Chandan K. Sen

Chandan K. Sen is an Indian-American scientist who is a globally recognized leader in regenerative medicine and wound care innovation, renowned for groundbreaking scientific discoveries and pioneering technologies that are reshaping the science of healing and advancing patient care. He is currently the Director of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine of the University of Pittsburgh.^[1] He is the Bartley P Griffith MD FACS FRCS Chair of Regenerative Medicine and tenured Professor of Surgery who also serves as the Chief Scientific Officer of wound care services of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center health system.^[2] At the University of Pittsburgh, Professor Sen serves as Associate Vice Chancellor for Life Sciences Innovation and Commercialization.^[3] Dr. Sen is the current vice-chair and chair-elect of the National Institute of Health's^[4] Diabetic Foot Consortium.^[5]

Professor Chandan K Sen (2023)

Founded in 1992, McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine was initially established as the McGowan Center for Artificial Organ Development. Professor Sen moved with a large team of scientists from Indiana to Pittsburgh in July 2023.^[6] During 2018-2023, Professor Sen served as an Indiana University Distinguished Professor.^[7] At Indiana University, Sen directed the Indiana Center for Regenerative Medicine and Engineering (ICRME) and held the J. Stanley Battersby Chair and Distinguished Professor of Surgery.^[8] He also served as the Associate Dean of Research as well as Associate Vice President of Research.^[9] In 2020, he was awarded the Bicentennial Medal by the University President's Office.^[10]

In 2021, Sen was elected Fellow to the National Academy of Inventors.^[9] Currently, he serves as Editor-in-Chief of Antioxidants & Redox Signaling as well as of Advances in Wound Care.^[11] Sen is known for his co-invention of the tissue nanotransfection technology for in vivo tissue reprogramming.^[12] His team identified the vasculogenic fibroblasts in humans.^[13][14] His work has included the study of the electroceutical management of infection, and tocotrienol form on natural vitamin E. Sen served as the primary principal investigator of the NIH Diabetic Foot Consortium TEWL study.^[15] The study called for revision of FDA definition of wound closure endpoint underscoring the need to include the requirement of restoration of barrier function of the skin at the site of closure. Wound that closed with deficient barrier function, characterized by high transepidermal water loss (TEWL), were more likely to recur.^[16] Sen has an H-index of 119.^[17]

Education

Chandan Sen received his BS and MS from the Rajabazar Science College at Calcutta University where he received his Bachelor of Sciences (Honors in Physiology) in 1987 and his Masters of Science in Human Physiology in 1990.^[18]

Sen then moved to Finland for further studies. In 1994, he received his PhD in Physiology from the School of Medicine at the University of Eastern Finland - Kuopio Campus. In January 1995, Sen went to the University of California Berkeley for his postdoctoral studies on redox signaling in the Molecular and Cell Biology department (1995-1996). In 1997, Sen received his first faculty position at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley California.^[8]

Career and discoveries

In 2000, Sen joined The Ohio State University. Here, he was promoted to full professor with tenure in 2004. Later he was recognized with the John H & Mildred C Lumley endowed chair of Surgery.^[8] At Ohio State, Sen also served as the Associate Dean of Research.^[19] He was the founding Executive Director of the OSU Comprehensive Wound Center, and the founding Director of the OSU Center for Regenerative Medicine & Cell-Based Therapies^[20] While at Ohio State, his primary areas of research interest included tissue injury, repair, regeneration, and infection that he studied through his research in stroke, tissue reprogramming, and cutaneous wound healing.^[21] This research led to the pioneering of Tissue Nanotransfection (TNT) technology in regenerative medicine. This in vivo tissue reprogramming technology was published in Nature Nanotechnology.^[22] The technology won a 2018 Edison Awards for Innovation.^[23] Sen’s work has also led to electroceutical management of tissue infection, which received the Frost & Sullivan award for new product innovation.^[8] In 2021, Sen was elected Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors.^[24]

In 2018 Sen was called “one of the world’s leading experts in the nascent field of regenerative medicine” by the Indianapolis Business Journal after he joined Indiana University as the Director of Indiana Center for Regenerative Medicine and Engineering (ICRME), Executive Director of IU Health Comprehensive Wound Center, J. Stanley Battersby Chair and Professor of Surgery, Associate Vice President of Research, Associate Dean for Entrepreneurial Research.^[8] He brought a staff of 30 researchers and $10 million in research grants.^[25] Sen is also Professor of Biomedical Engineering by courtesy of the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering at Purdue University.^[26] His research currently focuses on the use of nanotechnology in tissue regeneration.^[27]

During the 2020 pandemic, Sen’s work discovered that electrical field can inactive coronavirus and that such approach can be used to develop person protective equipment employing an electroceutical fabric.^[28] Later, after a successful pilot study to manage wound biofilm infection at the San Antonio Military Medical Center,^[29] the technology was funded by the US Department of Defense to be tested on war wounds in Ukraine.^[30]

In 2025, the NIDDK Diabetic Foot Consortium reported its first completed clinical study - the NIDDK DFC TEWL study.^[15] Sen was the lead principal investigator of this landmark study which sought to redefine the clinical wound closure endpoint,^[31] and provided a candidate biomarker for wound recurrence.^[16] Prevailing FDA definition of wound closure include 100% covering of the wound with no discharge and need for dressings and sustained closure for a clinically meaningful time (often two weeks). The NIDDK DFC TEWL study underscored the need to include a functional parameter to define wound closure i.e. restoration of barrier function. Closed wounds with compromised barrier function at the site of closure showed higher risk of recurrence. Sen dubbed such wound that appeared closed but suffered from compromised barrier function as "invisible wounds".^[32] This introduces a new paradigm in wound care. Wound closure is a critical indicator of healing, guiding hospital discharge decisions, product efficacy in clinical trials, and reimbursement eligibility. It reflects treatment success, reduces infection risk, and shortens care duration. Accurate closure assessment supports regulatory approval, formulary inclusion, and financial planning in wound care businesses and healthcare systems.

Books

• Skeletal Muscle Research: Cellular Physiology & Biochemistry (ed. with M. J. Kankaanpää) (1993)
• Skeletal Muscle Research: Metabolism & Pathophysiology (ed. with L. Packer and O. Hänninen) (1994)
• Exercise and Oxygen Toxicity (ed. with M. Atalay) (1994)^[33]
• Oxidative Stress In Skeletal Muscles (ed. with Reznick, A et al) (1998)
• Antioxidant and Redox Regulation of Genes. 2000. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-636670-9.X5000-4. ISBN 978-0-12-636670-9.
• Handbook of Oxidants & Antioxidants in Exercise (ed. with L. Packer and O. Hänninen) (2000)
• Methods in Enzymology: Redox Cell Biology & Genetics - Parts A and B (ed. with L. Packer) (2002)
• Methods in Enzymology: Oxygen Sensing (ed. with G. L. Semenza) (2004)
• Advances in Wound Care - Volume 1 (2010)
• Advances in Wound Care - Volume 2 (2011)
• Nutrition and Enhanced Sports Performances (ed. with Bagchi D. and Nair S.) (2013)
• MicroRNA in Regenerative Medicine. 2015. doi:10.1016/C2012-0-02839-6. ISBN 978-0-12-405544-5.