The main focus of my PhD research is to investigate the potential of alginate, a plant-based polymer, for use as a tissue engineered scaffold for cultured meat (also known as cultivated meat or lab-grown meat). In our lab at the University of Vermont, we have the ability to create scaffolds using different chemistries and subsequently grow animal cells on them. Apart from cultured meat, I am also involved with some other projects in our lab, such as those related to cancer therapies or angiogenesis. For a full list of publications, please see the bottom of this page. If you would like to learn more about my research, feel free to reach out: hello[at]irfantahir[dot]com.
Publications:
Book Chapter
Tahir I, Stahn M, Kawecki S, Andriessen V, Datta B, Homes D, Gafour L, Datar I. Creating an Infrastructure for Cultured Meat. Advances in Cultured Meat Technology. 2023. [PDF] [Link]
Journal Papers
1. Charron P, Tahir I (Co-first authors), Foley C, White G, Floreani R. Whey Protein Isolate Composites as Tunable Scaffolds for Cultivated Meat. In review.
2. Tahir I, Floreani R. Dual-Crosslinked Alginate-Based Hydrogels with Tunable Mechanical Properties for Cultured Meat. Foods. 2022. [PDF] [Link]
3. Charron P, Tahir I (Co-first authors), McConnell S, Sedler D, Floreani R. Physico-mechanical and ex vivo analysis of aloe-alginate hydrogels for cervical cancer treatment. Journal of Bioactive and Compatible Polymers. 2023. [Link]
4. Tahir I, Rapinac J, Abutunis A, Menta V. Investigating the Effects of Tobacco Lignin on Polypropylene. Polymers. 2022. [PDF] [Link]
5. Charron P, Garcia L, Tahir I, Floreani R. Bio-inspired green light crosslinked alginate-heparin hydrogels support HUVEC tube formation. Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials. 2022. [PDF] [Link]
6. Axelrod L, Charron P, Tahir I, Kostell S, Floreani R. The Effect of Pulp Production Times on the Characteristics and Properties of Hemp-Based Paper. Materials Today Communications. 2022. [PDF] [Link]
7. Menta V, Tahir I, Abutunis A. Effects of Blending Tobacco Lignin with HDPE on Thermal and Mechanical Properties. Materials. 2022. [PDF] [Link]
Conference Papers
1. Tahir I, Floreani R. Dual-Crosslinked Alginate-Based Hydrogels as Cell Instructive Scaffolds for Cultured Meat. Materials Research Society’s Fall Meeting. 2021; Boston.
2. Tahir I, Charron P, Garcia L, Floreani R. HUVEC Tubular Formation on Bio-Inspired Substrate for Promoting Angiogenesis. Society for Biomaterials Annual Meeting. 2021; Virtual. [PDF]
3. Tahir I, Charron P, Garcia L, Floreani R. The Impact of Covalently Conjugated Alginate-Heparin Methacrylate Hydrogels on Multi-Axial Strength and HUVEC Tubular Formation. The University of Vermont Student Research Conference. 2021; Virtual. [PDF] [Link]
4. Tahir I, Rapinac J, Menta V. Development of a Low-Cost Silicone Mold Tool for Injection Molding Plastic Parts. The Composites and Advanced Materials Expo. 2020; Florida. [Link]
5. Tahir I, Mahmood S, Rapinac J, Menta V. Thermo-Mechanical Characterization of Polypropylene-Tobacco Lignin Blends. International Conference on Advanced Materials Science and Engineering. 2019; Hawaii.
6. Mahmood S, Tahir I, Rapinac J, Menta V. Thermo-Mechanical Characterization of HDPE-Tobacco Lignin Blends. The Composites and Advanced Materials Expo.2019; California. [Link]
Thesis
Tahir I, Master’s Thesis, Development Of A Silicone Mold Tool For Injection Molding Plastic Parts. [PDF] [Link]