Karin Wuertz-Kozak Headshot

Karin Wuertz-Kozak

Harvey J. Palmer Professor

Department of Biomedical Engineering
Kate Gleason College of Engineering
Affiliated Faculty, Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences
kwbme@rit.edu
585-475-7355
Office Hours
Upon Request
Office Location
INS-3109
Office Mailing Address
106 Lomb Memorial Dr.

Karin Wuertz-Kozak

Harvey J. Palmer Professor

Department of Biomedical Engineering
Kate Gleason College of Engineering
Affiliated Faculty, Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences

Education

BS, MS, University of Regensburg (Germany); Ph.D., University of Ulm (Germany); MBA, University of Cumbria (UK)

Bio

Dr. Wuertz-Kozak is a pharmacist by training, with a Ph.D. in Human Biology from the University of Ulm in Germany and an MBA in Leadership and Sustainability from the University of Cumbria in the UK. Following a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Vermont, she became a group leader at the University of Zurich and ETH Zurich in Switzerland. She later served as an Assistant Professor at ETH Zurich for three years, where she received the prestigious Swiss National Science Foundation Professorship Award. In 2019, Dr. Wuertz-Kozak was appointed the Kate Gleason Endowed Professor of Biomedical Engineering at RIT. She currently holds the Kate Gleason and Harvey J. Palmer Endowments and leads the Tissue Regeneration and Mechanobiology Laboratory.

An AIMBE Fellow, Dr. Wuertz-Kozak has secured over $9.5 million in research funding from prominent funding agencies in the U.S. and Europe, including NSF, NIH, DARPA, and CDMRP. Her lab investigates the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying inflammation, degeneration, and fibrosis, with the goal of translating these discoveries into innovative therapeutic strategies. Her research focuses primarily on musculoskeletal disorders, particularly intervertebral disc degeneration and back pain, while extending mechanistic and regenerative approaches to skin and lung diseases. The lab combines mechanobiology, extracellular vesicles, biomaterials, biologics, genome engineering, and advanced cell and tissue models to understand disease mechanisms and develop strategies for tissue protection, repair, and regeneration.

kwbme@rit.edu
585-475-7355
Personal Links
Personal Website
Curriculum Vitae
Google Scholar
LinkedIn
Areas of Expertise
Biomedical Engineering
Cellular Micro-Environments
Drug Delivery
Nanofabrication
Nanomaterials

Select Scholarship

Bermudez-Lekerika P, Crump KB, Wuertz-Kozak K, Le Maitre CL, Gantenbein B: Sulfated hydrogels as primary intervertebral disc cell culture systems. Gels 2024, 10(5), 330

Bjorgvinsdottir O, Ferguson S, Gudjonsson T, Snorradottir B, Wuertz-Kozak K: The Influence of Physical and Spatial Substrate Characteristics on Endothelial Cells. Materials Today Bio 2024, 26: 101060 

Cazzanelli P, Lamoca M, Hausmann ON, Mesfin A, Puvanesarajah V, Hitzl W, Haglund L, Wuertz-Kozak K: Exploring the Impact of TLR-2 Signaling on miRNA Dysregulation in Intervertebral Disc Degeneration. Advanced Biology 2024, 28:e2300581

Ceballos-Santa MC, Sierra A; Zalbidea IK, Lazarus E, Marin-Montealegre V, Ramesh S, Iglesias P, Wuertz-Kozak K, Rivero IV: Aloe vera-based Biomaterial Ink for 3D Bioprinting of Wound Dressing Constructs. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part B: Applied Biomaterials 2024, 112(2), e3579

Bitterli T, Schmid D, Ettinger L, Krupkova O, Bach FC, Tryfonidou MA, Meij BP, Pozzi P, Steffen F, Wuertz???Kozak K, Smolders LA: Targeted screening of inflammatory mediators in spontaneous degenerative disc disease in dogs reveals an upregulation of the tumor necrosis superfamily. JOR Spine 2024, 7 (1) e1292

Schoeller J, Wuertz-Kozak K, Ferguson SJ, Rottmar M, Elbs-Glatz Y, Avaro J, Chung M, Rossi RM: Ibuprofen-loaded electrospun poly (ethylene-co-vinyl alcohol) nanofibers for wound dressing applications. Nanoscale Advances 2023, 5 (8) 2261-2270

Currently Teaching

BIME-270
Introduction to Biomaterials
3 Credits
This course is intended to provide an overview of materials used in biomedical applications, both internal and external to the human body. The specific objective of this course is to present the principles which apply to the properties and selection of materials used in medical applications. Topics include an introduction to deformable mechanics and viscoelasticity; structure and properties of metals, ceramics, polymers, and composites; fundamental composition of biological tissues; and principles associated with the interaction between biological tissues and artificial materials.
BIME-499
Co-op
0 Credits
One semester of paid work experience in biomedical engineering.
BIME-617
Principals of Biomedical Device Regulations
3 Credits
This course will present the principles and fundamentals of medical device and in vitro diagnostic regulation. The course will cover the history of the FDA and the regulations around food, drug and cosmetic products. An overview of regulatory pathways, clinical trials, good manufacturing practices and quality system design will be covered. Comparisons between US, EU and other international regulatory bodies will also be discussed. The course will culminate with students developing a clinical trial and regulatory strategy for a new hypothetical medical device.
BIME-670
Advanced Topics in Tissue Engineering
3 Credits
This is a course with lecture and seminar components. The lecture component will provide a state-of-the-art overview of how replacement organs and tissues can be engineered using both natural and synthetic biomaterials as well as chemical and physical cues that direct cellular differentiation and integration. Furthermore, techniques commonly employed in tissue engineering research are discussed. In the seminar component, students will review and present current journal articles and will listen to research talks given by experts in the field of tissue engineering. Scientific interaction with the presenting researchers in the form of Q&A sessions is expected. Additionally, the course will train students in grant proposal writing.
BIME-675
Practical Methods in Tissue Engineering
3 Credits
This hands-on course gives engineering students experience with advanced, state of the art production and application of biomaterials, cell culture methods and analysis techniques used in the area of tissue engineering. In this project-based course, students will work on experiments relating to current literature and will learn how to critically analyze and scientifically summarize the obtained results. Students will use their knowledge and experience to finally design and conduct their independent experiment related to broadly defined topics in the area of tissue engineering.

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