Arindom Sen
Department Head
Professor
PhD - Chemical Engineering
MSc - Chemical Engineering
BSc - Chemical Engineering
BSc - Cellular, Molecular, and Microbial Biology and Minor in Psychology
Contact information
Phone
Location
Research
Research areas
- Biomedical engineering
- Biochemical engineering
- Stem cells
Research activities
Dr. Sen's current research interests lie in the areas of biochemical and biomedical engineering. His primary research program focuses on making contributions to the development of adult stem cell based therapies by combining principles from the biological sciences, engineering, and medicine. Stem cells are unspecialized cells that have the ability to divide and generate the different specialized cell types that provide the functional capabilities of a particular tissue. This awesome regenerative capacity means that stem cells hold promise as therapeutic agents in the treatment of those medical conditions that result from the death of specialized cells within a tissue. The replacement of the dead cells with fully functional specialized cells, an approach known as cell based therapy, may be able to reverse these medical conditions. However, stem cells are only present in adult tissues in very sparse quantities, and as such, cannot simply be harvested in clinically relevant numbers. Thus, if stem cell therapy is to achieve widespread clinical significance, standard methods will need to be developed to expand stem cell populations in culture, and then to induce these generated stem cells populations towards desired specialized cell types and tissues.
Dr. Sen is working on developing bioreactor based generation systems to scale-up the production of a wide array of stem cell types including neural, pancreatic, hepatic, cardiac, adipose, and mesenchymal stem cells. He is also investigating how physical, chemical and mechanical cues can be used to induce stem cells to become clinically useful specialized cells including those which can be used to repair bone and joint injuries, and reverse neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson’s disease.
Publications
2013
Dry H, Jorgenson KD, Ando W, Frank CB, Hart D, Sen A “Effect of Calcium on the Proliferation Kinetics of Synovium-Derived Mesenchymal Stromal Cells” Cytotherapy 15(7): 805-819 (2013)
Ezeuko CC, Sen A, Gates ID. Modelling biofilm-induced formation damage and biocide treatment in subsurface geosystems. Microbial Biotechnology 6(1): 53-66 (2013)
2012
Bozorg A, Gates ID, Sen A “Real Time Monitoring of Biofilm Development Under Flow Conditions in Porous Media” Biofouling 28(9): 937-51 (2012)
Yuan Y, Hunter C, Kallos MS, Sen A “Improved Expansion of Human Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Microcarrier-Based Suspension Culture” Journal of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (Published Online June 11, 2012; doi: 10.1002/term.1515)
McLeod MC, Kobayashi NR, Sen A, Baghbaderani BA, Sadi D, Ulalia R, Behie LA, Mendez I “Transplantation of GABAergic Cells Derived from Bioreactor-Expanded Human Neural Precursor Cells Restores Motor and Cognitive Behavioural Deficits in A Rodent Model of Huntington's Disease” Cell Transplantation (Published Online November 1, 2012)
Jung S, Sen A, Rosenberg L, Behie LA “Human mesenchymal stem cell culture: rapid and efficient isolation and expansion in a defined serum-free medium” Journal of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine 6(5): 391-403 (2012)
Haque F, de Visscher A, Sen A “Biofiltration for BTEX Removal” Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology 42(24): 2648-2692 (2012)
2011
Bozorg A, Sen A, Gates ID “A New Approach to Model Biofilm Growth and Evolution in a Porous Medium” Environmental Microbiology 13(11): 3010-3023 (2011).
Ezeuko CC, Sen A, Grigoryan A, Gates ID “Network Modeling of Biofilm Evolution in Porous Media Under Nutrient Limited Conditions” Biotechnology and Bioengineering 108(10): 2413-2423 (2011)
2010
Jung S, Sen A, Rosenberg L, Behie LA "Identification of Growth and Attachment Factors for the Serum Free Isolation and Expansion of human Mesenchymal Stem Cells" Cytotherapy 12(5):637-57 (2010).
Sen A, Kallos MS, Behie LA, "Bioprocess Engineering of Neural Stem Cells", Chapter in the book Wiley Encyclopedia of Industrial Biotechnology: Bioprocess, Bioseparation, and Cell Technology, Ed Michael C Flickinger, Publ John Wiley & Sons, ISBN: 978-0-471-79930-6 (2010).
Baghbaderani BA, Sen A, Kallos MS, Behie LA, "Bioengineering Protocols for Neural Precursor Cell Expansion", Chapter in the book Protocols for Neural Cell Culture (4th Edition), Ed L Doering, Publ The Humana Press ISBN: 978-1-60761-291-9 (2010).
2009
Baghbaderani BA, Mukhida K, Sen A, Kallos MS, Hong M, Mendez I, Behie LA. “Bioreactor expansion of human neural precursor cells in serum-free media retains neurogenic potential” Biotechnology and Bioengineering 105(4):823-33 (2010).
Jung S, Sen A, Kallos MS, Rosenberg L, Kutlu B, Goodman N, Behie LA “Chapter 29: Large - Scale Production of Functional Beta Cells from Stem/Progenitor Cells in Suspension Bioreactors”, in the book: The Bioartificial Pancreas and other Biohybrid Therapies - Editors: J.P. Hallé, P. de Vos, L. Rosenberg, Publisher: Transworld Research Network, Kerala, IN (2009).
2008
Mukhida K, Hong M, Miles G, Phillips T, Baghbaderani BA, McLeod M, Kobayashi A, Sen A, Behie LA, Brownstone R, Mendez I, “A Multitarget Basal Ganglia Dopaminergic and GABAergic Transplantation Strategy Enhances Behavioural Recovery in Parkinsonian Rats”, Brain 131(8), 2106-2126 (2008).
Baghbaderani BA, Mukhida K, Sen A, Hong M, Mendez I, Behie LA, “Expansion of Human Neural Precursor Cells in Large-Scale Bioreactors for the Treatment of Neurodegenerative Disorders”, Biotechnology Progress 24(4), 859-870 (2008).
Mukhida K, Baghbaderani BA, Hong M, Lewington M, Phillips T, McLeod M, Sen A, Behie LA, Mendez I, “Survival, Differentiation and Migration of Bioreactor-Expanded Human Neural Precursor Cells in a Model of Parkinson Disease in Rats”, Journal of Neurosurgical Focus 24(3-4): E8, 1-17 (2008).
2007
Mukhida K, Mendez I, McLeod M, Kobayashi N, Milne B, Baghbaderani BA, Sen A, Behie LA and Hong M, “Spinal GABAergic Transplants Attenuate Mechanical Allodynia in a Rat Model of Neuropathic Pain”, Stem Cells 25(11), 2874-2885 (2007).
Youn BS, Arindom S, Behie LA, Clarke I, Dirks PB, Basik M “Bioprocessing of Cancer Stem Cells”, BioProcessing Journal, Feature Article, 6(2), 21-29 (2007)
2006
McLeod, M., Hong, M., Sen, A., Sadi, D., Ulalia, R., Behie, L.A., Mendez, I. "Transplantation of bioreactor-produced neural stem cells into the rodent brain", Cell Transplantation. 15(8-9):689-97 (2006)
Wang, T.Y., Sen, A., Behie, L.A., Kallos, M.S. "Dynamic Behaviour of Neurospheres in Expanding Populations of Neural Precursors", Brain Research, 1107, 82-96 (2006).
Youn, B.S., Sen, A., Behie L.A., Kallos, M.S., Girgis-Gabardo, A., Hassell, J.A., "Scale-Up of Breast Cancer Stem Cell Aggregate Cultures to Suspension Bioreactors", Biotechnology Progress 22(3):801-810 (2006).
Gilbertson J.A., Sen A., Behie L.A., Kallos M.S., "Scaled-up production of mammalian neural precursor cell aggregates in computer-controlled suspension bioreactors", Biotechnology and Bioengineering 94(4):783-792 (2006)
Bodnar C.A., Sen A., Kallos M.S., Behie L.A., Petropavlovskaia M., Rosenberg L., "Characterization of human islet-like structures generated from pancreatic precursor cells in culture", Biotechnology and Bioengineering 93(5):980-988 (2006).
Chawla M., Bodnar C.A., Sen A., Kallos M.S., Behie L.A., "Production of islet-like structures from neonatal porcine pancreatic tissue in suspension bioreactors", Biotechnology Progress 22(2), 561 - 567 (2006).
Awards
2013 - Medal for Distinction in Engineering Education
Presented by Engineers Canada
2013 - Award for Outstanding Teaching Excellence in 1st Year Engineering
Presented by the Engineering Students' Society
2012 - Excellence in Education Award
A Summit Award
Presented by the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA).
http://apega.ca/Members/Awards/SA2012/excellence_in_education.html
2011 - Killam Innovation in Teaching Award
Presented by the Killam Trusts and the University of Calgary
2011 - Professor of the Year Award
Presented by the 2011 Graduating Class of the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering
2011 - Award for Outstanding Teaching Excellence in 1st Year Engineering
Presented by the Engineering Students' Society
2010 - Students Union Teaching Excellence Award
Presented by the University of Calgary Students' Union
2010 - Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering Teaching Excellence Award
Presented by the Schulich School of Engineering
2010 - Award for Outstanding Teaching Excellence in 1st Year Engineering
Presented by the Engineering Students' Society
2009 - Outstanding Teacher Award
Presented by the Schulich School of Engineering
2009 - Common Core Teaching Excellence Award
Presented by the Schulich School of Engineering
2008 - Honorable Mention, Students' Union Teaching Excellence Award
Presented by the University of Calgary Students' Union
2008 - Award for Outstanding Teaching Excellence in 1st Year Engineering
Presented by the Engineering Students' Society
2007 - Finalist, ASTech Outstanding Leadership in Alberta Technology Award
The Pharmaceutical Production Research Facility Stem Cell Research Team
Presented by the Alberta Science and Technology Leadership Foundation
2007 - Award for Outstanding Teaching Excellence in 1st Year Engineering
Presented by the Engineering Students' Society
2006 - Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering Teaching Excellence Award
Presented by the Schulich School of Engineering
2005 - Award for Outstanding Teaching Excellence in 1st Year Engineering
Presented by the Engineering Students' Society
2005 - Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering Teaching Excellence Award
Presented by the Faculty of Engineering
2004 - NSERC Doctoral Prize in Science and Engineering - more>>
2003 - Governor General's Gold Medal