{{Short description|American engineer and orthopedist}} {{Infobox academic | name = Farshid Guilak | image = | image_size = 230px | caption = | birth_date = | birth_place = | occupation = | education =BS, MS, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute <br> M.Phil, 1990, PhD, mechanical engineering, 1992, Columbia University | thesis_title =Cell-matrix interactions and metabolic changes in articular cartilage under compression | thesis_year =1992 | spouse = | children = | awards = | parents = | workplaces = Washington University School of Medicine <br> Shriners Hospitals for Children <br> Duke University }}
'''Farshid Guilak''' is an American engineer and orthopedic researcher. He is the Mildred B. Simon Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Washington University in St. Louis and director of research at Shriners Hospitals for Children. He is also on the faculty of the departments of Biomedical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science, and Developmental Biology at Washington University.
He is considered one of the top-ranked scientists in the world, ranked #1 in the field of orthopaedics & traumatology,<ref>{{cite web |title=AD Scientific Index 2023 | url=https://www.adscientificindex.com/scientist/farshid-guilak/1323568 |access-date=November 6, 2022}}</ref> #12 in the field of Biomedical Engineering,<ref>{{cite journal |title=Updated science-wide author databases of standardized citation indicators | year=2022 | doi=10.17632/btchxktzyw.4 | url=https://elsevier.digitalcommonsdata.com/datasets/btchxktzyw/4 |access-date=November 6, 2022| author1=Jeroen Baas | volume=4 | publisher=Elsevier BV }}</ref> and regularly listed as one of highly cited scientists with h-index over 100.<ref>{{cite web | title = Highly Cited Researchers h>100 according to their Google Scholar Citations public profiles | url=https://www.webometrics.info/en/hlargerthan100|access-date=November 6, 2022}}</ref>
==Early life and education== Guilak completed his Bachelor of Science and Master's degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and his PhD at Columbia University.<ref>{{cite web |title=Farshid Guilak CV |url=https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/38872965/farshid-guilak-phd-professor-k-lab-duke-university |access-date=January 6, 2022}}</ref>
==Career== ===Duke=== Following his PhD, Guilak joined the faculty at Duke University School of Medicine as an assistant professor and shortly thereafter became the director of research for the Division of Orthopedic Surgery.<ref name=":1">{{cite news |title=Duke University |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91794299/duke-university/ |access-date=January 6, 2022 |publisher=The News and Observer |date=November 1, 2000|via=newspapers.com}}</ref> Shortly after joining the faculty, Guilak was honored with the Kappa Delta Award from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons for his study of cartilage cells and discovery of how they responded to stress on the joint.<ref name="shrinerschildrens">{{cite web |title=Research Center Director Earns Orthopaedic Honor for the Third Time |url=https://www.shrinerschildrens.org/en/news-and-media/news/2021/02/trifecta-of-nobel-prize-awards |publisher=Shriners Hospitals for Children |access-date=January 6, 2022 |date=February 10, 2021}}</ref> In 2000, Guilak received the Y.C. Fung Young Investigator Award to investigate the effects of biomechanical forces on articular cartilage.<ref name=":1"/> During his early tenure at Duke, Guilak was recognized by the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering for his "pioneering work in chondrocyte and mechanobiology, and functional tissue engineering of articular cartilage."<ref>{{cite web |title=FARSHID GUILAK, PH.D. AIMBE College of Fellows Class of 2005 |url=https://aimbe.org/college-of-fellows/cof-0376/ |publisher=American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering |access-date=January 6, 2022}}</ref> Following this, Guilak led a team of researchers in developing a three-dimensional fabric scaffold into which stem cells could be seeded and successfully develop into articular cartilage tissue.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Moutos |first1=Franklin T. |last2=Freed |first2=Lisa E. |last3=Guilak |first3=Farshid |title=A biomimetic three-dimensional woven composite scaffold for functional tissue engineering of cartilage|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/nmat1822|journal=Nature Materials |date=2007 |volume=6 |issue=2 |pages=162–167 |doi=10.1038/nmat1822 |pmid=17237789 |bibcode=2007NatMa...6..162M |access-date=January 6, 2022|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Based on this research, Guilak found a way to create artificial replacement tissue with durable hydrogels that mimics both the strength and flexibility of native cartilage.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Baker |first1=Jeni |title=Duke Engineers Make Strides Toward Artificial Cartilage |url=https://bme.duke.edu/about/news/duke-engineers-make-strides-toward-artificial-cartilage |publisher=Duke University |access-date=January 6, 2022 |date=December 13, 2013}}</ref> More recently, he and his collaborators showed proof-of-concept that 3D weaving could be used to create large, anatomically shaped cartilage replacements in the shape of a human hip.<ref>{{Cite journal|doi = 10.1073/pnas.1601639113|title = Anatomically shaped tissue-engineered cartilage with tunable and inducible anticytokine delivery for biological joint resurfacing|year = 2016|last1 = Moutos|first1 = Franklin T.|last2 = Glass|first2 = Katherine A.|last3 = Compton|first3 = Sarah A.|last4 = Ross|first4 = Alison K.|last5 = Gersbach|first5 = Charles A.|last6 = Guilak|first6 = Farshid|last7 = Estes|first7 = Bradley T.|journal = Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume = 113|issue = 31|pages = E4513–E4522|pmid = 27432980|pmc = 4978289| bibcode=2016PNAS..113E4513M |doi-access = free}}</ref> He also collaborated with Wolfgang Liedtke to develop a prototype of TRPV4 blockers.<ref>{{cite web |title=Scientists Discover and Test New Class of Pain Relievers |url=https://medschool.duke.edu/blog/scientists-discover-and-test-new-class-pain-relievers |publisher=Duke University |access-date=January 6, 2022 |date=June 3, 2016}}</ref> Guilak later received the 2010 Borelli Award from the American Society of Biomechanics for his work in the biomechanics of health, degeneration, and repair of the synovial joint.<ref>{{cite web |title=BME Special Issue Spotlights |url=http://den.pratt.duke.edu/bme-special/spotlights-0.html |publisher=Duke University |access-date=January 6, 2022 |date=2010 |archive-date=March 5, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180305182640/http://den.pratt.duke.edu/bme-special/spotlights-0.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
While working as the Laszlo Ormandy Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Guilak was the recipient of the 2012 Dean's Award for his "intelligence, patience, and compassion."<ref>{{cite web |title=2012 Dean's Award: Farshid Guilak |url=https://gradschool.duke.edu/about/news/2012-dean%E2%80%99s-award-farshid-guilak |publisher=Duke University |access-date=January 6, 2022 |date=March 23, 2012 |archive-date=January 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220107021736/https://gradschool.duke.edu/about/news/2012-dean%E2%80%99s-award-farshid-guilak |url-status=dead }}</ref> In this role, Guilak's laboratory used mice to demonstrate the ability to produce an unlimited number of stem cells that could turn into cartilage. As a result of his research, he was named the inaugural winner of the Biomedical Engineering Society's Innovator Award for Cell and Molecular Bioengineering in 2014.<ref>{{cite web |title=Farshid Guilak Inaugural Recipient of Biomedical Engineering Society Innovator Award for Cell and Molecular Bioengineering |url=https://pratt.duke.edu/about/news/farshid-guilak-inaugural-recipient-biomedical-engineering-society-innovator-award-cell |publisher=Duke University |access-date=January 6, 2022 |date=January 31, 2014}}</ref> The following year, Guilak earned his second Kappa Delta award for his study of post-traumatic arthritis and the development of therapeutic approaches that target inflammation following injury.<ref name="shrinerschildrens"/>
===WUSTL=== In 2016, Guilak left Duke to join the faculty at Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL) as co-director of the new Center of Regenerative Medicine and director of research at Shriners Hospitals for Children. In this role, he developed new methods for growing cartilage and bone from stem cells as path to treating arthritis.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cooperman |first1=Jeannette |title=How these St. Louis doctors are growing joints to fight arthritis |url=https://www.stlmag.com/health/fighting-arthritis/ |publisher=St. Louis Magazine |access-date=January 6, 2022 |date=July 19, 2018}}</ref> At WUSTL, Guilak was also appointed to the rank of professor of orthopedic surgery in the School of Medicine.<ref>{{cite web |title=Trustees grant faculty appointments, promotions|url=https://source.wustl.edu/2015/11/trustees-grant-faculty-appointments-promotions-3/ |publisher=Washington University School of Medicine |access-date=January 6, 2022 |date=November 3, 2015}}</ref> During his first year teaching at the institution, Guilak continued to focus on the biomechanical factors that contribute to the onset and progression of osteoarthritis. As such, he received the 2016 Basic Science Research Award from the Osteoarthritis Research Society International.<ref>{{cite web |title=Guilak receives award from Osteoarthritis Research Society |url=https://source.wustl.edu/2016/06/guilak-receives-award-osteoarthritis-research-society/ |publisher=Washington University School of Medicine |access-date=January 6, 2022 |date=June 2, 2016}}</ref> Later, Guilak was recognized by the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Society for his "significant contributions to the tissue engineering and regenerative medicine field."<ref>{{cite web |title=Guilak honored by regenerative medicine organization |url=https://source.wustl.edu/2019/11/guilak-honored-by-regenerative-medicine-organization/ |publisher=Washington University |access-date=January 6, 2022 |date=November 1, 2019}}</ref>
Guilak has made pioneering advances in the field of "smart cells", creating living implants that serve as self-regulating pharmacologic factories for the body. His major contributions include the development of two new fields, "mechanogenetics" and "chronogenetics". Mechanogenetics involves using cellular mechanotransduction pathways to synthesize biological drugs on demand, while chrotogentics using the cell's own molecular circadian clock to drive drug delivery in a timed manner.{{Citation needed|date=April 2026}}
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Guilak's laboratory was forced to pause their experiments on the causes of arthritis and potential treatments.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Chen |first1=Eli |title='I Feel Like I'm Not Doing Anything': Scientists Find Research Difficult During Pandemic |url=https://news.stlpublicradio.org/health-science-environment/2020-06-09/i-feel-like-im-not-doing-anything-scientists-find-research-difficult-during-pandemic |publisher=St. Louis Public Radio |access-date=January 6, 2022 |date=June 9, 2020}}</ref> Despite this, Guilak received his third Kappa Delta Award for his research in functional cartilage engineering for total joint resurfacing.<ref name="shrinerschildrens"/> The Kappa Delta Award, often termed the "Nobel Prize of Orthopaedics", is considered the highest research award in the field of orthopedics.<ref>{{cite web |title=Trifecta of 'Nobel Prize' Awards |url=https://www.shrinerschildrens.org/en/news-and-media/news/2021/02/trifecta-of-nobel-prize-awards|access-date=February 17, 2022 |date=February 10, 2021}}</ref> Guilak is the only person to have received this award 3 times.
In February 2022, Guilak was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering "for contributions to regenerative medicine and mechanobiology and their application to the development of clinical therapies."<ref>{{cite web |title=National Academy of Engineering Elects 111 Members and 22 International Members |url=https://www.nae.edu/270224.aspx|publisher=National Academy of Engineering |access-date=February 17, 2022 |date=February 9, 2022}}</ref> Guilak also received his 5th mentoring award, the 2022 Outstanding Achievement in Mentoring Award from the Orthopaedic Research Society.<ref>{{cite web |title=Outstanding Achievement in Mentoring Award |url=https://www.ors.org/outstanding-achievement-in-mentoring-award/|publisher=Orthopaedic Research Society |access-date=February 17, 2022 |date=February 6, 2022}}</ref>
In October 2022, Guilak was also elected a member of the National Academy of Medicine "for contributions to the understanding of musculoskeletal diseases such as arthritis, and the development of new disease therapies through the creation of multiple novel fields of biomedical engineering, including functional tissue engineering, mechanogenetics, and synthetic chronogenetics."<ref>{{cite web |title=National Academy of Medicine Elects 100 Members |url=https://nam.edu/national-academy-of-medicine-elects-100-new-members-2022/|publisher=National Academy of Medicine |access-date=October 17, 2022 |date=October 17, 2022}}</ref>
In December 2022, Guilak was elected a member of the National Academy of Inventors for his contributions to entrepreneurship and inventions on the development of new drug, cell, and gene therapies for arthritis.<ref>{{cite web |title=NAI INDUCTS THE 2022 CLASS OF FELLOWS |url=https://mailchi.mp/academyofinventors/nai-announces-2022-fellows/ |publisher=National Academy of Inventors |access-date=December 8, 2022 |date=December 7, 2022}}</ref>
He is also a Fellow of the Academy of Science, St. Louis.<ref>{{cite web |title=Academy Fellows |url=https://academyofsciencestl.org/academy-fellows/ |publisher=Academy of Science, St. Louis |access-date=November 3, 2025 |date=November 3, 2025}}</ref>
===Arts===
In 2008, Guilak's 3D weaving system was exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) as part of a display on "Design and the Elastic Mind",<ref>{{cite web |title=Design and the Elastic Mind |url=https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/58 |access-date=March 17, 2022 |date=February 6, 2022}}</ref> an arts exhibit by Paola Antonelli, seeking to "highlight examples of successful translation of disruptive innovation, examples based on ongoing research, as well as reflections on the future responsibilities of design. Of particular interest will be the exploration of the relationship between design and science and the approach to scale."
Guilak is currently part of a scientific team working with artist Diemut Strebe on the project "Sugababe", a living replica of Vincent van Gogh's ear involving as main technologies tissue engineering, genetic engineering and cell reprogramming.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sugababe 2014-2021 |url=http://diemutstrebe.altervista.org/index.php?n=1 |access-date=March 28, 2022 |date=March 28, 2022 |archive-date=January 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230127132934/http://diemutstrebe.altervista.org/index.php?n=1 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
===Sports===
Guilak is an accomplished racquetball player and has played on the professional circuit in the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) for several years, reaching the top 60 in the world in 2016. He was sponsored as a player and coach by Prince Sports-Ektelon racquet sports for decades. He served as the coach of the Duke University racquetball team from 2008 to 2016.<ref>{{cite web |title=Creating Bonds Outside the Classroom |url=https://today.duke.edu/2014/03/clubsports |access-date=March 28, 2022 |date=March 5, 2014}}</ref> In 2023, he won the national doubles championship title (40+) at the National Masters Racquetball Association tournament.<ref>{{cite web |title=Men's National Masters Racquetball Association Championship |url= https://www.r2sports.com/tourney/drawsOut/roundRobin.asp |access-date=May 1, 2023 |date=April 1, 2023}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Google Scholar id | CWj6pVcAAAAJ}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guilak, Farshid}} Category:Living people Category:Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute alumni Category:Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science alumni Category:Duke University School of Medicine faculty Category:Washington University School of Medicine faculty Category:Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering Category:Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:American racquetball players Category:Members of the National Academy of Medicine