Alarcon, Emilio

Dr. Emilio I. Alarcon is a Scientist in the Division of Cardiac Surgery and Director of the Bio-nanomaterials Chemistry and Engineering Laboratory at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. He is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Ottawa.

Background

Dr. Alarcon was born in Santiago, Chile. In 2005, he received his B.Sc. in Chemistry under the supervision of Professor Eduardo Lissi at Universidad de Santiago de Chile exploring the chemiluminescent mechanisms of tryptophan oxidation. Shortly thereafter, Dr. Alarcon moved to Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile to pursue graduate studies. He received his MSc in Chemistry in 2008 and one year later the degree of PhD in Chemistry with a dissertation on Oxidation mechanisms of proteins mediated by reactive oxygen species. The same year Dr. Alarcon moved to Ottawa with his family for a postdoctoral position at Dr. Tito Scaiano’s laboratory, at the University of Ottawa, where he explored the development of new bionanomaterials for the health sciences and biosensors. In 2011 Dr. Alarcon was promoted to Research Associate that he held until he moved to the University of Ottawa Heart Institute in July 2014. He has published over 83 articles in peer-reviewed journals, several book chapters, and edited two books on regenerative medicine and nanomaterials

Dr. Alarcon is an Associate Editor for Journal Frontiers in Biomaterials. He has been a reviewer for over 450 papers in a number of Scientific Journals.

His laboratory is currently funded by a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Discovery grant, Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) program grant,  NSERC Collaborative Health Research Projects (CHRP) grant, the New Frontiers Research Fund, and the Government of Ontario.

Research and clinical interests

Our research is focused on the fabrication, development and implementation of new materials with regenerative capabilities for tissue regeneration of heart, skin, and soft tissues.

Publications

Publication profile: Google Scholar.

Selected publications:

  • C. Lazurko, Z. Khatoon, K. Goel, V. Sedlakova, C. Eren Cimenci, M. Ahumada, L. Zhang, T.-F. Mah, W. Franco, E. Suuronen, E. I. Alarcon. Multifunctional Nano & Collagen-Based Therapeutic Materials for Skin Repair. ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering, (2020), 6, 1124-1134.
  • C. D. McTiernan, D. Cortes, C. Lazurko, S. Amrani, R. Rosales-Rojas, M. Zuñiga-Bustos, V. Sedlakova, H. Poblete, K. Stamplecoskie, E. J. Suuronen, E. I. Alarcon. Light-Activated Peptide-Based Materials for Sutureless Wound Closure. ACS Applied Materials& Interfaces, (2019), 48, 45007-45015.
  • S. McLaughlin, B. McNeill, J. Podrebarac, K. Hosoyama, V. Sedlakova, G. Cron, D. Smith, R. Seymour, K. Goel, W. Liang, K. J. Rayner, M. Ruel, E. J. Suuronen, E. I. Alarcon. Injectable human recombinant collagen matrices limit adverse remodeling and improve cardiac function after myocardial infarction. Nature Communications, (2019), 4866.
  • K. Hosoyama, C. Lazurko, M. Muñoz, C. D McTiernan, E. I. Alarcon. Peptide-based functional biomaterials for soft-tissue repair. Frontiers Bioengineering Biotechnology, (2019), 7, 1-19.
  • K. Goel, M. Zuñiga-Bustos, C. Lazurko, E. Jacques, C. Galaz-Araya, F. Valenzuela-Henriquez, N. L. Pacioni, J.-F. Couture, H. Poblete, E. I. Alarcon. Nanoparticle Concentration vs. Surface Area in the Interaction of Thiol Containing Molecules: Towards a Rational Nano-Architectural Design of Hybrid-Materials. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, (2019), 11, 17697-17705.
  • K. Hosoyama, M. Ahumada, K. Goel, M. Ruel, E. J. Suuronen, E. I. Alarcon. Electroconductive materials as biomimetic platforms for tissue regeneration. Biotechnology Advances, (2019), 37, 444-458.
  • K. Hosoyama, M. Ahumada, C. D. McTiernan, M. Ruel, W. Liang, E. J. Suuronen, E. I. Alarcon. Nanoengineered Electroconductive Collagen-Based Cardiac Patch for Infarcted Myocardium Repair. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, (2018), 10, 44668-44677.
  • E. Jacques, M. Ahumada, B. Rector, G. Yousefalizadeh, C. Galaz-Araya, R. Recabarren, K. Stamplecoskie, H. Poblete, E. I. Alarcon. Effect of Nanosilver Surface on Peptide Reactivity Towards Reactive Oxygen Species, (2018), Nanoscale, 10, 15911-15917.
  • M. Ahumada, C. Bohne, J. Oake, E. I. Alarcon. Protein Capped Nanosilver Free Radical Oxidation: Role of the Biomolecule Capping on Nanoparticle Stability and Protein Oxidation, (2018), Chemical Communications, 54, 4724-4727.
  • C. Lazurko, M. Ahumada, F. Valenzuela-Henriquez, E. I. Alarcon.* NANoPoLC algorithm for correcting nanoparticle concentration by sample polydispersity, (2018), Nanoscale, 10, 3166-3170