Young scientist of BSMU received PhD degree in Harbin Medical University

Le Thu Chang, Candidate of Medical Sciences, Assistant of the Department of Orthopaedic Dentistry at BSMU, received her PhD degree from Harbin Medical University.

The young scientist is sure that two diplomas - Russian and foreign - will help to expand the prospects of scientific career.

Le Thu Chang's research project: ‘The effect of psoralen-loaded graphene oxide silk polymer hydrogel scafold on osteogenesis of mesenchymal stem cells’.

Le Thu Chang's research supervisor at Harbin University was Professor Pan Shuang, project leader of the National Natural Science Foundation of China for two subjects, China Postdoctoral Foundation, Heilongjiang Provincial Department of Education, Department of Health, Department of Science and Technology.

The scientific work aims to develop and study a new scaffold (‘home’ for stem cells) that will promote the attachment and division of red bone marrow stem cells and stimulate differentiation into osteoblasts (bone cells). The work studied the effect of psoralen-loaded graphene oxide silk polymer hydrogel scafold on osteogenesis of mesenchymal stem cells.

The work of the young scientist helped to create a scaffold using such substances as polyethylene glycol and silk fibroin (the base of the scaffold), graphene oxide, psoralen (active substances stimulating differentiation of stem cells into osteoblasts) and to study the effect of the studied scaffold on mesenchymal stem cells (toxicity, biocompatibility, biodegradation, osteoinductive properties).

A co-operation agreement with Harbin Medical University was signed in October 2015. Within the framework of this agreement, postgraduate students of BGMU are trained under Master+PhD and PhD programmes. The teaching staff of the universities actively participate in joint conferences, seminars, congresses, master-classes of the partner university. As of today, 13 postgraduate students of BGMU are trained in Harbin Medical University. During the years of co-operation 19 postgraduates have already received PhD degree.