Joseph W. Freeman

The Musculoskeletal Tissue Regeneration (MoTR) Laboratory primarily focuses on the repair and regeneration of tissue, mainly musculoskeletal tissue, through the use of tissue engineering techniques. We also investigate mechanisms of tissue damage and healing, cancer development, and molecular modeling of structural proteins.

•    Ford Foundation Fellow
•    NIH Training Program Fellow
•    Invited Speaker at Materials Research Society (MRS) Meeting
•    Featured in the Rutgers Biomedical Engineering Brochure
•    Virginia Tech ABD Fellow
•    Johnson & Johnson Graduate Fellow
•    NIH Interdisciplinary Biotechnology Ph.D. Training Program Fellow
•    New Jersey Center-Whitaker for Biomaterials Fellow

Joseph W. Freeman, Ph. D.  earned his B.S.E in Chemical Engineering from Princeton University his Ph. D. in Biomedical Engineering from Rutgers University and The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. There, in the laboratory of Dr. Frederick H. Silver, he studied type I collagen mineralization and its effects on elastic and viscoelastic properties through in vitro studies and molecular modeling. Dr. Freeman also studied tendon development, the structure and mechanics of type I collagen, the effect of strain on type I collagen mineralization, and skin mechanical properties. 

Following his doctoral work, Dr. Freeman went to the University of Virginia as a Research Associate in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery under Dr. Cato T. Laurencin. At UVA, Dr. Freeman worked on the use of novel biomaterials in bone regeneration, the development of new scaffolds for ligament repair, the use of hydrogels for ligament repair, and the design and construction of a braiding machine for ligament graft construction.

As a professor at Virginia Tech, Dr. Freeman's research interests lie in the development of new biomaterials for tissue engineering and the construction of novel, functional scaffolds for the repair of musculoskeletal tissues.

At Rutgers University, Dr. Freeman is developing new implantable scaffolds for the regeneration of musculoskeletal tissues, using molecular modeling to investigate collagen structure and function, and developing tumor engineering models.

•    Fall 2011:  Instructor, 14:125:208 - Introduction to Biomechanics
•    Fall 2010:  Instructor, BMES 5014 - Quantitative Physiology
•    Fall 2009:  Instructor, BMES 5984 - Fundamentals of Tissue Function, Structure, and Replacement
•    Spring 2008: Instructor, BMES 5984 - Fundamentals of Tissue Function, Structure, and Replacement
•    Fall 2007: Course Coordinator, BMES 5004 - Mammalian Physiology
•    Spring 2007: Instructor, BMES 5984 - Fundamentals of Tissue Function, Structure, and Replacement
•    Fall 2006: Course Coordinator, BMES 5004 - Mammalian Physiology

•    Ph.D, Biomedical Engineering, Rutgers University and The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, 2003
•    B.S.E., Chemical Engineering, Princeton University