Special issue in honor of Shelly Sakiyama-Elbert’s 50th birthday: celebrating 25 years of shaping biomaterials in neuroengineering

We are delighted to open submissions to this special collection honoring the contributions of Shelly Sakiyama-Elbert on the occasion of her 50th Birthday. We will celebrate 25 years of her impact shaping biomaterials in neuroengineering.

We welcome articles on all aspects of biomaterials; in particular, those that touch closely on Dr. Sakiyama-Elbert’s scientific interests in spinal cord and peripheral nerve injury. Advances in biomaterials and neural engineering could greatly enhance repair and regeneration efforts. Approaches like biomaterial scaffolds for axonal guidance, supporting stem cell transplants and drug/growth factor delivery to reduce inflammation are promising.

Furthermore, bioelectronic devices integrated with regenerating tissue could monitor repair and promote recovery through electrical or optical stimulation. By combining biomaterials, cell therapy, drug delivery, and bioelectronics, future therapies for neural repair and regeneration hold great potential. This special collection aims to highlight cutting-edge research in biomaterials, neural engineering, and regenerative medicine to address these challenges.

Topics that may be covered in the collection may include, but are not limited to:

• Biomaterials for biomanufacturing neural stem cells or directing neural stem cell fate
• Biomaterials strategies for improving neural organoid engineering
• Biomaterials for neuroengineering interfaces (electrodes, BCI, etc.)
• Biomaterials for innervating in vitro tissue model
• Biomaterials for Nerve Regeneration
• Engineering Solutions for Spinal Cord Injuries
• Gene Therapy for Nerve Healing
• Nerve Guidance Conduits
• Materials for supporting cell-based therapies in PNS and CNS repair
• Biomaterials for Drug and Growth Factor Delivery in Neuroengineering
• Delivery systems for neurotrophic factors (e.g., NGF, BDNF) to promote healing
• Electroactive Biomaterials for Nerve Repair
• Nanomaterials for Neural Injury Repair
• Functionalization of scaffolds with peptides, proteins, or other biomolecules to enhance neural regeneration
• Topographical cues in materials to guide nerve regeneration
• 3D Printed Biomaterials for Nerve Injury
• In Vitro Models for Nerve Regeneration Using Biomaterials

Submissions to the journal should fit within the scope of Journal of Materials Chemistry B – Please see the journal’s website for more information on the journal’s scope, standards, article types and author guidelines. All manuscripts will undergo the normal initial assessment and peer review processes, if appropriate, in line with the journal’s high standards, managed by the journal editors. Accepted manuscripts will be added to the online collection as soon as they are published and will feature in a regular issue of the relevant journal. Please note that peer review or acceptance is not guaranteed.

For this collection, we strongly encourage primary research in the form of Full Papers or Communications. If you want to submit a review-type article, please check with the Editorial Office first for pre-approval and to avoid topic overlap.

If you would like to contribute to this themed collection, please submit your article directly through the journal submissions platform. Please mention that your submission is a contribution to the Biomaterials in Neuroengineering collection in the “Themed issues” section of the submission form and is in response to the Open Call. The Editorial Office reserves the right to check the suitability of submissions in relation to the scope of both the journal and the collection, and as such, inclusion of accepted articles in the final themed collection is not guaranteed.

If you have any questions about the collection or the submissions process, please contact the editorial office and they will assist you.