Nina Tandon

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{{Infobox person

| name = Nina Tandon

| image = Nina Tandon.jpg

| alt =

| caption = Tandon ain 2014

| birth_name = Nina Marie Tandon

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| education = {{ubl|MBA, Columbia University|PhD in Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, 2009|MS in Electrical Engineering, MIT, 2006|Bachelor of Electrical Engineering, Cooper Union, 2001}}

| occupation = {{hlist|Biomedical engineer|businessperson|author}}

| title = CEO of EpiBone

}}

Nina Marie Tandon is an American biomedical engineer. She is the CEO and co-founder of EpiBone.{{Cite magazine|url=http://www.inc.com/magazine/201510/liz-welch/blooming-bones.html|title=How a Bone-Growing Startup Lured 66 Investors, Including Peter Thiel|magazine=Inc|last=Welch|first=Liz|date=October 2015|access-date=13 July 2016}} She is an adjunct professor of Electrical Engineering at Cooper Union{{Cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-blank/entrepreneurs-are-everywh_b_9355248.html|title=Entrepreneurs are Everywhere Show No. 23: Nina Tandon and Brandon McNaughton|website=The Huffington Post|last=Blank|first=Steve|date=1 March 2016|access-date=27 May 2016}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.future-ish.com/2011/10/ninatandon.html|title=Sceleb {{!}} Nina Tandon|work=Future-ish|access-date=27 May 2016}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.ted.com/profiles/712121|title=Nina Tandon|work=TED|publisher=TED Conferences|access-date=27 May 2016}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.cooper.edu/academics/people/nina-tandon|title=Nina Tandon|publisher=The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art|access-date=13 July 2016}} and is a senior fellow at the Lab for Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering at Columbia.{{Cite web|url=http://www.cnet.com/news/donate-organs-no-grow-them-from-scratch/|title=Donate organs? No, grow them from scratch|work=CNET|publisher=CBS Interactive|access-date=27 May 2016}} She was a 2011 TED Fellow{{Cite web|url=http://blog.ted.com/fellows-friday-with-nina-tandon/|title=Fellows Friday with Nina Tandon|last=Herro|first=Alana|work=TED Blog|publisher=TED Conferences|date=30 September 2011|access-date=10 July 2016}} and a 2012 senior TED Fellow.

Personal life

Nina Tandon grew up on Roosevelt Island in New York City. She had one brother and two sisters. As a child, Tandon discovered an interest in science when she discovered her siblings suffered from eye conditions. She and her siblings were each encouraged to try various science experiments; Tandon's siblings also pursued careers in scientific fields.{{cite web |title=Vogue: Meet Nina Tandon, the woman who is working on growing bones in a lab |url=https://www.vogue.in/content/meet-nina-tandon-the-woman-who-is-working-on-growing-bones-in-a-lab/}} As a child, she enjoyed "taking apart TVs and building these giant Tinkertoy towers, playing with static electricity, and experimenting on [her] class for science fairs." She participated in puzzles and problem-solving, community theatre, poetry, and sewing.

Education

Nina Tandon attended college at Cooper Union, graduating with a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 2007. While completing her undergraduate education, she built an electronic musical instrument which is played through human bodies' electromagnetic waves.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2011-02-28/the-body-electric|title=The Body Electric|website=Bloomberg|date=28 February 2011|access-date=10 July 2016}} From 2003 to 2004, Tandon attended University of Rome Tor Vergata, having received a Fulbright scholarship. There, she worked on the development of LibraNose, analyzing "patient breath samples to determine the feasibility of a noninvasive cancer-smelling device." In 2006, she graduated from MIT with a MS in Electrical Engineering, having received a MIT Presidential Fellowship in 2004. In 2006, she started graduate work at the Boston School before changing to follow her mentor, Professor Gordana Vunjak-Novakovice.{{Cite web|url=http://gradengineering.columbia.edu/nina-tandon-phd-09-bme|title=Nina Tandon, PhD '09 BME|website=gradengineering.columbia.edu|language=en|access-date=2018-04-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180118210857/http://gradengineering.columbia.edu/nina-tandon-phd-09-bme|archive-date=2018-01-18|url-status=dead}} She then studied at Columbia University, graduating in 2009 with a PhD in Biomedical Engineering, with a concentration in Cardiac Tissue Engineering. At Columbia, she began creating human tissues. She also received an MBA from Columbia in 2012.{{cite web |title=Columbia Business School: 43rd Annual Dinner |url=https://www8.gsb.columbia.edu/annualdinner/welcome |accessdate=10 February 2019}} She said that she wanted to bridge the gap between the possibilities of her research, and actually making them happen, and this is made possible with a business degree.

Career

As a biomedical engineer, Tandon worked at Columbia University to force growth and stimulation of cells, using electrical currents. Currently, she has grown cells on rat hearts, to beat, but her ultimate goal is to have the ability to create a process where scientists can grow entire human organs.

EpiBone

The Innovation: She later co-founded EpiBone, and is the company's CEO.{{cite web |last1=Brodwin |first1=Erin |title=This Woman's Revolutionary Startup Could Change 900,000 Surgeries A Year |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/nina-tandon-of-epibone-grows-bones-from-stem-cells-2014-11 |website=Business Insider |access-date=12 April 2024}} EpiBone's other co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer (CSO), Sarindr Bhumiratana had met Nina during their doctoral studies, and by leveraging each other's educational backgrounds, EpiBone is on a mission to perform and use groundbreaking research to transform skeletal repair.

The Problem: Currently, millions of bone graft surgeries are performed in the United States, albeit this procedure is in its primitive stages. The existing solution means doctors must perform a surgery that harvests a piece of bone from the patient and then another surgery that sets the graft in its new home.{{cite web |last1=Griggs |first1=Brandon |title=How to grow human bones in a lab |url=https://www.cnn.com/2015/10/30/health/growing-human-bones-epibone-pioneers/index.html |website=CNN |date=30 October 2015 |access-date=11 April 2024}} Not only is this procedure excruciating for the patient, but the risks of infection and graft rejection are a harsh reality.

How EpiBone addresses the paint point: The solution that EpiBone is currently working on would enable a human bone to be customized and grown in a laboratory from a patient's cells. In an interview with Bloomberg, Nina proposes the EpiBone solution for a unique reason: the EpiBone graft would not only fit the patient perfectly, but because it uses real cells, it can continue to remodel and grow with the patient. Nina proposes "a different view of the body, to view as a renewable resource of stem cells that can regenerate new parts as you need them."{{cite web |last1=Lisy |first1=Brandon |last2=Beach |first2=Justin |title=The Process of Growing Bones from Scratch |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2015-03-02/the-process-of-growing-bones-from-scratch |website=Bloomberg |date=2 March 2015 |access-date=11 April 2024}} The technology at the heart of EpiBone is their proprietary "bioreactor," technology which simulates the intricate conditions and functions of the human body to allow the bone to grow in a way that will increase the chances of cell survival, differentiation, and maturation. The team then recreates the bone needed; this is what they call the 'scaffold,' the last step in the process is the infusion of human bone cells into the scaffold. Within three weeks, the bone graft is ready to be implanted into the patient.{{cite web |last1=EpiBone |title=Technology: Our 3 Step Process |url=https://www.epibone.com/technology/ |website=EpiBone |access-date=11 April 2024}} Nina's invention is crucial because it proposes not only a less risky solution but one that will transform the field of regenerative medicine, which has largely been focused on tissue regeneration.

Where is EpiBone today? EpiBone received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in 2023 to begin testing its lab-grown bones in humans.{{cite web |last1=Barbella |first1=Michael |title=EpiBone to Start Clinical Trials for Lab-Grown Knee Cartilage |url=https://www.odtmag.com/contents/view_breaking-news/2023-07-26/epibone-to-start-clinical-trials-for-lab-grown-knee-cartilage/#:~:text=Clinical%20trials%20will%20evaluate%20the,for%20many%20years%20to%20come. |website=Orthopedic Design and Technology |date=26 July 2023 |access-date=12 April 2024}} This is a significant step forward, as EpiBone will be able to evaluate the effectiveness of its innovation and get real-life feedback from medical professionals and the patient. This is EpiBone's second product to advance into clinical trials. Its first clinical trial is ending, where they used the patient's stem cells to grow bone grafts.

Interests

Aside from her scientific research, Tandon has many other hobbies and interests such as metalworking, running marathons, and yoga. She started her career when she was hired by a telecommunications company, where she ended up doing customer service. Tandon worked at Avaya Labs, developing communications software before specializing in biomedical engineering. Her medical career was inspired by her siblings; her brother has an eye disease and struggles to see clearly, and both sisters have issues with seeing colors, thus changing our perceptions of the outside world.{{Cite news|url=https://www.technologyreview.com/s/426404/nina-tandon-sm-06/|title=Nina Tandon, SM '06|last=Mycynek|first=Rima Chaddha|work=MIT Technology Review|access-date=2018-04-12|language=en}} Her career was also inspired by her mother, who encouraged science from a very young age.{{Cite news|url=https://mic.com/articles/103766/how-to-succeed-in-science-according-to-some-of-the-world-s-brightest-female-scientists#.1qL3qcmL3|title=How to Succeed in Science, According to Some of the World's Brightest Female Scientists|last=Horton|first=Brooke|date=2014-11-07|access-date=2018-04-12|language=en}}

Tandon is also a TED Senior fellow, speaking there several times.{{Cite web|url=http://ninatandon.co/nina/|title=Nina Tandon {{!}} Nina|website=ninatandon.co|language=en-US|access-date=2018-04-12}} Nina has long advocated for using biology as a tool to innovate, not just for scientists but for all. In one of her TED talks, she emphasizes that biology must be a consideration for all professions, whether you are passionate about art, sustainability, architecture, or clothing. Biology can be a technology partner for all and must be "taken off its miraculous pedestal and ask how it might be possible to utilize it in our work."{{cite web |last1=Tandon |first1=Nina |title=Biology as a Tool to Innovate |url=https://www.epibone.com/2015/05/26/biology-as-a-tool-to-innovate/ |website=EpiBone |access-date=12 April 2024}}

She has taught courses as an adjunct professor of electrical engineering at Cooper Union. Previously, she worked as an associate postdoctoral researcher for Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering Laboratory at Columbia University, where she attended school as well.

Honors and awards

In 2011, she was named a TED Fellow. The following year, she was named a senior TED Fellow and one of Fast Company's Most Creative People of 2012.{{Cite news|url=https://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2023/04/04/ceo-nina-tandon-announced-columbia-engineering-class-day-speaker/|title=CEO Nina Tandon announced Columbia Engineering Class Day Speaker|last=Capozzi|first=Caroline|newspaper=Columbia Daily Spectator|date=2023-04-03|access-date=2025-04-13|language=en}} Tandon was a recipient of Marie Claire's Women on Top Awards in 2013.{{Cite news|url=https://www.thedailystar.net/life-living/news/celebrating-women-stem-2979041|title=Celebrating women in STEM|last=Aurko|first=Fahim Ahmed|newspaper=The Daily Star|date=2022-03-09|access-date=2025-04-13|language=en}} She was also named a Wired innovation fellow{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}} and a 2015 Global Thinker by Foreign Policy. L'Oréal Paris named her as one of its Women of Worth in the science and innovation category{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}} and Crains New York named her as part of its 40 Under 40 Class of 2015.{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}}