NJIT in the News

Bryan J. Pfister, PhD, is an assistant professor in the department of biomedical engineering at New Jersey Institute of Technology who is a specialist in neural tissue engineering. In 2007, Pfister received a prestigious Faculty Early Career Development Award from the National Science Foundation to support and expand his research into rapid axon stretch growth, a technique for regenerating damaged or diseased nerve cells.

Pfister’s research has recapitulated an unrecognized and extremely rapid form of nervous system growth that occurs during an organism’s development. As animals grow, nerves that initially span a very short distance continue to undergo enormous growth and can reach meters in length in large animals. For example, the blue whale can grow an estimated 4 cm per day and the giraffe’s neck increases by about 2 cm per day at peak growth. Naturally, the nerves are forced to rapidly expand as well. The mechanical stretching forces resulting from the growth of an animal may be the key mechanism that initiates and maintains growth of the nervous system. 

In collaboration with a team of physicians at the University of Pennsylvania, Pfister has recreated in the laboratory a natural form of axon growth that occurs through stretching as an individual grows from embryo through early adulthood. By studying the tissue grown through the stretching technique, he hopes to find clues to repairing traumatic injuries to the spinal cord and other nerve tissue. Pfister also hopes to develop a nerve-tissue interface that would allow for a thought-controlled prosthesis that would behave like a natural limb.

Pfister received his PhD in materials science engineering and his MS degree in mechanical engineering, both from Johns Hopkins University, and his BS degree in interdisciplinary engineering and management from Clarkson University.

Last update: 5/2/08