Abbott, Rosalyn

Rosalyn Abbott is an Associate Professor in Biomedical Engineering with a courtesy appointment in Materials Science and Engineering. Professor Abbott received her B.S. and M.S. degrees in Biomedical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and her Ph.D. degree in Bioengineering from the University of Vermont. She was subsequently a postdoctoral fellow in the Biomedical Engineering Department at Tufts University working under the supervision of Professor David Kaplan, where she developed adipose tissue engineered models.  
 
Dr. Abbott’s lab at CMU focuses on tissue engineering and examining the role of lipid accumulation in a variety of diseases and applications. This general approach is applied to a) engineer adipose tissue grafts to increase retention and functionality of reconstructive surgery, b) develop disease models, c) increase the number of donor livers available for transplantation via defatting, and d) cultivate high lipid content meat products to decrease the environmental impact of traditional agriculture methods. Her research is guided by a clinical and/or environmental need and utilizes cellular and biomaterial approaches to address this.