of cell therapy approach for FED patients at different stages of disease. This approach was later validated by other research groups using actual diseased corneal surface. In another highly cited research, Rizwan demonstrated that the combination of gelatin triple helices and photoinduced crosslinking dramatically increase hydrogel strength. Such hydrogels were later nanopatterned and effectively used to transplant corneal endothelial cells in animal models. Rizwan developed bioactive PVA based biomaterial for vascular graft fabrication and elucidated the role of gelatin on bioactivity and blood-compatibility of PVA. Rizwan is currently focused on developing advanced hydrogels for liver organoids culture in collaboration with world’s leading stem cells biologists. Rizwan has presented his findings in several international conferences.

Awards and honors

 * Canadian Biomaterials Society (CBS) merit award (2016)


 * Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) Singapore Fellowship for Doctoral Research (2012)
 * University of Padua Fellowship for Doctoral Research (2012)
 * HEC Fellowship for MS by Research in South Korea (2010)
 * Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) fellowship for MS by Research in Pakistan (2009)
 * Pakistan Nuclear regulartory authority (PNRA) Fellowship(2009)

Notable publications
1.       Chan S*, Rizwan M*, Yim EKF. Emerging methods to enhance pluripotent stem cell expansion, Front. Cell Dev. Biol. 2020;8:70

2.      Rizwan M, Yao Y, Gorbet M, Tse J, Anderson DEJ.; Hinds MT, Yim EKF, One-pot covalent grafting of gelatin on polyvinyl alcohol hydrogel to enhance endothelialization and hemocompatibility for synthetic vascular graft applications, ACS Applied Biomaterials, 2020;3:693-703

3.      Rizwan M, Peh GSL, Ang H-P, Lwin NC, Adnan K, Mehta JS, Tan WS, Yim EKF. Sequentially-crosslinked bioactive hydrogels as nano-patterned substrates with customizable stiffness and degradation for corneal tissue engineering applications. Biomaterials 2017;120:139-54

4.      Rizwan M, Peh GS, Adnan K, Naso SL, Mendez AR, Mehta JS, Yim EKF. In Vitro Topographical Model of Fuchs Dystrophy for Evaluation of Corneal Endothelial Cell Monolayer Formation, Adv. Healthcare Mater. 2016;5:2896-2910

5.      Rizwan M, Peh GSL, Adnan K, Law JBK, Mehta JS, Yim EKF. Micro- and nano-topography to enhance proliferation and sustain functional markers of donor-derived primary human corneal endothelial cells, Acta Biomater. 2015;19:138-48

6.      Rizwan M*, Lim SH*, Goh SH, Law JBK, Saifullah MSM, Ho GW, Yim EK. Sub-100 nm patterning of TiO2 film for the regulation of endothelial and smooth muscle cell functions, Biomater. Sci. 2014;2:1740-9

7.      Rizwan M, Cho S-H, Lee J-H, Park J-G. Fluorocarbon film-assisted fabrication of a CoNi mold with high aspect ratio for nanoimprint lithography, Microelectron. Eng. 2013;104:58-63

8.      Rizwan M, Tse JW, Nori A, Leong KW, and Yim EKF. Cell–Substrate Interactions. In Atala A, Lanza R & Mikos A (Eds): Principles of Regenerative Medicine 3rd Edition. Elsevier

Full list of publications available at Google Scholar