Hossein Tavana
Papers
13
Total Citations
375
H-Index
9
About
Hossein Tavana is a biomedical engineer whose research sits at the intersection of cancer biology, drug discovery, and microtechnology. He is best known for pioneering aqueous two-phase systems (ATPS) as a platform for generating and manipulating three-dimensional tumor spheroids — miniature, physiologically relevant models of avascular tumors that more faithfully replicate the complexity of solid cancers than traditional flat cell cultures. Tavana's most influential contribution, published in 2014 and garnering 93 citations, introduced a high-throughput microprinting approach capable of producing tumor spheroids in standard 96-well plates using immiscible polymeric aqueous solutions. This innovation addressed a longstanding bottleneck in drug discovery by enabling reproducible, large-scale spheroid production compatible with automated screening workflows. Subsequent work expanded this platform to support multiparametric oncology drug screening, combination drug testing, and cancer cell migration assays, collectively accumulating hundreds of citations across the field. Beyond cancer pharmacology, Tavana has applied microprinting technology to stem cell biology, demonstrating that colony size meaningfully regulates neural differentiation — a finding with implications for regenerative medicine. His 2020 organotypic breast tumor model further advanced understanding of tumor microenvironment dynamics. Through elegant engineering solutions, Tavana has consistently translated fundamental biological questions into scalable, quantitative experimental platforms.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1High Throughput, Polymeric Aqueous Two‐Phase Printing of Tumor Spheroids93 citations · 2014
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- 6Single and Combination Drug Screening with Aqueous Biphasic Tumor Spheroids21 citations · 2017
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- 10Microprinted tumor spheroids enable anti-cancer drug screening7 citations · 2016