Manu Platt Biography

Manu Platt, Ph.D., joined the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University in January 2009 as the department's newest faculty member. His research focuses on cardiovascular tissue remodeling in sickle cell disease and HIV patients, as well as creating regenerative medicine techniques for tissue repair employing bone marrow-derived stem cells. In 2001, Platt graduated from Morehouse College with a B.S. in Biology. As a senior undergraduate, he was asked to collaborate with Robert Nerem, Ph.D. at the Georgia Tech & Emory Center for the Engineering of Living Tissue (GTEC). Platt was inspired to seek a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech, which he obtained in 2006. Platts thesis, advised by Hanjoong Jo, Ph.D., professor of biomedical engineering and cardiology, looked into the role of blood flow mechanics in the differential regulation of cathepsin enzymes and their inhibitor cystatin C in the endothelial cells that line the arterial walls; this research has important implications for plaque formation in arteries, which leads to cardiovascular disease. Those who are familiar with Platt may be shocked to discover that during his undergraduate and graduate studies, he had no intention of becoming a professor. Platts' ambition was to work at NASA as a biological researcher; he had interned at three different NASA locations during his undergraduate career. The pivotal moment happened during Platt's internship at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, when he was attempting to lyophilize (freeze dry) mammalian cells in the summer of 2005. NASA's space program switched focus after the Columbia tragedy in 2003, focusing on unmanned spacecraft and the Mars landing. As a result, the life science workforce is practically non-existent. Platt explained, "I learned that while there was some amount of independence, the government could nonetheless alter your study goal." Instead, Platt decided to become a professor and seek a postdoctoral job in academia. Platt sought a professor post with the Coulter Department after being recommended by Nerem, the former director of IBB and current director of GTEC. He was offered the job, but he declined because he wanted to work as a postdoctoral researcher with Douglas Lauffenburger, Ph.D., and Linda Griffith, Ph.D., at MIT's Biological Engineering department from 2006 to 2008. He moved on to orthopedic tissue engineering, biomaterials, stem cells, mathematical modeling, signal transduction, and systems biology at this point. In January 2009, Platt returned to Georgia Tech to establish the Platt Lab for Repair, Regeneration, and Remodeling. He says that building a laboratory from the ground up was both challenging and rewarding. New professors are given a large budget to purchase the necessary equipment to get their lab up and running. It's great because you can get the items you truly want that maybe your graduate lab didn't have, according to Platt. The most difficult aspect was the small details, such as disposables, beakers, graduated cylinders, and even paper towels, which are sometimes overlooked. Starting a lab also entailed a significant quantity of paperwork.

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